The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University is launching their first ever statewide Read by Grade Three survey for current K-8 teachers and principals – which is now live.

Because educators’ time is valuable, EPIC has worked with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to offer 5 hours of State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) for completing this approximately 25-minute survey.

By completing the survey, teachers are also eligible for a $100 Visa gift card drawing. In addition, schools that reach a 65% response rate for their building will be entered into a raffle for $500 deposited in the school’s Scholastic account.

Click here to complete the survey.

The survey will also be sent to principals to distribute to their K-8 teachers or can be accessed by visiting EPIC’s website

Teachers will need their PIC to complete the survey and be awarded SCECHs, but responses will be kept strictly confidential and all responses will be summarized so that no individuals or schools can be identified.

The survey results will be used in EPIC’s study to inform policy and practice by partners at the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA) General Education Leadership Network’s (GELN) Early Literacy Task Force (ELTF), the Michigan Education Association (MEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), and the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA).

EPIC believes that research is strengthened by the voices of educators who are on the front lines in schools and classrooms every day. That’s why EPIC includes educator surveys in all their major research studies. Researchers at the collaborative are encouraging all K-8 educators and principals to respond to this survey so their voices can be heard in Lansing and beyond.

This survey is part of a five-year study of Read by Grade Three funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation which began last September.

EPIC will conduct educator surveys each year for the first four years of the project. To stay updated on EPICs research, sign up for EPIC’s mailing list or follow them on Twitter @EPICedpolicy.