MAISA earned a 2025 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Award in July for transforming the state’s education data architecture, according to a recent announcement from the company.
The state’s Michigan Data Hub has, since 2013, standardized and distributed key data to school districts. The hub’s capabilities, however, have limitations: It cannot scale to statewide or cross-agency use, support advanced tools like AI that enable predictive or personalized insights, or connect siloed district systems.
Michigan’s new data center, MiGreatDataLake, is designed to overcome these limitations, enabling schools to “shift from reactive to proactive strategies and improve outcomes across all regions and student demographics,” per the release.
Because of barriers to actionable data, Michigan has sought to redevelop its educational data systems, Tammy Evans, project development director for MAISA's Michigan IT, said.
Her team conducted a feasibility study in spring 2024, which highlighted fragmented data systems and restrictions that curb districts’ ability to harness the full potential of their data.
“In this initiative, what we were trying to do was modernize the way in which we could gather structured and unstructured data into a statewide platform,” Evans said. “We wanted to give our educators and students [a] more accurate reflection of everything.”
The initiative, still in early implementation, is part of a broader shift toward linking student information from multiple sources to support predictive analytics, equity initiatives, and long-term academic and behavioral planning. Its rollout will begin with about 100 of the state's approximately 875 school districts as a proof of concept before expanding, Evans said. It is expected to start with the school year, during the last week in August.
At the same time, researchers caution that data alone doesn’t improve outcomes — it must be paired with effective training, thoughtful implementation and sustained support for educators.
Classroom teachers and their needs are the focus of MAISA’s initiative, Doug Leisenring, Michigan Data Lake’s project director, said. Their input, he said, must be included in the system’s design process to be effective in action.
“How do we get data to the classroom to improve instruction for kids? What do your teachers need? What is the information your teachers need to improve instruction?” he said. “When you start with those questions as your baseline, if you focus on the classroom, the systems will follow.”
Michigan’s effort reflects a broader shift in education priorities nationwide. Several states, including Indiana, North Carolina and Connecticut, are also investing in statewide educational data initiatives.
For other states and district leaders, Michigan’s example offers a snapshot of what’s possible when data is centralized, modernized and made usable. The promise is not simply more information, but better insights that can drive proactive interventions, improve equity and support long-term planning.
“While we’re nowhere near this now, in five to 10 years, the long-term goal is to have one data storage solution for the educational system of Michigan,” Leisenring said. “Other states will be able to learn from that.”
“We’ll be able to learn together, which I think is the most powerful part of education,” he said. “People figure things out and they share it. Once a few of our states get rolling with this, there will be a model for others to follow.”
