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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
August 19, 2008

Contents of this issue:
  • Group hopes to fund college scholarships for Detroit grads
  • Vendors won't send DPS textbooks
  • Brighton tries to solve overspending crisis
  • Board member: all teachers shoulder blame
  • Director resigns from program for blind children
GROUP HOPES TO FUND COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DETROIT GRADS
DETROIT — A Detroit-area businessman has started a group to raise money in hopes of funding college scholarships for Detroit Public Schools graduates, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Nat Pernick has pledged $25,000 and received pledges for an additional $15,000 for Detroit College Promise, modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise. He hopes to raise $500,000 this fall, Crain's reported. That equals about one-tenth of what it would cost to pay for just one year of college for the class of 2009 graduates.

"Of course it's a daunting number, but you've got to start one step at a time," Pernick told Crain's.

SOURCE:
Crain's Detroit Business, "Detroit kids get scholarship promise," Aug. 18, 2008
http://crainsdetroit.com/article/20080818/SUB/808180323/1069

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Following the lead of the Kalamazoo Promise," Nov. 14, 2007
http://www.educationreport.org/9093

VENDORS WON'T SEND DPS TEXTBOOKS
DETROIT — Students in Detroit Public Schools will begin classes with only 60 percent of the textbooks they need, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Superintendent Connie Calloway told the board of education that two vendors will not deliver books due to past payment problems.

"One said that because of our past records of not paying invoices, they will not deliver our textbooks for this year until we pay for next year as well," Calloway told the board, the Free Press reported. "Our feeling is that vendors cannot hold us hostage. We are the 15th-largest district still in this nation."

Also at the board meeting, Calloway called her performance evaluation illegal because the board did not give her any goals or objectives to meet.

SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Books will be late — again," Aug. 15, 2008
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080815/NEWS01/ 808150425/1003/NEWS

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Contractor says DPS owes almost $600,000," March 11, 2008
http://www.educationreport.org/9324

BRIGHTON TRIES TO SOLVE OVERSPENDING CRISIS
BRIGHTON, Mich. — Students in Brighton will have to pay to play sports and a program to identify students with learning disabilities was cut as the school board attempts to correct a $2 million overspending crisis for the 2008-2009 budget, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"School districts are labor-intensive," board President William Anderson told the Free Press. "Our labor costs are about 90 percent of our budget. What's been spiraling out of control is benefits."

SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Brighton whittles at school deficit," Aug. 17, 2008
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080817/NEWS06/ 808170407/1008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Brighton agrees to teacher contract it can't afford," April 29, 2008
http://www.educationreport.org/9424

BOARD MEMBER: ALL TEACHERS SHOULDER BLAME
SAGINAW, Mich. — The treasurer of the Saginaw board of education thinks elementary and middle school teachers should share the blame for the poor performance of high school students, according to The Saginaw News.

James Woolfolk Jr. said he compares Saginaw and Arthur Hill high schools to a train caboose. "They're on the back end and getting all the blame," The News reported.

The district's math scores on the Michigan Merit Exam were three times lower than the state average, according to The News.

"It's not my intent to pass any judgment on the previous work of those involved with the instruction of our students," interim Superintendent Thomas Barris told the board, The News reported. "However, I would suggest, based upon student outcomes, that there is additional work to be done."

SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Saginaw School District high school principals present plans to boots test scores," Aug. 19, 2008
http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/news/index.ssf/2008/08/saginaw_school_district_high_s.html

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Teacher Quality Primer," June 30, 2008
http://www.mackinac.org/9576

DIRECTOR RESIGNS FROM PROGRAM FOR BLIND CHILDREN
GREENVILLE, Mich. — When Gwen Botting first learned that her young son was visually impaired, her thoughts went to other blind people she'd known — her great aunt and her grandmother.

The great aunt, after losing her sight as a complication of diabetes, continued to tend her garden, split wood and cook on a wood-fired stove.

The grandmother, Botting said, "let her blindness ruin the rest of her life."

"When I discovered I was going to have a blind child, I knew which one I wanted for my kid," she said. In a society in which "there are still 100 different ideas on how to raise blind children," Botting said that her goal from the beginning was to force her son to become independent.

That's the general philosophy at Camp Tuhsmeheta, where Botting is a longtime volunteer. The 300-acre state-owned parcel of land is located along a chain of lakes near Greenville. Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind, a nonprofit organization, offers programs there for children with visual impairments, but the group hit a stumbling block recently as the executive director resigned and said fall and winter programs could be canceled.

The organization has had a dismal fundraising year, according to executive director George Wurtzel, given the state economy in general and smaller donations from individuals and corporations. On top of that, the group is currently at odds with the Michigan State Board of Education over the site, with Wurtzel saying that a lack of support from the state for the organization's work was one reason he stepped down.

SOURCE:
Michigan Education Report, "State board, nonprofit group at odds over Camp Tuhsmeheta," Aug. 19, 2008
http://www.educationreport.org/9730

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Michigan School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
http://www.mackinac.org/8534

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), an online newspaper published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

Contact Managing Editor Sarah Grether at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=MED

Related Topics: Education
Michigan Education Daily
Fri., November 21, 2008
"Bay County area schools should conduct school board elections jointly with general elections as a way to save money and have more representative voter turnout." >>
Thu., November 20, 2008
"Now three years old, the Kalamazoo Promise has had mixed results in its mission to send Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates to college." >>
Wed., November 19, 2008
"Grand Rapids and Holland public schools are reporting higher numbers of homeless students than last year and expect the figures to grow." >>
Tue., November 18, 2008
"Nineteen Detroit Public Schools teachers are running for election to leadership slots in the Detroit Federation of Teachers union on a school reform platform, according to The Detroit News. The teachers want to open their own charter school modeled after the Los Angeles Green Dot Schools." >>
Mon., November 17, 2008
"Teachers in Gaylord Community Schools have voted to replace the Michigan Educational Special Services Association with AmeraPlan as a third-party insurance administrator, saving the district about 25 percent on health care costs." >>
Sun., November 16, 2008
"A Spanish language teacher quit her job at Michigan Collegiate High School amid allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student." >>
Sat., November 15, 2008
"Wyandotte Public Schools is attracting attention statewide for its 90 percent pass rate among algebra II students." >>
User Comments
llsmith
Testing is not the answer. All it does is give the "teacher" a basis for determining a grade. And, we all know that grading and grades are circumspect. Rather, a more true measure of learning is when the learner (i.e., the "student" using traditional and aniquated terminology and stereotyping) wants to know more about a topic or issue. This expression of desire for more is an affirmation that the learner has mastered current concepts and material and now wants to move on. In this scenario no test nor grade is necessary. What should be necessary is for the provider (i.e., the "teacher") to have the next level or dimension of concepts and materials readily available to present and apply once the learner expresses the desire to move on.

What we need is a system that is designed to cater to this basal learning behavior and can be applied in real time. Take a look at the definitive treatment "Education in America -- What's to Be Done?" developed by Trigon-International. This commission report presents an end-to-end solution that is actionable and affordable. >>
samuel
$400 K, try $400 million >>
terrym2442
Thank you to Lorie Shane and Marcie Lipsitt for blowing off the cover, exposing one of Michigan's "dirty secrets."

As the parent of a child with special needs in Michigan, it's been an uphill battle since day one to get the APPROPRIATE services for my child. Sadly, the bar is held too low for our kids. Upon graduating, if the student is not capable of attending college, he/she is warehoused into post-secondary settings where formal academics are not offered. Perhaps if students had gotten proper academics when younger- taught by highly qualified teachers- many would have had the opportunity to move on and continue formal academics like their non-disabled peers, rather than be expected to dust shelves and bag groceries their whole lives.

Michigan's special eduation has and continues to fail our children.

>>
frick@mackinac.org
As a parent I see the value of a teacher with knowledge of both special ed methods and the subject matter. Do enough of them exist to go around? My guess is that many teachers who concentrated their schooling and training on special ed took fewer courses in subject matter (English, Mathematics, Science, etc.). There are limits on course load, number of years in college, and student finance.

As much as we want the best for every person, we are not going to have six teachers each an expert in their subject matter per one pupil. So in this world of limited resources, each person and our society have to decide how to use the resources we have. Hopefully a successful balance of flexibility and accountability can produce the desired results: educated children with the capacity to think and the ability to learn. >>
Carol
Michigan High School & the University deliver quality education to its
students & has maintained its standard with good caliber. The courses offered by the Michigan institutes are versatile and for future progress of the society and the students, it further enhances them to become excellent citizens!!
---------------------------
Carol
<a href="http://http://www.treatmentcenters.org/michigan">Michigan Treatment Centers</a>
>>
drgrenan
Thank you for your comments. I would be honored and proud to go to any school district or meeting to stand up for your/our children!! Just EMail me and I will be there or call me anytime at 616-8474282
Thank You, Dr Jack Grenan Educator and Cancer Survivor >>
ilifflij
Parents and teachers have not had a voice. The waivers used have allowed administrators of various Michigan schools to plunk in 20 - 25 students in a classroom of students with learning disabilities. As a special education teacher, I find it very difficult to meet the individual learning objectives of that many students. >>
rlboogren
This article presents excellent information. As the parent of a child with a disability I advocate for my son. Currently, there is no one to speak for all the children with disabilities in Michigan. There is no transparency of government. The position of State Superintendent is a dictatorship with the power to make all the decisions. As a parent, I cannot voice my concerns by voting. >>
Ferndale Eagle
Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan succeeded in correcting the mistaken reporting of the Johns Hopkins University report that had included it as a "dropout factory" with poor "promoting power." The University researchers have acknowledged that Ferndale High School does not belong in this category and removed the school from the list because of the school district's high outward mobility (more students move out than move in during high school.). The high school has a three-year promoting power ration of 77% rather than the 50% reported in the Associated Press in October 2007, with the Class of 2006 having a 91% promoting power. Please visit Johns Hopkins' website for more clarification to see the "Schools Removed from the List of Weak Promoting Power High Schools: http://web.jhu.edu/CSOS/images/Removed_from_List_5_14_08.pdf .

Also, visit www.ferndaleschools.org for info about the school district. >>
From Mackinac Blog
So you're not going to admit an anti-MESSA bias?

*wink* >>