Contents of this issue:
- Legislature looks to register home school students with state
- MEAP scores up in some areas, down in others
- Some Bridgeport parents lash out against schools of choice
- Pinckney schools consider contracting for janitorial services
- Flint schools look to close buildings, cut jobs
- Comment and win an iPod
LEGISLATURE LOOKS TO REGISTER HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH STATE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Home-school parents and organizations are
opposing a bill that would require the reporting of the names,
addresses and ages of all home-schooled children to a local or
intermediate school district each year, according to the Grand
Valley Advance.
Ron Koehler, Kent Intermediate School District's assistant
superintendent for organizational and community initiatives,
thinks having the information would be beneficial for parents
and make it easier for the ISD to contact parents about special
programs and classes. Currently, home-school reporting is
voluntary, the Advance reported.
"They're still our students and families," Koehler told the
Advance. "We would encourage those that are not registering
voluntarily, to do so." Still, he said the KISD is not actively
pushing the proposed bill.
Koehler also added that the ISD will probably not address the
legislation, noting the generally positive relationship the ISD
has with home-schoolers already.
"Unless we're specifically asked, we probably would not address
this legislation," Koehler told the Advance. "We've developed a
better relationship with our home-school families. We don't want
to do anything to roll back the clock."
Many home-school families and organizations are threatened by
the legislation.
"The public school establishment doesn't like home schools,"
Dennis Smith, executive director of Information Network for
Christian Homes, told the Advance. "The information provided (by
parents) could be used against us in the future. This happened
in the past when home-schoolers were requested to fill out a
non-public school report form by the Department of Education to
be considered 'legal.' Many of the families who complied with
this request were later contacted and some were prosecuted for
truancy."
A 2004 study by Columbia University showed that home-school
students, on average, outperform their public school peers, the
Advance reported. Home-school students average a 1,093 on the
SAT, compared to 1,012.6 for public school students and 1,123.8
for private independent school students. Another study from 1998
found that home-schooled students averaged a 22.8 on the ACT,
compared with the average score of 21 for all students taking
the test, according to the Advance.
Many colleges have special programs to recruit home-schooled
students, while local high schools often allow home-schoolers to
participate in certain academic or enrichment classes. This sort
of cooperation is in opposition to the National Education
Association's position on home schooling. The NEA is generally
opposed to the practice and also advocates that any parent
educating their child at home should be a licensed teacher.
Recently, Rep. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, removed his co-sponsorship of the bill.
"I fully support home schooling," he told the Advance. "I co-sponsored House Bill 5912 out of a desire to protect legitimate
home schooling from abuse by those who use home schooling as an
excuse for truancy. However, due to concerns from home-schoolers
in my district, I will withdraw my co-sponsorship and support
for this bill in its current form."
In addition, many Republican representatives spoke out against
the bill from its inception, the Advance reported.
"Representative (Brenda) Clack and I must have very different
experiences with home schooling and home-school families to lead
her to introduce this bill," Rep. William Huizenga, R-Holland,
told the Advance. "Virtually every family and student that I
have met over the years that is involved in home schooling has
chosen that option for a variety of reasons that fit their
family needs. I believe they must continue to have that option
free from mandated government involvement."
SOURCE:
Grand Valley Advance, "Proposed home-school legislation ignites
local opposition,"
April 7, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/advancenewspapers_news/2008/04/proposed_homeschool_legislatio.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Should Home-Schoolers
Beware?" April 9, 2008
https://www.mackinac.org/9366
MEAP SCORES UP IN SOME AREAS, DOWN IN OTHERS
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Education Assessment Program test
scores were released for grades 3-8 and show an improvement in
some subjects, especially math, and a decline in other subjects,
according to the Detroit Free Press.
Math scores in all grades but fifth saw improvement. Ninety
percent of third-graders, 86 percent of fourth-graders, 74
percent of fifth-graders, 73 percent of sixth graders, 73
percent of seventh-graders and 71 percent of eighth-graders are
considered to be "proficient" in math, the Free Press reported.
With respect to reading, 86 percent of third-graders, 84 percent
of fourth-graders, 82 percent of fifth-graders, 82 percent of
sixth-graders, 72 percent of seventh-graders and 77 percent of
eighth-graders were "proficient." Third-grade scores are down
one percentage point from last year, and eighth grade scores
improved, according to the Free Press.
In addition, writing scores increased in third, fifth, seventh
and eighth grades, but were down in other grade levels. Science
scores also increased for eighth graders. Social studies scores,
however, declined in the two grade levels tested, the Free Press
reported.
Michigan Department of Education officials said that 22 percent
of fourth-grade students improved their scores from last year,
according to the Free Press.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Michigan students' math scores rise for
third straight year on MEAP exams," April 8, 2008
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS06/80408048
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Education at a Glance," Sept. 6, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7917
SOME BRIDGEPORT PARENTS LASH OUT AGAINST SCHOOLS OF CHOICE
BRIDGEPORT, Mich. — Opposition to schools of choice was strong
at a forum to discuss opening Bridgeport-Spaulding Community
School's enrollment to students other than those assigned to the
district, according to The Saginaw News.
More than half of the 31 speakers at the forum, including
teachers, parents and community members, want the district to be
open exclusively to students assigned to the district. The
school board decided not to accept nonassigned students in 4-3
vote, but decided that students who were already enrolled could
continue to attend the schools, The News reported. Just over 200
community members signed a petition to keep the district's
enrollment closed, according to The News.
One parent called nonassigned students "retards," according to
The News. Another parent responded to those remarks.
"My daughters are college graduates," Saginaw resident Marcia
Buchanan, who has a son enrolled in the district, said,
according to The News. "Closed-minded adults breed closed-minded
children. I'm for open enrollment. I don't live here, I used to.
We need to be culturally diverse. Don't be so judgmental, don't
be stereotypical."
Other speakers wanted to prevent limited open enrollment for the
sake of keeping small class sizes — which are set in contract
negotiations — and not straining programs that could be offered
exclusively to students assigned to the district, including
academics and extracurricular options. Some speakers also
claimed that a limited open enrollment policy brings students
with behavioral problems into the schools. Parent Sharon Leach
asserted that parents who want to utilize the schools should
move and purchase a home in the district.
"I want a quality education for our children," Leach said,
according to The News. "There are homes for sale here. Purchase
a home and become part of the community. We would all welcome
you. Let's once again have a school district we can be proud
of."
Bridgeport Township officials also commented on the issue, and
noted that most teachers now live outside of the district.
"Choice is not the whole problem," Frank J. Morrison, a township
trustee, said, according to The News. "Ninety percent of the
(district) teachers used to live in the township. Now, 90
percent of the teachers (don't live in district) come here and
collect a paycheck."
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Most Bridgeport speakers oppose schools of
choice," April 8, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1207671613135870.xml&coll=9
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Conclusion: Restoring a Free
Market in Education," in "The Case for Choice in Schooling,"
Jan. 29, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3243
PINCKNEY SCHOOLS CONSIDER CONTRACTING FOR JANITORIAL SERVICES
PINCKNEY, Mich. — The Pinckney Community Schools is considering
contracting for custodial services as part of a plan to
alleviate a $1.9 million anticipated budget deficit next year,
according to The Detroit News.
The school board decided to close an elementary school last
month, and is hoping to avoid privatizing janitorial services by
offering a contract that will save the district enough to
balance the budget, The News reported.
"We have put forth a proposal that would make it unnecessary to
privatize that group," Pinckney Superintendent Dan Danosky told
The News. "We have to know if we can count on the savings in
negotiations."
Other measures being considered to balance the budget are
closing the pool at the high school and adjusting busing
schedules.
"It's getting more and more difficult as the years go on because
we have cut things for the last several years," Board President
Anne Colone told The News. "The economy in Michigan has not
picked up and the state has not been able to give us the dollars
that we need."
Two other Livingston County schools have contracted for
custodial services in recent years. Last fall, Howell voted to
contract for services and saved about $750,000. Hartland
Consolidated Schools began contracting in 2006 and saved about
$600,000, according to The News.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Pinckney cost-cutting schools try to keep
janitors," April 14, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/SCHOOLS/804140362
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Survey 2007: More Growth in
School Support Services Privatization," Aug. 16, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8881
FLINT SCHOOLS LOOK TO CLOSE BUILDINGS, CUT JOBS
FLINT, Mich. — The Flint Community Schools is considering
closing four schools and possibly eliminating 137 jobs,
according to The Flint Journal.
Flint currently has a projected deficit of about $12 million for
2008-2009, and will save $11 million with staff cuts, plus $2.5
million by closing the four schools. The schools targeted for
closing have some of the lowest enrollments in the district. The
two elementary schools enroll fewer than 200 students each, The
Journal reported.
"We need to have a much healthier fund balance," Superintendent
Linda Thompson said, according to The Journal. "We'll be looking
at some additional closures in the future and we need to brace
ourselves for that."
Many parents and community members were concerned about the
proposed cuts.
"How do you expect parents to want their kids in the public
school system when every year there's a dramatic change in the
school consolidations?" Quincy Murphy, a resident who has a
nephew enrolled in one of the elementary schools targeted for
closure, told the Flint Board of Education, according to The
Journal. "It seems like instead of going forward, we're going
backward. We need to be opening schools, not closing them."
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Hundreds of parents pack Flint school board
meeting over proposed cuts," April 9, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/04/hundreds_of_parents_pack_flint.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School District Budgeting,"
in "A Michigan School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8560
COMMENT AND WIN AN IPOD
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https://educationreport.org
and post
a comment for a chance to win one of three iPods.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
(
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan
research and educational institute.
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