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Detroit grad chosen to run ailing district

Adamany asks corporate execs to help fix schools

Fri., May 12, 2000

The Detroit public schools reform board ended its nearly year-long search for a permanent CEO May 11 when members voted unanimously to replace outgoing interim CEO David Adamany with Kenneth Burnley, Detroit native and current superintendent of Colorado Springs, Colo., schools.

"I think it's of great benefit for us to have a graduate of Detroit schools," board member and State Treasurer Mark Murray told The Detroit News. "[Burnley] knows the issues of education up front. But he also knows the Detroit situation."

Burnley graduated from Detroit's Mumford High School in 1960. He has led Colorado Springs schools since 1987.

Board members were impressed with Burnley's reform ideas, which focus on increasing parental involvement, encouraging the use of technology in the classroom, and tying teachers' raises to their performance.

But some parents are skeptical that Burnley can turn around the struggling Detroit district.

"His district cannot compare to what we go through here," Abby Phelps, whose 16-year-old daughter attends King High School, told the Detroit Free Press. "There's just too many issues for one man to address."

Colorado Springs is a 33,500-student district with an annual budget of $175.7 million. Detroit has 180,000 students and a $1.2-billion budget.

At press time, Detroit Deputy Mayor and school board President Freman Hendrix was negotiating a contract with Burnley, who could receive up to $250,000 per year. Outgoing CEO David Adamany earns $193,000.

Meanwhile, Adamany has begun his own reform program by assembling a team of corporate executives to help Detroit contract with private companies to cut red tape, reduce costs, and improve quality.

Most district officials have backgrounds in education, rather than business, and this lack of corporate experience has led to waste and mismanagement in the district, according to Adamany.

"Many people in the district didn't know what to do," Adamany told the Detroit Free Press. "They were not sophisticated in what was happening in the private sector."

The executives-from companies including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and Detroit Edison-are acting "on loan" to the district, which means in most cases the companies will continue to pay their salaries.

Michigan Education Daily
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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* >>