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Extreme Makeover: School Edition

The Michigan Department of Education wants public schools to think outside the classroom about ways to improve quality without necessarily spending more. Think online education. Think performance pay. Think consolidation. More
New Features

Poverty is 2009 debate topic

Mackinac Center again offers workshops for debaters, coaches. More

A team, a plan, a vision — but no school

Dozens of individuals and organizations would like to open charter public schools in Michigan, among them this former school administrator in Jackson, but are stymied by the cap on university-authorized schools. More

Classroom teacher joins Mackinac Center as education policy director

Former history teacher Michael Van Beek has joined the Mackinac Center for Public Policy as director of its Education Policy Initiative. More

A quicker way to become a teacher

A 15-month route to a high school teaching career in on the table at the Michigan Department of Education, but so far has earned a cold reception from the state’s teacher colleges. More

Attorney: Home-schoolers must stand up for parental rights

The Obama administration has promised to give renewed attention to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, but a home-school attorney says parents should be ready to resist. More
Review

Let’s race

Dollars are there – if we’re willing to reform More

Fuzzy math

MEA study is misleading. More

More or less

Length of school year doesn’t predict achievement. More

Tear Down This Wall

Give DPS students a choice. More

Pool Party

Health pool a step forward. More

‘Dangerous’ to whom?

Behind rhetoric, privatization saves money. More

The ‘me’ in MEA

Pension proposal is expensive and does not help students. More

Dollars and sense

We need to teach students about free enterprise. More

Lashing Out

The MEA advances its agenda with school board recalls. More
Daily Digest User Comments Editor's Pick
"National teachers' unions have been solidly behind health care reform so far, but Education Week reports that they are not so excited about a Senate version that would tax so-called "Cadillac" health plans." >>
"Hillsdale Community Schools is offering severance packages to teachers and support personnel who retire now as a way to save money in the long run." >>
"The University of Michigan believes that a plan to create a single health insurance pool for all public employees is unconstitutional, firefighters believe it's unwise, but the president of Lansing Community College sees it as the right moral choice." >>
"Jackson Public Schools is investigating switching insurance carriers, self-funding or asking all employee groups to agree to higher deductibles and co-pays as ways to spend less on health insurance." >>
"Not yet certain whether they will face a $127 per-pupil cut in December, school administrators are reviewing their choices for dealing with it." >>
"More than one-third of the students who live within Detroit Public Schools boundaries attended a public charter school in 2008-2009." >>
"More than one-third of the students who live within Detroit Public Schools boundaries attended a public charter school in 2008-2009." >>
"State school Superintendent Michael Flanagan asked lawmakers and teachers unions Thursday to settle their differences and clear the way for Michigan to apply for up to $400 million in federal funding for public schools." >>
"Thirteen school districts have been selected as Project ReImagine winners by the  Michigan Department of Education, meaning they likely would receive a share of any Race to the Top education money coming to Michigan." >>
"A state representative wants to create an advisory panel to review public school district boundaries and recommend where consolidation or division makes financial sense." >>
"In the short term, the debate over school funding in Michigan will revolve around whether to use federal stimulus dollars to fill this year's state budget overspending crisis or next year's." >>
"At least four state universities have announced they will pick up part of the tab for rescinded Michigan Promise Scholarships." >>
"University Preparatory High School, a charter public school in Detroit, will pay nearly the full cost of the first year of college for any of its 124 seniors who are eligible." >>
"A classroom teacher has been elected to the school board in the Pontiac School District, though whether that constitutes a conflict of interest remains a question." >>
"Voters in Washtenaw County turned down a new school tax on Tuesday, an outcome which will force area districts to find ways to spend less." >>
"Flint Community Schools can change health insurance providers for teachers despite their protests, a Genesee County judge has ruled." >>
"Public schools would avoid most of a $127 per-pupil cut in December, but likely face deeper cuts in the future, if the state Legislature agrees to spend education stimulus dollars this year instead of next." >>
"Responding to potential state aid cuts, Grand Ledge Public Schools administrators have proposed closing two elementary buildings, eliminating 53 positions, ending high school bus service, downsizing sports and band programs and seeking $558,000 in employee concessions." >>
"Five of seven Romeo Community Schools board members have been named in two separate recall efforts, with a school closing and privatization as key issues." >>
"Pontiac School District teachers were to hand out Halloween candy in front of district schools Saturday as part of a larger effort to entice parents and students back to the district." >>