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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
September 8, 2009

Contents of this issue:

  • Bus drivers stay on in Adrian
  • Christian school closes in Burton
  • More schools make AYP
  • Home-schoolers do well on standard tests
  • Thumb-area schools in MESSA dispute (Corrected version)
  • Debate workshops return

BUS DRIVERS STAY ON IN ADRIAN

ADRIAN, Mich. - Adrian Public Schools students will see familiar faces behind the wheel of most school buses this year, as half of the bus drivers formerly employed by the district accepted jobs with First Student, the district's new bus service provider, according to The (Adrian) Daily Telegram.

Among them is Sue White, a former bus driver who is now the First Student contract manager in Adrian.

"There's not going to be a lot of new faces for the community,"

White told The Telegram. Fourteen of the 19 routes operated by the district will have drivers who worked for the district a year ago.

Privatizing the bus service was a controversial issue for the district in the spring of 2009, The Telegram reported. As school employees, the drivers were members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 547. White told The Telegram that she didn't know if the drivers will choose to unionize as First Student employees, and a union business manager was unavailable for comment.

White told The Telegram that First Student is using "Child Check-Mate," a system of ensuring that no child is forgotten on buses, and also plans to install global positioning systems in all vehicles. That will help the company determine if, for example, buses are idling for extended periods or are speeding.

SOURCE:
The (Adrian) Daily Telegram, "Adrian bus drivers prepare for school year," Aug. 21, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Privatization Survey Shows Gains in Support Service Contracting," Sept. 7, 2009

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL CLOSES IN BURTON

BURTON, Mich. - Valley Christian Academy in Burton has closed due to financial pressures caused by dwindling enrollment, The Flint Journal reported. An advertising campaign and tuition reduction did not bring in enough students to keep the 29-year- old school operating.

"Unless the economy comes back, any tuition-based school is in danger," Principal Sam Pace told The Journal.

The school had reduced tuition to $2,500, The Journal reported.

While Valley Christian received financial assistance from area church congregations, it did not have a sponsoring church.

School enrollment in 2008-2009 was 103, according to the report, with students coming from throughout the Flint and Burton area.

SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Leaving Valley Christian: Tears, goodbyes accompany close of Burton private school," Sept. 2, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Painting the Private School Picture," May 12, 2000

MORE SCHOOLS MAKE AYP

LANSING, Mich. - The percentage of Michigan schools making "adequate yearly progress" rose from 80 to 86 percent in 2008-2009, according to findings released by the Michigan Department of Education and reported in the Detroit Free Press.

The improvement was attributed to better math and writing scores among low-income students and a new standard under which schools receive credit for high school students who graduate in five years rather than the traditional four, the Free Press reported.

Under the terms of the federal No Child Left Behind act, schools hat fail to make adequate yearly progress are subject to a variety of sanctions, including providing transportation for students to attend a better school.

The number of schools not demonstrating AYP dropped to 528 from 758, the Free Press reported.

The number of schools that have failed to make AYP for at least five years climbed from 154 to 169, the report said. Those schools are designated for restructuring.

SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Michigan releases latest school report cards," Sept. 3, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "The shell game of making AYP,"March 18, 2009

HOME-SCHOOLERS DO WELL ON STANDARD TESTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nation's home-schooled children score, on average, at the 88th percentile on standardized tests in reading, math and language, according to a study commissioned by the Home School Legal Defense Association and conducted by the National Home Education Research Institute.

The study included nearly 12,000 home-schooled students from all 50 states who took the California Achievement Test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Stanford Achievement Test in 2007-2008, according to an opinion piece written by Michael Smith, HSLDA president, which was printed in The Washington Times.

Home-school scores showed little variation by gender or household income, Smith wrote. Boys scored at the 87th percentile and girls at the 88th. Children of parents with household income between $35,000 and $49,000 scored at the 86th percentile, while those in households with income at $70,000 or higher scored at the 89th. 

Smith suggested that the higher scores are due in part to one-on-one instruction in the home-school setting.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 1.5 million children are taught at home, the article said.

SOURCE:
The Washington Times, "Home-Schooling: Outstanding Results on
National Tests," Aug. 30, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Attorney: Home-schoolers must defend parental rights," June 3, 2009

THUMB-AREA SCHOOLS IN MESSA DISPUTE

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The original version of this item contained an error. It now correctly states that Greenville Public Schools is located in Montcalm County.)

HURON COUNTY, Mich. - Dispute continues in Thumb-area schools over a union-affiliated health care plan, according to a report in the Huron Daily Tribune.

The Michigan Education Special Services Association raised rates by an average of 8.5 percent among districts in Huron County, while the statewide average increase was 4.9 percent. Port Hope Community Schools and Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools both will see double-digit increases, according to the Tribune.

MESSA is a third-party insurance administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association. It sells insurance packages underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield to a majority of Michigan school districts.

The Tribune reported that a number of school officials believe MESSA is too expensive and that comparable plans are available at lower costs, while teachers believe MESSA offers the best service and benefits. Saving money on health care will be a focal point during the next round of contract negotiations in many districts, school officials said.

Owendale-Gagetown believes that MESSA made a mistake in counting the number of full-family subscribers in its district, inflating its increase, and the school board passed a resolution in protest, Superintendent Dana Compton told the Tribune.

Meanwhile, in Montcalm County, the Greenville Education Association and Greenville Public Schools reached a contract agreement under which teachers can choose between MESSA and Priority Health plans, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Greenville teachers reach contract agreement that saves district $250,000," Sept. 2, 2009

Huron Daily Tribune, "School officials, union reps don't agree on MESSA," Sept. 1, 2009

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Splitting the health insurance bill," Aug.19, 2009

DEBATE WORKSHOPS RETURN

Should the federal government do more to help poor people?

High school debaters across Michigan will take up that question in the coming year, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy again will sponsor a series of workshops to help them and their coaches prepare.

The exact wording of the National Debate Topic 2009 is: "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the United States."

The workshops will take place in Livonia on Oct. 5; Adrian, Oct. 6; Grand Rapids, Oct. 7; and Traverse City, Oct. 8. Registration is required by Sept. 21.

More information and online registration is available at www.mackinac.org/debate or by contacting Kendra Shrode at 989-631-0900. The Mackinac Center publishes Michigan Education Digest.

SOURCE:
Michigan Education Report, "Poverty is 2009 national debate topic," Sept. 8, 2009

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 Lorie Shane at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

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http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=MED

Michigan Education Daily
Wed., March 17, 2010
"Detroit Public Schools will end up with 100 fewer school buildings than it had in 2006 if a new closure plan is carried out." >>
Tue., March 16, 2010
"Most of the country's public schools would have more freedom under a proposed rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law." >>
Tue., March 16, 2010
"Reading scores improved in all grades, and math scores in most grades, while science and social studies scores dipped slightly on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests taken in fall of 2009." >>
Mon., March 15, 2010
"Some parents who attended a South Redford School District forum recently called on teachers to make wage or benefit concessions as a way to protect school programs." >>
Sun., March 14, 2010
"An ambitious proposal to overhaul Detroit Public Schools ran into opposition Thursday over the issue of dissolving the school board and allowing Mayor Dave Bing to take charge." >>
Sat., March 13, 2010
"At least 14 public school districts in the Muskegon area offer some type of alternative education, either on their own or through a consortium, but the programs are under both budget and academic pressure." >>
Fri., March 12, 2010
"Michigan voters may see a ballot initiative in August asking them to approve a sales tax on services, with the understanding that their approval would also mean education spending reform, the chairman of the House Education Committee said Wednesday." >>
User Comments
verdemont resident
This article is tucked away yet is profoundly correct. Parents are pseudo parenting little objects of consumption. Teens, professionals, working moms like the "idea" of a child but are not in for the long haul and everyone loses.

Schools are enabling parents to do precious little. The time parents spend with their children is the only thing that matters. Bussing needs to be cut, school breakfast, lunch, and afterschool care needs to be stopped. Parents will grow that bond by sacrificing the nails, hair, parties, drugs, quads, vacations, etc. and making a lunch for their child and arrangements to be home when the child is out of school. No one is that poor that they can't provide a boloney sandwich, a baggie of pretzels, an apple, 50 cents for a milk, and two cookies each day.

Please respond!

>>
JackI
Is it true that young ones today are losing interest on these subjects? Obviously, the White House is promoting programs that will help students on coping up with math and science subjects. But, The federal government thinks that the quality of math and science education can repair credit with the scientific community and improve US education with a few <a rev="vote for" title="U.S. Government Spends $250 Million on Science and Math" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Payday-Loans/ ">payday loans</a> of sorts. In reality, it will take far longer to accomplish than they might think – US educators can't even get students to accept that "irregardless" isn't a word, and the difference between their, they're, and there – our students can't even learn their own language! It's a noble aim, to be sure, but throwing money at it may not work in the long run. >>
beggarsall
I am a teacher in the same county who is presently trying to quit the union. Like Caldwell, I strongly disagree with the MEA.

This article was timely.

Rob Olson
Pittsford Area Schools

>>
rickolson
I agree this is a change worth making. I describe some of the uneven effects of the idea on my blog at http://rickolson.blogspot.com/2009/08/statewide-health-insurance-plan-for.html which you may also wish to read.

The devil will be in the details, so this is one we will need to monitor closely.

Rick Olson from Saline, former school Business Manager >>
MichelleO

Nowadays, saving money is very crucial and properly investing the money can keep you and your family away from the effect of the financial crisis. The sad news is that a lot of the options for short term funding have been drying up. Short term funding is a necessary thing to have around, and going through traditional channels such as banks isn't an option for a lot of people anymore – basically it's only open to Ken Lewis. Installment loans are an option, but some people, including senior citizens, have been thinking about raiding their retirement fund. Getting into your pension retirement plan or 401(k) funds is the last thing you want to do if you don't qualify for any withdrawals yet. The penalties are substantial, and you'll end up needing installments loans to pay them if you use retirement funds for <a rev="vote for" title="Installment Loans Reliable Option As 401(k)s are Dwindling" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/17/installment-loans-reliable-option-401ks-dwindling/">short term funding</a>.


>>
QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>
colonelb
Godfrey-Lee on the west side of the state has been running all-day, every-day kindergarten for several years. >>
BenjaminY
We have a problem in Detroit Public School, their system had cash flow problem for years now. And honestly it getting worst in terms in progression with more children leaving to charter their schools almost every year. The state decided to give the Detroit school districts cash advance of $70 million so they would meet the schools expenses, as well as payment for teachers. Robert Bobb, the newly appointed emergency financial manager, requested the funds early in order for him to get the house in order before he had to start panicking. President Obama has been giving out large sums of money for troubled school districts, perhaps that’s where a generous portion of the aid came from. Getting Detroit Public Schools in working order is a worthy cause.

LINK TO READ FOR MORE INFO:
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/10/state-advance-detroit-public-schools-70m/


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colonelb
I am all for school choice and think its great that charters are finally moving forward. However, I'm wondering if the research accounts for a playing field that is not level. I can't take my school buildings and move them anywhere I want, nor can I simply slap up a pole building and make it a school. If anything, public schools need less state regulation and oversight so we can play by the same minimal rules charters do. If you want public schools to compete to improve, remove the barriers to doing so. I will gladly except less funding per pupil if the playing field is level.
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karen
The purpose is to encourage non excercising children to excercise but my daughter's highschool gave her an improper body fat percentage and made my healthy daughter who trains 20 hours a week in tap jazz and ballet believe she was overweaghit instead of a person with muscles.
I believe the public schools do not have the right to make the diagnoses with these kids because they are using one measurement and recording it from their arms that they have a certain percetnage of body fat with one arm caliper test.
Does any one have feed back?
>>