Contents of this issue:
- Gov. Granholm vetoes funding for ISD investigation
- President Bush on road tour to defend "No Child Left Behind"
- Districts refusing to participate in Schools of Choice hinder
reform
- Minnesota charter schools reach 10,000-student landmark
- COMMENTARY: Data show Michigan charter schools are successful
- EDITORIAL: Inflated data hinder education reform
- Kilpatrick pushes vote on how Detroit schools will be run
- COMMENTARY: Students' safety more important than privacy
GOV. GRANHOLM VETOES FUNDING FOR ISD INVESTIGATION
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm late last month denied
extra funding to the state Attorney General's office to help a
state investigation of fraud allegations at several intermediate
school districts.
Granholm denied that her decision will hinder the investigation,
and that the current state budget does not allow for extra
expenditures. "The investigation that the money is requested for
is part of the responsibility of the Attorney General's Office,"
said Liz Boyd, Granholm's spokeswoman. "It should be carried out
in the normal part of their budget operation. No additional money
should be appropriated."
Officials from the office of the Attorney General say they are
already spread as thin as possible due to the recent layoff of
four attorneys. "You can't expect the Attorney General's Office
to investigate and prosecute without the resources," said State
Rep. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly. "What this is saying is that it's OK
[for ISDs] to take money away from our kids."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Governor vetoes funds for school
investigation," Dec. 24, 2003
http://www.freep.com/news/education/ois24_20031224.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Eliminate Intermediate School
Districts," August 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5678
Michigan Education Report, "What Are Intermediate School
Districts?" Winter 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/2709
PRESIDENT BUSH ON ROAD TOUR TO DEFEND "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to critical speeches by Democratic
Party presidential candidates, President George Bush held a
roundtable discussion at a St. Louis elementary school yesterday
to defend the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2002.
The president will hold a similar discussion at a Tennessee
elementary school this Thursday, the second anniversary of the
signing of the bill. Bush and other Republicans say the new law
is a success and brings needed reforms to schools around the
country. But critics, including this year's Democrat candidates,
say not enough money has been appropriated to cover the reforms
required by the law.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is among those who think the new
mandated are underfunded. "Parents and communities are fighting
every day for better schools with high standards for their
children, and they expect the federal government to do its part."
SOURCES:
USA Today, "President takes to the road to promote education
initiative," Jan. 5, 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-01-05-bush_x.htm
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4846
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4082
DISTRICTS REFUSING TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOLS OF CHOICE HINDER
REFORM
WELDON, N.C. — Federal law under the "No Child Left Behind" Act
allows children in failing schools to transfer to schools in
adjacent districts at no charge to them. But entrenched local
opposition to school choice is hindering the reform.
The Detroit News highlighted one example, in which the parent of
two daughters that attend a school deemed "failing" under the Act
attempted to transfer his children to an adjacent, well-performing district under the "No Child Left Behind" rules.
However, the adjacent district refused admittance to the
children, saying the move would "create an administrative
nightmare," according to Roanoke Rapids school Superintendent
John Parker.
The adjacent districts have forever been at odds due to racial
segregation, and neither wants to participate in the Schools of
Choice program mandated by the new federal law. "It's a bit too
late for No Child Left Behind," former teacher Helen Brown said
of the children in failing schools. "These kids have already been
left behind."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Resistance derails schools of choice,"
Dec. 24, 2003
http://www.detnews.com/2003/schools/0312/24/a08n-17403.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/2962
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling," January 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3236
MINNESOTA CHARTER SCHOOLS REACH 10,000-STUDENT LANDMARK
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After 10 years of charter school success,
the state of Minnesota has announced that its charters now
educate over 10,000 students, a landmark number that may double
in half that time.
In addition to the record number of charter students, the state
education department has approved, for the second year in a row,
a record number of charter schools to be opened. Minnesota's
total next fall will be over 100 schools with an enrollment of
15,000, compared to 840,000 students enrolled in traditional
education programs.
Public school advocacy groups do not support the charter school
movement, but public appreciation and confidence in the schools
has been gaining since the first school opened in the state 10
years ago. "They are realizing that the charter school movement
is here to stay and that it's not going away," said Patty
Brostrom, president of Minnesota's statewide charter school group
and deputy superintendent of Minnesota Transitions Charter
School.
SOURCES:
Pioneer Press, "EDUCATION: Charter schools mark a record,"
Dec. 29, 2003
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/education/
7587282.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/2962
COMMENTARY: DATA SHOW MICHIGAN CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE SUCCESSFUL
DETROIT, Mich. — A Sunday commentary published in the Detroit
News says that Michigan's charter schools not only perform well
but also enhance the students' ability to learn.
The article's author, Daniel Quisenberry, president of the
Michigan Association of Public School Academies, told of teacher
Kim Nelson and her efforts to help students learn; efforts that
won for Nelson the title of 2003 Michigan charter school Teacher
of the Year. "She portrays the heart and soul of Michigan's
charter public schools — why they were created, what they strive
to do and why parents flock to them," writes Quisenberry.
Even though charter schools are attacked by many who are
intimidated by change, says Quisenberry, "The truth is that these
often-small schools are creating the environments and offering
the programs that do, indeed, foster academic and personal
success." Quisenberry pointed out that in the past year charters
showed greater gains in improvement of student achievement than
traditional schools.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Michigan charter schools successful," Jan. 4, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0401/05/a16-25337.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/2962
EDITORIAL: INFLATED DATA HINDER EDUCATION REFORM
DETROIT, Mich. — A Detroit News editorial last week scolded
Michigan and other states for over-reporting state graduation
rates to federal agencies.
According to the paper's editors, the practice is not only
dishonest, but it "does neither the educators nor students any
good to pretend that students have graduated when they haven't."
Kevin Carey, an analyst for the Education Trust, was quoted as
saying, "Many states are severely underreporting the number of
students who are not successfully graduating from high school,
and this undermines their ability to address the problem."
According to the News, the state of Michigan reported a
graduation rate of 86 percent, while the actual rate was closer
to 73 percent. Even an 86 percent graduation rate is dismal, says
the News, because nearly 15 percent of high school students are
still not educated enough to enter the workforce, hindering
Michigan's economy. "If 15 or 25 percent of Michigan's students
aren't getting a diploma, the state risks losing one of its
important pitches to new business — that it has an educated work
force," wrote the News.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Honest Data Remains the Key to Reforming Public
Education," Dec. 29, 2003
http://www.detnews.com/2003/editorial/0312/29/a08-20326.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Graduation Rates an Imperfect
Measure of School Excellence," January 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/3932
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Cost of Remedial
Education," August 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/3025
KILPATRICK PUSHES VOTE ON HOW DETROIT SCHOOLS WILL BE RUN
DETROIT, Mich. — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will campaign
this week for a March 16 election date to change or end state-mandated reforms instated in 1999 by former Gov. John Engler.
The election would allow Detroit residents to determine whether
the school district should revert to a normal, elected school
board or create a system where the city's mayor is allowed to
hire and fire the school system's chief executive officer.
The proposal is stuck in Lansing because many legislators do not
support Kilpatrick's plan to give the mayor such broad power, and
would allow the district's management to be altered at will.
"That's what sends kids to another district," Carol Summers,
president of the Detroit Council PTA-PTSA, told the Detroit News.
"(Parents) would rather not be bothered."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Kilpatrick pushes school vote," Dec. 29, 2003
http://www.detnews.com/2003/schools/0312/29/b01-20684.htm
Michigan Education Report, "Compromise Gives Archer Control of
Detroit Schools," Spring 1999
http://www.mackinac.org/1678
COMMENTARY: STUDENTS' SAFETY MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRIVACY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — America's legal system has developed a concept
of "students' rights" that is doing damage to the overall safety
and efficacy of U.S. schools, writes Richard Arum in a Washington
Post op-ed.
The maze of laws and bureaucracy in the U.S. legal system is to
blame for "increased disorder and violence in our schools,"
writes Arum. "The courts have created a complex set of
requirements, including increased reporting, that have made well-meaning teachers and administrators reluctant to respond to and
control student violence and misbehavior in ways the public would
support."
Because of increased efforts by trial lawyers to expand
"students' rights," it is impossible to reprimand dangerous
students or protect those in danger due to fear of litigation. To
resolve the problem, "Courts should consider strictly limiting
due process protections solely to cases involving major penalties
or students' First Amendment rights."
SOURCE:
Washington Post, "For Their Own Good: Limit Students' Rights,"
Dec. 29, 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A37186-2003Dec28
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
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http://www.mackinac.org), a private,
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Contact Managing Editor Neil Block at
med@educationreport.org.
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