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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
August 30, 2005

Contents of this issue:

  • Detroit school district reaches short-term agreement

  • Lakeview Public Schools drops MESSA

  • New MEAP procedure will begin this fall

  • State report cards for schools released

  • National study highlights funding disparity for charter schools

  • Mackinac Center to award four $1,000 scholarships

DETROIT SCHOOL DISTRICT REACHES SHORT-TERM AGREEMENT
Detroit — The Detroit Federation of Teachers and the Detroit Public Schools came to a one-year contract agreement last Wednesday in what one Detroit Free Press article said would only "delay the pain" of future cuts as the district seeks to close a $200 million budget deficit.

The contract, which calls for teachers to loan the school district five days salary and five days sick leave, increases co-pays for prescriptions, and freezes scheduled pay raises, was unofficially approved at Cobo Center by DFT members last week, according to The Detroit News. The agreement means an on-time start of the school year.

The Free Press reported that William F. Coleman III, interim chief executive officer of DPS, characterized the agreement as "an effort to ensure that school would start as planned." He also suggested the agreement would decrease "the chances that parents would enroll their children in charter schools rather than wait out a strike." The News reported that DPS is facing the possibility of losing 10,000 students this school year, but also that parents of DPS students are happy that school will start on time.

The DPS CEO also told The News that the new contract would satisfy a state-mandated deficit reduction plan because it would lead to $63 million in savings for the district.

David Plank, co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University said of the one-year contract, "It is simply a strategy for postponing the day of reckoning."

The union will officially ratify a new contract through a vote by mail on Sept. 6.

SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Deal with teachers in Detroit defers pain," Aug. 25, 2005
http://www.freep.com/news/education/teacher25e_200508251.htm

The Detroit News, "Short-term fixes avert strike," Aug. 25, 2005,
http://www.detnews.com/2005/schools/0508/25/B01-292684.htm

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Playing Monopoly with Detroit's Kids," July 15, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6688

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Government Encouragement," Feb. 23, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/6988

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "When will conventional public schools be as accountable as charters?" July 7, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6684

LAKEVIEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS DROPS MESSA
Macomb County, Mich. — A new contract for teachers and para-professionals at Lakeview Public Schools in Macomb County replaced insurance offered by the Michigan Education Special Services Association with premium Blue Cross/Blue Shield preferred provider organization coverage, The Macomb Daily reported. MESSA was established by the Michigan Education Association, the largest teachers union in Michigan.

According to The Macomb Daily, contract negotiations between the district and teachers stalled some months ago. In a press release issued on Aug. 11, Superintendent Sandra Feeley-Myrand wrote that, "Over the past year, the sticking point in negotiations both at Lakeview and around the state has been MESSA insurance. With the teachers' union ... demanding that MESSA be continued, and boards seeking other more competitively priced insurance products, conflicts have been inevitable."

The district projects that changing from MESSA-administered health insurance could save the schools $500,000. According to The Daily, the district was faced with imposing a contract after union officials refused to accept the change in insurance administrators. The district's labor attorney, Craig Lange, told the newspaper, "We are not going to be held hostage by MESSA," and school board Trustee Michael Werner added, "Something has to happen for us to stay in business for the next couple of years."

In her press release, Superintendent Feeley-Myrand said, "In this time of tight budgets, when we can provide raises and the absolute best PPO insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield at no cost to the employees, the Board is demonstrating that they value the teachers and staff. ... This plan is better than what most people around the country have today."

SOURCES:
The Macomb Daily, "Lakeview imposes teacher contract," Aug. 11, 2005,
http://macombdaily.com/stories/081105/loc_lakeview001.shtml

Lakeview Public Schools, "Lakeview School Board takes action on contracts," Aug. 11, 2005
http://www.lakeview.misd.net/Board/Press%20Release%20-%20School%20Brd%20Takes%20Action%20on%20Contracts.pdf (PDF file)

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan Education Special Services Association: The MEA's Money Machine," Nov. 1, 1993
http://www.mackinac.org/8

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Why school districts can't save on health care," Jan. 6, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6053

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "4M: The real structural problem," Feb. 16, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/6983

Michigan Education Report, "MESSA: Keeping school districts from saving money on health care," Summer 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6742

NEW MEAP PROCEDURE WILL BEGIN THIS FALL
Lansing, Mich. — The start of this school year marks the beginning of changes to the administration of the Michigan Education Assessment Program. The changes were approved by the state's Board of Education in June 2004 to speed the availability of results, according to Booth Newspapers.

The article highlighted four major modifications to the MEAP: middle and elementary MEAP tests will be administered in the fall so scores can be reported by January; students in grades three through eight will be tested every year in math and English to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act; social studies MEAP tests will be moved from fifth and eighth grade to sixth and ninth grade; and all student answers will be counted and released with general scores so that teachers will be able to tell how individual students performed on particular questions.

Not everyone is satisfied with the changes. Ray Telman, executive director of Middle Cities Education Association, told the newspaper that his group is wary of the change because, "Studies have shown that kids in lower socio-economic families tend to lose more of their knowledge over the summer, and need time to recoup."

Similarly, Teri Moblo of the National Education Association-funded Great Lakes Center on Education Research and Practice, told Booth Newspapers she questions the MEAP on more general grounds: "They can do anything they want to with that MEAP test — they can move it, they can change grades, but as long as high-stakes tests are being used as the sole indicator of student and school success, we're never going to get an accurate picture of how students are achieving."

MEAP's manager for the state Department of Education, Mike Radke, believes the changes will help schools to have information identifying which concepts students are struggling with earlier, rather than at the end, of the school year. "The bottom line is we're trying to help teachers teach and students learn. The assessment is kind of like taking the pulse once a year to see how well we're doing," Radke told Booth Newspapers.

SOURCE:
Booth Newspapers, "MEAP changes raise worries," Aug. 22, 2005
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-6/112431840174990.xml?news/statewide?NE&coll=1

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Which educational achievement test is best for Michigan?" Fall 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4622

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How does the MEAP measure up?" Dec. 18, 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3919

Michigan Education Report, "Markets, not MEAP, best way to measure school quality," Spring 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/2872

STATE REPORT CARDS FOR SCHOOLS RELEASED
Lansing, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Education issued a statement explaining that EducationYES! and Adequate Yearly Progress report cards have been released to the state's elementary, middle and high schools.

According to a statement by the Department of Education, EducationYES! is a "state accreditation system based not only upon student achievement on the Michigan Education Assessment Program tests, but also other school performance indicators, including: curriculum, teacher quality and professional development, school facilities, and family involvement." AYP is a standard of student achievement mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In compliance with federal law, the reports are released in mid-August.

The report cards released "show that while more Michigan schools meet the requirements of the federal law, Michigan's own system of evaluating academic progress has identified more schools in need of improvement," according to the Department of Education.

Data reveal that 88 percent of 3,670 Michigan public schools made AYP for school year 2005, as did 95 percent of Michigan public school districts. However, the number of schools on EducationYES! "D-alert," the lowest letter grade given by the program, increased from 70 in 2004 to 126 in 2005.

Changes in the MEAP test mean that next year's EducationYES! and AYP assessments could provide a more accurate indication of Michigan public school performance than this year's because 910,000 students will be tested in 2005, up from 520,000 in 2004. State Superintendent Michael Flanagan said, "This year we will be testing hundreds of thousands of more children, in more grades, with entirely new tests. And we expect that may have an impact on each school's and each district's AYP status."

SOURCE:
Michigan Department of Education, "State releases school report cards," Aug. 19, 2005
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140--124481--,00.html

FURTHER READING:
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

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "No Cop-out left behind," Mar. 23, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/7010

NATIONAL STUDY HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING DISPARITY FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS
Lansing, Mich. — Last week, Michigan Information and Research Service reported on a press release by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies that heralded the release of a study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on the disparity in funding between charter schools and conventional public schools. The study indicates that charter schools in Michigan receive an average of $1,169 less per pupil than conventional public schools do, while charter schools nationwide receive $1,800 less per student than conventional public schools.

Analyses by the Michigan Department of Education in 2005 and the state Chamber of Commerce in 2003 also demonstrated such a funding disparity.

MIRS reported that, despite receiving less funding, Michigan charter schools "outpaced state average gains in 7 of 10 grades/subjects on the 2005 MEAPs, including a gain in two instances where the state lost ground." The Detroit News reported last fall that charter high school scores were lower than statewide averages, though they were better than average in Michigan's urban districts.

Nonetheless, charter schools have also shown faster improvement rates on state report cards than conventional public schools in the state, Dan Quisenberry, president of Michigan Association of Public School Academies told MIRS. Quisenberry said that, "Michigan charter public schools continue to prove themselves as models of fiscal responsibility and student achievement. ... Parents flock to charters because they nurture and challenge every child while offering programs families have long desired from (conventional) public schools, including high levels of individualized learning."

SOURCES:
MIRS Capitol Capsule, "MAPSA: Study affirms charter schools funding gap," Aug. 23, 2005
http://www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=313#4888 (requires subscription)

The Detroit News, "Progress outpaces public high schools: Charters gain in MEAP scores," Oct. 22, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0410/22/a01-312462.htm

FURTHER READING:
The Education Gadfly, "Making bricks without straw," Aug. 25, 2005
http://www.fordhamfoundation.org/foundation/gadfly/issue.cfm?id=204#2433

Thomas B. Fordham Institute, "Charter School Funding: Inequity's Next Frontier," August 2005
http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/charterfinance/

The Wall Street Journal, "Starving Charters," Aug. 29, 2005
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112527810666625231,00.html?mod=opinion%5Fmain%5Freview%5Fand%5Foutlooks

(requires subscription) Michigan Education Report, "Report: Charter progress outpaces public high schools," Spring 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7037

MACKINAC CENTER TO AWARD FOUR $1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS
High School Teachers: Help one of your students win a $1,000 College Scholarship!* Join the Mackinac Center for Public Policy for our annual High School Debate Workshops. For further details please visit
http://www.mackinac.org/debate, or call (989) 631-0900.

*A $1,000 college scholarship will be awarded to one student from each Debate Workshop. An essay topic will be released the day of the workshop. Essays will be judged by a panel, and authors of the winning essays will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Students must attend the workshop to apply.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper with a circulation of 140,000 published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

Contact Managing Editor Ryan Olson at
med@educationreport.org]

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to:
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx.
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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
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User Comments
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/


>>
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.
>>
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?
>>
deepakp9
Specifically, 81 percent of students in religiously affiliated schools and 82 percent of students in other private schools have parents who report being "very satisfied" with their schools, compared to 55 percent of students in assigned public schools and 63 percent of students in chosen public schools.

High levels of satisfaction among private school parents also extend to opinions about their children's teachers, academic standards of the school, order and discipline at the school, the amount of homework assigned, and interactions with school personnel.

http://fitt.in >>