Contents of this issue:
Hartland teachers willing to sacrifice jobs for insurance
Eligibility questions in Kalamazoo Promise
Trimesters gaining popularity
Bay City teachers take pay freeze, cheaper MESSA
Michigan to be pilot state for Arabic studies
State wants colleges to better prepare teachers
Hillsdale offering free teacher seminar
HARTLAND TEACHERS WILLING TO SACRIFICE JOBS FOR INSURANCE
HARTLAND, Mich. — Teachers in the Hartland Consolidated Schools
are unwilling to renegotiate their health insurance plan, a
decision that could lead to teacher layoffs and privatization of
custodians, according to the Daily Press & Argus.
The district asked the teachers union to open its contract and
change health insurance plans from the Michigan Education Special
Services Association to a Blue Cross package, the Press & Argus
reported. MESSA is a third-party insurance administrator
affiliated with the Michigan Education Association.
Assistant Superintendent Scott Bacon said if the union were to
cooperate, costs would be lowered enough so that the jobs of
custodians could be kept in the district, according to the
newspaper. Privatizing janitorial services and eliminating 29
custodian jobs would cut costs by $500,000, the Press & Argus
reported.
Teachers last year did agree to open their contract and switched
from MESSA Supercare I to MESSA Choices II, cutting costs by
$600,000, the Press & Argus reported. Teachers in the Pinckney
schools, the newspaper pointed out, abandoned MESSA Choices II in
January, opting for the Blue Cross Flexible Blue, saving the
district $800,000.
As many as 14 Hartland teachers also could lose their jobs if a
$1.5 million budget deficit is not eliminated, according to the
Press & Argus.
John Denzer, president of the Hartland teachers union, told the
newspaper the teachers are not responsible for the situation. The
newspaper said Marty Devitt, president of the maintenance and
custodial union, could not be reached for comment.
SOURCE:
Daily Press & Argus, "Teachers balk at renegotiation talk,"
April 9, 2006
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS01/604090329/1002
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Contract Out School Services
Before Laying Off Teachers," Nov. 20, 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5948
Michigan Education Digest, "Pinckney teachers voluntarily abandon
MESSA," Feb. 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7585
ELIGIBILITY QUESTIONS IN KALAMAZOO PROMISE
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — About a third of the graduating seniors in the
Kalamazoo Public Schools do not meet eligibility requirements for
a college scholarship fund established last fall, according to
the Kalamazoo Gazette.
The "Kalamazoo Promise," announced last November and funded by
private donations, will pay up to 100 percent of tuition for KPS
students enrolled since kindergarten, the Gazette reported.
Students who enrolled after kindergarten, but before ninth grade,
qualify for 65 percent. Eligible students must reside in the
district.
About 200 of 450 seniors do not qualify, the Gazette reported.
The residency status of another 100 students remains unknown.
"We're not going to be looking at a lot of appeals," Robert
Jorth, executive director of The Promise, said during a meeting
with parents, the Gazette reported. "We're going to be pretty
firm on the requirements."
Jorth did say, however, that the donors changed one eligibility
requirement, so students will not have to go directly from high
school to college to qualify.
"The donors want as many students to go to college as possible,
and they recognize some students may need to work to earn money
for expenses, such as room and board," Jorth said, according to
the Gazette.
Scholarship offers will still expire after four years for each
graduating class, the Gazette reported. Students who delay
entering college or take a break during college will receive
fewer years of funding.
SOURCE:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Kalamazoo Promise eligibility clarified,"
April 3, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/114381662140120.xml?kzgazette?HTCN&coll=7
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "K-Promise: A whole new environment
for Kalamazoo," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7624
Michigan Education Digest, "Charters, independent schools not
worried about K-Promise," Nov. 29, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7448
TRIMESTERS GAINING POPULARITY
MUSKEGON, Mich. — Several high schools in West Michigan have
switched to or are considering a trimester system, according to
The Muskegon Chronicle.
"I think it's a very educationally sound way to reset our class
schedules," Holton schools Superintendent John Fazer told The
Chronicle. "(Students) take a fewer number of classes in a day
for a longer period, which allows different instruction to take
place — for teachers to use a lot of different learning methods
to address the learning styles."
Holton and Orchard View will switch next year, joining Muskegon
Heights, Spring Lake and Newaygo County schools, according to The
Chronicle.
Holton students, for example, will take five classes that are 71
minutes each, compared to the current seven classes that last 51
minutes each, The Chronicle reported. The trimesters will run 12
weeks, replacing two 18-week semesters.
Some see the change as an effective way to adapt to new high
school graduation requirements imposed by the state, The
Chronicle reported.
Troycie Nichols, Holton High School principal, said the change
should reduce behavior problems in hallways since students will
change classes less often, The Chronicle reported. Nichols also
said taking fewer classes at a time should allow students to
focus on what they are studying.
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Educators support trimester concept,"
April 5, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1144248375325240.xml?muchronicle?NEM&coll=8
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Legislature approves four-day school
week," June 17, 2003
http://www.educationreport.org/5449
BAY CITY TEACHERS TAKE PAY FREEZE, CHEAPER MESSA
BAY CITY, Mich. — Teachers in the Bay City Public Schools have
agreed to a one-year pay freeze and a less costly health
insurance plan, according to The Bay City Times.
The contract runs from June 2006 until June 2007 and was approved
374-64 by the local union, The Times reported. The changes will
reduce costs by about $2.4 million.
The insurance change will move teachers from the Michigan
Education Special Services Association's Supercare I to Choices
II, The Times reported. MESSA is a third-party insurance
administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association.
The Supercare I plan costs the district about $14,000 per teacher
per year, while the Choices II plan will cost about $12,500 a
year per teacher. Those who want to keep the more expensive MESSA
plan can pay a difference of between $90 and $160 a month,
according to The Times.
Further budget cuts including layoffs and building closures, The
Times reported, as the district addresses a $7.4 million deficit.
SOURCE:
The Bay City Times, "Bay City teachers agree to one-year pay
freeze," April 11, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1144768548320880.xml&coll=4
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Bay City schools could save $4
million with insurance change," Feb. 21, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7597
Michigan Education Digest, "Bay City to close schools, cut
staff," March 21, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7653
Michigan Education Report, "School districts wrestle high health
care costs," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7611
MICHIGAN TO BE PILOT STATE FOR ARABIC STUDIES
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan could get several million dollars from
the federal government to teach Arabic in schools over the next
decade and a half, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Called the "National Strategic Learning Initiative," the program
would be run through the U.S. Department of Defense's national
security education program. President Bush plans to ask Congress
for $114 million to pay for it, of which Michigan would receive
$700,000 a year for 16 years.
The Center for Language Education at Michigan State University
will help determine specifics, such as where the Arabic classes
would be taught, how many students would be taught and how the
grant money would be awarded, the Free Press reported. If the
money is made available, the pilot will begin at the elementary
school level in at least two Michigan school districts.
"Parents need to advocate for their school systems to do this,"
Robert Slater of the DOD told the Free Press. Slater added that
the program will have the best chance of succeeding if it's done
in cities where the language being taught is already spoken by
people.
The broader language initiative also will include teaching
students Mandarin, Hindi and Farsi at schools across the country,
the Free Press said.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Embracing Arabic: State to get language
grant," April 4, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060404/NEWS05/604040601/-1/BUSINESS07
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Foreign Language Follies,"
Nov. 1, 1996
http://www.mackinac.org/5213
Michigan Education Digest, "School administrators question
graduation requirements," Jan. 31, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7570
STATE WANTS COLLEGES TO BETTER PREPARE TEACHERS
LANSING, Mich. — State Superintendent Mike Flanagan says the
colleges producing Michigan's school teachers need to do a better
job, according to The Detroit News.
More than 20 percent of teacher candidates from five Michigan
colleges failed state certification tests on their first try
between October 2001 and July 2004, The News reported. The
colleges are University of Detroit, Olivet College, Rochester
College, Sienna Heights University and Wayne State University.
Flanagan said a process will be in place by June to evaluate
schools of education and what they do to prepare future teachers.
"It's not going to be automatic anymore," Flanagan told a group
of superintendents, according to The News. "We are saying, 'Step
up to it. You are going to be part of the solution or you won't
get renewed.'"
Colleges could lose their ability to certify teachers if too many
graduates are found to be teaching in failing public schools or
if too many fail certification tests, The News reported.
A review system has been in place since the early 1990s, The News
reported, but focused mainly on course content. A new system,
most likely conducted every five years, would focus on
performance.
"There is no intrinsic motivation to fix the problems," Flanagan
told The News. "We want to give them the motivation to fix those
problems."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "State warns colleges: Prep teachers better,"
April 16, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060416/SCHOOLS/604160392/1026
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Declining Standards at
Michigan Universities," Nov. 1, 1996
http://www.mackinac.org/236
Michigan Education Digest, "Study concludes teachers who leave
cost state millions," Aug. 23, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/7321
HILLSDALE OFFERING FREE SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Economics, social studies, civics and history
teachers are invited to participate in a free summer seminar July
16-22 as part of "The Gillette Company Economics for Leaders
Program."
The seminar takes place on the campus of Hillsdale College and
will be led by Gary Wolfram, Munson Professor of Political
Economy at the school. The program is based on the National
Voluntary Standards in Economic Education.
Room and board is free, and each participant will receive a $150
stipend. Credit hours are available, and three SBCEUs are free of
charge for Michigan public school teachers.
Visit
www.fte.org/teachers/programs for more
information, or call (800) 383-4335.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Contact Managing Editor Ted O'Neil at
mailto:med@educationreport.org
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