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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
December 18, 2007

Contents of this issue:
  • Charter school enrollment breaks 100,000
  • Warren schools use radio ads to attract students
  • Brighton teachers' union discusses illegal strike
  • Public school enrollment drops 25,000; state could save $75M
  • DPS put on notice for failing to meet NCLB requirements
  • Comment and win an iPod
NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS
Michigan Education Digest will not be distributed Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007, or Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008.

The first issue of 2008 will be released Jan. 8.

CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT BREAKS 100,000
LANSING, Mich. — Enrollment in Michigan's charter public schools has topped 100,000 for the first time since the charter school law was passed 13 years ago, according to The Detroit News.

Official numbers from the state Department of Education have not been released, but a survey of the state's 230 charter public schools by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies found an enrollment increase from 99,124 in 2006-2007 to 100,146 this year. The report also states that more than 10,000 students are on waiting lists for charter public schools throughout the state.

Enrollment at 79 charter public schools in the Detroit area increased by 2,122, causing some to argue that these public schools draw funding away from conventional schools, The News reported.

"Charters are OK if they're fulfilling their mission to educate children, but too many of these schools continue to draw funds away from neighborhood schools without meeting the same standards or having the same successes," Michigan Education Association Director of Communications Doug Pratt told The News. Charter public school supporters note the schools' ability to do more with less. The MAPSA survey said that charter public schools average $2,289 less per pupil in state aid than the districts in which they are located and $923 less than the statewide per-pupil allowance, according to The News.

"Not all children are the same, and parents like that each of these schools has an individual approach, whether it be performing arts, or a particular method of learning," Daniel Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, told The News.

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Charter enrollment up," Dec. 12, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/SCHOOLS/712120369

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Charter Schools: 13 years and Still Growing," May 3, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7087

WARREN SCHOOLS USE RADIO ADS TO ATTRACT STUDENTS
WARREN, Mich. — The Warren Consolidated School District is purchasing radio ads to advertise its schools of choice registration window in hopes of attracting more students next semester, according to The Detroit News.

Last year, 236 students left the district, taking with them about $2.25 million in state aid. Because part of the blended student enrollment number used for funding comes from a count day in February, a campaign to attract students is helpful, The News reported.

"The program was set up to help families where if you have a student in a failing school, you should be able to get them out," Wyman Lare, the district's director of pupil/personnel services, told The News. "But in reality, it has created this competition. We have school districts to the south, east and north of us — all of which would be happy to take students away from us."

Other districts, however, have embraced the competition of the schools of choice program.

"In my professional opinion, it's a situation that has forced us to act more business-like," Warren Woods Superintendent Robert Livernois told The News.

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Fight for students reaches airwaves," Dec. 12, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/SCHOOLS/712120409/1026

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Foundation Allowance: General Education," May 31, 2007
http://www.educationreport.org/8628

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Conclusion: Competition Is Improving Public Schools for Michigan Children," in "The Impact of Limited School Choice on Public School Districts," July 24, 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/2979

BRIGHTON TEACHERS' UNION DISCUSSES ILLEGAL STRIKE
BRIGHTON, Mich. — The Brighton teachers' union may plan an illegal strike after going three months without a contract, according to The Detroit News.

The union has filed an application with the Michigan Education Association for permission to strike, despite the fact it is illegal under Michigan law for teachers to strike, The News reported. The MEA has a $10 million fund to cover legal costs associated with illegal strikes, according to The News.

"We'll use it as a last resort if we really can't get a decent or fair contract any other way," Barry Goode, president of the teachers' union, told The News.

School board Vice President Bill Anderson told The News that striking teachers could lose their jobs.

Brighton Area Schools has been on the MEA's high priority list since October. The 400 teachers have been working under a contract that expired Sept. 1, while the district's service employees' contract expired in June 2006. Teachers recently held a sit-down during contract negotiations. There have also been a sick-out and week-long teacher demonstrations. Anderson said he thinks the issue will be resolved before more extreme measures are taken.

"I think that's within reach," Anderson told The News. "I think that we're closer to settling a contract than we are closer to seeing them strike."

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Brighton teachers prep to strike over lack of contract," Dec. 13, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/METRO04/712130340/1026/rss06

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Teacher's Strikes, Court Orders and Michigan Law," Sept. 11, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7922

PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT DROPS 25,000; STATE COULD SAVE $75M
LANSING, Mich. — A drop in public school enrollment of about 25,000 students will save the state budget $75 million, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The state has seen enrollment drops for five consecutive years, with total conventional and charter public school enrollment at its lowest since 1994-1995. This is also the longest sustained student loss since public school enrollment fell more than 350,000 students from 1977 through 1986. Experts cite the suffering economy and a decrease in birthrates as reasons for such a drop. According to Kenneth Darga, state demographer, there will be 17 percent fewer students entering kindergarten in 2011 than in 1990, the Free Press reported.

Some parents have decided to take their children from public schools and enroll them in independent ones. Ann Hill, of Grand Blanc, moved her 6-year-old daughter to a Catholic school for first grade because she was concerned about decreased funding for public schools and increasing class sizes.

"We're Catholic, and there are things that the Catholic schools can offer that we appreciated," Hill told the Free Press.

SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "State loses 25,000 public school kids," Dec. 14, 2007
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/NEWS01/712140393/1001/NEWS

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Pupil Counts," in "A Michigan School Finance Primer," May 30, 2007
http://www.educationreport.org/8579

DPS PUT ON NOTICE FOR FAILING TO MEET NCLB REQUIREMENTS
DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools has failed to meet the requirements of federal law because it did not give students in high-poverty and underperforming schools the option to transfer to another school or receive free tutoring services, according to The Detroit News.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools with a large number of students in high-poverty living conditions that also fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years are required to allow students to transfer to another school and pay for transportation. If schools still fail to improve, they are required to offer free tutoring to low-income students, The News reported.

Some of the specific issues of non-compliance for the 2006-2007 school year include: not giving adequate time for students to transfer or receive tutoring, not giving enough registration time to ensure that all interested parents could take advantage of transferring or tutoring and the biased promotion of certain tutoring service providers, according to The News.

The specifics of non-compliance for the 2007-2008 school year include: failing to send out notifications to parents identifying the schools' AYP status, notifications about the right to transfer were sent later than the first day of school and parents did not receive the minimum of 30 days to enroll their children in tutoring, The News reported.

Sharon Kelso, a Detroit resident with a granddaughter enrolled in DPS, told The News that she received a packet of information from the district about the right to transfer to another school on Nov. 29, and said the deadline for taking advantage of the option was Dec. 1, according to The News.

If the district fails to take corrective action, it may face financial penalties from the state, The News reported.

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "State puts Detroit schools on notice," Dec. 14, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/SCHOOLS/712140366

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "NCLB Falls Short of Helping Parents," Aug. 24, 2007
http://www.mackinac.org/8960

COMMENT AND WIN AN IPOD
MIDLAND, Mich. — Go to http://forum.educationreport.org and post a comment for a chance to win one of three iPods.

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

Contact Managing Editor Sarah Grether at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=MED
Related Topics: Education
Michigan Education Daily
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." >>
Thu., March 11, 2010
"All Flint Community Schools administrators, including members of the superintendent's cabinet, are likely to receive layoff notices this spring, though the majority could be back next year." >>
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 >>