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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
November 18, 2008

Contents of this issue:

  • Reform slate to challenge DFT
  • Teachers opt to leave MESSA; district could save $1 million
  • Warren teacher quits amid allegations
  • Wyandotte students beat algebra II odds
  • Howell: No pay hike, no outsourcing

REFORM SLATE TO CHALLENGE DFT

DETROIT - Nineteen Detroit Public Schools teachers are running for election to leadership slots in the Detroit Federation of Teachers union on a school reform platform, according to The Detroit News. The teachers want to open their own charter school modeled after the Los Angeles Green Dot Schools, an editorial in The News said.

Teachers Ann Crowley and Ann Turner are leading the effort, called Detroit Children First, the editorial said. Elections will take place Nov. 24-26.

Green Dot Schools is a nonprofit network of unionized charter high schools that The News said are radically different and more effective than Detroit schools, funneling more money to the classroom and using performance, rather than seniority or tenure, to assess teachers.

The News said that Crowley and Turner were turned down by DPS administrators and union leaders when they proposed using Green Dot as a model for Detroit.

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Reform-minded Detroit teachers deserve help," Nov. 17, 2008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "First class or 21st Century? Don't pass up chance to reform Detroit Public Schools," July 14, 2008

TEACHERS OPT TO LEAVE MESSA; DISTRICT COULD SAVE $1 MILLION

GAYLORD, Mich. - Gaylord Community Schools could save $1 million a year after teachers voted to replace the Michigan Education Special Services Association with AmeraPlan as a third-party insurance administrator, the Gaylord Herald Times reported.

The switch is part of a new, three-year contract that also provides teachers a 3 percent annual pay raise, according to the Herald Times.

"This is a precedent-setting contract," school board member Bill O'Neill said, adding that the move will save the district $500,000 to $1 million annually, the Herald Times reported. "We have to give credit to the (GEA) negotiating team."

Superintendent Cheryl Wojtas said the Gaylord Education Association did its own investigation into insurance costs. She told the Herald Times that the new plan is similar to the Blue Cross Blue Shield package that teachers previously received.

MESSA is a third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association that outsources insurance underwriting to Blue Cross, and then resells those plans to a majority of Michigan conventional public school districts.

"There were mutually productive negotiations without having to bring in attorneys from the outside. It was definitely a collaborative effort," Wojtas told the Herald Times, noting that the district also has signed a new contract with transportation employees.

SOURCE:
The Gaylord Herald Times, "Gaylord teachers ratify 3-year pact," Nov. 14, 2008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Health insurance: Reformed, but not resolved," Sept. 16, 2008

WARREN TEACHER QUITS AMID ALLEGATIONS

WARREN, Mich. - A Spanish language teacher quit her job at Michigan Collegiate High School amid allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old male student, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The Free Press reported that a spokeswoman for Michigan Educational Personnel Services, which is the employer for the Warren public charter school, said the teacher was given the choice to go on paid leave during the investigation, but quit instead. The name of the teacher was not released.

The student told school officials about the alleged relationship, according to the Free Press. School officials notified MEPS, which then notified police. Charges had not been filed as of Nov. 11.

The student said the relationship was consensual, the Free Press reported, and did not take place on school grounds.

"We've been working closely with the police since the day we found out," Carlie Lockwood, MEPS spokeswoman, told the Free Press.

SOURCE:
The Detroit Free Press, "Warren teacher quits amid sex scandal with student," Nov. 11, 2008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Zeeland pays teacher to leave," Sept. 30, 2008

WYANDOTTE STUDENTS BEAT ALGEBRA II ODDS

WYANDOTTE, Mich. - Wyandotte Public Schools is attracting attention statewide for its 90 percent pass rate among algebra II students, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Though the graduating class of 2011 - today's sophomores - will be the first group required to take the course statewide, Wyandotte put the requirement in place early, the Free Press reported. It attributes its high pass rate to several factors, but primarily a decision to teach geometry to ninth graders, followed by consecutive years of algebra I and algebra II, giving the students more continuity, the article said.

The district also emphasizes teacher preparation and requires eighth graders to take an algebra course that does not count as high school credit, according to the Free Press.  However, so far the success has not transferred to the Michigan Merit Exam, which less than half of Wyandotte's students passed, the Free Press reported.

"Wyandotte deserves a huge round of applause. They got ahead of the curve," Jim Ballard, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, told the Free Press.

SOURCE:
The Detroit Free Press, "Wyandotte kids beat odds, excel in math," Nov. 13, 2008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "New high school graduation requirements in action," May 6, 2008

HOWELL: NO PAY HIKE, NO OUTSOURCING

HOWELL, Mich. - Howell Public Schools maintenance employees have agreed to no pay raises and increased co-pay for prescription medication in their latest contract, according to The Livingston Community News. The district has said it will not privatize maintenance services for the duration of the three-year agreement.

The school district and the maintenance employees union, which currently consists of nine hourly employees, reached agreement following 16 months of negotiations, the News reported. The new contract is retroactive to July 1, 2007, and runs through July 2010.

In addition, the News reported that the workers will pay back to the district 0.5 percent of their pay for the first year, through payroll deductions. The union, represented by the Michigan Education Association, and the school board ratified the new agreement in separate unanimous votes, the article said.

"These employees recognize what (difficult financial times) we're going through," Lynn Parrish, deputy superintendent for labor relations and personnel, told the school board, according to the News.

SOURCE:
The Livingston Community News, "Contract for Howell Schools' maintenance workers," Nov. 12, 2008

FURTHER READING:
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Survey 2008: School Service Privatization Grows Again," Sept. 8, 2008

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

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=MED

Michigan Education Daily
Wed., September 1, 2010
"An aviation school in Michigan is one example of a new generation of public charter schools designed to serve niche audiences." >>
Tue., August 31, 2010
"A 10-year-old Windsor boy who completed part of his education in Michigan is being denied entry to public high school in Windsor even though he's completed the eighth-grade curriculum." >>
Mon., August 30, 2010
"Principal John Hoving is using Facebook as a way to promote Bay City All Saints Central School as well as to head off possible cyber bullying." >>
Sun., August 29, 2010
"Royal Oak Public Schools students will be featured in an Oct. 12 episode of MTV's "If You Really Knew Me," a cable television program that the producer describes as "students trying to be accepted for who they are."" >>
Sat., August 28, 2010
"Public schools in Michigan were offered an automatic "A" on part of their annual state report card this year, a one-time arrangement that may have spared some from being unaccredited." >>
Fri., August 27, 2010
"More than 1,000 teacher retirements will allow Detroit Public Schools to recall all teachers from layoff and hire up to 300 more to fill staffing gaps." >>
Thu., August 26, 2010
"Inland Lakes Schools is considering hiring a private firm to provide custodial services as a way to save money, but a union representative says that new federal funding makes such a move unnecessary." >>
User Comments
carol peterson
education is an all around development for a child
he should be mentally and physically strong


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carol peterson
education is an all around development for a child
he should be mentally and physically strong >>
johnstfu
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Aarowman
Public servants like Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Secretaries of Various Departments and the like should be first to be compensated for performance.
The idea that the playing field for students is level everywhere is as Quixotic as thinking all politicians are honest and competent.
There are neighborhoods where only Portugese or gang sign language is spoken, where the parents both work two jobs to pay rent, where getting to school and back is more dangerous than Iraq and Afghanastan.
This Secretary of Education has to remove the silver spoon, roll up his sleeves and take his superior intellect attitude into the trenches and show the poor slobs that are taking their teachers jobs for granted how he would do it. Just because his mommy used to help out in Chicago doesn't give him the Congression Medal of Honor. Actually he's a stuffed shirt pretending to know it all.
How much do you want to bet that he wouldn't attempt entering these neighborhoods let alone these schools without security. >>
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

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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>.


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QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>