Contents of this issue:
- Grand Rapids business leaders want new charter school
- Some question effectiveness of advanced teacher certification
- Public school teacher accused of standing on student
- Saginaw county schools face competition from new charter
- Flushing teacher sentenced for bugging colleague's classroom
- Comment and win book money
GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS LEADERS WANT NEW CHARTER SCHOOL
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A group of business leaders has applied to
Grand Valley State University for a new charter school, modeled
after the University Preparatory Academy in Detroit, according to
The Grand Rapids Press.
CEO Partnership for Urban Education, a group consisting of
Alticor President Doug DeVos, Alticor Chairman Steve Van Andel,
Steelcase CEO James Hackett, and other business leaders, has
discussed chartering a school with both Grand Rapids Public
Schools and with GVSU. GRPS Superintendent Bernard Taylor was
unaware that the CEO organization filed an application with Grand
Valley, but said he wasn't ready to commit to a plan for a
charter school, The Press reported.
GVSU will decide within six months if it will approve the
application; the school currently has 31 applications for two
available schools. The plan for the schools is one of four that
has made the initial cut by the university, according to The
Press. The state of Michigan arbitrarily limits the number of
charter schools that public universities can authorize to 150.
The school would start by offering education to approximately 64
students in the 6th grade and then add on a grade each year,
until it offers grades 6-12, according to The Press.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Businessmen push for charter school in
GR," July 20, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-37/1184933117235060.xml&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Should Michigan lift the cap on
charter public schools? Yes," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8043
Michigan Education Report, "Detroit Mayor calls for more charter,
private schools," May 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8485
SOME QUESTION EFFECTIVENESS OF ADVANCED TEACHER CERTIFICATION
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A paper for a 2003 White House teacher
preparation conference, written by Grover Whitehurst, claims that
the value of continuing education for teachers is unclear,
according to The Kalamazoo Gazette.
"The bulk of evidence ... is that there are no differential gains
across classes taught by teachers with a master's degree or other
advanced degree in education compared to classes taught by
teachers who lack such degrees," Whitehurst, the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of
Education, wrote in his paper, according to The Gazette.
Whitehurst says this is because pay scale increases are tied to
the number of additional credits taken, and teachers look for the
easiest ways to accumulate them. He also suggests the quality of
continuing education courses are uneven because many universities
use the courses to increase revenue, without paying attention to
quality of instruction, The Gazette reported.
Some think the most successful advanced teacher courses are those
that are very specialized.
"The best programs, in my mind, are developed in collaboration
between districts and universities and are designed to address
specific needs," Joseph Kretovics, an education professor at
Western Michigan University, told The Gazette. "(Effective
professional development) needs to address the work that teachers
are doing and will be doing ... Just to take 18 credits willy-nilly
- why bother?"
Plainwell Community Schools Superintendent Sue Wakefield, as well
as Eric Palmu, superintendent for Galesburg-Augusta Schools, say
they would prefer merit-based raises over those based on
credentials.
"We've gotten into a rut because it's easy and it's measurable,"
Palmu told The Gazette. "It's a serious error in our judgment. ...
Credentials don't translate into better teachers — or
administrators, for that matter. But making that paradigm shift
to a merit-based system is going to take a huge change in
thinking."
SOURCE:
The Kalamazoo Gazette, "Does advanced teacher certification mean
better teaching?" July 22, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1185078014232600.xml&coll=7
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Michigan lags behind some states:
alternative teacher certification," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8017
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Does Teacher Certification
Matter?" Sept. 14, 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6831
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF STANDING ON STUDENT
FREMONT, Mich. — A Fremont Middle School math teacher is charged
with assault and battery for allegedly standing on top of a 12-year-old boy after he refused to get off the floor of a
classroom, police said, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
Robert Kosztowny, 56, who has been teaching math for 28 years in
Fremont, was arraigned earlier this month and released on bond.
If he is found guilty he may face up to 90 days in jail,
according to The Press.
Superintendent John Kingsnorth told The Press that Kosztowny
admitted to placing a foot on the student.
"If he just put his foot on the child, that's one thing,"
Kinsnorth said. "If he stepped with his full weight, that's
another."
The boy's mother contacted police three days after the incident
and reported to police that her son was sore the day after.
According to the student, Kosztowny stood on him after the boy
followed a friend who was assigned to sit in the corner of the
classroom.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Police: Boy claims Fremont middle school
teacher stood on him," July 20, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-45/1184950168219960.xml&
storylist=newsmichigan
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Parents Still Have an Option
to Check Kids' Safety," Feb. 2, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7574
Michigan Education Digest, "Some convicted felons still working
in schools," July 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7807
SAGINAW COUNTY SCHOOLS FACE COMPETITION FROM NEW CHARTER
SAGINAW, Mich. — The International Academy of Saginaw, a new
charter school, has been actively recruiting students from the
Saginaw and Buena Vista school districts, according to The
Saginaw News.
The academy is managed by SABIS Educational Systems Inc., a
company based in Eden Prairie, Minn., and anticipates sending
mailings to 15,000 families and is advertising on two radio
stations, The News reported.
"They target those communities; it happens all the time," Mary T.
Wood, director of Michigan Alliance for Charter School Reform,
told The News. "They're going after dissatisfied parents, the
ones looking for an alternative."
Saginaw Schools have created options within their district for
parents, including two schools for gifted students, themed
schools, and single-gender classes. The district also plans to
respond to the International Academy's marketing plan by creating
its own door-to-door campaign, The News reported.
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Schools face competition," July 17, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1184680223146320.xml&coll=9
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Saginaw school district struggles to
keep students," July 3, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8756
Michigan Education Report, "Advertising for students: Schools use
radio, TV, billboards to lure 'customers,'" May 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8499
Michigan Education Digest, "Ypsilanti schools compete for Ann
Arbor students," Jan. 16, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8174
FLUSHING TEACHER SENTENCED FOR BUGGING COLLEAGUE'S CLASSROOM
FLUSHING, Mich. — A Flushing Community Schools middle school math
teacher has pleaded no contest to charges of trespassing for
eavesdropping, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Anne M. Harvey, 44, has worked for the Flushing Community Schools
for 10 years and was placed on leave after a bugging device was
found. Authorities said that Harvey placed a listening device on
the back of another educator's chair after her daughter
complained of problems with that teacher, the Journal reported.
Harvey was sentenced to six months of probation, 75 hours of
community service and fined $250, according to The Journal.
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, "Flushing teacher pleads no contest in
bugging colleagues classroom," July 20, 2007
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070720/NEWS01/707200357
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Fifth-grade teacher charged with drug
dealing," Jan. 20, 2004
https://www.educationreport.org/6093
COMMENT AND WIN BOOK MONEY
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post
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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
(
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan
research and educational institute.
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