REFORM tied to the DOLLARS! (MAKES CENTS)

Obama Says Public Schools Must Improve

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 11, 2009; A01

President Obama sharply criticized the nation's public schools yesterday, calling for changes that would reward good teachers and replace bad ones, increase spending, and establish uniform academic achievement standards in American education.

In a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Obama called on teachers unions, state officials and parents to end the "relative decline of American education," which he said "is untenable for our economy, unsustainable for our democracy and unacceptable for our children." The speech, delivered in a venue meant to underscore the changing demographics of the nation's public education system and its long-term priorities, sought to bring a bipartisan approach to education reform by spreading blame across party lines for recent failures.

"For decades, Washington has been trapped in the same stale debates that have paralyzed progress and perpetuated our educational decline," Obama said. "Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay, even though it can make a difference in the classroom. Too many in the Republican Party have opposed new investments in early education, despite compelling evidence of its importance."

Obama's speech, his first as president devoted to education, struck a tone of urgency at a time when public education is slated to receive about $100 billion in new federal money under the recently passed economic stimulus package. The money may give Obama and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, more influence in reshaping a public education system traditionally guided by state governments and local school districts.

"The resources come with a bow tied around them that says 'Reform,' " Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, said in a telephone interview. "Our basic premise is that the status quo and political constituencies can no longer determine how we proceed on public education reform in this country."

Although Obama proposed many of the ideas on the campaign trail, he used the speech to link those prescriptions to the future success of the ailing U.S. economy. He encouraged experimentation in the public school system, including proposals to extend the school day -- to bring the United States in line with some Asian countries whose students are scoring higher on tests -- and to eliminate limits on the number of charter schools.

"A number of these things are simply encouragements to the states on matters that the federal government has little authority over," said Jack Jennings, president of the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy. "But with this stimulus money comes the ability to talk more about these issues. And that is very powerful in itself."

The president signaled a willingness to take on influential Democratic constituencies, including teachers unions, which have been skeptical of merit-pay proposals. He said he intends to treat teachers "like the professionals they are while also holding them more accountable."

Good teachers will receive pay raises if students succeed, Obama said, and will "be asked to accept more responsibility for lifting up their schools." But, he said, states and school districts must be "taking steps to move bad teachers out of the classroom."

"If a teacher is given a chance but still does not improve, there is no excuse for that person to continue teaching," he said. "I reject a system that rewards failure and protects a person from its consequences."

Obama's support for ideas such as merit pay and toughened accountability for teachers is similar in tone to proposals placed on the table by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee in contract negotiations with the Washington Teachers' Union.

Rhee, a Democrat, said last year that voting for Obama was "a very hard decision" because of the party's traditional reluctance to take on influential teachers unions. A spokeswoman said last night that Rhee had no immediate comment on the president's speech.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a union with more than 1 million members, said in a statement that "as with any public policy, the devil is in the details. And it is important that teachers' voices are heard as we implement the president's vision."

Obama's call for states to adopt uniform academic achievement standards is likely to anger conservatives, who generally favor giving local school districts the authority to design curriculum and grading criteria. To make his point, the president said: "Today's system of 50 different sets of benchmarks for academic success means fourth-grade readers in Mississippi are scoring nearly 70 points lower than students in Wyoming -- and getting the same grade."

To encourage classroom innovation, Obama said, he wants the District and the 26 states that now limit the number of permitted charter schools to lift those caps. Such schools, founded by parents, teachers and civic groups, receive public money but are allowed to experiment broadly with curriculum. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools says 365,000 students are on waiting lists for charter schools.

Obama chose to deliver his remarks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, senior administration officials said, to emphasize the growing proportion of Latinos entering the public school system. He said a quarter of kindergartners in public schools are Latino, adding that they "are less likely to be enrolled in early education programs than anyone else." He said the stimulus plan includes $5 billion to expand the Early Head Start and Head Start programs.

The president also noted that Latino students are "dropping out faster than just about anyone else," a national problem that cuts across ethnic lines. He noted that "just 2,000 high schools in cities like Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia produce over 50 percent of America's dropouts."

Regarding higher education, Obama said he plans to expand several federal grant programs, including increasing the maximum amount of a Pell grant and allowing it to rise with inflation, and ending "wasteful student loan subsidies." The goal, he said, is to make college "affordable for 7 million more students."

"So, yes, we need more money. Yes, we need more reform. Yes, we need to hold ourselves accountable for every dollar we spend," Obama said. "But there is one more ingredient I want to talk about. The bottom line is that no government policies will make any difference unless we also hold ourselves more accountable as parents."

Bottom UP!

Ending the ‘Race to the Bottom’

Published: March 11, 2009

There was an impressive breadth of knowledge and a welcome dose of candor in President Obama’s first big speech on education, in which he served up an informed analysis of the educational system from top to bottom. What really mattered was that Mr. Obama did not wring his hands or speak in abstract about states that have failed to raise their educational standards. Instead, he made it clear that he was not afraid to embarrass the laggards — by naming them — and that he would use a $100 billion education stimulus fund to create the changes the country so desperately needs.

"Testing is not the answer, as the most disadvantaged children are then penalized... as their teachers spend the entire year teaching to the test. "

Susan Josephs, Bethel, Conn.

Mr. Obama signaled that he would take the case for reform directly to the voters, instead of limiting the discussion to mandarins, lobbyists and specialists huddled in Washington. Unlike his predecessor, who promised to leave no child behind but did not deliver, this president is clearly ready to use his political clout on education.

Mr. Obama spoke in terms that everyone could understand when he noted that only a third of 13- and 14-year-olds read as well as they should and that this country’s curriculum for eighth graders is two full years behind other top-performing nations. Part of the problem, he said, is that this nation’s schools have recently been engaged in “a race to the bottom” — most states have adopted abysmally low standards and weak tests so that students who are performing poorly in objective terms can look like high achievers come test time.

The nation has a patchwork of standards that vary widely from state to state and a system under which he said “fourth-grade readers in Mississippi are scoring nearly 70 points lower than students in Wyoming — and they’re getting the same grade.” In addition, Mr. Obama said, several states have standards so low that students could end up on par with the bottom 40 percent of students around the globe.

This is a recipe for economic disaster. Mr. Obama and Arne Duncan, the education secretary, have rightly made clear that states that draw money from the stimulus fund will have to create sorely needed data collection systems that show how students are performing over time. They will also need to raise standards and replace weak, fill-in-the-bubble tests with sophisticated examinations that better measure problem-solving and critical thinking.

Mr. Obama understands that standards and tests alone won’t solve this problem. He also called for incentive pay for teachers who work in shortage areas like math and science and merit pay for teachers who are shown to produce the largest achievement gains over time. At the same time, the president called for removing underperforming teachers from the classroom.

In an effort to broaden innovation, the president called for lifting state and city caps on charter schools. This could be a good thing, but only if the new charter schools are run by groups with a proven record of excellence. Once charter schools have opened, it becomes politically difficult to close them, even in cases where they are bad or worse than their traditional counterparts.

The stimulus package can jump-start the reforms that Mr. Obama laid out in his speech. But Congress will need to broaden and sustain those reforms in the upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. Only Congress can fully replace the race to the bottom with a race to the top.

PONTIAC SCHOOLS has become part of the NATIONAL CONVERSATION!

BIG PICTURE! (Unfolding)

President Obama says the decline of education is "unacceptable for our children."

Obama wants to overhaul education system from 'cradle to career'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama began to flesh out the details of one of his signature campaign promises Tuesday, outlining his plan for a major overhaul of the country's education system "from the cradle up through a career."

President Obama says the decline of education is "unacceptable for our children."

"We have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us," Obama said in an address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "The time for finger-pointing is over. The time for holding ourselves accountable is here."

"The relative decline of American education is untenable for our economy, unsustainable for our democracy and unacceptable for our children, and we cannot afford to let it continue," he said.

The president outlined a five-tier reform plan, starting with increased investments in early childhood initiatives.

Obama noted that the recently passed $787 billion stimulus plan includes an additional $5 billion for Head Start, a program to help low-income families.

He highlighted a proposal to offer 55,000 first-time parents "regular visits from trained nurses to help make sure their children are healthy and prepare them for school and life."

He also pledged to boost federal support in the form of "Early Learning Challenge" grants to states that develop plans to strengthen early education programs.

Second, Obama called for an end to "what has become a race to the bottom in our schools" through lower testing standards. Echoing former President Bush's call to end "the soft bigotry of low expectations," Obama said states needed to stop "low-balling expectations" for students.

"The solution to low test scores is not lower standards; it's tougher, clearer standards," he argued.

At the same time, however, he urged states to develop standards "that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity."

To help promote this goal, Obama said he would push for funding in the No Child Left Behind law to be more effectively tied to results. The Education Department, he said, would "back up this commitment to higher standards with a fund to invest in innovation in our school districts."

Obama's third tier focused on teacher training and recruitment. He noted that federal dollars had been set aside in the stimulus plan to help prevent teacher layoffs. He also reiterated a promise to support merit pay, as well as extra pay for math and science teachers with the goal of ending a shortage in both of those subjects.

At the same time, however, the president warned that ineffective teachers should not be allowed to remain on the job.

"If a teacher is given a chance but still does not improve, there is no excuse for that person to continue teaching," he said. "I reject a system that rewards failure and protects a person from its consequences."

Teachers' unions have opposed merit-based pay, arguing that it is unfair because it leads to competition among teachers and because teachers face different challenges depending on where they are located.

Fourth, Obama called for the promotion of educational "innovation and excellence" by renewing his campaign pledge to support charter schools. He called on states to lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools.

He also urged a longer school calendar.

"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," Obama said. "But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

Obama's final reform initiative focused on higher education. Among other things, the president promised to boost college access by raising the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,550 a year and indexing it above inflation. He also promised to push for a $2,500 a year tuition tax credit for students from working families.

The American Federation of Teachers, a union with 1.4 million members, said Tuesday that it embraces Obama's goals to provide "all Americans with a comprehensive, competitive education that begins in early childhood and extends through their careers."

"We also fully support the president's call for shared responsibility for education -- among public officials, school administrators, parents, students and teachers," the group said in a statement.

"As with any public policy, the devil is in the details, and it is important that teachers' voices are heard as we implement the president's vision."

In promoting his program, the president called for an end to the "partisanship and petty bickering" that many observers believe has typically defined education policy debates in the past.

"We need to move beyond the worn fights of the 20th century if we are going to succeed in the 21st century," he said.

Obama also offered a rebuttal to critics who have accused him of diverting attention to issues such as education and energy at the expense of the deteriorating economy.

"I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time," he said. But "we don't have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term."

Whew....

State payment allows DPS to make upcoming payroll

BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • March 10, 2009

The Michigan Department of Education has approved an advance payment that will allow the financially troubled Detroit Public Schools to make payroll next week, according to a letter that DPS released today.

The advance – DPS’ third so far this school year – will be sent as a result of a request from the school district’s new state-appointed financial manager, Robert Bobb.

The state will pay DPS its monthly state aid payment of $69.8 million on March 16, one day before paychecks are distributed. An investigation by the Free Press showed that DPS faces budget shortfalls for half of the payroll periods for the rest of this school year. Without the advance payment, DPS would be short about $12 million needed to pay its 13,600 workers.

In recent months, as the deficit has mounted, DPS has paid its employees while putting off payments to vendors. DPS has a deficit of at least $150 million and is behind on payments to vendors by more than $45 million, Bobb said last week.

The STIMULATION Model: AIM to MODEL the PRACTICE!

VIDEO: Cradle-to-College Education

An organization targets children in a 24-block area of Harlem, assisting more than 7,400 children and 4,100 adults.

By Converge Staff

Geoffrey Canada is the man behind what The New York Times Magazine calls "one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time." He is the president and CEO of Harlem's Children Zone (HCZ), a project that targets children in Central Harlem and follows them from birth to college.

According to its Web site, HCZ operates pre-school programs, after-school programs and the Promise Academy high "to ensure that Harlem students are prepared to enter and excel in college."

WASHINGTON POST / Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Fixing Our Schools

Having uniform standards and rejecting old excuses would help, the new education secretary believes.

Thursday, March 5, 2009; A18

COUNT US as among those who worried that the economic stimulus plan's huge infusion of new money for education would produce only more of the same failed programs. So it was heartening to hear Education Secretary Arne Duncan describe an unacceptable status quo of broken schools in this country. Not only does he aim to use stimulus dollars to drive reform, but Mr. Duncan envisions this moment as the start of a historic opportunity to dramatically improve the education of children.

"Our job, my job is to fight for kids," Mr. Duncan told Post editors and reporters yesterday as he sketched his plans for the more than $100 billion in new stimulus spending and his ambitions for U.S. education. He made clear that school systems in search of the new federal dollars must be willing to pursue his agenda for change and that his reforms will be built around programs with proven records of success. Refreshingly blunt in describing a "crisis" in education, Mr. Duncan lambasted the system of 50 different states setting 50 different standards for student achievement. He is right to call it a "race to the bottom" in which neither parents nor students know where they stand in relation to the rest of the country, much less the world. Mr. Duncan is not prepared yet to require national standards, but he made clear that a single set of standards, aligned for college readiness and benchmarked to international standards, is where the country needs to be headed.

Equally exciting is his push for improved student assessments as well as sophisticated data systems to track the effectiveness of teachers and the education schools that produce them. Mr. Duncan, former head of Chicago's public schools, has firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by schools and of what works. For example, he knows that students need more time in schools -- and that "talent matters," so schools have to reward excellence, put the best teachers where they are most needed and get rid of bad teachers. He realizes that it's important to reward everyone who is involved in helping a school succeed. But he's learned that there are bigger differences in teacher performance within schools than between schools.

We admire the fact that Mr. Duncan has absolutely no use for those who would use the social ills of poor children as an excuse for not educating them. "They are part of the problem," he said with disdain, arguing that education is the best way to end poverty. No doubt there will be opposition to his ideas from those traditionalists accustomed to the status quo. But Mr. Duncan made clear that his only interest is in what works.

Our President
Geoffrey Canada and Steven Colbert
Geoffrey Canada at Harvard University

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

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The MONEY to STIMULATE!

Michigan schools set to win big in stimulus

Granholm, lawmakers still debating final choices; utilities, cities want help too

BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF • FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF • March 6, 2009

LANSING — Detroit Public Schools stands to reap $530 million — $355 million with no strings attached — from the federal stimulus package that will hand Michigan nearly $7 billion over two or three years.

That appears to make the district, which has an estimated $150-million deficit and finances so tangled the state recently appointed a manager to take the financial reins, the biggest Michigan winner in the stimulus sweepstakes.

In all, the state and local school districts could have at least $2.5 billion to spend as they see fit, based on an analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency.

How that money is doled out will test the political and fiscal convictions of the governor, state lawmakers, school officials and hundreds of communities and others with their hands out for a piece of the biggest federal giveaway.

Cities, townships, counties, schools, state government and electric utilities have given Gov. Jennifer Granholm their $50-billion wish list for stimulus money.

At most, there's two cents available for every dollar requested.

In addition, Michigan will get nearly $850 million for road and transportation projects to be decided by the state and regional agencies such as SEMCOG.

Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Granholm, said no decisions have been made about the discretionary stimulus money. She said Granholm insists it be used to create jobs, improve education and promote “the new energy economy.”

Boyd acknowledged heavy demands for the money, given the state's 11.6% unemployment rate and growing need for government assistance, adding, “We are approaching this in a very prudent fashion.”

Lawmakers' ideas

Two key lawmakers represent different views of how the state should spend its stimulus money.

Rep. George Cushingberry, D-Detroit, is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees all state spending. Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks, chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Cushingberry said discretionary federal money should be used for public schools, expanded government-paid health care for uninsured people and an early retirement plan for state employees, although he offered no details.

In contrast, Jelinek said the money should be spent on projects that create jobs and save taxpayers money in the long run, such as roads, water lines and sewers, or repairs to schools.

“We want to jump-start the economy, put people to work or keep them at work,” Jelinek said. “Increasing someone's retirement doesn't do that.”

House freshman Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, suggests using $200 million from the stimulus money to cover the up-front costs of converting the pension program for teachers and other public school employees from a traditional, defined-benefit pension to a 401(k)-style savings plan.

Such a change would ignite a firestorm of opposition from teachers and their unions, which hold their traditional defined-benefit pension as untouchable.

Granholm wants to use $1 billion from Medicaid and education stimulus funds to help balance the state budget and to prevent cuts in state aid to public schools and universities.

That would leave $1.3 billion at the state's discretion to spend, and $1.2 billion for school districts and charter schools, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency — $2.5 billion total.

Help for low-income students

Schools also will get $888 million earmarked for special education and to help low-income students.

School districts with proportionately large numbers of low-income students will get more money.

The northern Michigan district Mio-Au Sable, with 770 students, is to receive $1.3 million because it has lots of students from low-income families. That's more than will go to the 3,000-student Riverview Community Schools in Wayne County.

For a complete list of what school districts are estimated to get, go to www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/main/K12Grants.pdf.

Cushingberry advocates using stimulus money to reduce the gap between what the top-spending and the lowest-spending districts pay to educate each child.

He said money could be used to purchase technology to create virtual universities. He also said stimulus money should be used to provide more health insurance to laid-off workers and other uninsured people.

“As a Democratic leader, that's the most important issue to me, to make sure everybody that we can gets some kind of health coverage,” Cushingberry said.

Asked what happens to schools when the extra federal money runs out, Cushingberry said, “If this economy in Michigan doesn't turn around in the next year or two, there won't be anything we can do anyway.”

Possible trouble ahead

Jelinek said he favors more state budget cuts, not fewer, to prevent chronic budget problems in the future.

He said the potential state deficit — pegged in January at more than $1.5 billion in 2010 — is likely to grow larger as the economy continues to falter.

Gary Olson, director of the Senate Fiscal Agency, said although Michigan will receive large amounts of federal money, it could be eaten up by ordinary demands for state spending. The state spends nearly $22 billion between its general and school aid funds.

The stimulus money for schools is a blessing and a concern, said Donald Wotruba, deputy director of the Michigan Association of School Boards.

The money will help avoid some layoffs, he said. But it could give a false impression that schools are flush.

“The public will be shocked because some people will still be laid off,” he said. “That will be hard to explain.”

Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 517-372-8660 or christoff@freepress.com.

Southeastern High School: Mr. Victor Williams (Video)

http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/features/fundamentals/past_grantees.html

The TITANIC TSUNAMI of YIN and YANG (Or merely the Quiet before the Storm?)

On a mission to save a sinking school district

March 2, 2009

Today Robert Bobb takes the helm of what could charitably be called public education's Titanic -- the Detroit Public Schools.

Bobb arrives as the new fiscal manager not by choice, but as the latest shameful consequence of a systemic pattern of inept management and broken fiscal processes. Add to those problems a $140-million deficit for fiscal year 2008 and a lingering breakdown in the delivery of services, encompassing everything from basics like toilet paper to essentials such as access to mandated tutoring services.

No doubt, Bobb's training through the Eli Broad Foundation's Urban Schools Superintendent Academy will serve him well in prioritizing DPS's fiscal challenges. He has studied the success of big-city turnarounds and knows what must be done. Bobb's national connections could also position DPS to go after a portion of President Barack Obama's Race to the Top Fund, $5 billion that will be divided among school districts employing innovative turnaround ideas. Bobb should also take quick advantage of incoming U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's growing interest in Detroit.

A teensy sign of progress surfaced last week with the news that DPS is selling 27 previously closed schools, properties that had been languishing on the district's books and adding to Detroit's abandoned eyesores.

If Bobb can apply urgency and transparency to other lingering wasteful practices, he'll be light years ahead of any DPS leader since David Adamany, the former Wayne State University president who ran the district for a year during Gov. John Engler's state-imposed takeover.

Like Adamany, Bobb will need a political hide thick as an elephant's and a focus as unrelenting as a laser's. Call it battle armor for the inevitable dueling he'll face with some members of DPS's elected board of education, even as their authority is diminished by his appointment.

The culture of low educational expectations and excuse-making runs too deep with DPS for anyone to assume the board will welcome Bobb's reign. Thankfully, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has given Bobb a broom big enough to sweep out the waste and to begin restructuring DPS as a district finally on course for wondrous change.
Calloway must back up allegations

March 2, 2009

How surprising that Connie Calloway, the usually calm and demure former Detroit Public Schools superintendent, is suddenly so loquacious about the waste and corruption she saw while at the helm of the state's largest school district.

During a hearing on her dismissal, Calloway lobbed some pretty explosive -- and potentially criminal -- accusations against her former employers, the Detroit Board of Education.

Calloway insinuated, among other charges, that members of the board held closed-door meetings to determine vendor contract awards and strategically moved money between funds in order to profit personally.

Board members predictably bristled at the accusations. And they certainly should without seeing proof. Funny, Calloway didn't offer any during her diatribe.

But if Calloway has any evidence to back up what she's saying, she has an obligation to produce it -- and, just as important, to explain why she waited so long to come forward. A spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office told the Detroit Free Press it has not received documentation of any alleged criminal conduct.

During her short 18-month tenure, Calloway billed herself as a defender of accountability.

Now, she must be accountable for the questionable decision to open this sordid can of worms the way she did, and perhaps for sitting silent while others allegedly committed transgressions against the city's children.

The ART & MASTERY of BEING a "PLUSER!" (COLLABORATION ON STERIODS)

A LOOK at WHAT WORKS! (Coming to a Regional Center Near you Soon!)

A STUDY in Contrasts and Dysfunction?

Yin

Detroit news briefs: DPS doesn't turn in finance reports

February 25, 2009

Detroit Public Schools has failed to submit financial reports that are required under a state mandated consent agreement, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

DPS has not turned in at least five required documents since state Superintendent Mike Flanagan determined Dec. 8 that the district is in a financial emergency and in need of a state-appointed manager to take over the budget.

DPS has a $139-million deficit and has not paid millions of dollars in vendor payments in order to make payroll.

In appointing a financial manager, the state has exhausted its most serious penalty for noncompliance with the consent agreement. The manager, Robert C. Bobb, a former Washington city manager and school board president, is expected to start on the job next week.

YANG

Obama's school plea may not be enough

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • February 25, 2009

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it was the patriotic duty of students to finish high school and at least one year of college to equip the country for the 21st Century, but some say it's going to take more than words to stop kids from dropping out.

"Dropping out of high school is no longer an option," Obama said. "It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country -- and this country needs and values the talents of every American."

Eboni Ivory, 15, a student at Detroit's Southeastern High School, said students relate to Obama and will listen to him, up to a point.

"He said he's going to change everything and he said yes, you can," she said. His words will inspire students, but it's not going to be enough to stop kids who have made up their minds to drop out, she said.

Others say Obama ranks high enough with teens that his words could make kids listen.

"Look at him, he didn't have anything and he's president," said Raneisha Chatman, 18, a senior at Detroit's Henry Ford High School. "He can make a difference."

Michigan's Michael Flanagan is to be among several state superintendents meeting today with Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Washington.

The Detroit Public Schools could be a topic of discussion. Duncan said last week he worries about the "poor quality" of education Detroit students receive.

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.

On Practical Wisdom Skills, Brilliance and the "Moral Will to DO the Right Thing"

Victor Williams: Doer of Great Deeds at Southeastern High School!

THINK: EduWood Digital Learning Studios!

Hollywood comes to Oakland

The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST

By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press

Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.

Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.

But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.

“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.

The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.

“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.

The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.

The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.

The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.

The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.

Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.

Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’

Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST

By The Oakland Press

Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.

In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.

Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.

The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.

Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.

The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.

The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.

The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.

Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.

In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.

We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.

Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.

Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.

Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.

Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.

The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.

Obviously, the devil is in the details.

Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.

But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.

Time will tell.

We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.

But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.

Bill Gates on Great Teachers (Data)

Harnessing the POWER of 21st Century Connectedness!

Well-Connected Parents Take On School Boards

Web-Savvy Activists Push For Educational Change

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 30, 2009; A01

For a new generation of well-wired activists in the Washington region, it's not enough to speak at Parent-Teacher Association or late-night school board meetings. They are going head-to-head with superintendents through e-mail blitzes, social networking Web sites, online petitions, partnerships with business and student groups, and research that mines a mountain of electronic data on school performance.

These parent insurgents are gaining influence -- and getting things changed.

In recent weeks, parent-led campaigns helped bring down a long-established grading policy in Fairfax County and scale back the unpopular practice of charging fees for courses in Montgomery County. They have also stoked debates over math education in Frederick and Prince William counties.

In Loudoun County, parents are gearing up to topple a grading scale similar to the one overturned in Fairfax. Another Fairfax group is making headway in a drive to push back high school start times.

What binds them is impatience with the school establishment and an aptitude for harnessing the power of the Internet to push for change.

"We are not our moms, who were just involved in the PTA," said Catherine Lorenze, a McLean mother who helped organize Fairgrade, the parent-led campaign to change the Fairfax grading scale by lowering the bar for an A from 94 to 90 percent.

"We worked for a number of years before we had kids," she said. "We know how to research and find information and connect the dots. To expect us to show up and just make photos or write checks does not sit well with this generation. If you are going to invite parents in the door . . . it should be more of a partnership."

School officials say they welcome the heightened interest in public education, because parent involvement often leads to student success. But they also warn that the wildfire Web-based campaigns can spread rumors quickly and tend to benefit affluent, well-connected parents. They can also distract school officials from budget deficits or other pressing issues.

Sometimes such parent groups, whose agendas tend to be limited to helping their own children, fail to carry the day against administrators, who must balance the needs of huge and diverse school systems. Thousands of Fairfax parents last year mounted a sophisticated, costly fight against a county plan to redraw high school boundaries to help fill an under-enrolled school that had higher rates of poor and minority students. Despite their protests, the School Board approved the change.

Still, school officials acknowledge the growing challenge to their authority.

"It used to be that the superintendent and the School Board made decisions and said, 'This is how it's going to be,' and the community would accept that," said Barbara Hunter, assistant superintendent for communications and community outreach for the 169,000-student Fairfax school system.

No longer. Many of today's parents are more skeptical of government and have new ways to engage with schools besides showing up for night meetings. They can make political statements by forwarding e-mails or signing petitions, all possible to do on a BlackBerry while idling on Interstate 66.

The No Child Left Behind law also has given parents more ways to challenge the official line. Since 2002, it has required schools to publish more information than ever about student performance, teacher quality and school safety. Parents back up their positions with bar charts and extensive analyses.

Former Fairfax superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said outspoken, savvy parents can be crucial allies in the fight for school funding. "The other side of the coin, of course, is you have to produce, because they are going to hold your feet to the fire," he said.

Officials caution that the new technology has turned up the volume for select parent voices. It can be especially apparent in parts of Fairfax or Montgomery where well-educated parents are not afraid to throw their weight around and register complaints with a phone call to the superintendent or the media. Blast e-mails and Web sites give these parents even more of an edge, compared with others who lack time or resources, some observers say.

Schools need to be more concerned about the digital divide than ever before, Hunter said. "We don't want to create two levels of power, those with access to information and those without it," she said.

Administrators across the region are looking for new ways to encourage traditionally silent parents to work with schools. In the District, efforts are underway to encourage parents to organize their thoughts into a short speech for the school board or to approach their children's teachers if they are concerned about a grade or a problem.

In Montgomery, the five-year-old Parent Coalition manages an e-mail list with more than 300 members in which parents raise concerns about high school exit exams, school board contracts and other issues in the 139,300-student system. It also maintains a Web site stocked with public documents.

The coalition has claimed two victories in recent weeks. It successfully lobbied the school board to eliminate hundreds of course fees, and its concerns about loose credit-card spending practices among school staff were validated by a state audit.

Brian Edwards, chief of staff for Montgomery Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, said the coalition is run by a "small cadre" of parents who have been longtime critics of the system. In the past, he said, their complaints would have been registered through phone calls or e-mails. Now, organized on the Web, they attract more media and public attention.

Other Montgomery parents are organizing online around issues such as gifted or special education, and they keep close tabs on pending program changes.

Sharon W. Cox, who served on the Montgomery school board from 2000 to 2008, said parents often get news out to the community before the school system does. Sometimes she learned of controversies first from parents. School officials "are always in the position of having to be defensive and to correct misinformation because they are not proactive," she said.

Kitty Porterfield, a former communications director for Fairfax schools and author of the book "Why School Communication Matters," said many school systems "are still responding to 21st-century parents with 20th-century approaches."

A strategic communications team in Fairfax monitors the blogosphere and online message boards for misinformation or rumors, seeking to update the school system Web site and drive traffic there. The school system also is trying out new ways to include parents in important or controversial decisions from the earliest stages.

Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale, whose recommendation to keep the 94-point benchmark for an A was reversed by the School Board after parent lobbying, said it is a challenge to stay on top of the daily avalanche of electronic communication from parents.

But he is trying to meet it. "That is what they expect from us," he said.

The FACE of Cultural Diversity and IT'S Importance to Success!

Meeting: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce on Project Lead the Way and DPS 1-23-09

Educational Technological Imperitive!

A Plea for Educational Technology

Four education leaders call on Congress to meet President-elect Obama's request to target classroom technology modernization in economic recovery legislation.

By News Report

Four leading education and business organizations -- the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) -- recently applauded President-elect Barack Obama's call to invest in technology for the classroom as part of the forthcoming economic recovery package and urged targeted action by Congress. The groups endorsed the President-elect's goals to "equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms . . . [and] provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers" to not only prime the nation's economic pump but also allow "students in Chicago and Boston [to] compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future."

CoSN, ISTE, SIIA and SETDA have recommended that Congress agree to disseminate these new classroom technology grant funds through the existing Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) program in order to ensure that the funds quickly reach the neediest schools and are used for their intended purposes.

"We're very encouraged by the economic stimulus proposal now under consideration," said Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE. "It puts a world-class, future-focused education front and center while also preserving and creating jobs now."

The four groups -- representing more than 100,000 educators and hundreds of high-tech employers -- believe that a major spending infusion on education technology will create jobs within the education, education services and technology sectors, as well as enable innovative instructional practices in America's classrooms to address the needs of today's digital-native students. For example, a federal expenditure of $9.9 billion could ensure that every classroom in economically-disadvantaged Title I schools is technology-rich.

Additionally, the groups noted that further investments in broadband would improve the nation's unemployment picture, citing a recent study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation that a $10 billion investment in broadband would lead to the creation of nearly one-half million jobs.

For the complete press release, please, click here.

Informs OUR Understanding (NSF STEM Grant)

Pontiac pegged as Promise Zone

Sunday, January 18, 2009 12:22 AM EST

By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press

PONTIAC — The Pontiac school board has put the school district on the fast track in what is becoming a statewide competition to create a Promise Zone that would guarantee graduates a college education.

The board voted Friday at a brief special meeting to schedule a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the urging of state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, who said only 10 Promise Zones — similar to the one created in Kalamazoo — will be authorized throughout the state.

Melton sponsored the Promise Zone legislation with Pontiac School District in mind, and it was signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm this week. Melton and Granholm are expecting the Pontiac district to be the first Promise Zone in the state, he said.

Board Vice President Gill Garrett, and trustees Robert Bass and Karen Cain all had questions and concerns about the process and the details of how the Promise Zone will work.

But the board agreed to schedule the public hearing to start the process immediately with the commitment of Melton to provide the answers to all their questions during the 20-day period leading up to the hearing. The process will go no further than the hearing without approval of the board.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the city and the district,” Melton said, explaining that the promise of a college education would bring more families and businesses into the district and increase property values and the tax base the way it did in Kalamazoo.

“As I drafted the bill, Pontiac was number one in my concern. The number one reason kids don’t go to college is money,” Melton said. A district is eligible to be a Promise Zone if the youth poverty rate is above the state average and the district qualifies, he said. The state Department of Treasury accepts or rejects the applications.

Melton said once children know tuition will be paid, they begin planning and expecting to continue with education after high school.

“In the second grade in Kalamazoo, colleges begin recruiting kids. They know they are going to college. The psyche starts changing. Interest in high school goes up.”

Under the legislation, the school board would create a Promise Zone Authority board and appoint nine of the 11 members. The other two would be appointed by the speaker of the House and the leader of the Senate majority. The authority would cover full tuition to any public school in Michigan and a capped amount to any more expensive private Michigan college.

The Promise Zone Authority board would set the criteria — such as the required gradepoint average — for the scholarships and would be responsible for raising money in the private sector to fund them. No school board members would be on the authority.

In the third year, after two years of fund raising, the state would authorize the district to keep a percentage of funds generated by property tax growth to put toward scholarships. Children in all the cities and townships in the district would benefit, not just those who live in Pontiac. And the fund would reap revenue from growth in property taxes from all the entities in the school district.

Bass, Garrett and Cain said they are concerned and disappointed the board would not have any part in decision making, such as setting the criteria that makes a student eligible. That would be entirely the authority’s role.

“I want to make sure our students can take advantage of it,” Bass said.

As far as Melton is concerned, he said, “I think the criteria should be (a free college education) for any student who graduates high school,” which is the criteria set in Kalamazoo.

Melton said the school board will have some influence because they interview and select the members of the authority. School attorney George Pitchfork said trustees will also have the right to remove authority members.

Pitchford also advised the board that they could have a trustee on the authority as a nonvoting member to provide input from the board and to keep trustees up to date on the authority’s activities.

One thing that was worrisome to Bass is the fact that students and their parents would have to show they did their best to obtain other scholarships and grants before the Promise Zone fund would cover the difference.

Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.

Informs OUR Understanding (STEM CENTER)

SMART!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Editorial

Focus of New Year must be education

Forrest Gump had it right: Stupid is as stupid does.

Michigan has been doing some awfully stupid things when it comes to educating its citizens. If it doesn't commit in 2009 to smarten up, the state has little chance of joining a national economic recovery, when it finally comes.

For starters, the state has to at last match its policies to its priorities. It has said for all of this decade that improving education is the most essential task of state government, absolutely vital to developing a workforce capable of filling Knowledge Economy jobs.

But instead of diverting resources to schools and colleges, Michigan has cut education funding, particularly for universities, and has no new education initiatives to boast of except for a tougher high school curriculum, which local school districts are busy dismantling.

If it wants 2009 to be the Year of Education, here are some things Michigan must do:

• Direct more dollars to classrooms. This can be done in two ways. First, education should get first claim on state budget dollars. Decide how much money per pupil is needed to provide a first-class education to every student, and then divert dollars from every other program to make it happen. Investing in schools should be considered a cost-cutting measure. Students who are failed by the education system overwhelmingly tend to end up on welfare or in prison, a far costlier place to keep them than in a classroom.

Second, cut administrative and benefit costs. School districts have been to slow to consolidate and share services. Lawmakers should force them to do so. They've also had little progress cutting the cost of teacher benefit packages. Michigan should pass a law this year that caps the cost of health care and retirement benefits.

• Stop protecting failing districts. Detroit has a failure rate for students that reaches 70 percent. And yet Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature continue to protect the Detroit Public Schools from competition. High-quality national charter school operators have said they will come to Detroit if Lansing lifts the cap on charter schools. That must happen this year. Let DPS keep the schools that are making acceptable progress, and force it to contract with private operators to run the schools that are failing. That is the quickest way to save students now trapped in inadequate schools.

• Make educators accountable. Michigan has very little accountability for education performance. One example is the new high school curriculum, which was a major achievement of the Granhom administration. The curriculum is nation-leading, but the state has not taken the necessary steps to make sure districts are teaching it properly. Many districts have worked harder to find ways around the new curriculum than they have to implement it. The course schedule is designed to give every student the best shot at college success. The state must take a hard line to make sure it is being taught to every student.

• Address college affordability. Having world-class universities in the state does little good if state students can't afford to attend them. Incomes have been falling in Michigan and jobs have been disappearing. And yet college tuition costs keep soaring. Blame the state in part for continually cutting budgets. But also blame college and university boards that have found it easier to pass along tuition hikes to hard-pressed families than to cut deeply into operating costs. Schools should focus this year on affordability, rather than on expansion programs often motivated by status and ego.

Do these things this year, and Michigan can look back on 2009 and declare it the year it started thinking seriously about its future.

Funding Constraints could become CATALYST for Disruptive Digital Learning

Michigan school districts fear budget cuts

Declines in state revenue could create deficits

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009

The January revenue conference -- when lawmakers meet to begin deciding how much money the state will have for next year's budget -- has an ominous feel for many Michigan school administrators this year.

They gratefully accepted an early Christmas present from the state, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that midyear budget cuts would not affect schools.

But with 54% of Michigan's districts holding less than the recommended 15% of their budget in savings, and about one third of the districts approaching dangerously low levels of savings, administrators will be nervously watching the conference -- which starts Jan. 9 -- and hoping there will be enough money in next year's budget to keep their programs going.

"The thing that really frightens me for the future is, where do we go next?" said David Houle, business manager for Willow Run Community Schools. "We're going to come to a point where there are no additional cuts you can make that don't impact in the classroom."

In these uncertain economic times, state revenues could be down between $500 million and $1 billion next year, according to Mitch Bean, director of the House Fiscal Agency.

At best, any drop in state revenue could mean school districts have to make cuts in anything from supplies to transportation. At worst, cuts in school revenues would drive some districts into a deficit.

"This is not an environment in which we expect to get anything," said Tom White, executive director of Michigan School Business Officials. "It's really a question of how difficult it's going to be and what we're going to do about it."

"There are so many unknowns, it's like playing with a whole deck of wild cards," White said. His organization is recommending school administrators plan for no increase in school funding next year.

The good news is that there may be more money available for schools because there are fewer students. Michigan lost about 5,000 pupils, saving about $40 million because school money is doled out on a per-pupil basis.

The bad news is that schools don't necessarily lose pupils in cost-saving ways. A district that loses 25 students is unlikely to lose them in the same classroom or even the same building. So expenses such as teachers, heating and transportation remain the same.

What could help? Strong Christmas sales generating more tax revenue, help for the U.S. automakers saving Michigan jobs or a timely federal economic stimulus package that could include a significant savings for Michigan in Medicaid.

"As soon as those sales in the state go down, we're not funding our schools," Houle said.

But even if these situations materialize, no one knows whether they will be enough. Most worried are those whose districts are likely to fall into a deficit if the state cuts any funding.

"It's the equivalent of squeezing blood out of a turnip," said Charles Muncatchy, superintendent of Mt. Clemens Community Schools. He said his district is out of savings, and the likely result of any funding cuts would be a deficit.

East Detroit Public Schools also would be likely to end up in a deficit if state funding is cut. The district is down to a slim $57,000 in savings.

"It's a mess," said Superintendent Bruce Kefgen. "I can't tell you where we'd ultimately cut."

The Willow Run Community Schools district already was in a deficit, and files an annual plan on how it is reducing its deficit with the state.

"We've already made major changes and concessions with our employees and staffing," Houle said. "We don't have anyplace to go for discretionary spending."

Even well-heeled districts can struggle.

Bloomfield Hills Public Schools has a cushion in the form of $20 million in savings, but its officials still feel that it has to close two schools next year.

"Just because we have a fund balance doesn't mean our board wants to tap it," said district spokeswoman Betsy Erikson.

Educators say if money is tight, it's only fair for the state and federal governments to chip in by dropping some of the schools' requirements.

"If you don't have the money for us, you could cut some of those unfunded mandates," said Kefgen. He suggests cutting back on the state testing programs such as the MEAP, which he said costs districts thousands of dollars to administer, or rethinking all the databases that districts are required to keep.

Muncatchy said he would like the federal government to fund some of the requirements under No Child Left Behind.

"I'm all for rigor and that schools should be places of excellence, but other countries in the world spend 30% of their federal funds on education, and America spends less than 3%," Muncatchy said.

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.

Disruptive Digital Learning equals Cheaper, Better, Faster!

Waivers free high school students to study online, off-campus

State steps up role in Web-based high school education

BY LORI HIGGINS • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009

Eleven Michigan school districts and one charter school can now allow students to take more courses -- and in some cases all of their classes -- online and off-campus, moves that could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education.

Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state in the nation to require students take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.

Just in November, the Center for Digital Education ranked Michigan second, behind Florida, for online education.

Two metro Detroit districts -- Waterford and Avondale -- are among the handful moving farther ahead, winning approval from the Michigan Department of Education to allow larger numbers of students to take online courses wherever they want.

At least two dozen of the state's 552 districts and 230 charter schools have applied for the waivers from rules that require students be in a school building for nearly 1,100 hours each school year. Students also are currently limited by state law to taking only two online courses outside a school building during a semester.

"That would be so much easier," Kayla Jacques, 18, of Waterford said of the chance to take online courses from the comfort of home. She is a senior at Waterford Alternative High School and stays late after school several days a week to take an online class.

The waivers are a result of a challenge issued to districts earlier this year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, with the goal of seeing what innovative ideas school districts could come up with if they were allowed to bypass some rules that might be "standing in the way of schools reaching more kids," said MaryAlice Galloway, senior adviser to the chief academic officer at MDE.

Most of the 24 districts that submitted proposals targeted struggling students, particularly those attending alternative high schools. That's not surprising given that a quarter of the state's students fail to graduate on time, including 15% who drop out altogether.

Nearly all of the districts made online education a key component of the plans.

"It gives them a shot at catching up," said George Heitsch, Avondale superintendent.


Virtual enrollment boom

Online education has soared in Michigan in the last decade, illustrated by growth in enrollment at Michigan Virtual University, one of the options students have to take online classes. MVU offers more than 200 high school courses and enrollment has spiraled upward from 100 students in the 1999-2000 school year to an expected 15,000 this school year.

Part of the growth is influenced by students who need to make up credits required to graduate. But there also are students who want to take on larger course loads, those who want to take courses their schools don't offer and those with scheduling conflicts that prevent them from taking classes they want.

Most of those students who enroll at MVU, however, take one course at a time. The seat-time waivers will give students in districts that win approval an opportunity to take most or all of their course work online. And, in most cases, it allows them to take classes anywhere they can find an Internet connection.

That's what has Jacob Carman, 18, intrigued. A student at Waterford Alternative High School, he said being away from school would mean fewer distractions while he's learning. And there would be the convenience of not having to follow a school schedule.

The Avondale district, approved for a seat-time waiver last month, already has 10 students taking all of their classes online. Conor Helmrich, 16, is one of them.

"I'm able to wake up, turn my computer on and get going," Conor said. It's a lifestyle that has made him the envy of his friends. "They wish they could sleep in until whenever, and then do their work."

It may sound unstructured, and for the student who lacks inner motivation, online classes from home may not work. It helps that Conor's parents play an active role in his education. And the school closely monitors online students' progress and how often they log into the system.

"I got my parents all over my back on this," Conor said. "They're calling me like every hour making sure I'm on track."

No one is expecting hordes of students to sign up for a schedule in which they don't have to show up for school every day, if at all.

Jacques and her friend Katie VanOvermeer, 17, say they wouldn't want to take all of their classes online.

"I like coming to school here," Jacques said.

The Waterford district is beginning the program with alternative high students and those who are homebound for medical reasons. It will then expand it to its traditional high schools, said Lynn Kosinski, supervisor of secondary education.

But the district's plan includes limiting participants to 10% of the student body.


Trial program

The state is looking at the seat-time waivers as a pilot program and will closely monitor how well it works.

"What we're going to learn is not only which kids do well, but what kinds of support a district can give them to help them succeed in a virtual learning environment," Galloway said.

One thing they do know is that students taking online classes need support. Districts allowing students to take their course work online will assign a teacher mentor who regularly will meet face-to-face with them and monitor progress between meetings. Some districts also require students to take exams on a school site.

The Avondale district last spring piloted an afternoon program in which 12 students came into a computer lab and took all of their courses online. That program is still going on, but the seat-time waiver has opened it up to allowing up to 80 students to complete their course work outside of school.

Among the 10 students enrolled are four who would just rather not come to school. But there are others who have been expelled and can't come to school, said Chuck Granger, director of community education, adult education and the Avondale Academy, the district's alternative program.

Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or lhiggins@freepress.com.

Digital Learning!

Digital learning efforts compute well for state

At least in the world of virtual classrooms, Michigan has something to brag about. The state’s K-12 digital learning policies and resource programs for online education were recently ranked second best in the na­tion, trailing only Florida. The salute from the Center for Digital Education, a national research institute, is a surprising and welcome break from the endless economic downers cas­cading our way. It could help Michigan attract high-tech em­ployers and, longer term, even bring some stability to the state’s economy if the students who are now gaining increased access to critical computer learning stick around long enough for Michigan employers to benefit from their added skills. For now, state education lead­ers should plan to build on the national validation of a deter­mined effort to link students to more competitive and creative learning opportunities. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Leg­islature clearly made a wise move two years ago by including online learning as a component of tougher high school gradua­tion requirements. The other jewel in Michigan’s online learning crown is the rap­id growth of the Michigan Virtu­al School, where middle and high school students can sign up for courses ranging from algebra to Mandarin Chinese and make up missed assignments. While just over 500 schools make use of the service, there’s plenty of room for Michigan to do more. The most obvious op­tion is exploring ways to widen access to include students be­yond those who are either aca­demically gifted or have special needs. None of this is to suggest an end to classroom learning. That’s still the way most people will get most of their schooling for the foreseeable future. But given how mightily Michigan is struggling to dent its dropout numbers, expanded virtual learning should be a broader option. Boredom in the classroom is consistently the main reason given for students who walk away from high school. Expan­ded online learning could be one way of recharging those students before they are permanently disconnected from education.

PAUL LACHINE/Special to the Free Press

FIT for Acheivement!

Plan for schools fit for achievement, some say

Obama's program to modernize schools around the country could make big difference, educators say

BY LIBBY QUAID • ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 1, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation's schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program -- if he spends enough -- could jump-start student achievement.

More students than ever are crammed into aging, run-down schools that need about $255 billion in repairs, renovations or construction. While the president-elect is likely to ask Congress for only a fraction of that, education experts say it still could make a big difference.

"The need is definitely out there," said Robert Canavan, chairman of the Rebuild America's Schools coalition, which includes both teachers unions and large education groups. "A federal investment of that magnitude would really have a significant impact."

Obama is promising to give every student access to the Internet. Outgoing Education Secretary Margaret Spellings pointed out that billions already has been spent through the E-Rate program.

"We should never spend money in the public sector, especially in education, unless we're getting something for it, unless it's to some good end," Spellings said. "I commend him (Obama) for taking that on. That's another very ripe area. But not unless it's moving the needle for kids."

There's widespread agreement, however, that improving classrooms helps student performance.

Studies in Houston, New York City and North Dakota have made a link between classroom conditions and performance; in the New York study, researchers found students in crowded classrooms scored lower in math and reading.

Nearly half the principals in primary and secondary schools said deteriorating conditions are interfering with learning, according to the Education Department.

Judi Caddick, a middle school math teacher in Lansing, Ill., just south of Chicago, said in the older part of her World War II-era school, classrooms had just two power outlets, forcing teachers to string extension cords into the rafters or to unplug a TV power point presentation in order to plug in a computer for a child.

"It looked like a spaghetti bowl," Caddick said.

A new school is almost complete.

"It's a huge difference," Caddick said. "We don't have to have necessarily state-of-the-art and fluffy stuff. But at least when you don't have mold problems, and you don't have things that are broken, and you don't have an inability to use the technology, it's an investment."