March, 2009

Teachers Key to Reversing High Failure Rate in Math
March 31, 2009
By Rick DuFour

We received a query from a high school principal about the failure rate in algebra in his school. At the end of the first quarter, 44 percent of students were receiving grades of D or F. At the end of the first semester, the rate had increased to 55 percent. When the administration met with the teachers to offer support, teachers took the following positions:

1. The problem was caused by the fact that middle school teachers were not giving students the necessary skills.

Teachers Key to Reversing High Failure Rate in Math
March 31, 2009
By Rick DuFour

We received a query from a high school principal about the failure rate in algebra in his school. At the end of the first quarter, 44 percent of students were receiving grades of D or F. At the end of the first semester, the rate had increased to 55 percent. When the administration met with the teachers to offer support, teachers took the following positions:

1. The problem was caused by the fact that middle school teachers were not giving students the necessary skills.

We have not yet taken a position in regard to House Bill 4410 (The Sheltrown bill). None of the statewide associations with whom we work have either. The superintendent association has not. The ISD superintendent association has not. The school board's association has not. The MEA has not. The Department of Education has not. The MI Chamber has not. And, no legislative caucus has as well. Yet, MASSP is threatened by some from the CTE community to support the bill or lose their membership.

Department of Education---House Bill 4438: The subcommittee spending proposal for the Department of Education totals $120.6 million, a nearly 27 percent increase over current year spending. However, nearly all the increase—some $22.2 million—reflects the anticipated transfer of the Library of Michigan from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries to the Department of Education. The subcommittee also restored funding for assisting teachers seeking national board certification and the alternative certifications programs at Central Michigan and Wayne State Universities.

Please take just a moment and let us know your building usage of on-line instruction that comes from Michigan Virtual University.

Please use the following link to fill out the survey, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UY92XYF89E_2bMC6Lh_2b2HPyA_3d_3d.

-Jim

MEMORANDUM, March 26, 2009
TO: Local and Intermediate School District Superintendents, Public School Academy Directors
FROM: Sally Vaughn, Ph.D., Deputy Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer
SUBJECT: Regulatory Compliance of Education for Homeless Children and Youth Programs - School District Self-Assessment Tool

Alternative Grading Systems Survey:
I'm looking to identify which school districts in MI use something other than the traditional total points = 100% scale = letter grade cut-points.

Please list your school and whether you use:
(a) a rubric or standards-based 4 point scale,
(b) an 11, 12, or 13 point representation of letter grades, or
(c) just letter grades without any reported numerical value associated with them.

Lawmakers thought they were doing the right thing when they scrapped the 180-day school year requirement and replaced it with the number of hours schools had to teach.

But after a recent study showed schools may be taking too much advantage of the situation, even Republicans are wondering if they made a mistake by baking the 1,098-hour requirement into the School Aid Fund budget in 2003.

"It didn't worked as we planned," confessed Senate Education Committee Chair Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland).

The state's top educator echoed this observation today to the House Appropriations Committee. Superintendent Mike FLANAGAN said the system has been abused by some districts that merely tacked on two extra minutes at the end of the day.

Hello Everyone,

I am collecting data on best practices on student acheivement and their implementation status in secondary schools. If you are a Middle or High School Principal or Assisstant Principal could you please follow the link below and take a short survey on this subject.

I would really appreciate it.

You can find the survey by clicking on the following link:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228T5XBAZPB

Thank you very much.

If you have any questions or want to contact me about this survey please feel fee to email me at jthero@waw.misd.net.

The Michigan Education Association (MEA) retirement plan died today, but a union official said Senate Education Committee Chair Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland) deserves an "A" for effort.

The plan would have increased benefits for retirees in an attempt to weed out high-end salaries, but the Senate Fiscal Agency (SFA) said it could have cost the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) $1.3 billion over five years.

SB 0255 was on life support last week after Kuipers canceled a committee meeting due to Senate Majority Leader Mike BISHOP's (R-Rochester) ongoing concerns about the bill's cost (See "Senate Leadership Stalls Teacher Retirement Bill," 3/19/09). But Kuipers and MEA officials insisted the plan wasn't dead until today.

We have a request from an employee to train a leader dog on a recurring all-day basis. Have you ever allowed similar circumstances at your school?

One of our teachers heard about this device on Channel 1. We want to know if anyone is currently using this device and if so, how is it working?

by Diane McMillan
Associate Director

The Greening of Milan Expo will be April 20-21st from 9 am to 9 pm on Monday April 20th and 8 am to 4 pm on Tuesday April 21st. Speakers include Kristine Moffitt of Michigan Green Schools organization. Milan High Conservation Generation student leaders will also present on their efforts to help Milan High go green and save green. Other neat features include WMU's solar car, a Ford Fusion Hybrid, and more!

This is a great way to kick start your student-led effort in helping to conserve and save -- so bring a group of students.

Or for school professionals (teacher leaders, administrators, maintenance & grounds), presentations also included LEED-certification for buildings, school energy audits services, and other great ways to save the school budget while becoming green-friendly!

The Greening of Milan Expo will be April 20-21st from 9 am to 9 pm on Monday April 20th and 8 am to 4 pm on Tuesday April 21st. Speakers include Kristine Moffitt of Michigan Green Schools organization. Milan High Conservation Generation student leaders will also present on their efforts to help Milan High go green and save green. This is a great way to kick start your student-led effort in helping to conserve and save.

For professionals, presentations also included LEED-certification for buildings, school energy audits services, and other great ways to save the school budget while becoming green-friendly! Vendors will be on hand will several green products and services.

Go to My Blog in Center 8 for more details or visit www.milanareaschools.org/hs for more information.

Governor Jennifer Granholm said this week she could support the concept of programs that would provide merit pay for teachers and expand the number of available urban schools of choice

March 20, 2009

The State Board of Education has unanimously agreed to extend Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan’s contract—including, at Mr. Flanagan’s request, a salary reduction in line with any pay cuts that may yet be authorized for Civil Service employees—until May 1, 2012…..an antsy Senate is eagerly awaiting the delivery of the State Officers Compensation Commission’s official report so they can vote on—and presumably in favor of—a resolution reducing the salaries of state elected officials—with the exception of Supreme Court justices—by 10 percent beginning in 2011.

SENATE APPROVES PROPERTY TAX PROPOSAL

The second time was the charm as the Senate this week adopted a proposed constitutional amendment that would help homeowners facing rising property taxes as the assessed value of their home declines. Senate Joint Resolution H, which required a two-thirds vote for passage, was initially rejected by the Upper Chamber on a vote of 23-11 as most Democrats opposed the measure on the grounds it represented a major revenue reduction—estimated to be as much as $253 million annually by the Senate Fiscal Agency—for local units of government. Conversely, supporters argued the proposed change would give the Property Tax program a degree of certainty and rationality by ensuring taxes would not increase when actual values are falling.

Congratulations to the 2009 MASSP/Horace Mann Secretary of the Year Nominees!

Diane Besser, Sturgis High School
Erin Briggs, Grandville High School
Michele Darket, South Lyon High School
Lois Hill, Ubly Jr/Sr High School
Cheri Krolewski, Bentley Senior High School
Denise Lipsett, Jefferson Middle School
Karen Miller, Milan High School
Kathy Nofzinger, Dansville High School
Margaret Teltow, Clintondale High School
Ann Wieczorek, Derby Middle School

On Tuesday, March 24, and Thursday, March 26, Michigan’s CTE centers, middle and high schools will be at the Capitol showcasing their programs. These programs are real examples of what is taking place in school buildings throughout Michigan; students and staff will be present to share details and experiences. The MASSP Secondary Education Showcase provides legislators and the public an opportunity to see first-hand how our secondary schools are finding new ways to help students meet Michigan's new higher expectations.

• Review the CTE programs to be showcased
• Review the Secondary Education programs to be showcased
• View a map of the capitol

HOUSE HALTS VOTE ON EXPANDED SINKING FUNDS

Movement on final passage of sinking fund legislation came to a halt when disagreements erupted between the two parties Wednesday.

Democrats had procedurally rid all Republican amendments from HB 4313* without having GOP members speak on the floor when the rhubarb blossomed.

Rep. Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills) told reporters afterward Republicans had agreed to have Democrats procedurally gavel through the amendments and then have a member speak to the bill, but they changed their minds and argued they wanted to speak on their amendments.

The association in its efforts to get support for universal use of EXPLORE is getting slimed by the Economic Educators with backdoor help from the Department of Education. After reading their appeal to stop MASSP's effort to shift funding from the 9th grade social studies test to EXPLORE you'd think that our executive director was in competition for the "meanest person in the world" award.

Here's what they had to say about our effort:

Members of the MCEE Board of Directors:

The Fiscal Analysis ordered by the Senate Education committee was completed on March 16th.

FROM THE REPORT: Costs

Table 1 outlines the potential impact of SB 255 (S-1) on MPSERS. According to the Office of Retirement Services (ORS), 55,000 employees are eligible to retire immediately, and an additional 7,000 would be eligible if they purchased service credit. If all 62,000 of those eligible members retired, the present value of the increased retirement benefits would be $6.3 billion. However, under the bill, the maximum present value of additional future benefits would be capped at $1.5 billion. Under this cap on benefits, a maximum of 29,258 (on average) would be permitted to retire. It is possible that fewer members than the maximum would take advantage