blast

September 10, 2009

Granholm Encourages Residents to Remember Heroes of September 11 by Lowering Flags, Moment of Silence

LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm is encouraging Michigan citizens to remember victims and heroes of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. by lowering flags and observing a moment of silence Friday, September 11, which marks the eight-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

EDUCATION REFORM BILLS CONFERENCE SEEMS LIKELY

Separate legislation in the House and Senate addressing failing schools will probably require a conference committee to resolve, a leading Senate Republican said.

Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), chair of the Senate Education Committee, said in an interview this week that he likes parts of the House-passed bills that would empower the state superintendent to hire a reform officer for schools that have received scores of 30 percent or less in proficiency for math and science, failing to make adequate yearly progress, for four consecutive years.

Michigan high school students could meet their advanced mathematics requirements for graduation if they completed a career and technical education program that had embedded math skills under a measure that was reported by the Senate Education Committee.

The panel unanimously sent SB 698 to the full chamber.

Under the bill, if a high school student completes an approved career and technical course with embedded mathematics skills then that will meet the algebra II requirements the state now has for a student to graduate high school.

Supporters have said the change is important to ensure that students continue taking technical and skills-based classes in high school.

August 5, 2009-SB 698 passes out of Senate Education Committees with full support.

The universal health care plan for public employees recently proposed by House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) gained additional support and opposition this week. With Republican legislative leaders favorably disposed to at least considering the plan, this week saw twelve school groups throw their support behind the plan. The group, consisting of such groups as the Michigan Association of School Administrators, Michigan School Business Officials, the Michigan Association of School Boards and the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals among others, said their benefits mirrors those provided to members of the Michigan Education Association and they understood major reforms are needed.

Despite nearly a month of closed door meetings on the issue, participants in the high-level budget discussions admit a final solution to close the projected deficit remains elusive. Sources agree the major stumbling block is how the new spending plan will treat anticipated reductions to the Michigan Promise Grant—the scholarship program for qualifying Michigan college students which the Senate Republicans eliminated in their version of the budget—and cuts in revenue sharing. However, it also appears the two sides have differing views on the size of the gap facing them, which portends to become an even larger hurdle than the two identified obstacles.

Twelve school groups on Tuesday threw their support behind a proposal by House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) to create one health care pool for all public sector employees, saying that members of their organizations have the same benefits as teachers and understand major reforms are needed.

"Without meaningful reform, districts will be hard pressed to offer affordable benefits at all in the future," said Michigan Association of School Administrators Executive Director William Mayes. "We want to reform the system before the system stops working for teachers and kids."

Duncan Outlines Priorities at Principals’ Conference
Teacher Evaluations Cited As Education Reform Priority
By James Michael Brodie
Education Week

Education Secretary Arne Duncan brought his reform message to school administrators on Friday, calling for teacher evaluations that re flect what is taking place in the classrooms.

“The teacher evaluation system is basically broken,” Duncan told attendees at a joint confer ence of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “Ninety-nine per cent of teachers in some states are rated above average. … Right now we don’t reward excel lence. We don’t know who the superstars are.”

A member shared this story with MASSP. It has been seen by the Governor, State Superintendent, and the Legislature. Do you have a similar story? Would you please share it with us?
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Jim,

I wanted you to get a little feedback from the “trenches” after year-three of the transition to the Michigan Merit Curriculum and Exam. As you know Croswell-Lexington High School is average. Average size - 800, average family income, and most importantly our students performance … average. I have seen an incredible transformation over the last three years in our students’ success and more importantly their aspirations. Quite frankly the bar was raised and my kids jumped it. Here are just a few antidotal stories to paint a picture of what the MMC has meant to my students.

Dear Representative Bauer and Committee Members:

Today, Michigan Legislators are facing many difficult, unpopular
decisions. As high school principals who are put between ‘a rock and a hard place’ each day, we empathize with what you are going through.

In 1999, MASSP provided testimony to the Senate as to the critical need for an award system that would provide an incentive for students to take the HS MEAP. MASSP has not wavered in our support of the