education

Community Forum for Public Feeback on New Educational Requirements

Please Join State Representative Robert Dean and Other Speacial Guests

July 22, 2008

7pm - 8:30pm

Save the pdf below for more details!

BY LORI HIGGINS - FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

HOUSE MOVES BUDGET BILLS –

Dear Ms. xxx:

A new report by WestEd highlights three high schools—all supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—that have successfully implemented programs to prepare all of their students for college mathematics. The report, titled Rethinking High Schools: Supporting All Students to be College-Ready in Math, is the latest in the organization’s “Rethinking High School” series of reports on secondary school reform and redesign.

With the announcement Monday that Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan would not be a finalist for president of Eastern Michigan University, he told the State Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday that he was not planning to leave his current post.
"You're kinda stuck with me," Mr. Flanagan told the board, drawing applause from board members and department staff. "I love working with the state board and this team."
"I'm glad it's behind us," said board President Kathleen Straus (D-Bloomfield Township).

State restructuring efforts for NCLB often take a back seat to the more comprehensive reforms. Look for State Superintendent Mike Flanagan’s remarks in the last paragraph of this Wall Street Journal article.  READ MORE

Michigan education officials will be scouring the state over the next few months to find new plans for reducing dropout rates in the state.
The Michigan Education Association is sponsoring 10 hearings between May and October to find suggestions on keeping children in school until they graduate.
"Too many students are leaving school before graduating," said MEA President Iris Salters. "We need to work together to understand the scope of the problem and to find sustainable solutions."

Michigan and other states would have to ensure that schools required to restructure under the federal No Child Left Behind Act are making meaningful changes and local districts would have to be more clear to parents what tutoring and choice options are available under new regulations unveiled Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, speaking to the Detroit Economic Club, also announced the creation of a National Technical Advisory Council to meet the requirements of the law.
And she said she was continuing to work with Congress to have the law renewed.

Hundreds of home schooling parents and their children descended on the Capitol today to defend what they contend is a lifestyle choice.
Rep. Jack HOOGENDYK (R-Kalamazoo) and Rep. Bill HUIZENGA (R-Zeeland) encouraged the crowd to let lawmakers know that efforts to extend the state's reach further into the home-schooled community just weren't going to fly.
"The constitution doesn't mandate that every child get an education," Hoogendyk said. "That's the job of the parents."