students

The 2006-2007 graduation rates will be calculated by tracking individual students who first enrolled in ninth grade in fall 2003, and graduated four years later with a regular diploma. Continuing students who were not reported as diploma recipients were recorded for accountability purposes as “off-track.”

Schools feel pressure to end mandatory service
Posted by Kym Reinstadler | The Grand Rapids Press July 14, 2008 06:31AM
Three years later, Quizena, 19, still volunteers there three hours a week. But now, she does it because she wants to.
"If West Ottawa didn't require it, I wouldn't have found the motivation to volunteer," said Quizena, now a sophomore at Grand Rapids Community College. "I would not have learned how much hospitals, libraries and other organizations depend on volunteers to function."

Students can miss class but still pass
Attendance to affect grades less
BY LORI HIGGINS • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • JUNE 25, 2008
School districts across Michigan are increasingly altering long-standing rules that tie students' grades to how often they come to class.
The changes are prompted by a state policy that now allows students to test out of a class. But critics say the relaxed attendance policies risk sending the message to impressionable teens that getting to class isn't important.

Thousands of high school freshmen across Michigan are failing Algebra I, the first of four math courses this class of students must take and pass to fulfill what are among the toughest graduation requirements in the
nation.
The failure rate -- estimated at 20% to 30% of about 113,000 freshmen -- has some predicting a crisis by the
time these students are juniors and must take Algebra II.
Download rest of this Free Press story...

Here's a conference principals might be interested in checking out.

Preventing the Unthinkable: School Safety Seminar
Manistee, MI

Finding ways to fix Michigan’s dropout crisis is the focus of public hearings that began May 8 as part of a statewide initiative to increase the number of high school graduates to stabilize a weak economy.

The AT&T Foundation is looking for schools that are having some success with dropout prevention and student retention (as in timely promotion to the next grade!). The Foundation is offering grants to schools to continue or expand successful programs. The grants could provide $50,000-100,000 a year for four years. The deadline is short – May 19!!

Here is a link to the website with all the info:

http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=11520

AT&T High School Success
Special Grants Program

Overview
In April 2008, the AT&T Foundation launched a new grant program
focused on high school success for at-risk students. The program will
direct funds to eligible nonprofit organizations and schools across the
country and offers two types of grants:

The National Science Board reports that jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are outpacing overall job growth three to one. Yet according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the number of U.S. students pursuing degrees in STEM areas has declined.
Read more about STEM field needs and find out what the National Mathematics Advisory Panel says needs to happen to change U.S. math education:
Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel

April 24, 2008

Holding back students who cannot read at grade level is out. But in its place is a proposal to require that all districts have programs in place to identify and help those students who are struggling with reading and that all teachers and administrators be trained in reading instruction.

The Senate Education Committee unveiled the new version of SB 842 and the newly-introduced SB 1275 on Thursday and committee Chair Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) said he would like to have the issues resolved and report the bills in the next couple of weeks.