tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post3422049217466061919..comments2023-11-07T06:56:59.563-05:00Comments on Ann Arbor Schools Musings: How To Find A School Of ChoiceRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-211907268203951022011-01-23T22:13:19.332-05:002011-01-23T22:13:19.332-05:00For 2011, AAPS says they will post information on ...For 2011, AAPS says they will post information on their in-district transfer process, and any possible Schools of Choice, in early February. <br /><br />Some new choices county-wide include the New Tech High School, located in Ypsilanti but open to all county residents (9th and 10th grade, I believe); the Early College Alliance, open to many local school districts and located at Eastern Michigan University; the Washtenaw International High School, open to all county residents (9th grade only), and located in Ypsilanti; Washtenaw Alternatives for Youth, which I don't know too much about, but I believe is located at Stone School in Ann Arbor. There are also new private schools and charter schools that either have opened in the last two years or are opening in the coming year.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-27899857826453818052010-01-06T16:31:16.487-05:002010-01-06T16:31:16.487-05:00Summers-Knoll is an independent school that serves...Summers-Knoll is an independent school that serves bright, creative and gifted children. Not all kids at S-K are "gifted" in terms of their IQ test, but the kids are all rapid learners and the progressive learning environment really supports that exploration. <br /><br />But to Ruth's point, S-K's learning environment would qualify as open and alternative, which works well in the small class sizes (capped at 12-14 kids). <br /><br />Thanks for your insights, Ruth. <br /><br />Fran Loosen<br />(Board Pres of S-K)Fran Loosenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13901936001658736763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-54113744381097365752009-11-20T20:55:27.057-05:002009-11-20T20:55:27.057-05:00Charters stink, the bottom line, and people may no...Charters stink, the bottom line, and people may not know how much that is true until they leave the school and find out what their child doesn't know. They are unregulated, and many things happen there that are simply indefensible. If the state wants to allow charters, they must be watchdogged much more thoroughly then currently is happening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-42482819694245231512009-11-20T15:41:02.354-05:002009-11-20T15:41:02.354-05:00Under the heading of Consortiums, you list Lincoln...Under the heading of Consortiums, you list Lincoln, Ypsilanti, and Willow Run, and then you refer to the Early College Alliance. Here is a link to that program's site:<br />http://earlycollegealliance.org/<br /><br />Ypsi, Lincoln, Whitmore Lake, Milan, and now Chelsea are school districts participating in this program (not Willow Run). It's an amazing program, worth investigating.<br /><br />YpsiAnonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-11865750772800714152009-11-20T08:29:23.654-05:002009-11-20T08:29:23.654-05:00Anon--Putting "gifted and talented" in q...Anon--Putting "gifted and talented" in quote marks was meant to refer to programs that are specifically for that "category" of kids. Willow Run has one such program, and Emerson (private school) advertises itself as for that "category." I'm not sure how they identify those kids.<br /><br />Dora--You are certainly correct about some of the issues around charter schools, and I have not really written about them. In Michigan, the charter school per-pupil allocation is on the low end of the spectrum (different from Minnesota). It is certainly true that most of them don't use unionized teachers, and that partly contributes to their turnover. That said, there are good charter schools and bad charter schools.<br /><br />Writing about them should not be considered a blanket endorsement. As I've written before, I think it is important for parents to feel that they have choices, and sometimes the fact that parents have choices makes traditional public schools perform better or offer different services. I know lots of people whose kids go back and forth: public-charter-private-etc.<br /><br />Just as two examples. If you want your child learning Arabic as their foreign language in school, only two schools offer that--one is the Muslim school, and one is Central Academy, a charter. I hope the public schools will decide to offer Arabic as a foreign language.<br /><br />If you want an "open/alternative" learning environment for your elementary school child, and you don't live in (or don't get into) Ann Arbor Open, there are two charter schools which approach this in various ways (Honey Creek and Ann Arbor Learning Community), and there are Summers-Knoll and Clonlara (private schools). Is there more demand than supply for alternative education in the public schools? I think the answer is obviously, yes. <br /><br />People repeatedly find this blog by searching, "How do I find a school of choice in Ann Arbor" so I assume that is something people want to know.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-65263323768790936942009-11-19T23:33:11.669-05:002009-11-19T23:33:11.669-05:00For more information on what you are getting yours...For more information on what you are getting yourselves into with charter schools, see:<br /><br />http://seattle-ed.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-57354845381378405232009-11-19T23:31:21.509-05:002009-11-19T23:31:21.509-05:00You can call it whatever you want to, a charter sc...You can call it whatever you want to, a charter school is a charter school.<br /><br />What Is a Charter School?<br /><br />The basic difference between a traditional public school and a privately run charter school is that with a charter school there is complete control of the school by a private enterprise within a public school district. Although taxpayer-funded, charters operate without the same degree of public and district oversight of a standard public school. Most charter schools do not hire union teachers which means that they can demand the teacher work longer hours including weekends at the school site and pay less than union wages. Charter schools take the school district's allotment of money provided for each student within the public schools system and use it to develop their programs. In many systems, they receive that allotment without having to pay for other costs such as transportation for students to and from the school. Some states, such as Minnesota, actually allocate more than what is granted to public school students.<br /><br />A charter school can expel any student that it doesn't believe fits within its standards or meets its level of expectation in terms of test scores. If the student is dropped off the rolls of the charter school, the money that was allotted for that student may or may not be returned to the district at the beginning of the next year. That is dependent upon the contract that is established by each district.<br /><br />Also, according to a recent (June 15, 2009) study by Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), charter schools do not necessarily perform any better than public schools. In fact, 37 percent performed worse. Forty-six percent demonstrated "no significant difference" from public schools. Only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than public schools.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-71137487985887381662009-11-19T22:56:17.594-05:002009-11-19T22:56:17.594-05:00I am curious: Why do you quote "gifted and t...I am curious: Why do you quote "gifted and talented", but not the other descriptions of students? It's not a topic you get into much, (It CAN be a hotbed...) although it came to my mind when reading your posts about the Top 20%, and dreams deferred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com