tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27908095612648106932024-03-14T04:59:55.181-04:00Ann Arbor Schools Musings<b> Information, news, and ideas about Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and Michigan schools; thoughts about education; and occasionally other stuff too.
</b>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comBlogger961125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-20592397983867157132017-08-20T21:37:00.004-04:002017-08-20T21:40:20.083-04:00The End is Near, MaybeI've been dreaming about this for months. As my youngest child was getting ready to graduate from high school, all spring I would think about winding down this blog. Which--to be fair--I've been doing over the last year. It turns out that there are other things I want to spend my time on in my life.<br />
And, as my children have moved out of the public schools, and moved on to other things, my attention has wandered. Also, I don't get as much "back door" information about the schools.<br />
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I said several years ago, that when my last child graduated high school I would end this blog. Now, I'm not saying that I will completely and totally end the blog. That seems too final. You may see me pop up now and again, for elections, major controversies, etcetera.<br />
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In case you're wondering, I've mostly been happy with the education my kids got in the Ann Arbor schoosl, I still believe that all of Michigan's schools deserve more money, and I still believe that public schools--for the people, by the people, of the people--are the way to go. And I still believe that testing is a waste of time and energy.<br />
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So for now, I'm winding down.<br />
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Except--I want to end on a high note, before school starts again, so there are 2 (or maybe 3) posts to go.<br />
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One more thing: I will be keeping the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/annarborschoolsmusings/" target="_blank">Ann Arbor Schools Musings facebook group</a> open. If you are interested, ask to join it.<br />
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And if you see me on the street, introduce yourself!<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-87010054696074284322017-05-14T19:52:00.000-04:002017-05-16T23:09:28.380-04:00Help the Sanchez-Ronquillo Family This Week<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">UPDATE May 16, 2017: <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/05/attorney_credits_supporters_in.html#incart_2box_news_ann-arbor" target="_blank">Deportation delayed--for now</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Many of you may already know the story of Jose Sanchez-Ronquillo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The CHS Communicator <a href="http://www.chscommunicator.com/front-page/2017/04/24/on-soccer-street-fighter-and-citizenship-ann-arbor-father-faces-deportation/" target="_blank">gives some of the background, and a sense of the family, here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As Lauren Slagter of M-Live <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/05/federal_court_temporarily_dela.html#incart_gallery" target="_blank">noted on May 1</a>, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.208px;">The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, in Detroit, granted a temporary stay on Sanchez-Ronquillo's pending deportation on Monday, May 1, said Sanchez-Ronquillo's attorney Monica Smith."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.208px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Well, that was then. But now there is an emergency motion to deport Jose Luis before the Board of Immigration Appeals has a chance to hear motions about reopening the case.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I got an urgent email this weekend from a Bach/Slauson parent: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"You may already be aware that one of our beloved Bach/Slauson/Pioneer community members, Jose Luis Sanchez-Ronquillo, is in danger of being deported. We've just received some upsetting news regarding his case. <b>The government has made an emergency motion to deport Jose Luis next <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448764" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Wednesday, 5/17</span></span>, before the Board of Immigration Appeals has a chance to hear motions about reopening the case. </b>The government's motion will be heard in Detroit next <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448765" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday, 5/16 at noon</span></span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>We have organized a rally to support Jose and his family on <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448766" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">TUES, 5/16</span></span> @ <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448763" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">11am</span></span> in Detroit. </b> I am wondering if there is any way the PTOC can help spread the word about this event? A similar rally was held outside the courthouse during Yousef Ajin's hearing - many Community High School students attended this rally and they were successful in stopping his deportation.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">SOME WAYS WE CAN HELP:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>1. SHARE</b> the FB event widely on social media: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.facebook.com/events/789048444596348/&source=gmail&ust=1494890863515000&usg=AFQjCNFagHTR8jCokU6TZvBdBFAKwyuwQg" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/789048444596348/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/even<wbr></wbr>ts/789048444596348/</a>. And spread the word to all your contacts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>2. ATTEND</b> the Rally next <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448768" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday, 5/16</span></span> @ <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448767" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">11am</span></span> - Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI, 48226.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rally will be held Tuesday, May 16th, 11 a.m. at the Levin Courthouse in Detroit.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>3. WRITE </b>letters of support, which will be given to the judge at the hearing (see sample letter below for ideas). Email letters to <a href="mailto:louwsma@umich.edu" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">louwsma@umich.edu</a>, or to <a href="mailto:Jessica.prozinski@gmail.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Jessica.prozinski@gmail.com</a> by <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1505448770" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Monday</span></span> night (5/15). Letters should be addressed to: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Honorable David Lawson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Thank you so much for helping this important family in our community!"</span></div>
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<b>One more thing: </b>If you are interested in immigration issues, the Washtenaw County Commissioners are considering a pro-immigrant resolution this Wednesday, May 17th at their Board of Commissioners meeting. Here is more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1829603477292520/<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-8936053881101921342017-05-01T00:09:00.000-04:002017-05-01T00:36:15.239-04:00Ann Arbor Voters: Vote Yes Tuesday May 2, 2017<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Did you know there was an election coming up this Tuesday, May 2nd? Well, there is. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Both Ann Arbor schools and Ypsilanti schools have proposals on the ballot. [So if you live in the school district, you need to vote. It's not about whether you live in the city.]</span><br />
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<a href="https://webapps.sos.state.mi.us/MVIC/" style="background-color: white; color: #3d00bb; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Find your polling place here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">For Ann Arbor, the question is whether to support a Sinking Fund Millage. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">This could be considered a renewal PLUS. It is an increase over what we have had recently, but it replaces a </span><span class="il" style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">millage</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> that we currently have. The millage would go from 1.0 to 2.5 m</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">ills. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f; text-align: justify;"><em>Under state law, sinking fund proceeds may not be used to pay teacher or administrator salaries. They are used to meet facility/physical building needs, and if we don't have the millage, that money gets taken from the general fund. </em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f; text-align: justify;">I'm supporting this millage. </strong></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f; text-align: justify;">I was leaning that way anyway, but I came to this as a definitive conclusion while I was sitting at a Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. I've been on the RAC for about two years, and we meet where Rec & Ed's offices are, on the "back" (S. Seventh) side of Pioneer High School. And here it is, February or March, and it is raining outside, I walk into a room where the tables have been moved from their usual spots, because in the usual spots there are buckets catching the rain from a leaking roof. Not one bucket. Many buckets.</span></span><br />
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[The whole bucket theme now has me singing to myself, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza/There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, my love/Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry/Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry my love." And actually, maybe that's a good metaphor for the sinking fund, because the song continues, "With what shall I fix it...?"]<br />
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When Allen School flooded, the district exhausted its insurance and had to dip into the general fund. They have since "upped" their insurance coverage, but anytime you have to dip into the general fund, that is taking away from teachers and other staff and from stuff for kids.<br />
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A few weeks ago, at another Recreation Advisory Commission, sitting in the same room, this time there are no buckets. However, it is hot! I wish I could say that being hot (or cold) is an unusual experience for teachers and kids in the district, but the fact is--it's not! Go into many classrooms in September or June, and you will find the rooms well over 80 degrees. I don't think this is the easiest way for kids to learn!<br />
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Let's face it, buildings need to be renewed or they fall apart. I'd rather that money came from the sinking fund than the general fund, because the general fund supports teachers, and is constantly under threat from the state legislature.<br />
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So--I'm supporting the sinking fund millage. Do I agree with all of the proposed ideas for how to spend the money? Probably about 90% of them. That's good enough for me--<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">I probably only agree with myself about 90% of the time!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>If you live in the Ann Arbor school district, please vote Tuesday May 2, 2017.</i></td></tr>
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You can read more!<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.a2schools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=11683" target="_blank">Ann Arbor Public Schools Information Page</a><br />
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2. <a href="http://www.a2cmc.org/" target="_blank">Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee Web Page</a><br />
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What Does The Ballot Proposal Say?</h3>
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<i>This proposal would replace and extend the authority last approved by voters in 2013 and which expires with the 2019 levy for the Public Schools of the City of Ann Arbor to levy a sinking fund millage. This proposal would allow the use of proceeds of the millage for all purposes previously permitted by law as well as newly authorized security improvements.<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></i></blockquote>
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<i>As a replacement of existing authority, shall the Public Schools of the City of Ann Arbor, County of Washtenaw, Michigan, be authorized to levy 2.50 mills ($2.50 per $1,000 of taxable valuation) to create a sinking fund for the purpose of the construction or repair of school buildings, including school security improvements, and the improvement and development of sites and, to the extent permitted by law, for other purposes, including, but not limited to, the acquisition and installation of furnishings and equipment, by increasing the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be imposed on taxable property in the School District for a period of ten (10) years, being the years 2017 to 2026, inclusive? It is estimated that 2.50 mills ($2.50 per $1,000 of taxable valuation) would raise approximately $20,193,874 in the first year that it is levied.<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.144px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.75em;">
<i>(Under state law, sinking fund proceeds may not be used to pay teacher or administrator salaries.)</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlmqhjsd9v4xKFkjKZ0TwVTugAPHHjZowGo7oke77RU2F1J9y_YkZTBhumtq42WFM7GLJ9nCJQf8Cv-ZGEjNqDnlWYasXNOZISPXSZCRbWAFUyq7a0vi_xKW9uMFaBCEo8pRhqg1RnLs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-01+at+12.04.50+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlmqhjsd9v4xKFkjKZ0TwVTugAPHHjZowGo7oke77RU2F1J9y_YkZTBhumtq42WFM7GLJ9nCJQf8Cv-ZGEjNqDnlWYasXNOZISPXSZCRbWAFUyq7a0vi_xKW9uMFaBCEo8pRhqg1RnLs/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-05-01+at+12.04.50+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-50923488091226184962017-04-29T21:22:00.004-04:002017-05-01T00:10:24.601-04:00Ypsilanti Voters: Vote Yes Tuesday May 2nd, 2017Did you know there was an election coming up this Tuesday, May 2nd? Well, there is. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<br />
<br />
Both Ann Arbor schools and Ypsilanti schools have proposals on the ballot. [So if you live in the school district, you need to vote. It's not about whether you live in the city.]<br />
<br />
<a href="https://webapps.sos.state.mi.us/MVIC/" target="_blank">Find your polling place here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF_PZbsZRM9uW4wyGRTc-P8ir_Y49r7fvuZ46S0KlaPYO2SjqP1br2c7CYaUW4Ct5DzfJHU55_3x2xuTwXJOj3V5EW0uFtuX3xCjAqBEOXkVDHTgP-MFGipJxCtfSqQueuvzjeW47jcg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-04-29+at+9.18.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF_PZbsZRM9uW4wyGRTc-P8ir_Y49r7fvuZ46S0KlaPYO2SjqP1br2c7CYaUW4Ct5DzfJHU55_3x2xuTwXJOj3V5EW0uFtuX3xCjAqBEOXkVDHTgP-MFGipJxCtfSqQueuvzjeW47jcg/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-04-29+at+9.18.28+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>If you are a voter living within the light purple boundaries, you need to vote!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
Key Facts About the Ypsilanti Community Schools Proposal</h3>
<br />
1. Ypsilanti's proposal is really pretty simple. It is a renewal of a millage. It is basic maintenance of the status quo.<br />
<br />
2. IF THE MILLAGE DOES NOT PASS, YCS will lose $2,370 per pupil each year.<br />
<br />
3. 100% principal residential dwellings are not affected. This is a millage on what are called non-homestead uses. Non-homestead=industrial, business, second homes.<br />
<br />
So please--vote yes.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.144px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; text-align: justify;">
<i>This proposal will allow the school district to continue to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance. The remaining .5 mill is only available to be levied to restore millage lost as a result of a reduction required by the “Headlee” amendment to the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and will only be levied to the extent necessary to restore that reduction.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.144px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; text-align: justify;">
<i>Shall the currently authorized millage rate limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, in Ypsilanti Community Schools, Washtenaw County, Michigan, be renewed by 18 mills ($18.00 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) and also be increased by .5 mill ($0.50 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation), for a period of 5 years, 2018 to 2022, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and 18 mills are levied in 2018 is approximately $25,816,000 (18 mills of the above is a renewal of millage that will expire with the 2017 levy and .5 mill is an increase in millage which will only be levied to the extent necessary to restore millage lost as a result of a reduction required by the Michigan Constitution of 1963)?</i></blockquote>
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">VOTE YES! PLEASE! </span></b></h2>
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-23130714523453309012017-01-11T22:32:00.001-05:002017-01-11T22:47:01.323-05:00Work to Stop the DeVos Nomination to the Department of EducationYou may already know that Betsy DeVos has been nominated to be the U.S. Secretary of Education. The confirmation hearing is scheduled for next week, currently scheduled for January 17th, 2017.<br />
<br />
Senator Elizabeth Warren has written a letter with a lot of detail about DeVos' record. <a href="http://www.warren.senate.gov/files/documents/2017-01-09_Betsy_DeVos_Letter.pdf" target="_blank">Read it here</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's Mark Maynard's summary of her letter. <a href="http://markmaynard.com/2017/01/elizabeth-warren-gives-a-preview-of-the-devos-confirmation-hearing-in-a-scathing-16-page-open-letter-to-trumps-nominee-for-secretary-of-education/" target="_blank">He's got pretty pictures</a>.<br />
<br />
The Network for Public Education is (and I am) asking you to take action to oppose the DeVos nomination.<br />
<br />
As NPE writes:<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Below are committee members, along with their Washington phone number, fax numbers and local phone numbers. Often Washington numbers are busy. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Please be sure to call every member prior to the January 17 hearing. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Sample script: </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue;">My name is xxxx and I am calling to let the Senator know that I would like him/her to oppose the appointment of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue;">DeVos and her family heavily lobbied the Michigan legislature to shield the charter industry from greater oversight. She pushes for-profit charter schools and online schools, which consistently fail the students that they are supposed to serve.</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: blue;">I want my tax dollars to stay in my community to support my public schools. Betsy DeVos is bad for American education. She is unqualified to serve as Secretary of Education. </span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">(If you want to say more, read Sen. Warren's letter for lots of detail and ideas.)</em></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<a data-rel="lightbox" href="http://npeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HELP-Committee-Contact-Sheet-UPDATED.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2d5c88; text-decoration: none;"></a></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">US Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://npeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HELP-Committee-Contact-Sheet-UPDATED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://npeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HELP-Committee-Contact-Sheet-UPDATED.jpg" height="640" width="521" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-64963820282838282162016-11-15T21:22:00.000-05:002016-11-15T21:22:08.195-05:00The Work Goes On: The Dream Shall Never Die<span style="font-family: inherit;">What Are The Odds? </span><br />
<br />
Given that the Chicago Cubs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, and Iowa just defeated UM in football, I shouldn't have been as shocked as I was to have Trump win.<br />
<br />
Rationally, I knew that, as described, the chance of Trump winning was about the same as a college kicker making a 38-yard field goal. I've seen that happen--not frequently, but also--not so <i>in</i>frequently. (I'm not a huge football fan--but I get called in to watch the replays of the big plays.)<br />
<br />
<i>So, the election happened.</i><br />
<br />
And I should be happier than I am that two out of three of "my" candidates won the Ann Arbor school board election. Actually, I am very happy that Harmony Mitchell and Jeff Gaynor won seats on the AAPS board; and that Donna Lasinski won a seat in the State House, leaving open an AAPS school board seat, so another new person can join the school board (and, in the process, putting a dedicated education advocate in the state House).<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>But I would have given all that up for a Clinton victory.</b></i><br />
<br />
I was at an immigration conference on Friday, and <a href="http://www.stephaniechang.com/" target="_blank">Rep. Stephanie Chang</a> spoke. She represents Ecorse, River Rouge, and part of Detroit, and one of the things she said is, "We need more candidates running for office!"<br />
<br />
I think she's right. So I am really happy that we had competitive school board elections in nearly all of our local districts. It takes a lot to put yourself out there--I appreciate that people are willing to do it!<br />
<br />
I had forgotten, but even when candidates lose, competitive elections do some important things:<br />
<ul>
<li>draw attention to key issues</li>
<li>allow candidates to refine narratives and see what catches attention</li>
<li>running for "lower level" seats like school board allows candidates to learn the skills needed to run for higher office</li>
</ul>
<br />
One thing that I had also forgotten is that there are lots of roles for people who want to support candidates, but don't want to run for office. I had also forgotten that canvassing can be fun, especially if you are working with friends. I canvassed for Hillary Clinton in Ohio and Pennsylvania with old friends; made a new friend canvassing for Clinton in Michigan; and got a lot of exercise walking the streets for Hunter, Harmony and Jeff in some beautiful fall weather.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Now What?</h3>
<br />
The pressing question for me, now, is: what should I work on? Part of me thinks, "Why were you working on local education issues when so many "bigger" issues are more important?" Part of me thinks, "Work on things you can control and that have a chance of success."<br />
<br />
Should I be working on climate change? the Dakota pipeline? civil liberties? reproductive rights? I'm exhausted just thinking about it!<br />
<br />
Even within education issues, the big question for me is whether we should focus on the short game or the long game. Let's face it--the short game is ALL defense, and it's much bigger than some of the issues that are important to me, like overtesting. [They are related, though.]<br />
<br />
Some proposals I have heard are coming down the pike from the state legislature include <b>attacks on teacher pensions</b> and the <b>use of specialized education accounts to pay for private schools</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>The long game would be focused on things like ending gerrymandering; improving our Freedom of Information Act law; ending online charters and for-profit charters.</b><br />
<br />
I still believe that our new local group <a href="https://www.educateannarbor.org/" target="_blank">Educate Ann Arbor</a>; the statewide group <a href="http://www.mipfs.org/" target="_blank">Michigan Parents for Schools</a>; the national <a href="http://networkforpubliceducation.org/" target="_blank">Network for Public Education</a> have a lot to contribute.<br />
<br />
<h3>
More Than Ever</h3>
<br />
For inspiration, I am sharing Ted Kennedy's 1980 Democratic convention concession speech, in which he says:<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"<span style="background-color: white;">the work goes on, the</span><span style="background-color: white;"> cause endures, the hope still lives, and the </span><span style="background-color: white;">dream</span><span style="background-color: white;"> shall never die." </span></i></span></span></h4>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p5cKYckTWEM" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
After we are done mourning--we've got work to do. So whatever you choose to work on? Choose something.<br />
<a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=AnnArborSchoolsMusings&loc=en_US">Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Share this blog with your friends if you like it!
Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-75784671753898733962016-10-15T22:02:00.001-04:002016-10-15T22:02:44.236-04:00WeRoc Questionnaires For AAPS School Board Candidates<b>I was asked by WeRoc to post the AAPS school board candidates' answers to their questions. After thinking about it for a while, I've decided to share them because I like what WeRoc tries to do. Also, they have some excellent questions for the candidates, and they are a bit different from most of the other questions I have seen.</b><br />
<br />
<i>In any case, if you are really interested in my thoughts about the election, and my endorsements, <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2016/10/ann-arbor-school-board-endorsements.html#.WALbBZMrLzU">you will find them here</a>. </i><br />
<h3>
<br />Who is WeRoc?</h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 23.4px; margin-bottom: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://werocmi.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/werocbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://werocmi.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/werocbanner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 23.4px; margin-bottom: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Washtenaw Regional Organizational Coalition (WeROC) brings together faith, labor, and community organizations and individuals to create a collective voice to impact public affairs and issues in the Washtenaw County, Michigan area. We are affiliated with the MOSES organization in S.E. Michigan (<a href="http://mosesmi.org/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">mosesmi.org</a>) and the national Gamaliel Foundation network of community organizing projects. Our unique organizing process focuses on creating opportunities for more people of color, lower income residents, and youth to participate at the tables where decisions affecting them and the broader community are made — and finding effective ways to dismantle the structures that stubbornly maintain racism and economic inequality in our area.</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<div>
<h3>
WeRoc AAPS School Board Questionnaire and Answers</h3>
</div>
<div>
You can find the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByviJiXLmGu6X2Rrd3FLX3NjbXRIWnY4MUlRUnNzV19jSEJj/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">WeRoc questionnaire and answers here</a>. (The answers were a bit too long to put inside the blog post.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To whet your interest, here are the questions:<br />
<br />
1. In what ways would you seek to increase minority and low-income parent voice in decision-making?<br />
<br />
2. In what ways would you seek to increase minority and low-income youth voice in decision-making?<br />
<br />
3. What is your vision of a positive school climate and how would you like to see your
district promote that vision? Would you promote Restorative Justice and/or
Communities in Schools programs?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <span style="line-height: 115%;">What is your school district’s approach to school discipline and do you
think it’s working? If not, what would you like to change?</span></span><br />
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5. As a school board member, you may be asked to make decisions about non-
mandatory student expulsions and long-term suspensions. What will be your guiding
principles in making those difficult decisions? Are there situations you would
absolutely expel? Are there situations you would not expel?<br />
<br />
6. Nationally, there is a disturbing trend of suspending preschool and early elementary
school students and some communities are responding with a strict moratorium on
such suspensions. What is your position on suspensions in the early grades?<br />
<br />
7. How will you promote transparency and regular review of expulsion, suspension and
school arrest data?<br />
<br />
8. School dropout is a problem with enormous social costs. What do you feel your
district could do differently do address school dropout?<br />
<br />
9. What role, if any, do you feel law enforcement should have in schools?<br />
<br />
10. In your position as Board member or Trustee, you will be in a unique position to be a
powerful advocate for children from marginalized groups. How do you see yourself
exercising that power?<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-39127216972517835912016-10-10T23:27:00.000-04:002016-10-10T23:27:17.647-04:00Ann Arbor School Board Endorsements: Mitchell, Gaynor, Van Valkenburgh<b><span style="font-size: large;">It's time for Ann Arbor school board endorsements. </span></b><br />
<br />
There are eight candidates for three spots, and my friends who have gotten their absentee ballots are asking me what I think.<br />
<br />
I know, you're thinking--in the past, Ruth has not made endorsements. That's true. But in the past, I haven't worked on anybody's campaigns either.<br />
<br />
I feel this year is different. You should (and you will!) vote for whomever you decide to vote for, but I would like to share my thoughts.<br />
<br />
I really appreciate anybody that takes on the often-thankless task of running for (any) school board. It doesn't pay big bucks, it takes a lot of time, it's hard work, you get a lot of criticism. Having said that, there are more candidates than spots, so we do have to choose.<br />
<h3>
FIRST: We're Talking About The Non-Partisan Ballot</h3>
I'm not a person who checks the straight-ticket box (even when I vote a straight ticket, which is probably 95% of the time, I like to fill in all of the little circles).<br />
<br />
But if you are a person who checks the straight-ticket box, you should know that many of the school-related races: school boards, community college trustees--ALL of that--is on the non-partisan part of the ballot. Even if you vote a straight ticket, DON'T FORGET about that part of the ballot!<br />
<h3>
<br />SECOND: I Think It's Time For A Change</h3>
There are three seats open, and two incumbents--Deb Mexicotte and Simone Lightfoot--are running again. I'm not supporting either of them, and I hope that you won't either--especially not Deb Mexicotte, who has been the president of the board for the last several years.<br />
<br />
There is a lot that this board has to be proud of, and I have agreed with probably 80-85% of their decisions. However, the other 15-20% has been extremely problematic.<br />
<br />
Although a former board member pointed out to me that seven people are on the board (so it's not like these two incumbents could do anything just by themselves), these two are the only ones running for re-election. Also, the president of the board does a lot of work setting the agenda and the process, and in my opinion, that has been the most problematic part of the current board.<br />
<br />
I have concerns with the teacher evaluation system (which I believe goes far beyond what the state requires); I have concerns with the way the district has dealt with over-testing of students (the number of tests has been increasing every year); I have concerns with privatization and the number of "employees" who are not the district's employees.<br />
<br />
But make no mistake about this--my biggest concerns are about process and transparency. I've had these concerns for several years, and in fact discussed them in an Ann Arbor Chronicle issue back in 2014! (<a href="http://annarborchronicle.com/2014/02/16/column-good-ideas-flawed-process-at-aaps/" target="_blank">Read it here</a>.) Board votes are frequently 7-0 with little or no discussion; items get rushed through; discussion of important items happens late in the board meeting when parents, students, teachers, citizens are unable to be there; minutes reflect simply the motion and the vote, and not the discussion. Subcommittee meetings are held during the school day, when teachers and students are not able to be there.<br />
<br />
As one recent example: in the past, there were informal budget meetings with concerned community members in May, while the budget was being developed, to discuss what might be added or cut. This year, there were no meetings, and the budget was not even shown to the public until the day of the meeting where it had its public unveiling.<br />
<br />
A friend asked me if this was really the work of the Superintendent? I believe that if the school board--and particularly the school board president--were to say, "That's not how we do things here," then that's not what would be done.<br />
<br />
Current school board members can certainly be proud of many achievements (largely because of our fine staff), but when it comes to process, they have been sorely lacking.<br />
<br />
So, I will not be voting for the incumbents, and I hope you won't either.<br />
<br />
<h3>
THIRD: I'm supporting Hunter Van Valkenburgh, Jeff Gaynor, and Harmony Mitchell</h3>
<b><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/harmony_thumb-200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/harmony_thumb-200x300.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hunter_thumb-200x300.jpg?666f9e" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hunter_thumb-200x300.jpg?666f9e" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/jeff_thumb-200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/jeff_thumb-200x300.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<br />
<b><div>
[Photos in order from left to right]</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
Hunter Van Valkenburgh</b> is a parent, an attorney, a former teacher himself (not in Ann Arbor), and the husband of an Ann Arbor Open teacher. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Jeff Gaynor</b> is a recently-retired AAPS teacher who also hosted several exchange students who were placed in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Harmony Mitchell </b>is a parent who moved here a few years ago from the DC area, where she saw first-hand the havoc wreaked by the so-called "education reform" agenda of Michelle Rhee and company.<br />
<br />
<b>I have had extensive conversations with these three candidates</b>, and I know that they are concerned with transparency and process. I know that they support our teachers. They are running as a slate, and <a href="http://www.hunterharmonyandjeff.org/" target="_blank">you can read about their campaign and their platform(s) here</a>.<br />
<br />
They also have--all three of them--endorsed the Educate Ann Arbor platform, <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2016/09/introducingeducate-ann-arbor_11.html#.V_xPsJMrK_s" target="_blank">which I mentioned recently</a>. (Go ahead, you can <a href="http://www.educateannarbor.org/about/" target="_blank">endorse the platform</a> too!)<br />
<h3>
<br />FOURTH: But what if...</h3>
But what if you don't like to vote for slates? What if you don't like one of these candidates, but you like the other two?<br />
<br />
Well then...I'm still going to ask you to not vote for the incumbents, because...there are three other good options.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57b779ece3df2876f539561f/1471642099504/Jeremy+Glick?format=300w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57b779ece3df2876f539561f/1471642099504/Jeremy+Glick?format=300w" width="181" /></a><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57ae0c7e440243d6c7def3ed/1471024262959/Rebecca+Lazarus?format=300w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57ae0c7e440243d6c7def3ed/1471024262959/Rebecca+Lazarus?format=300w" width="200" /></a><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57f7f757e58c6208092d886d/1475868513936/Don+Wilkerson?format=300w" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/570d0359044262a4a155d0dd/t/57f7f757e58c6208092d886d/1475868513936/Don+Wilkerson?format=300w" width="185" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>[Photos in order from left to right]</b><br />
<br />
<b>1. Rebecca Lazarus</b>--Rebecca is a parent of two children in the district and a graphic designer, and she would be my first choice, because although I don't know her personally, she also has endorsed the Educate Ann Arbor platform, so I know her values line up with mine. <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/rebecca-lazarus/" target="_blank">Read more about Rebecca here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Don Wilkerson</b>--Don is also a parent of two children in the district, and he has been actively involved in his school's PTO and in the PTO Council. He previously ran for the board and he is a hard worker. He has unfortunately (in my opinion) aligned his campaign with Deb Mexicotte's and Simone Lightfoot's. <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/don-wilkerson/" target="_blank">Read more about Don here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Jeremy Glick</b>--Jeremy is a recent graduate of Skyline High School and a University of Michigan undergraduate. He would like to bring the student perspective to the school board. <a href="http://www.voteglick.com/" target="_blank">Read more about Jeremy here</a>.<br />
<br />
You can also read about lots of local races, including Ann Arbor school board, at <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/">annarborvotes.org</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Last, But Not Least: State Board of Education</h3>
The State Board of Education deserves its own blog post, but in case you are pressed for time on your absentee ballot, I am supporting John Austin and Ismael ("Ish") Ahmed. Yes, they are Democrats. <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/john-austin/" target="_blank">Read about John Austin here</a>. <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/ishmael-ahmed/" target="_blank">Read about Ismael Ahmed here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-64503846389417110282016-10-09T11:33:00.002-04:002016-10-09T11:33:26.952-04:00Who's In For Scholarships? Join Me At Rick's* Run For Kids!<a href="http://www.mymichigantrails.com/gallup/gallup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://www.mymichigantrails.com/gallup/gallup.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Next Saturday, October 15th, in the morning,</b> you will find me at <span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://aareced.wixsite.com/rr4k" target="_blank">Rick's Run For Kids</a></b></span>, doing a mixture of running and walking around beautiful Gallup Park to raise scholarship money for Ann Arbor Public Schools Rec & Ed. </span><br />
<br />
<h3>
Why? </h3>
<a href="http://aareced.wixsite.com/rr4k" target="_blank">Rick's Run For Kids</a> is one way that Rec & Ed raises money for scholarships that allow lower-income families in our district to access all the wonderful extra-curricular work that Rec & Ed does. That includes summer camps, after school language and dance programs, youth soccer (baseball, volleyball, field hockey, etc.), exercise and educational classes, and so much more.<br />
<br />
I'm on the Recreation Advisory Committee for AAPS, and this really does make a difference.<br />
<br />
MORE RUNNERS/WALKERS=MORE SCHOLARSHIPS!<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: large;">Please join me. <a href="http://aareced.wixsite.com/rr4k" target="_blank">Sign up here!</a> </span><br />
<br />
Online registration goes until noon on October 12th, you can register in person after that.<br />
<br />
The 5K starts at 9:00 A.M.<br />
There is a Kids' Dash for kids 10 and under that starts at 10:15 a.m.<br />
<h3>
<br />*Who was Rick?</h3>
<div>
<br />
No, in this case, Rick does <i>not</i> refer to our state's governor. (You laugh, but I was asked that by a couple of people.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bb90a4_5495b8f32fa34d88acd4cc1be615fdfa~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_296,h_284,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/bb90a4_5495b8f32fa34d88acd4cc1be615fdfa~mv2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bb90a4_5495b8f32fa34d88acd4cc1be615fdfa~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_296,h_284,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/bb90a4_5495b8f32fa34d88acd4cc1be615fdfa~mv2.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Rick refers to Rick Dekeon, a beloved Physical Education teacher at (then) Northside Elementary, who also served on the Recreation Advisory Committee for many years and was a Rec & Ed coach and official. He believed that athletics are for everyone, and through RAC and several other PE committees, his influence went far beyond the halls of Northside. He volunteered his time to run a before-school running club for kids, and that's why a Run for Kids seems like a great way to memorialize him.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://aareced.wixsite.com/rr4k" target="_blank">So won't you join me? </a> (Bring a couple of friends, too--why not?!)</span></i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=AnnArborSchoolsMusings&loc=en_US">Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Share this blog with your friends if you like it!
Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-84275602088106556012016-09-11T23:00:00.003-04:002016-09-12T23:13:35.635-04:00Introducing...Educate Ann ArborThose of you who have been reading this blog for years know that this year, my youngest child is entering his senior year of high school! Where did the time go?<br />
<br />
[Digression: He writes, too--follow the <a href="http://www.chscommunicator.com/">Community High School Communicator</a>, people--it's got good stuff!]<br />
<br />
So anyway, you know that I'm planning on phasing out my writing here as he phases out his career. (Or--I'm willing to "sell" this blog--for $0.00!--if anyone else wants to take on writing about our county schools. Seriously, maybe that's you.) MORE SERIOUSLY, I cannot do "this" alone.<br />
<br />
So anyway, what I've been thinking about is the subject of "this": what comes next? I don't mean for me personally--I mean for the movement to educate people about our schools, promote transparent decision-making, support children and teachers, advocate for better school finance arrangements, oppose testing and the educational reform agenda...just for starters. These are not short-term issues; they require long-term attention.<br />
<br />
Across the nation, people are organizing. <a href="https://dianeravitch.net/">Diane Ravitch</a> helped establish the <a href="http://networkforpubliceducation.org/">Network for Public Education</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWMpHvM8fa_sc7LFYpk47ltjDfanwewKyuiyN2Zy5uM30wptiMOEmL1XIxrwnTFEfoAaKDuMA_WTwMpxQuYhtgxTj5IjtC0UUrkj8U_aFQxTkhvrMVX56-FBUJ5xk2FnBHwA_LcnPz_k/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-11+at+10.51.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWMpHvM8fa_sc7LFYpk47ltjDfanwewKyuiyN2Zy5uM30wptiMOEmL1XIxrwnTFEfoAaKDuMA_WTwMpxQuYhtgxTj5IjtC0UUrkj8U_aFQxTkhvrMVX56-FBUJ5xk2FnBHwA_LcnPz_k/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-09-11+at+10.51.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Many thanks to Pete Sickman-Garner for the fantastic logo and to Meredith Buhalis for web site design.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Here in Ann Arbor, we are organizing too, and I'm proud to say that I'm part of the group that has established a new "organization," (it is so informal at this point that it is kind of a "baby organization") and a new web site, <a href="http://educateannarbor.org/">educateannarbor.org</a>.<br />
<br />
I am excited about our mission and our platform. It's a bit long, but hey--education is kind of complicated. I didn't know it at the time, but the platform very much echoes the platform of the Network for Public Education.<br />
<br />
I'm posting the "overview" part of the mission below.<br />
<br />
I very much hope that you will <a href="http://educateannarbor.org/">visit the web site</a> and ENDORSE our platform. Eventually we will have a list of people who have endorsed the platform on the web site (which is why you have the option of "endorsing" anonymously--in case you cannot or don't want to be public). And eventually, this will not just be a small group of people with a vision, but a large group of people with many action plans.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.2px; margin-bottom: 28px; margin-right: -13.5pt; text-align: left;">
<strong><a href="http://educateannarbor.org/">Educate Ann Arbor</a> is a group of parents, teachers, school staff, students and citizens who care about our public school systems and work toward educating our community about public education. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We believe parents should have an active voice in their children’s education. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We believe teachers are professionals and should be treated as professionals. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We believe in teacher-driven assessment. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We support the rights of teachers, paraprofessionals, and other school staff to unionize. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We endorse community-driven decision-making. </strong><strong style="line-height: 27.2px;">We insist the State of Michigan make school funding a priority.</strong></blockquote>
<a href="http://www.educateannarbor.org/about/">Read the rest of our platform/philosophy here</a>, and join us!<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-62928260795394089212016-09-07T05:00:00.000-04:002016-09-07T05:00:31.396-04:00Good, And PlentyExactly three years ago I wrote a post about how I hate the "Exceptional" tag that the Ann Arbor Public Schools uses to promote their schools. <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2013/09/ann-arbors-exceptional-schools-campaign.html#.V8OdV5MrIlU">You can read that post here</a>.<br>
<br>
I've thought some more about it. I still hate it. Because exceptional doesn't mean good, or excellent; exceptional means that we are better than everybody else.<br>
<br>
That's not my goal. We don't need to think of ourselves as better than everybody else. I was thinking about it earlier this summer, and I believe there is a candy that represents my goal.<br>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDCbaU4BMZTymXD0p4-DuhSnXWGThCkeRkIWdokTeM1PEUFp1Ux7ZdaadBqZiEhcRcH0MsGNnkHC9I1Say4z6bxorhdzLrlFeX5WZyY9AfO4lb5w5PP5s4g5FHhSgeNFeYwIueUvtX4s/s1600/Good-%2526-Plenty-Box-Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDCbaU4BMZTymXD0p4-DuhSnXWGThCkeRkIWdokTeM1PEUFp1Ux7ZdaadBqZiEhcRcH0MsGNnkHC9I1Say4z6bxorhdzLrlFeX5WZyY9AfO4lb5w5PP5s4g5FHhSgeNFeYwIueUvtX4s/s400/Good-%2526-Plenty-Box-Small.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
<br>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here's what I want, for all schools.</span></b><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Schools that are <span style="background-color: #c27ba0;">good</span>, and that have <span style="background-color: #c27ba0;">plenty</span> of opportunities for all kids.</span></b><br>
<b><br></b>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">That's my new slogan: <span style="background-color: #c27ba0;">Good, and Plenty</span></span></b></h4>
<br>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-40563261853361884852016-08-28T23:42:00.000-04:002016-08-28T23:50:53.855-04:00Before The School Year Starts<span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you have already bought back to school supplies. Maybe you are not a procrastinator. Maybe you are not squeezing the last few days of vacation out of the summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But my advice this week, based on my Facebook feed and an email I got from a worried parent, is this:</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
1. Check the bus schedules, if you expect your child to take the bus, NOW. </span></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPmteAkN0T3Ub_yucTx6DeCXXihvtdHYgWHsJyGZBaxfgeSIi5pmlBwDds-67EOm4mPe2-41q1CnByAjG5MVvxHeb-MZuWL2-0OlSBnj9Mx9rBrVL2gP6mt-jbx5oQBx5bXCPDwM69QY/s1600/pppaata6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPmteAkN0T3Ub_yucTx6DeCXXihvtdHYgWHsJyGZBaxfgeSIi5pmlBwDds-67EOm4mPe2-41q1CnByAjG5MVvxHeb-MZuWL2-0OlSBnj9Mx9rBrVL2gP6mt-jbx5oQBx5bXCPDwM69QY/s320/pppaata6.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">For some Ann Arbor high school students, </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">the bus t</span></i><i style="font-family: inherit;">ransportation </i><i style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">may be </i></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">provided on an Ann </i></i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Arbor Area Transportation </i></i><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Authority bus.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">
<i style="font-size: 12.8px;">
</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't wait until next Sunday or Monday when everything is closed. If there is a problem (and I have heard about a few), you are much more likely to resolve it before the school year starts if you try to solve it now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">--Look the schedule up (in Ann Arbor: <a href="http://a2schools.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=5392">http://a2schools.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=5392</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">--If there is a problem (for instance, if your child would have to walk more than 1.5 miles, or cross a very busy street without a crossing guard or light), then I would suggest doing multiple things:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Call Transportation and ask for a Router to discuss the problem, in Ann Arbor: <b>(734) 994-2330</b></span></li>
<li><strong -webkit-center="" 27px="" background-color:="" color:="" f2f2f="" font-family:="" glegoo="" line-height:="" quot="" serif="" style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f;" text-align:="" white=""><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fill out the Parent Question and Concern Form</span></strong></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Let the school principal know your concern as well </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: -webkit-center;">If necessary (if you don't feel like you are getting a resolution) then bump up your concern to the Superintendent and the Board of Education.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;">And by the way, it helps to know your rights: you can read the Ann Arbor Transportation Policy in <a href="http://www.boarddocs.com/mi/aaps/Board.nsf/Public?open&id=policies#">Board Policy 3760.R.01 which can be found in Board Docs</a>. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 27px;">2. Did your child have a crummy year last year? Are you worried that will happen again? Take Action Now. For instance: </span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;"><b>It's OK to request a meeting: </b>Summer vacation is over for teachers and principals--you should feel free to write an email or place a phone call asking for a meeting. (If it's simple, maybe you don't need a meeting--but anything complicated, ask to get on the schedule!) Don't feel badly about asking to meet with the principal or with teachers or counselors--they are there to help you problem-solve. If you have complicated/multiple issues, it may help for you to describe the problems in advance--but that is not a requirement. It is better to ask earlier, before the school year is well underway.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;"><b>Is it possible that your child's difficulties are due to an undiagnosed learning disability or other issue that would be covered by special education statutes and would qualify your child for additional services?</b> Sometimes (not always) a telltale sign for this, is that your child did well in elementary school because they are smart, but as the work (and school day) gets more complex, they have trouble with a specific class or classes (even though they seem to be trying); they have trouble organizing (even though they are trying); all of a sudden they are failing classes.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;">If you have been wondering about whether your child would qualify for additional services under an IEP or 504 plan, <b>it is your right to request an evaluation</b>. (You can also have someone do an evaluation for you at your expense.) Once you request an evaluation, the school district is "on the clock" to provide it--so it really is in your interest to request this early. </span></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "glegoo" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 27px;"><b>3. There Are Resources To Help You!</b></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to teachers, principals, and counselors, don't forget that other parents have a wealth of knowledge. If you are new to the school, the PTO is a great place to start.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have issues with special education or truancy, the <a href="http://www.studentadvocacycenter.org/" style="line-height: 27px;">Student Advocacy Center</a> can be a great resource for you. It has <a href="http://www.studentadvocacycenter.org/create-a-letter/" style="line-height: 27px;">Sample Letters</a> for requesting an evaluation or disputing decisions around special education. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another great resource in Ann Arbor is the <a href="https://a2pac.wordpress.com/">Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education</a> (AAPAC for short), a group of parents that have children who receive special education services and who work to improve services to kids. They have experienced parents who are often liaisons to specific schools, and they have regular meetings as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">[Note: some of the other districts have similar groups as well.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/">Michigan Alliance for Families has a parent mentor</a> available to all parents in public schools (that includes charter schools) who can be very helpful--for instance, reviewing an IEP to see if it addresses the concerns that an evaluation might raise.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-87555776812084827292016-08-08T22:34:00.001-04:002016-08-08T22:34:32.685-04:00Voter Registration: With Schools, Every Vote MattersLast week, the day after the election, I was helping a woman from Whitmore Lake complete a Medicaid application.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtfjbk6Ii0LSNi28e6_N81k98sL7ZGnw2dnLnw5KOsqYuAV9KGONhODroR6X7NUhwjoohoZNtSquyAfOLO_JeLRoZJQlDrMb_KW0lAX_qmRtF7koPozMSKiVVWfOQP1WBg110W5roTeY/s1600/Whitmore+Lake+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtfjbk6Ii0LSNi28e6_N81k98sL7ZGnw2dnLnw5KOsqYuAV9KGONhODroR6X7NUhwjoohoZNtSquyAfOLO_JeLRoZJQlDrMb_KW0lAX_qmRtF7koPozMSKiVVWfOQP1WBg110W5roTeY/s320/Whitmore+Lake+map.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>At the end of the application, there is a chance to register people to vote. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Me: Are you registered to vote?</b><br />
Her: No.<br />
<b>Me: Would you like to be?</b><br />
Her: No. They're both a bunch of liars.<br />
<br />
Here you see my internal struggle. On the one hand, I think, there's a good chance she wouldn't vote my way. [I'm with her...]<br />
On the other hand, I really believe that more voters is better for the greater good, even if people don't vote "my way."<br />
<br />
I sometimes use this moment with people to talk about how a former mayor of Ann Arbor (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_H._Wheeler">Albert Wheeler</a>) and a current County Commissioner (<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/yousef-rabhi-gains-1-vote-in-recount-officially-wins-washtenaw-county-board-race-by-2-votes/">Yousef Rabhi</a>) only won their elections by one vote (ok, on the recount for Yousef, two votes).<br />
<br />
So while one part of my brain is having this internal struggle, the other part of my brain (the one that goes with the "other hand") pipes up:<br />
<h4>
<i><br /></i><i>"The thing is, the presidential election is not the only thing on the ballot. There are lots of other things too."</i></h4>
<br />
And she says to me...<br />
"You mean, I could vote on a school millage?"<br />
<br />
Yes! Why yes, you can!<br />
[I admit to being totally surprised by this question.]<br />
<br />
<b>"There's no law," I found myself saying, "that you have to vote for everything on the ballot."</b><br />
<br />
"OK," she said, "I'll register."<br />
<b>And so we did.</b><br />
<br />
You might, or might not know, but the <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/08/whitmore_lake_schools_in_regro.html">Whitmore Lake sinking fund vote lost by six votes</a>. SIX votes.<br />
<br />
#<span style="color: purple;">votes</span>matter<br />
<br />
#she<span style="color: purple;">was</span>a<span style="color: purple;">day</span>late<br />
<br />
#next<span style="color: purple;">time</span><br />
<br />
#hashtags<span style="color: purple;">do</span>not<span style="color: purple;">matter</span><br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-75322785535639612122016-07-25T06:00:00.000-04:002016-07-25T06:00:17.429-04:00Election News: National and Local Developments<h3>
Note to Readers: <span style="font-weight: normal;">Before I share any national or local news, I just want to say that I think that this (November) election is super important. [Don't forget, there is also an election <a href="http://annarborvotes.org/">August 2, 2016</a>!] I'll be working on both national and local campaigns and I hope you will, too!</span></h3>
<h3>
National News</h3>
It's no surprise that Hillary Clinton has picked Tim Kaine as her running mate, or that Donald Trump has picked Mike Pence.<br />
<br />
<b>Here is what Diane Ravitch has to say about Tim Kaine, in a post titled "<a href="https://dianeravitch.net/2016/07/23/tim-kaine-loves-public-schools/">Tim Kaine Loves Public Schools</a>." </b>By the way, his wife Anne is the Secretary of Education in Virginia, and by all accounts she is a friend to teachers and a foe to the education reform agenda. This sounds pretty good!<br />
<br />
You can also read <a href="http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/article_704c7708-041b-545b-921d-42fcb36e96cc.html">an op-ed he wrote a few years ago</a> about what he learned as a parent in the Richmond Public Schools.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Here is what an Indiana teacher has to say about Mike Pence</b>, in an article titled "<a href="http://bloom-at.blogspot.com/2016/07/pence-negative-impact.html">A Negative Impact</a>." For education, it's pretty bad.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">In Indiana, small, rural schools are shutting down because funding has been cut, families are moving out of district, and whole communities are losing jobs where school corporations are the largest employers.</i><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Inner-city schools, like Indianapolis Public Schools, are urban nightmares as charter schools take away public school funding, yet only meet the needs of a fraction of the population.</i></blockquote>
<h3>
Local News</h3>
School board candidates need to turn in their petitions by Tuesday. In Ann Arbor, three school board positions are open. I believe current school board candidate Simone Lightfoot has already turned in her petition.<br />
<br />
On Monday, at least one slate of candidates is turning in their petitions: Jeff Gaynor, Harmony Mitchell, and Hunter Van Valkenburgh.<br />
<br />
You can read their full press release here:<br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByviJiXLmGu6UnM2N0t4U056RGVjaWJELS1LYm04X3Vub0ow/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByviJiXLmGu6UnM2N0t4U056RGVjaWJELS1LYm04X3Vub0ow/view?usp=sharing</a><br />
<br />
<b>Their platform and principles:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><br />All three candidates agree on the following principles: Our district should be focused on
instructional opportunities in a broad variety of subjects, not just those emphasized in the
standardized testing regime now in place. To the greatest extent possible, our Board should
resist the push for school “reform” propounded by politicians whose real goal is to undermine
public education and recapture education funds for private gain. Within the requirement to
balance the district’s budget, the emphasis should be on lowering the student-teacher ratio to
levels that maximize student-teacher interaction and allow teachers to reach all of their
students effectively. Where adjustments to compensation must be made to balance the
budget, we believe it should be done in an equitable and cooperative fashion rather than on
the backs of the poorest-paid and least-powerful employee groups.<br />In addition to budgetary priorities, we want to emphasize the professional competence of our
instructional staff in a number of ways. Teachers should be given academic freedom to design
creative learning opportunities and not be shackled to the requirements of an
externally-imposed standardized test and evaluation instruments. Students’ primary means of
assessment should be teacher-generated, not imposed by for-profit testing companies.
Teacher evaluation should be designed by a collaborative effort between teachers and
administrators. Our current evaluation system wastes untold hours of teachers’ and
administrators’ time in what amounts to a huge data-production effort, leaving little
opportunity to actually address any needed areas of improvement.<br />We also want to improve the democratic process where Board decision-making is concerned.
Too often, meetings extend past midnight, in violation of the Board’s own rules. This term,
several controversial measures were voted in by unanimous votes, with little or no public
discussion at the regular meeting. Public comment time is overly restrictive, and the lack of
public dialogue on controversial issues is disturbing. We want to explore the possibility of
setting aside meeting time to engage in public dialogue between Board members and
representatives of community groups with a stake in major decisions.</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-64385713547315988162016-05-26T23:24:00.001-04:002016-05-26T23:24:37.413-04:00Swimming Lessons<span style="font-family: inherit;">My heart aches tonight for a child I didn't know. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/05/teen_who_drowned_found_good_in.html#incart_2box_news_ann-arbor">Billy Dunn was about to turn 19, and he loved fishing and swimming, and he drowned in Ford Lake</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Billy knew how to swim, but I have had friends tell me how--even though they were good swimmers--they almost drowned in open water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2dbdd5116ffa30a49aa8-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/11682775_1464199959.9441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://2dbdd5116ffa30a49aa8-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/11682775_1464199959.9441.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billy Dunn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, the Talmud (the compendium of Jewish law) says that one of the obligations of being a parent is teaching your children to swim.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Summertime is a great time for swim lessons!</span></h3>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since Memorial Day is this weekend, it seems like a good time to say: S</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ummertime is a great time for swim lessons!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some options:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://annarborymca.org/">Ann Arbor YMCA </a>is offering Free SPLASH Safety Around Water classes at local pools at apartment complexes in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor this summer. <a href="https://www.annarborymca.org/ypsilanti-programs/camp-programs/splash/">Find out more here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They also have <a href="https://www.annarborymca.org/classes/adult/swimming/">private and group swim lessons for adults</a>, and private and group swim lessons for <a href="https://www.annarborymca.org/classes/school-age/swimming/">kids</a>, and <a href="https://www.annarborymca.org/classes/teen/swimming/">private and group swim lessons for teens</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks-Recreation/play/Pages/Swimming.aspx">City of Ann Arbor pools</a> have joined <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">the USA Swimming Foundation’s water safety initiative, Make a Splash. The USA Swimming Foundation launched Make a Splash in 2007 with the goal to teach every child to learn to swim. We aim to spread awareness of the importance to learn to swim and be safe around water. As a Make a Splash local partner, we are dedicated to providing quality swim instruction and the common goal of saving lives and getting children in better shape.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://forpool.org/swim-lessons/">Rutherford Pool, Ypsilanti</a>--offers four levels of swim lessons</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://annarbor.goldfishswimschool.com/">Goldfish Swim School</a></span></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One more thing--think about becoming a lifeguard or a swim teacher if you like hanging out around the pool! It's a great summer job, and you might be able to save a life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">May Billy Dunn's memory be a blessing.</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-7945912201927911182016-05-22T22:49:00.000-04:002016-05-22T23:00:51.197-04:00Spotlight, P.R., & the State of the SchoolsGenerally speaking, I am not a movie person.<br />
<br />
It's rather ironic, then, that I am talking about movies twice in one week!<br />
<br />
[The first time was last Friday, where I gave the Welcome at the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice fundraising breakfast, and talked about how Sandra Bullock's character in Miss Congeniality wants world peace, and how we know we can't just want world peace, we have to act on it. <a href="http://www.icpj.org/">Check out ICPJ here</a>.]<br />
<br />
Probably my favorite movie of last year was the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1895587/">Spotlight</a>. That's the movie about the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. I was fascinated by the work the reporters did to uncover the story, to build the case. If you were watching, though, there was a part that horrified me. (And no, it's not what you think--<i>of course the scandal itself is horrifying</i>--this is more subtle.) There's a part in the movie when 9/11 happens. (And yes, <i>that too is horrifying</i>--but again, this is more subtle.)<br />
<br />
<b>What happens to the reporters working on Spotlight when 9/11 happens? They get pulled off their project.</b> Every one of them. [In the process, they upset many of the survivors/witnesses they had interviewed.] The project, uncovering the abuse scandal, languished.<br />
<br />
And if that was the case in 2001, that is even more the case now.<br />
<br />
Look at what happened in Flint! If not for the dedication of an i<a href="http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/flint_water_lead_curt_guyette_aclu_michigan.php">nvestigative reporter hired by the ACLU</a> (not the usual path for investigative journalism, to be hired by a nonprofit), who knows when this story would have seen the light of day! After it broke, some Flint MLive reporters and Detroit Free Press and Detroit News reporters have turned their attention to the story in Flint (and they've done an excellent job)--but I imagine that in doing so, they have been pulled off some equally important story, that in turn may never see the light of day.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>We need to do a better job supporting investigative journalism. The model we have is not working, and investigative journalism is critical to our democracy.</i><br />
<br />
Right now we have a single, new to town, education reporter for MLive in Ann Arbor. (Welcome, <a href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/lslagter/posts.html">Lauren Slagter</a>.) And yet in Washtenaw County we have over 46,000 K-12 students in our county, and thousands of school teachers/staff.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Monet Tiedemann has been live blogging as many of the Ann Arbor school board meetings as she can at <a href="http://annarbivore.com/">annarbivore.com</a>.<br />
<br />
But that's it.<br />
<br />
The situation is similar, or worse, in Dexter, Chelsea (they have <a href="http://chelseaupdate.com/">Chelsea Update</a>, at least), Saline, Ypsilanti...<br />
<br />
*************************<br />
<br />
So if you've been paying attention, you will notice that Ann Arbor school administration--and to a lesser but notable extent, Chelsea, Dexter, Saline, and Ypsilanti school administration--have been putting a lot of effort into their own P.R. machines. You can see evidence of this on twitter, and facebook; in emailed newsletters; and on their school web sites. Each of them, in their own way, are trying to promote their districts, share the good news about their districts, draw attention to their districts. And who can blame them? Journalists are few and far between.<br />
<br />
So last week, Jeanice Swift organized a "State of the Ann Arbor Schools" event. She had the Community High band <i>Tempus Fugit</i> play, she had Rep. Jeff Irwin and County Commissioner Andy LaBarre speak, and she herself spoke.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi340pN2BKRQ7gAb3iyOlkvB5lEQURT48FfCh2DHVh5EQ6RFLk_cvm4t-plWbx8bV7nbuTIzYDy-PRzBwhfzvYtXWY_-Ab55XpvrZY70-ds8b_nmKlxHOHpdb16TXVJVK-pmwc3avPAB1k/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi340pN2BKRQ7gAb3iyOlkvB5lEQURT48FfCh2DHVh5EQ6RFLk_cvm4t-plWbx8bV7nbuTIzYDy-PRzBwhfzvYtXWY_-Ab55XpvrZY70-ds8b_nmKlxHOHpdb16TXVJVK-pmwc3avPAB1k/s320/IMG_0651.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tempus Fugit playing at the State of the Schools.<br />
L to R: Aidan Wada-Dawson, Jonathan Lynn, Aaron Willette,<br />
Seamus Lynch, Danny Freiband, Avery Farmer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboxJX7WefXUCcLVama78sRMaAr2x9waXx8cw319uch41VnD1X_-SMVWicNjLCJcWUVtNVUUItPyxZfQ_yoOfTETIkfyG_AFMqIlQuFmhyphenhyphenx0OTQFWt3dezCZkDJxvZDWLFMQvskXl2ijY/s1600/IMG_0652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboxJX7WefXUCcLVama78sRMaAr2x9waXx8cw319uch41VnD1X_-SMVWicNjLCJcWUVtNVUUItPyxZfQ_yoOfTETIkfyG_AFMqIlQuFmhyphenhyphenx0OTQFWt3dezCZkDJxvZDWLFMQvskXl2ijY/s320/IMG_0652.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. Jeff Irwin speaking. He had my favorite line:<br />
"Education <i>is</i> economic development."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
And I think that organizing this event, from the point of view of promoting the school district, was a good idea. <u><b>I do hope that next year the event will be held in one of our schools</b></u>, and not on the second floor of a hotel with no easy parking. <b><u>I do hope that next year the event will be widely promoted to parents, PTOs, etc.</u></b> In other words, I'd like to see 200 citizens in addition to the 50 or so administrators and blue ribbon panel members that were there.<br />
<br />
In full disclosure, I left before Jeanice Swift spoke, so I'm not sure what she said exactly. But based on the handouts, I imagine she talked about happy things, like the fact that graduation rates are improving, and that she discussed some of the new district initiatives.<br />
<br />
**************************<br />
<br />
In case you are wondering, I don't expect Jeanice Swift, in a State of the Schools event, to dwell on issues that are significant problems, and even if she does or did, I would expect her to give a PR perspective on it, <b>because essentially, this is a PR event.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It's reasonable to expect that not everything is hunky-dory, and that it might require someone from the outside to look in and see what's not working. </b><br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="color: blue;">For instance: I think it's worth mentioning that the teachers I have spoken to are still quite upset about the time consuming and (in their opinion) ridiculous evaluation process they are now required to go through; still upset about the way the school board treated them last year during contract negotiations; worried about the way contract negotiations are going this year. And--many of them are afraid to speak out, feeling they have been implicitly threatened.</span></b></i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The point is this: there are a lot of great things going on in the Ann Arbor schools (and in the other local districts, too). But there are also things that don't fit the narrative of a PR machine, and they don't show up in a State of the Schools event. </b><br />
<br />
We expect that we will learn about them through the media--and at this point, I'm not really sure that's possible.<br />
<br />
So who knows what we are missing?!<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-43489790625316609092016-05-06T00:20:00.000-04:002016-05-06T00:20:10.655-04:00State House Burns Detroit Schools in Middle of Night Session<a href="https://www.ncptt.nps.gov/wp-content/uploads/fire-vector.png?7d0444" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.ncptt.nps.gov/wp-content/uploads/fire-vector.png?7d0444" width="161" /></a>While we were sleeping, the State House Republicans pushed through some awful legislation <b><span style="color: red;">that burns the Detroit schools</span></b>. (In case you are wondering, the State Senate legislation is better, although in my opinion it is not better enough. But it is bipartisan.)<br />
<br />
<br />
Pushed through. At 4:30 in the morning. That's a great time for decision-making, right?<br />
<br />
<b>Phone lines are open: Feel free to call House Speaker Kevin Cotter and give him a piece of your mind. Phone: 517-373-1789; Email: <a href="http://KevinCotter@house.mi.gov./">KevinCotter@house.mi.gov.</a> </b><span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The point, people, is that we would never. ever. ever. accept what they are doing to the Detroit Schools as <span style="color: purple;">equitable</span> or <span style="color: #274e13;">just</span> or <span style="color: blue;">reasonable</span> or <span style="color: red;">in the students' interests</span> in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Okemos, East Grand Rapids...OR EVEN IN schools with a higher percentage of students of color like Southfield or Ypsilanti. </span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Never. Ever. And that's because it's not equitable, just, reasonable, or in the students' interests.</b><br />
<br />
[For instance--would we accept saying that all of the teachers have to apply for their jobs back, no guarantees, no union, and if they don't get them back, or don't apply, we can bring in uncertified teachers to teach our kids? I don't think so.]<br />
<br />
And it's the same shameful thinking--death of a thousand cuts--that brings us the Flint lead crisis.<br />
<br />
Which--in an educational sense--we will be paying for, for many years, because kids with lead poisoning will need special education services, which are mandated. [<i>And by the way, a little shout out to all the Washtenaw County voters who said yes to the special education millage. Totally off topic, but...phew! We needed that.]</i> Back to Detroit, where the schools probably need that money more.<br />
<br />
What we can be proud of, folks, is the House Democratic caucus. There were some outstanding speeches. I am just sorry that some folks are either too thick skulled or too "in the pocket" of special interests (yes, I'm talking about the DeVos family agenda) to listen.<br />
<br />
But do listen to the speeches:<br />
<h3>
Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo of Detroit, and former DPS teacher:</h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"The package today builds on that foundation of institutional racism."</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMIHouseDems%2Fvideos%2Fvb.187518851281448%2F1168721999827790%2F%3Ftype%3D3&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Rep. Sam Singh of East Lansing:</h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i>"Just because you say it's about the kids, doesn't mean it's about the kids."</i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lwAvVsIhvak" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Rep. Adam Zemke of Ann Arbor:</h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.08px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>From his Facebook post: </i></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.08px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the middle of the night, House Republicans rammed through a partisan package of bills created specifically to set <span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/detroit?source=feed_text&story_id=1725218251054021" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"></a>Detroit </span>Public Schools down a path of c<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ontinued systemic financial and academic inadequacy.</span></span></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.08px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This package is intentionally designed to provide inadequate debt service to<span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/dps?source=feed_text&story_id=1725218251054021" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"> </a>DPS</span>, to incorporate uncertified teachers in their classrooms and to allow the continued proliferation of unchecked, low-quality schools in the City of Detroit.</span></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.08px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's despicable, low-down and dirty politics to satisfy the sick desires of one family on the west side of the state. The House Republican's plan reflects that they are bought and paid for.</span></i></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;"><i><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8vBWuhS8keo" width="560"></iframe></i></span>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Last, but not least--</b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Seth Meyers, of <i>Late Night with Seth Meyers</i>, stands with Detroit teachers:</b></h3>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLateNightSeth%2Fvideos%2Fvb.197311240419563%2F653830818100934%2F%3Ftype%3D3&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-31479352119438980052016-05-02T16:29:00.001-04:002016-05-02T16:29:12.326-04:00Please Vote Yes: Washtenaw County Special Ed. Millage May 3<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Tuesday May 3d the county has a special education millage on the ballot. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It's the only thing on the ballot, and it's critical that it passes. </span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnYOVunTgUaIEntS15OUEo4gAK7yel8P_sLHzbohTTnTejxdfHIjfLDDMLDGzsoANj6soAS2FhcyX_U4pKsxWZx_b4yWNv6DfVXDUSGhvA_bGqZ5Wot2ShSJCSOB_Wgl6LphMH07I-Ww/s1600/specical+ed+millage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnYOVunTgUaIEntS15OUEo4gAK7yel8P_sLHzbohTTnTejxdfHIjfLDDMLDGzsoANj6soAS2FhcyX_U4pKsxWZx_b4yWNv6DfVXDUSGhvA_bGqZ5Wot2ShSJCSOB_Wgl6LphMH07I-Ww/s320/specical+ed+millage.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It will support special education services in all of our county districts--and since special education services are mandated and have to be supported whether funded or not--we also support general education by voting yes. All of the funds will stay local.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Students up to age 26 are eligible to receive special education services. Your YES vote means public schools in Washtenaw County can support the 6,500 students who count on these services without eliminating programs that benefit ALL students. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, the Washtenaw County Republican Party voted to oppose this millage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please don't let the "No" votes win.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">For several of our districts, it is the difference between deficit budgets and break-even budgets.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://a2schools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=10&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=7343&PageID=1">Read more here</a>.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Support our schools--join me in voting yes!</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-39344734144573528802016-03-16T21:13:00.001-04:002016-03-16T21:38:11.625-04:00Guest Post: Teachers, Statistics, and Teacher Evaluation<b id="docs-internal-guid-e4e917f8-820d-f52b-0c62-24f2e58d0462" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Have I mentioned that I love guest posts? </i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Priti Shah, an AAPS parent and a UM psychology professor read a version of this during public commentary at a school board meeting, and she followed her comments up as a formal letter. I liked it so much that I asked if I could post it here. The reason I asked is that I think we need to understand what good evaluation would mean, and why the system being imposed on teachers by the school district is not a good system. And by the way, if you have never spoken at public comment (or haven't recently), I encourage it!</i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Ann Arbor School Board Members:</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This letter follows up on my comments during the public comment period of the Ann Arbor School Board meeting in January 2016. I spoke about the new teacher evaluation system. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a reminder, I’m the parent of two children in the Ann Arbor Public Schools (11</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and 6</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grade). I am also a Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, and my research areas are in cognition and cognitive neuroscience and educational psychology. I base my comments on my feelings as a parent as well as based on the research evidence regarding teacher evaluations.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0ePBVENM5W_vsHbzEy7Xn7uj8LyN045n3x9OYEA7qnBjmLUYbwHzlWbQrU7JOFNs4mO1XX7k5VHkwlR0G_kaKgWUGlNhhPLuXYKDtNfxW-TzwfF1eCiwsnw-_BH1bFHxVXyry33T0Nk/s1600/Priti+Shah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0ePBVENM5W_vsHbzEy7Xn7uj8LyN045n3x9OYEA7qnBjmLUYbwHzlWbQrU7JOFNs4mO1XX7k5VHkwlR0G_kaKgWUGlNhhPLuXYKDtNfxW-TzwfF1eCiwsnw-_BH1bFHxVXyry33T0Nk/s1600/Priti+Shah.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Priti Shah</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reason I wanted to speak was because I am very concerned about the climate of respect and collaboration teachers and administration that has been eroding in the Ann Arbor Public Schools and the impact on our children. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I start with three assumptions: </b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>(1) we all want the very best teachers possible, </b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>(2) we all want them to have the resources they need to provide the best possible educational experiences for each of our children, and </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>(3) we want to be able to do all that without wasting our hard-earned resources. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I strongly believe in setting high expectations and rewarding high quality work. And as an educational scientist, I believe very much in high quality, research-supported teacher evaluation. <span style="color: blue;"><b>High quality evaluation should be valid</b> (that is, someone who is rated as a “good” teacher should actually be a good teacher and someone who is rated as a “bad” teacher should actually be a bad teacher) <b>and</b> <b>reliable</b> (that is, evaluation shouldn’t change too much depending on who is in one classroom or which day the assessment occurs). </span>Validity is a very hard nut to crack, because it depends fundamentally on one’s definition of what a good teacher is. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The new teacher evaluation system relies on two components: (1) student growth on a menu of standardized tests and (2) the Charlotte Danielson teacher evaluation system. I would like to outline my concerns with respect to both of these approaches in terms of validity and reliability.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Student Growth</b></span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I understand that incorporating student growth into teachers’ evaluations is mandated by state law, I want to highlight that the use of student growth—and how a teacher contributes to that growth--is problematic from a statistical perspective. The American Statistical Association, in their policy statement on the issue, point to numerous concerns with respect to using student growth data for teacher evaluation purposes. Most studies find that teachers account for about 1% to 14% of the variability in test scores, and that the majority of opportunities for quality improvement are found in the system-level conditions. Student growth measures are not highly reliable, in other words. </span></span></div>
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<i style="color: blue; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most studies find that teachers account for about 1% to 14% of </span></b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>the variability in </b></i><br />
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<i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>test </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>scores, and that the majority of </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>opportunities </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>for quality </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>improvement are found </b></i><br />
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<i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>in the system-</b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>level conditions. </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Student growth measures are not highly </b></i></div>
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<i style="color: blue; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">reliable, </span></b></i><i style="color: blue; line-height: 17.4545px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in other words. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A good teacher may look like a bad teacher depending on the composition of students in his or her class. A group of Ann Arbor students in AP English may not show huge growth on a standardized English test because those students are already performing at ceiling on the test; their teacher might be rated as ineffective because there was no growth. A teacher whose students may need safety and security (and warm coats and breakfast) may do an outstanding job and yet the circumstances that they are dealing with might lead to minimal growth on a standardized test. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another problem with using test scores to evaluate teachers is that relevant test scores are not available for many subjects taught by teachers-- my children have taken outstanding courses in subjects for which there are no standardized tests used: engineering design; communications, media and public policy; orchestra; art. Some of these teachers will only interact with students once a week for an hour. <b>Evaluating these teachers on the performance of their students in subjects that they do not teach, and students that they rarely see, is absurd. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore, there is good support for the idea that teachers change their practices in light of these high stakes evaluations, often removing activities that promote critical thinking and creativity to spend more time on tested materials. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most importantly, growth rates for different years for the same teachers vary widely, suggesting that these measures are not very reliable indicators of teacher quality and highly influenced by exactly which random kids they are teaching. And unfortunately, students will spend increasing amounts of time, and the district increasing amounts of money on high stakes tests that assess learning to the detriment of resources spent on other activities. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ann Arbor Public Schools would like to focus on growth for the bottom 1/3 of students in hopes that this will be an incentive to reducing the achievement gap. Unfortunately, having 1/3 of the data to work with will mean a massive reduction in the possible reliability of the data because of smaller sample size. And the bottom 1/3 is a dramatically different benchmark standard across teachers (i.e., you cannot compare growth across teachers if one is using the bottom 33% of the students in AP English and another the bottom 33% of students in guitar). </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Charlotte Danielson Framework</b></span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second proposed component of the new teacher evaluation system is the Charlotte Danielson Framework. On the surface, this is a reasonable measure that involves administrators evaluating teachers on a systematic set of 76 items that are likely to be positively associated with teacher quality. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, a good measure of teaching quality an assessment requires two key features: it needs to be reliable – in that the same teacher would be rated the same across time by different people—and valid—that is, that a good score on the means someone really is a good teacher. Unfortunately, the reliability or validity of this framework is just not clear, based on the extant evidence. Sure, you’ll hear some relatively high numbers from the people who sell the Danielson system but they are based on expert coders watching the same lessons on video. Consider rating a baseball player for 15 minutes during a game. If he makes a home run that day, your two independent raters will rate him similarly. If he strikes out, the two independent raters will rate him low. It’ll look like your rating system is highly reliable. That’s how reliability of these observational methods is tested. This is just one of many problems associated with such classroom observation methods. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I point the board to a 2012 article in Education Researcher by Harvard School of Education Professor and University of Michigan PhD Heather Hill for a more technical discussion of these and related concerns. And at the same time I appeal to your common sense: Look at the rubrics and ask yourself—have you ever had a terrible teacher who could check off all the boxes and look like an “effective” teacher because they could use the right lingo and implement the criteria superficially? Have you ever had a stellar educator who inspired and motivated you to succeed but didn’t see eye to eye with the administrators’ views on how classroom seating could be organized? Might there be a teacher who can shine during such a formal evaluation process but shows active disdain for some students throughout the school year? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I appreciate the extreme difficulty but necessity of evaluating teacher effectiveness, but I can confidently state that just by moving from rating teacher on one subset of the criteria annually to rating them on all four will not necessarily positively impact the reliability or validity of the measure. Indeed, it is likely to reduce the quality of the ratings, the validity of the measures, while simultaneously increasing burden on teachers and administrators. Just because there are more items does not mean an assessment is better. Neither do I think that the vast majority of highly effective experienced teachers are going to change and become less effective. At my own job, our evaluations become less frequent with greater seniority; this makes sense to me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recommendation</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given that teachers must be evaluated, and that none of the proposed methods are particularly reliable or valid, I would probably use a combination of metrics as proposed by the school board. However, I would (1) try to minimize burden on the teachers and administrators (as in, not that many hours of time), (2) involve teachers in decision making at all phases (to get input on what they think should be included and what is reasonable and won’t distract them from their real work), (3) include not just administrator evaluations but peer evaluations (that is, ratings of other teachers, who often know more about what goes on in classrooms), and (4) consider also input of parents and students. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A proud mama moment: my son wrote an article advocating the inclusion of student ratings of teachers for the Skyline Skybox (</span><a href="http://readtheskybox.com/201601/why-students-are-the-best-tools-when-it-comes-to-teacher-evaluations/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://readtheskybox.com/201601/why-students-are-the-best-tools-when-it-comes-to-teacher-evaluations/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">); while I think student evaluations can be problematic in some situations, he makes an excellent point. Student evaluations, based on specific questions regarding teaching effectiveness (not just “was this a good class” but whether the teacher seemed to care, whether students respect the teacher, and so forth) can actually be better predictors of student growth than observational methods. And I can tell you that parents in our community are pretty well informed regarding which teachers seem engaged, caring, and effective. Parent and student surveys are cheap. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion</span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We need to start with some basic assumptions in revamping the teacher evaluation system in Ann Arbor. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My first assumption is that most of our teachers are smart, hard working, and caring professionals. I have observed far, far, more excellence in the Ann Arbor Schools classrooms on my many visits and interactions with teachers than I have experienced ineffective teaching. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Second, the Ann Arbor school system needs to maintain its leadership position regarding school administration and governance as well as quality schools. The reason we have such outstanding teachers is that they want to work in our district. We want to attract the very best teachers, not drive them away with unnecessary busywork. Let’s interpret our state’s laws in a manner best suited to our teachers and students instead of jumping through hoops that may well be unnecessary. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, let’s all agree that we want to expend our time and money on what helps our children learn, and that we do not want more and more of our money go to for profit testing companies, consultants to train administrators and run workshops teachers on evaluation rubrics, software so that administrators can rapidly rate teachers on numerous criteria quickly in the classroom at the press of a button.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your time, and I’m happy to have a longer conversation with anyone who would like to talk to me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sincerely,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Priti Shah</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few references:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amstat.org/policy/pdfs/asa_vam_statement.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.amstat.org/policy/pdfs/asa_vam_statement.pdf</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/getting-teacher-evaluation-right-challenge-policy-makers.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/getting-teacher-evaluation-right-challenge-policy-makers.pdf</span></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hill, H. C., Charalambous, C. Y., & Kraft, M. A. (2012). When rater reliability is not enough teacher observation systems and a case for the generalizability study. Educational Researcher, 41(2), 56-64.</span></span><br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-407924046511070942016-03-08T21:50:00.001-05:002016-03-08T22:15:55.135-05:00Election Day: My High School's Polling PlaceHere in Ann Arbor, we have the relatively simple and yet apparently not too likely to be tampered with paper ballots. They are easy to fill out, keep the lines moving, and there is a paper record if there ever needs to be a recount. Filling in the little circles today did kind of remind me of standardized testing, but that's not my complaint.<br />
<br />
I went to a high school where the middle school was attached, and there was a polling place in a quiet corner of the high school. Of course (or maybe not of course--does it happen today?) visiting the polling place was definitely part of the grade 7-12 social studies curriculum.<br />
<br />
Plus, if I would go with my parents, when I was little, to vote--there was a certain magic of going behind the private curtain (was it velvet? I think it might have been), pulling the private levers, and when you walked out of the booth, nobody knew who you were voting for.<br />
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And I know, rationally, that the system we have in Ann Arbor is much more secure than those old voting machines.<br />
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And I know, rationally, that these little booths are much easier for the clerks to move around from precinct to precinct.<br />
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And I know, rationally, that it is much easier to expand the number of booths in high volume elections.<br />
<br />
But.<br />
<br />
When I was a kid, those voting booths were magical, and even today, I miss them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksEqUgYTA5UJpFmfg59kAftRI2D5LOIzHyM3LeI14sUfUT4xBvBgB-JZXa0rCl5otzSEU_hcnUi1IVhIj04cmXQwfQu3jnVpr-rfJCiH1fxHzukwC9kaQddm50caQG5CdjHhtjF_zR_0/s1600/Voting_machine_lever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksEqUgYTA5UJpFmfg59kAftRI2D5LOIzHyM3LeI14sUfUT4xBvBgB-JZXa0rCl5otzSEU_hcnUi1IVhIj04cmXQwfQu3jnVpr-rfJCiH1fxHzukwC9kaQddm50caQG5CdjHhtjF_zR_0/s320/Voting_machine_lever.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>By Pauljoffe at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, <br />https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12796219</i></td></tr>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-53776098372867633292016-03-01T23:12:00.000-05:002016-03-01T23:26:48.233-05:00Ask the Ann Arbor School Board to Vote No on Tuition-Based ProgramI was surprised--and not happily--to see this headline from the Ann Arbor News:<br />
<a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/02/new_program_proposed_to_aaps_w.html#incart_river_index"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/02/new_program_proposed_to_aaps_w.html#incart_river_index">Tuition-based Program Would Bring Chinese Students to Ann Arbor High Schools</a>.<br />
<br />
The key things to know, from the article:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.208px; line-height: 24px;">A new plan* proposed to the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education Wednesday evening would place up to 200 students from China in the city's high schools each year...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.208px; line-height: 24px;">The district is considering a partnership with BCC International Education Group, a Chinese-American company that has already created similar programs bringing Chinese high school students to Dexter and Saline.</span></span></i></blockquote>
<i>*This idea (or something quite similar) was actually discussed, and rejected, a few years ago in the Pat Green era.</i><br />
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Here's the letter I just sent to the school board. You can send emails to the school board at: boe@aaps.k12.mi.us.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Dear Board of Ed--</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><br />I'm writing to ask you to oppose the proposed contract with a firm to bring in up to 200 Chinese tuition-paying students. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>We already have at least two exchange programs in the schools--Youth for Understanding and AFS--both programs devoted to bringing students from around the world, including--among many other countries--China. Did you know that YFU started in Ann Arbor as an exchange program with Germany post-World War II? Or that AFS's origins lie in the aftermath of World War I with a similar goal of inter-cultural understanding? </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>Ann Arbor also hosts the USA's U-18 hockey program. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>I'm not sure exactly how many students come through these three programs but I think it's something in the range of 100 students. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>All of these programs rely on host family volunteers, and it's not so easy to find them. I know intimately what is involved, because we hosted a student from Sweden last year and a student from Uruguay the year before, both with YFU. Both were great experiences but it does involve a fair bit of work, and (I know I'm repeating myself) it's not easy to find host families. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>I asked several families this year if they could take a student, and none of them felt they were in a position to do it. And, in fact, just today I got an email asking for a host family for a student who needs to leave his current family--and that happens too, sometimes, in the middle of the year.</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>I do understand the desire to bring in money for the district, but I don't think this is a good way. And I would say this even if I hadn't heard, today, that the Oxford School District has had a very negative experience with this company. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>With the current exchange programs the student in my house brought in the same per-pupil funding as every other student in the district, thus adding to the district's census. </i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>I'm asking you to vote no on this.</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i>Best,</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<i><span style="color: blue;">Ruth Kraut</span></i></blockquote>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-40520800037853357062016-02-28T23:48:00.000-05:002016-02-29T10:36:28.930-05:00Ypsilanti History: The Desegregation of Ypsilanti Schools<span style="font-family: inherit;">While it's still Black History Month I thought I would feature this interesting blog (and history of Ypsilanti schools) that I recently stumbled upon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The information here comes from a blog about South Adams Street at the turn of the twentieth century. As the blog note<span style="background-color: white;">s, <i>"<span style="line-height: 19.5px;">South Adams Street @ 1900 was created by Matthew Siegfried as a Masters project of Eastern Michigan University's Historic Preservation Program. Readers are encouraged to write with any questions or additions. Walking tours and presentations are available.</span></i></span></span><br />
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Email: southadams1900@gmail.com."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A special shout-out goes to the Ypsilanti Historical Society Archives, which provided a lot of the information Matthew Siegfried used. They welcome visitors, and I've done some research in them (particularly around <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-look-back-at-begole-school-in.html#.VtO8l5MrJsM">Begole School</a>). The archives have lots of great information. <a href="http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/archive.html">Find out more about them here</a>. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's topic is the First Ward School, and the full web site about it <a href="https://southadamstreet1900.wordpress.com/first-ward-school/">can be found here</a>. [The author of the web site, Matthew Siegfried, has written about a lot more than just the First Ward School.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The old First Ward School, on Adams Street, was built during the Civil War specifically for the purpose of educating black children. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On September 10, 1897, the Ann Arbor Argus reported tha<span style="background-color: white;">t "</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;">Ypsilanti has 1778 children of school age of which 155 are colored, a gain of three colored children and 10 white over last year."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAilAjQybetFIcuntlUMIVj_8TjwkcuFhPNOsmFOgZhz6yRQGQLQUL5vr_1RcTUJakUUlaN-plDCjHjHzv7gorgSO31hc4AoF1IXsvYB04KQMJJrtXdrIq5r8nQKxa8BDDoJDHrhw6t-Y/s1600/recaug311916-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAilAjQybetFIcuntlUMIVj_8TjwkcuFhPNOsmFOgZhz6yRQGQLQUL5vr_1RcTUJakUUlaN-plDCjHjHzv7gorgSO31hc4AoF1IXsvYB04KQMJJrtXdrIq5r8nQKxa8BDDoJDHrhw6t-Y/s640/recaug311916-copy.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Recorder, August 1916.<br />Photo by Matthew Siegfried.<br />Used under a Creative<br />Commons license.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Siegfried characterizes it, "What began as a statement of support for black residents during the Civil War" became a symbol of segregation by the early 1900s, exclusively educating black students through sixth grade.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.5px; text-align: center;">The school was not in good condition and things came to a head in 1916, when the black residents of Ypsilanti petitioned the prosecuting attorney, as taxpayers, for better schools. They objected to paying for the new Ypsilanti high school when their school was in such poor condition. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The petition began:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">We, the undersigned colored citizens of the city of Ypsilanti, residing in the First ward of said city, hereby petition you as an officer of the county to investigate the action of the school board of the city of Ypsilanti. We are paying a large tax for the building of a new school house. It is used for white to the exclusion of colored children. Our school, a ward school in the First ward, has no connection with the sewer, it is unsanitary and not healthful, but we are compelled, because we are colored and the board of education is white, to put up with whatever they hand us.</span></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The school house is not sufficient or satisfactory. Do we get new? No, simply get an old discarded and poor building moved from another part of the city and placed out in the dusty street, or nearly so. It is within five feet of the street line, and thus cuts off our view down the street. Part of the time we have had undesirable teachers, part of that time poorly qualified, but we have to take it. </span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Notes Siegfried, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="border: 0px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">A bond was proposed by the [sic--but I think it was proposed by the school board and] voted down, with support of the black community, that would have rehabilitated the school while increasing the grades taught, effectively expanding segregation under the guise of aiding the school. The community was adamant; it wanted an end to segregation... Detroit attorney and NAACP leader Charles Mahoney, who later worked on the Ossian Sweet Case, led the legal challenge. The bond initiative was also opposed at the ballot box and defeated. <b>The case was won in Judge Sample’s Circuit Court and Ypsilanti schools were formally desegregated in May, 1919.</b> The First Ward school closed that year. </span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The 1919 American School Board Journal explained things like this: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="border: 0px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The important question, in the court’s judgment, was whether the school was being conducted by the board for the children of negro parents of the ward In such a way as to compel the children, because they are colored, to attend the school, and at the same time to permit white children of the district to attend outside schools.</i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The court maintained that the maintenance of the school was an act of discrimination against the colored children and that in view of the provisions of the Michigan law, it was a violation of the common law of the state and of the statutes of the state. The court cited a number of important decisions from Supreme Court cases to support its contention that all residents of a state have an equal right to attend any school and that they may not be discriminated against because of race or color.</i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The building is now the <a href="http://newjerusalembaptistchurch.us/">New Jerusalem Church</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://southadamstreet1900.wordpress.com/newspaper-articles-on-the-first-ward-school/">Here are some more newspaper articles</a> from the South Adams Street 1900 web site. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Three additional notes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Nearly one hundred years later, Ypsilanti Community Schools is a <a href="http://www.washtenawisd.org/sites/default/files/WISD/EarlyChildhood/EarlyOn/FileUpdates402015/racegenderdist%2014-15.pdf">majority African-American district</a>. <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2012/02/two-weeks-ago-i-was-at-20th-anniversary.html#.VtPGZ5MrJsM">Four years ago, I wrote</a>: "I<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">t is important to remember that school segregation--though banished by law--still exists in many many schools around the nation."</span> I wouldn't exactly call YCS a segregated district, but there are plenty of people who live in the district who send their children to schools--public, charter, or private--in other districts--and many of those families are white.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. The First Ward School was referred to as the Adams Street School. This is not to be confused with the current Adams Elementary--which was originally named Prospect School. It was renamed in 1963 after Olive M. Adams, who was retiring from the school after being principal there for 29 years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. I knew about efforts to desegregate the Ann Arbor schools--<a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2010/03/little-history.html#.VtPGY5MrJsM">in fact I've written extensively about them</a>--but I never heard of this really significant (and successful!) lawsuit in Ypsilanti.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">[And that, by the way, is in my opinion a signature of Ypsilanti--there's lots of super-interesting history, stores, museums, and parks in Ypsi--and unless you look closely, you might miss them.] For instance, do you know where this statue of Harriet Tubman can be found? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUN-tTwQChTk1QK0ugjOnbgSFhChFT0WJeSS2r1nNCf0TZ8SKARpUbeIHbGYP_A7U3evQo5GVtjvjmb1RVLcv1W6YrJ3MOiFGFzmwPPJIzSTkU-S9hKSWd2ZFTmuEcuoy-95M-VFoHUU/s1600/2048px-Statue_of_Harriet_Tubman_Ypsilanti_Michigan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUN-tTwQChTk1QK0ugjOnbgSFhChFT0WJeSS2r1nNCf0TZ8SKARpUbeIHbGYP_A7U3evQo5GVtjvjmb1RVLcv1W6YrJ3MOiFGFzmwPPJIzSTkU-S9hKSWd2ZFTmuEcuoy-95M-VFoHUU/s320/2048px-Statue_of_Harriet_Tubman_Ypsilanti_Michigan.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Sculpture by Jane DeDecker, <br />photograph by Dwight Burdette <br />[CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], <br />via Wikimedia Commons</span></i></td></tr>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-90980282963436626152016-02-16T23:03:00.000-05:002016-02-16T23:03:59.917-05:00Understanding the Impact of the Governor's Budget Proposal on Michigan SchoolsMichigan Parents for Schools has a detailed summary of the Governor's budget proposal and its impact on Michigan schools.<br />
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I'm including a few excerpts here, and then you should really read the whole thing. With these state proposals, the devil is n the details.<br />
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<h3>
Per-pupil funding underlines the distribution of school funds. </h3>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f5f5f1; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.56px;"><i><span style="color: blue;">The governor's executive budget recommendation is headlined by a modest increase in per-pupil funding. Districts at the current minimum level of $7,391 - which includes some 60% of all students - would receive $120 more per pupil for their general operating needs. Districts at or above the state maximum (currently $778 higher or $8,169) would get an increase of $60 per pupil.</span></i></span></blockquote>
Districts at the current minimum level of funding: think Manchester and Whitmore Lake.<br />
Districts at or above the state maximum: think Ann Arbor.<br />
<h4>
Compare this to the year my daughter was born (which is also the year Proposal A started): </h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f5f5f1; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.56px;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Put another way, the small number of districts which were at the bare minimum spending level when Proposal A took effect in 1994 are still doing better than when they started, adjusted for inflation, but they have not recovered the levels they saw in 2010-11. Districts which started out at the "basic" level of funding ($5,000 in 1994) have lost some ground and are below where they started in 1994, adjusting for inflation, wiping out the gains from the first decade of this century. <b>Districts at the higher end have done even worse: if they received what was the state maximum in 1994 ($6,500), they have lost ground against inflation nearly every year since then and the draft budget would let them buy about 17% less now than they were able to 22 years ago. (Emphasis added. Yes, that describes Ann Arbor.)</b></span></i></span></blockquote>
Retirement funding significantly affects school district resources.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: #f5f5f1; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 18.56px; padding: 0px 0px 12px;">
<i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Costs of the state-run school employee retirement system (MPSERS) continue to have a major impact on the budget. Unfortunately, unlike some other states, Michigan does not cover these costs from other funding sources, but instead uses money from the school aid budget. The cost of funding the retirement system has risen astronomically in recent years, and not because benefits are getting richer. As districts shed teachers and other staff in downsizing, and as more services are privatized, there are fewer employees paying into the system while the number of retirees is growing. . . </span><b><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.56px;">As a result, contributions equal to about 36% of payroll have to be made by the state and school district employers (employees also make their own contributions). Ten years ago, this rate stood at a little over 16%.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.56px;"> (Emphasis added.)</span></b></span></i></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5zIFdrS8IFl46pc45VfZrKs1k4yZefRzLQbTugCRa0ZeIkHkhijoRHvteCXBeZTE2hSzjDJr5Rbxc2oxu47bB2DutJN6f3tfPhvTtHRzT5a_l9xymB-4k98Bzt25tM0N-G8n1-D5duY/s1600/Headlee-paintingDick-professional.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5zIFdrS8IFl46pc45VfZrKs1k4yZefRzLQbTugCRa0ZeIkHkhijoRHvteCXBeZTE2hSzjDJr5Rbxc2oxu47bB2DutJN6f3tfPhvTtHRzT5a_l9xymB-4k98Bzt25tM0N-G8n1-D5duY/s320/Headlee-paintingDick-professional.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Who was RIchard Headlee and why should you care?<br />Image used under a Creative Commons license<br />and <a href="http://lifestorylibrary.org/story-10-the-headlee-amendment/">taken from here</a>.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.mipfs.org/node/249">Read the rest here. There is much more</a>.<br />
<br />
A lot of people think this stuff is a bit boring. And complicated.<br />
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Even if you are one of those people, you should know that it's essential for us to wrap our heads around 20j, the <a href="https://www.mml.org/resources/publications/one_pagers/opp_headlee_override.pdf">Headlee Amendment</a>, plans for Detroit and Flint schools (among others), funding for charter schools, and how funding for higher education interacts with the School Aid Fund.<br />
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They are our schools--but only if we claim them.<br />
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-86852284595254855782016-02-07T22:11:00.001-05:002016-02-07T22:11:02.878-05:00The Inspirer Speaks: Washtenaw's National African American Parent Involvement Day 2016<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>National African American Parent Involvement Day is Monday, February 8th.</b> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Most local schools are doing something. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwGBBExWPFowtwiHuDg0UtQFFSl4HS08dBZCU7q67OKRlFpR54cZmkJ9Ru0qMpE8MXxNGSv7-gxme0zEJ7eN8WIgcmDmM9INLEfSZ1PRJtK46JKFbbbe22Mo2EnaXoptXINJhyS_46RQ/s1600/joedulin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwGBBExWPFowtwiHuDg0UtQFFSl4HS08dBZCU7q67OKRlFpR54cZmkJ9Ru0qMpE8MXxNGSv7-gxme0zEJ7eN8WIgcmDmM9INLEfSZ1PRJtK46JKFbbbe22Mo2EnaXoptXINJhyS_46RQ/s320/joedulin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Joe Dulin</i></td></tr>
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The email I got from Community High has coffee and bagels in the morning, an invitation to stop in to any of your children's classes, as well as afternoon activities. It is open to all parents who are interested in getting a better sense of their children in school--not just African American parents. Obviously the details vary by school, but I think it's important to note that the opportunity is there for you to visit your child's school and classes. [You know "Take Your Child to Work Day?" This is the opposite! "Take Your Parent to School!"]<br />
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Joe Dulin, who died in 2014, was an Ann Arbor educator and the principal at Roberto Clemente school. He was also the originator of NAAPID.<br />
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Noted Dulin, in an <a href="http://news.a2schools.org/naapid-founder-retired-aaps-educator-joe-dulin-it-starts-with-you/">undated a2schools.org article</a>,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8DY8N9nRfuNB5lAKCjHPmPBlUJuVNm2eXA5ro1jqcUxkSGIMDVYEZHp4OPcO6Sw8m3sHXyfHPPy6lTft4LHBKC_2UMe3L7guOaiUZwBb91Yq_1RTbX3GEGCmF3Bz0U6wEyfrhwZfh5s/s1600/ayindejeanbaptiste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8DY8N9nRfuNB5lAKCjHPmPBlUJuVNm2eXA5ro1jqcUxkSGIMDVYEZHp4OPcO6Sw8m3sHXyfHPPy6lTft4LHBKC_2UMe3L7guOaiUZwBb91Yq_1RTbX3GEGCmF3Bz0U6wEyfrhwZfh5s/s320/ayindejeanbaptiste.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ayinde Jean-Baptiste</i></td></tr>
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<i>NAAPID is not just for black people –– it’s for all people,” Dulin says. “It comes during Black History Month, and I thought it was a tremendous time to introduce it as a project for parents to get into our schools to exchange notes, phone numbers, emails, have conversations and get in touch with the teachers.”<br />Dulin was inspired to create a parent involvement day after going to the Million Man March in 1995. “A young man named Ayinde Jean-Baptiste, then 12 years old, was one of the speakers, and he challenged us to go back to our communities and do something,” Dulin says. “I got the feeling that, out of a million men, he was looking at me.” When he returned home, he gathered up some friends and family and NAAPID was born.</i></blockquote>
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<i><span id="more-7732" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></i></div>
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Now the reason I find this so interesting is that the email from Community High notes that there will be a:<br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Community-wide NAAPID event, "NAAPID at Night," in the Ypsilanti Middle School auditorium, 6 p.m., 235 Spencer Lane, Ypsilanti, MI. <a href="http://www.a2schools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=10&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=7052&PageID=1">Details here</a>. And the speaker will be Ayinde Jean-Baptiste, the then-child who inspired Joe Dulin to start NAAPID!</span></b></div>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-39610833650027969522016-02-03T23:39:00.001-05:002016-02-04T15:18:24.850-05:00Guest Post: A Parent Reviews Her Child's M-STEP Results, and Learns...<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">A guest post by Naomi Zikmund-Fisher about the M-STEP results, and what they mean.</span></i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week, we finally received my children’s scores from the M-STEP test they took last spring. My son, a fourth grader at the time (now 5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 9.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) and my daughter, a high school Junior (now senior) both took the test. For more on that decision, <a href="http://a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com/2015/06/ann-arbors-move-to-punish-opting-out.html#.VrLO0zYrIlU">you can read here</a>.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-ec28151b-aa77-4e5b-9744-d54dd7904f35" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the interest of maintaining some of their privacy, I’m not going to share how my kids did on the test. More to the point, it probably doesn’t matter how they did on the test, as their performance on this first round appears to be being largely discarded.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a former teacher and administrator, I probably know more about how to read a score report than most parents. Theoretically, I should be able to get all there is to get out of these scores. So, here’s what I learned from looking at my children’s score reports:</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last spring, my children were doing about as well in their academic progress as their teachers said they were. There were no real surprises. You could have looked at their report cards and gotten the same information that M-STEP gives you.</span></span></div>
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</ol>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That information is wildly out of date. They took this test in a window from March to May. I got the scores in January. Whatever new information may have been useful in the scores is no longer pertinent.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The science and social studies tests measure curriculum alignment more than anything else. They are broken out by different smaller subjects (e.g. physical science, life science or economics, geography). You can see that in this sample of a child’s 4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 9.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grade science scores.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJpGHy4IV0zEjeoXyZY98vUrmP7Oxor3qTqiqcdZ6DuHzBih-qLtfvAQv2raxAmpypdw1GcuD2R-yVskQqnxyVZGQgPc3KW1Dgd4K1UUUDPfvsfi-h0h6TA7IWKXo0CtYtRpTvfn1UC4/s1600/NZF+pic+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJpGHy4IV0zEjeoXyZY98vUrmP7Oxor3qTqiqcdZ6DuHzBih-qLtfvAQv2raxAmpypdw1GcuD2R-yVskQqnxyVZGQgPc3KW1Dgd4K1UUUDPfvsfi-h0h6TA7IWKXo0CtYtRpTvfn1UC4/s400/NZF+pic+12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sample M-Step information provided to parents, in this case for the science test.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">When they say a child is proficient, what does that mean?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My children did best in areas that they had studied recently and worst in those from previous years. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>In other words, this test measured what classes they were taking, not anything about my children or about whether their teachers were teaching well.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The target area for “proficient” is, in some cases, shockingly small. Scores are reported graphically (among other ways) on a continuum of four ranges. Proficient is the second to the top and is the smallest area, sometimes by quite a bit. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But shouldn’t “just fine” be a fairly broad range of kids? When did we stop recognizing that “normal” isn’t a single point, it’s a spectrum?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxysNMCAbfGFhtKcIc82mgPTO9rlLEQllmn0vCJYU15qwCIbpJwl4wMENCF0iY0mBDVvaDOHfO0O5rTj0qEVNFrLMofEm00wAngLkWOWUN5ZpYkHAHK3RihWsniwDgxKyEG8cZQBptA5k/s1600/NZF+pic+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxysNMCAbfGFhtKcIc82mgPTO9rlLEQllmn0vCJYU15qwCIbpJwl4wMENCF0iY0mBDVvaDOHfO0O5rTj0qEVNFrLMofEm00wAngLkWOWUN5ZpYkHAHK3RihWsniwDgxKyEG8cZQBptA5k/s400/NZF+pic+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Sample of information provided to parents. Note that the grey "margin of error" overlaps both the "partially proficient" and advanced categories, meaning that a child who scores in the yellow/gray overlap as "partially proficient" might actually be "proficient" on another day. Note also that the green ball of "proficient" is a much smaller area than the bars for not proficient, partially proficient, or advanced.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This picture shows the score graphic for the same student whose subject scores were above. This child is supposedly proficient in 4</span><span style="font-size: 9.6px; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grade science [the score is right in the middle of the green bubble]. As you can see, this is quite a feat, since the “Proficient” range is about 5.5% of the total.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><i>What’s more, while it’s great that the score report acknowledges a “margin of error” around the score, that margin is substantially larger than the target itself. This means that three kids who score as “partially proficient,” “proficient,” and “advanced” might all know exactly the same amount of science. We sing the praises of one (and the wonderful teacher who taught her) while wringing our hands about another (and the mediocre educator she had) when there is truly no difference at all.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the end, what I realize once again is that this data is designed to measure districts and schools much more than to give us any useful information about individual children. Even without the huge delay in score reporting, the amount of useful information, that you can’t find more easily somewhere else, about a single child is minimal. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/znfWkZkw_9gaVZV6gshgdy5XR5nzvGnkNLx0lih1Row6G9W1yyMGmVupEyVabnlWR6i4vHg8uwZLTBjATpYEZzpsmkI=s400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s reasonable to say that the measure of a school or a district is how well its children are prepared for the next phase of life. The problem is, we’re substituting this test for the real answer to that question. We’re asking our kids to take hours upon hours of tests – time they could spend actually learning something – in service of measuring their school system. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If we already know how they’re going to do on the tests, then we already know what the answer we’re going to get will be. And if we don’t already know how they’re going to do on the tests, it’s either a really bad test or a school so out of touch with students that it should be obvious in multiple other ways. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can say unequivocally, however, as an educator and as a parent, that the M-STEP given last spring was just plain a waste of my children’s time.</span></span></div>
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Ann Arbor Schools Musings: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com</div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830838540410394430noreply@blogger.com4