Highland Park: The New Kalkaska?

The other day I was surprised to hear, on NPR, that Governor Snyder was telling the parents of students in the Highland Park, Michigan school district, that the district might run out of money and have to shut its doors even before the end of the school year--and/or he might appoint an emergency financial manager. (Snyder has already determined that there is a financial emergency.)

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. This is a road that Willow Run could be going down as well, as I described a few days ago. Just a few short weeks ago Highland Park got an emergency loan from the state to cover payroll.

According to this Detroit Free Press article,

The [emergency financial review] team found that a financial emergency exists based on factors including ending the school year on June 30 with an $11.3-million deficit, a 51% increase from the previous year.
The district had an operating deficit in excess of revenues for five of the six years evaluated and an average operating deficit of $2.3 million over seven years, [Michigan Department of Education Deputy Superintendent] Wolenberg said in her presentation on behalf of the review team.
The district saw a decrease in enrollment from 1,858 students in 2010 to 1,331 in 2011. There are currently 969 students enrolled, and about 40% of them live in Detroit, Wolenberg said. (1/21/2012)

Based on this determination, Governor Snyder sent out a letter to parents of students in the district. According to district officials,

the letter sends a deceptive message and could be taken as a warning to parents to get out of the district.
"If you were a parent this would be intended to scare you," said Highland Park school board secretary Robert Davis. "This is unprecedented communication with the parents. Why wouldn't you notify district officials?"

That's not the governor's perspective.

Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for Snyder, said the letter was meant to address the anger, fear and frustrations of the district's parents.

(Both quotes taken from a 1/24/2012 article in the Detroit Free Press, Highland Park schools 'in jeopardy of closing,' Snyder tells parents.)


Do you even know where Highland Park is? It is a small, impoverished urban community (fewer than 12,000 people) completely surrounded by the City of Detroit.

It also happens to be nearly 93% African-American. Just like many other communities that either have had emergency financial managers assigned to them or have the threat of them being assigned hanging over their heads.

And the city of Highland Park itself has been under emergency management for most of the decade of the oughts (as the 2000s can be called).

Do you even know where Kalkaska is? It is a small, poor (but not as poor as Highland Park) rural community with a population of under 2300, located in Kalkaska County in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula. The school district is geographically (and populationally--yes, I know that is not a word, but I like it anyway) larger than the village of Kalkaska, with something closer to 13,000 residents. (I'm not sure of the boundaries so I can't be too exact.) 

Oh, and Kalkaska happens to be over 96% white.

So in some ways, Kalkaska is a mirror image of Highland Park. But they also have a lot in common. This article from the Ludington Daily News of March 6, 1993, "Kalkaska system on brink of early closing as funds run out," explains it nicely.

Kalkaska (and other districts, too, like Ypsilanti!) was under a lot of financial stress--and the district famously closed three months early, at the end of March, in 1993.

And this "shot heard round Michigan," (if not the world) created a lot of impetus for the development of Proposal A. And as we see now, Proposal A solved some problems, but it created a whole host of others.

In 2012, Highland Park is not the only school district faced with the possibility of closing. Only this time, rather than the decision being made by the people who live there, the decision would be made by the state.

And I wonder, will any of this be the necessary catalyst for change? And if not, why not? Would race have anything to do with it?

Reading--The Legislature Is Too Interested, the State Supreme Court Is Not Interested Enough

Third Grade Reading Bill Passes House Education Committee--What's In It?

The "third grade reading bill," as it is being called in shorthand, has passed the state house education committee. To my great disappointment, my representative (Adam Zemke) has signed on as a sponsor.


5) BEGINNING WITH PUPILS ENROLLED IN GRADE 3 DURING THE 2016-
8 2017 SCHOOL YEAR, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY:
9 (A) IF A PUPIL ENROLLED IN GRADE 3 IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR
10 PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY IS RATED 1 FULL GRADE LEVEL OR MORE BEHIND IN
11 READING, AS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE READING12 PORTION OF THE GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT, THE
13 BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PUBLIC
14 SCHOOL ACADEMY IN WHICH THE PUPIL IS ENROLLED SHALL ENSURE THAT THE
15 PUPIL IS NOT ENROLLED IN GRADE 4 UNTIL 1 OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURS:
16 (i) THE PUPIL ACHIEVES A GRADE 3 LEVEL READING SCORE AS
17 DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH
18 LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT.
19 (ii) THE PUPIL DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH
20 PERFORMANCE ON AN ALTERNATIVE STANDARDIZED READING ASSESSMENT
21 APPROVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
22 (iii) THE PUPIL DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH A
23 PUPIL PORTFOLIO, AS EVIDENCED BY DEMONSTRATING MASTERY OF ALL GRADE
24 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS THROUGH MULTIPLE WORK
25 SAMPLES.
26 (B) IF A CHILD YOUNGER THAN 10 YEARS OF AGE SEEKS TO ENROLL
27 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY IN 
1 GRADE 4, THE BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
2 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL NOT ALLOW THE CHILD TO ENROLL IN
3 GRADE 4 UNLESS 1 OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURS:
4 (i) THE CHILD ACHIEVES A GRADE 3 LEVEL READING SCORE AS
5 DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE READING PORTION OF THE
6 GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT.
7 (ii) THE CHILD DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH
8 PERFORMANCE ON AN ALTERNATIVE STANDARDIZED READING ASSESSMENT
9 APPROVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
10 (iii) THE CHILD DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH A
11 PUPIL PORTFOLIO, AS EVIDENCED BY DEMONSTRATING MASTERY OF ALL GRADE
12 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS THROUGH MULTIPLE WORK
13 SAMPLES.

In other words--typically a student could be held back based on just his or her performance on a state test. 

14 (C) SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (12), IF A PUPIL IS NOT ENROLLED IN
15 GRADE 4 DUE TO THE OPERATION OF THIS SUBSECTION AND THE PUPIL HAS
16 DEMONSTRATED PROFICIENCY IN MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, WRITING, OR
17 SOCIAL STUDIES AS DETERMINED BY THE GRADE 3 STATE ASSESSMENT IN THE
18 APPLICABLE SUBJECT AREA OR BY THE PUPIL'S GRADE 3 READING TEACHER,
19 THE BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
20 PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL ENSURE THAT THE PUPIL IS PROVIDED WITH
21 INSTRUCTION COMMENSURATE WITH THE PUPIL'S ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL IN THAT
22 SPECIFIC SUBJECT AREA. THIS INSTRUCTION MAY BE GIVEN IN A GRADE 4
23 CLASSROOM SETTING.

In other words, a student might be "moved up" to Grade 4 for math and science and social studies, and then pulled out for reading intervention, but not actually called a "4th grader" unless his or her reading progressed.

24 (6) FOR PUPILS WHO ARE NOT ADVANCED TO GRADE 4 OR CHILDREN WHO
25 ARE NOT ENROLLED IN GRADE 4 DUE TO THE OPERATION OF SUBSECTION (5),
26 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL PROVIDE A
27 READING INTERVENTION PROGRAM THAT IS INTENDED TO CORRECT THE 
1 PUPIL'S SPECIFIC READING DEFICIENCY, AS IDENTIFIED BY A VALID AND
2 RELIABLE ASSESSMENT, AND ADDRESS ANY BARRIERS TO READING. THIS
3 PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES NECESSARY
4 TO ASSIST THE PUPIL IN BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL READER, AND ALL OF THE
5 FOLLOWING FEATURES, AS APPROPRIATE FOR THE NEEDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
6 PUPIL:
7 (A) A REDUCED PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO OR 1-TO-1 READING
8 INTERVENTION WITH A VOLUNTEER.
9 (B) ASSIGNING TO THE PUPIL A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEACHER OF
10 READING AS DETERMINED BY THE TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM UNDER
11 SECTION 1249, THE HIGHEST EVALUATED TEACHER IN THE SCHOOL AS
12 DETERMINED BY THAT SYSTEM, OR A READING SPECIALIST.
13 (C) READING PROGRAMS THAT ARE RESEARCH-BASED AND HAVE PROVEN
14 RESULTS IN ACCELERATING PUPIL READING ACHIEVEMENT WITHIN THE SAME
15 SCHOOL YEAR.
16 (D) READING INSTRUCTION AND INTERVENTION FOR THE MAJORITY OF
17 PUPIL CONTACT TIME EACH DAY THAT INCORPORATES OPPORTUNITIES TO
18 MASTER THE GRADE 4 STATE STANDARDS IN OTHER CORE ACADEMIC AREAS.
19 (E) DAILY TARGETED SMALL GROUP OR 1-TO-1 READING INTERVENTION
20 THAT IS BASED ON PUPIL NEEDS, DETERMINED BY ASSESSMENT DATA, AND ON
21 DIAGNOSED BARRIERS TO READING AND THAT INCLUDES EXPLICIT AND
22 SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTION WITH MORE DETAILED AND VARIED EXPLANATIONS,
23 MORE EXTENSIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GUIDED PRACTICE, AND MORE
24 OPPORTUNITIES FOR ERROR CORRECTION AND FEEDBACK.
25 (F) ADMINISTRATION OF ONGOING PROGRESS MONITORING ASSESSMENTS
26 TO FREQUENTLY MONITOR PUPIL PROGRESS.
27 (G) SUPPLEMENTAL RESEARCH-BASED READING INTERVENTION DELIVERED 
1 BY A TEACHER OR TUTOR WITH SPECIALIZED READING TRAINING THAT IS
2 PROVIDED BEFORE SCHOOL, AFTER SCHOOL, DURING REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS
3 BUT OUTSIDE OF REGULAR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM TIME, OR ANY
4 COMBINATION OF THESE.
5 (H) PROVIDES PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS WITH A "READ AT HOME"
6 PLAN OUTLINED IN A PARENTAL CONTRACT, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN
7 PARENT AND GUARDIAN TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND REGULAR PARENT-GUIDED OR
8 GUARDIAN-GUIDED HOME READING.

Yes, that would mean the teacher assessed as "highly effective" based in large part on test score evaluations. And who is going to pay for the reading interventions? 

[Side note, but totally relevant: The ACLU of Michigan had brought a lawsuit forward based on Highland Park's failure to teach kids to read, and the Supreme Court of Michigan just declined to hear it. People, it's all about funding, and poverty... Go to the end of this piece to read an excerpt of the ACLU statement, or follow the link.]

9 (7) IF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PUPIL'S SCHOOL DISTRICT OR
10 CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE PUPIL'S PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY GRANTS A
11 GOOD CAUSE EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (5)(A) FOR
12 A PUPIL, THEN A PUPIL MAY BE ADVANCED TO GRADE 4 WITHOUT MEETING
13 THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (5)(A). A GOOD CAUSE EXEMPTION MAY
14 BE GRANTED ONLY ACCORDING TO THE PROCEDURES UNDER SUBSECTION (9)
15 AND ONLY FOR 1 OF THE FOLLOWING:
16 (A) THE PUPIL IS A STUDENT WITH AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION
17 PROGRAM WHOSE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM TEAM DETERMINES THAT
18 THE PUPIL IS INELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE STANDARD GRADE 3 STATE
19 ASSESSMENT, OR THE MI-ACCESS ASSESSMENT OR ANY SIMILAR ALTERNATIVE
20 STATE ASSESSMENT, ACCORDING TO HIS OR HER INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION
21 PROGRAM.
22 (B) THE PUPIL IS A LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENT WHO HAS
23 HAD LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF INSTRUCTION IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER
24 PROGRAM.
25 (C) THE PUPIL HAS RECEIVED INTENSIVE READING INTERVENTION FOR
26 2 OR MORE YEARS BUT STILL DEMONSTRATES A DEFICIENCY IN READING AND
27 WAS PREVIOUSLY RETAINED IN KINDERGARTEN, GRADE 1, GRADE 2, OR GRADE 
1 3.

For crying out loud! This implies that you could have 10 and 11 year olds in with your 8 year olds. Think that makes any sense developmentally? 

It's also worth noting that dyslexia organizations are upset this bill was developed without them. Reading disabilities are often not diagnosed until third or fourth grade.

Here's the full bill. 

***********************************************************

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear ACLU of Michigan lawsuit

The ACLU had brought forward a case filed on behalf of eight public-school students in Highland Park who contend that the district has failed to meet its obligation to ensure basic literacy skills among children in the district.

By car, it's a little over an hour to drive from Highland Park to Lansing,
but clearly it's a world away. Screenshot from Google Maps.

As the ACLU writes, "Today the state Supreme Court refused to hear a case that ruled against children whose schools have failed to teach them to read.   While the trial court decided that The appellate court said that the state has no enforceable duty to ensure that schoolchildren actually learn fundamental skills such as reading – but rather is obligated only to establish and finance a public education system, regardless of the quality of that system. Waving off decades of historic judicial precedent, the majority opinion contended that “judges are not equipped to decide educational policy"... 

Dissenting from the majority opinion, Judge Douglas Shapiro accused the Court of Appeals of “abandonment of our essential judicial roles, that of enforcement of the rule of law even where the defendants are governmental entities, and of protecting the rights of all who live within Michigan’s borders, particularly those, like children, who do not have a voice in the political process. 

ALSO (my summary): The Supreme Court ACKNOWLEDGED an abysmal failure of the system, but by refusing to hear the case essentially said, "It's not our problem."

 *************************************************************** 

Connect...the....Dots 

Guess what? In Highland Park, in the lawsuit, a majority of kids failed the state assessment for proficiency in reading. The district had no money. Has no money. Is under emergency management. Can you imagine having all those kids held back, for one, two, or three years?

The state is ABDICATING its responsibility to help kids in poverty-stricken districts, especially, and no amount of "third grade reading bills" that require expensive interventions but don't provide any money for them is going to solve that problem.

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

So How Are Those Emergency Manager School Districts Doing?!

I took this from the Save Michigan's Public Schools facebook page (a good page to join if you are interested), and it kind of boggles the mind.

Under the management of EFM Don Witherspoon, Muskegon Heights, the first fully privatized Michigan school district, has just borrowed $3.5 million from the State of Michigan. From Gongwer:

"Two of the school districts currently under emergency financial management were approved Friday for a total $6.5 million in emergency loans from the state.

The Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board found that both Highland Park Public Schools and Muskegon Heights Public Schools would run deficits for the current school year and needed the loans to cover those shortfalls.

Highland Park will borrow $3 million and Muskegon Heights $3.5 million. Under the loan agreements, Treasurer Andy Dillon would have to approve use of the funds, which are only to pay vendors.

The districts are alone in having their operations passed to a charter school management company as part of the effort to repair their finances. Managers in both districts found they would not be able to balance their budgets under their prior management structures."

Well, I guess they couldn't balance their budgets under the new management structures, either, and. . . oh, yeah. . . with the new management structures there is no public representation. . . 

An Interview. . . With Myself!

I thought that I would do an interview of myself for a change of pace. You can interview me too, and if you have a question for me you can put it in the comments.

Oh. And I have removed the form from Haiku Monday, and in its place I have put in the haikus that others contributed. Take a look, they are good!

1. What do you think of the blogathon so far? 

June is winding down, and it's a good thing, because the Blogathon pace of writing a post a day is wearing me down, and has meant a lot of late nights for me! It's been a good experience, and I've liked being part of a "blogging community." Also I have enjoyed having some guest posters. 

What is amazing to me is that some of the things I thought for sure I would get to, I haven't gotten to write about yet. For instance, I have some great material for a couple of posts on the NWEA MAP test--and now I don't think I'll get to them until mid-July!

2. This is kind of a "housekeeping" question. Google Reader is going away July 1. Have you figured out what you are using in its place, and/or how people can keep getting your blog?

For the feeds that I get, I have started using feedly.com, and I really like it. There are some other alternatives as well. One of them is called The Old Reader and is like an older version of Google Reader. I haven't tried that, but you might. One other option that may be attractive to you (especially once I stop writing a post a day!)--you can sign up to get this blog emailed to you, there is a spot in the right-hand column to do that.

I think this also means that I can't get google alerts in an RSS feed anymore, and I'm not sure what I'll do about them. Suggestions are welcome! [My google alerts are set to really exciting topics, like Ann Arbor Public Schools and WISD...]

2. What was the most exciting education news in the last 24 hours?

In Michigan, it was undoubtedly the next step in the ACLU of Michigan's Highland Park "right to read" case. Nearly a year ago the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit alleging the state had failed to live up to its constitutional obligation to provide kids with an education. You might remember that Highland Park has an emergency manager now. [Said emergency manager was recently caught throwing out valuable black history books and said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Well, we're not in the business of running libraries." Yeah, because what business would schools have with school libraries??????"] Anyway--now the state was trying to say that because there was an emergency manager, the state had "broad immunity" from being sued. The judge didn't buy that, and the lawsuit will proceed. Read the ACLU press release here.

3. How do you feel about what the Ann Arbor Board of Education did yesterday?

I was very disappointed that the board turned away a lot of money ($500,000) for advertising revenue (billboards) and chose to dip even further (almost $400,000) into the fund balance, all the while keeping the ill-advised "tuition" 7th hour and having lots of staffing cuts. 

I am very very curious about who the semi-finalists for the superintendent position will be. 

And I really liked something that Christine Stead wrote on her blog: "I hope we will support reinstating domestic partner benefits as a result of the Supreme Court rulings today.  Snyder’s law banning partner benefits is unconstitutional."

4. Something that relates to your high school experience happened today. Tell us about it.

There is a new NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver. Adam and I went to high school together, and in fact had many classes together. We had a monthly newspaper at school, and at one point Adam was the boys' sports editor, and I was the girls' sports editor. So if he is the NBA Commissioner, why aren't I the WNBA Commissioner? 

Maybe it has something to do with Title IX.

That's all for now. . . You can send me your questions in the comments if you want, and I will try to answer them. [Yes, I like comments.]

Six Solstice Friday Notes

Not that these notes really have anything to do with the solstice. . .

1. The legislature adjourned today without the Senate voting on Medicaid expansion. I was soooo disappointed. Sen. Randy Richardville (majority leader) does in fact represent a small portion of Washtenaw County, and he refused to bring it forward for a vote--despite Governor Snyder's support (and Snyder is another resident of Washtenaw County). I haven't quite given up hope yet. I think you'd be surprised how much Medicaid money comes into schools; and in my day job the Medicaid expansion is super important. It will provide health coverage to many thousands of Washtenaw County residents.

2. The legislature also adjourned without supporting funding for the implementation of Common Core. Americans for Prosperity (a tea party group) touted this as a great thing. Don't get me wrong, I've got issues with Common Core. But--and this is a big but--the state has committed itself, and its schools, to implementing Common Core. So if the state is committed to something, but doesn't give money for it, guess what that means? Yes, another unfunded mandate for the schools. Meanwhile the legislature did manage to support the dissolution of school districts (Inkster and Buena Vista) in a really poorly-considered piece of legislation. Read about that here.

3. I was at one of the Superintendent Forums for the Ann Arbor Schools on Wednesday. I'm guessing that most of you weren't there, because the turnout at the first three of them was quite low. (I went to #3 so I heard a little about #1 and #2, but I'm not sure what happened at #4.) I believe Deb Mexicotte that they were still useful for the board, because we were able to have an in-depth discussion about what was important. (At the forum I went to, board members Deb Mexicotte, Susan Baskett and Glenn Nelson were there.) For me, a few things that are important include: site visits; giving local candidates (at least Michigan, preferably southeast Michigan) a chance; getting an understanding of how the candidates approach decision making; finding people with an open communication style who want to set out a vision and get some buy-in; people who embrace what it means to be working under the microscope that is Ann Arbor. You might have your own list of important things. Remember that we will never see the 90% of the candidates who don't make it to the semifinal stage (which will be decided, I believe, June 26th). That's because only the semifinalists and finalist names will be made public. I think it's important to share with the board what your "essential" things are. You can do that by emailing them at boe@aaps.k12.mi.us, or calling them. Contact information is here.

4. While at the Superintendent Forum, before we got started, I asked about the decision to charge for seventh hour. Glenn Nelson expressed something that (at least one of) the board members had expressed at the last board meeting, which was that a) he felt that 7th hour needed to be self-supporting and that b) charging $100 this year was a way to "try out" charging money and "work the kinks out" in the expectation that the following year they will charge $350 to $400 per semester. Now, leave aside for a minute the fact that the ACLU believes that this practice is illegal; and leave aside for a minute the fact that Michigan Department of Education rules also appear to prohibit charging for seventh hour. I also have to think that there are a lot of people who might be able to afford  $100/semester for a child but not $350 or $400 per semester. And I wonder what kind of projections the district has done to try and figure out who would opt in and opt out. My guess is that they haven't done those projections. The whole idea that rather than thinking something through in advance we'll just feel our way along through the next year and "see" if or how it works doesn't sit very well with me. And (now paying attention to the points about whether this is legal) I'm concerned that the district would walk knowingly into the expenses of a lawsuit even though there is a way to avoid it.

And I bring this up, why? Well, I bring this up because today's annarbor.com had an article in which it says "Some 'cleanup' is needed on approved Ann Arbor Public Schools budget for fall." So, cleanup is needed? Let's clean this up. Cut out the fees for 7th hour; try and address this issue over the coming year; and if we need to bring back the billboards to do that, then--so be it.

Again, you can contact the board with your own ideas for "cleanup."

5. You might have read about the Michigan ACLU's "right to read" lawsuit in Highland Park. Well, now the State of Michigan is trying to say that they have no responsibility for literacy in school districts like Highland Park, in which there is an emergency manager, and that because of the emergency manager law the state gets "broad immunity." Also, the ACLU has been documenting the alleged falsification of records by employees of the charter company hired to run the high school. Read more here.

6. Over on the right side of my blog I have a blogroll, and for the last several years I've listed the blog Foster Parenting Adventures there. I've been following the tale of Tikun Olam (not her real name) and her family for several years, from when they first decided to be trained as a foster family to when they finally got their first fostering assignment. And Friday, June 21st, 2013 is, in fact, Adoption Day for CD, who has been with them for several years! Mazal Tov to Tikun Olam  and family. If you have a moment, take a look at her blog.

On the Ballot: Non-Partisan Candidates Matter!

A lot of people, confronted with a long ballot, just check the party line and vote for all the candidates of a certain party. I've never done that, partly because I like filling in all those bubbles, and partly because I like thinking that I am deciding about each candidate based on her or his merits. [Even though I do usually vote just one party. . . it's not 100% of the time.

If like me, you vote each candidate individually, you probably won't miss the other half of the ballot, but if you vote the party line with a single mark, you might.

That's right, there's a non-partisan part of the ballot. It includes the proposals (more on those in a few days); any millages; judicial candidates; library boards; school boards; and community college boards. I've got links to the school-related candidate information here.

The judicial candidates are extremely important for education too. Here are just two examples of cases that are education-related that are going through the court systems right now. Both of these have been brought by the ACLU of Michigan.

Case #1: Lawsuit over domestic partner benefits for public servants. Two of the plaintiffs are Ann Arbor teachers.

Case #2: Lawsuit over the right to an education. The lawsuit focuses on the Highland Park school district's failure to educate students.

So yes, it does matter that you vote in the judicial elections. For some unbiased information, try the League of Women Voters.

In the case of the state Supreme Court, the candidates are nominated at the state party conventions, and then they run on a non-partisan ballot. (To my mind, that makes even less sense than if they just had a non-partisan ballot, but that is how it is.)

So the Democrats in the Supreme Court race are: Judge Connie Marie Kelley, Judge Shelia Johnson and Bridget Mary McCormack. That's who I am voting for!

Bridget Mary McCormack has a sister who was an actress on the West Wing. She brought the cast of West Wing together to promote voting the non-partisan part of the ballot.  

Yes, DO vote on proposals, millages, boards, and judicial candidates. Please.

This video is actually quite fun, even if you (like me) never really watched West Wing, and no matter which candidates are the ones you support.

Key Upcoming Events: June 17 & June 19, 2013

Monday, June 17th: Educate Yourself about K-12 Education in Our State

Monday, June 17th, by K12.MI
1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(First United Methodist Church at Greenwood)
7:00 pm-9:00 pm

From the organizers: This event is a forum to discuss the current challenges of k-12 public school education in the State of Michigan. Our panelists will be Michigan State Representative Jeff Irwin, Pioneer High School teacher and Director of Bands, David Leach, and Steve Norton from Michigan Parents for Schools. Mr. Irwin, Mr. Leach, and Mr. Norton will discuss and highlight perspectives from legislators, teachers, and parents on issues and tasks that interested people should be aware of and act upon over the summer. This event is open to all. 

The Facebook invitation is here. Invite your friends!

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Statewide, June 19th, at the Capitol: Save Michigan's Public Schools Rally by Rochelle Noel

Please join us on the Capitol lawn beginning at 11:30 am on Wednesday, June 19th. We're still working on lining up our speakers for the event, but we've already confirmed the following superstar advocates for public education:

* Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (Senate Minority Leader)
* Sen. Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park)
* Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids)
* John Austin (President, State Board of Education)
* Thomas Pedroni (Associate Professor, Wayne State Univ)
* Superintendent Rod Rock (Clarkston Community Schools)
* Jeff Kass (Ann Arbor Public Schools Teacher & Poet)
* Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (Education Chair, National Congress of Black Women)
* Steven Norton (Michigan Parents for Schools)
* John Stewart (former member MI House of Representatives)
* Mary Valentine (former member MI House of Representatives)
* Stephanie Keiles (Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Teacher & Michigan Friends of Public Education)
* Betsy Coffia (Save Michigan's Public Schools)
* K-12 Students Representing School Districts Around Michigan

And Master of Ceremonies . . . Tony Trupiano (Progressive Talk Radio Show Host/Night Shift with Tony Trupiano)

WHO ARE WE?

Save Michigan’s Public Schools is a non-partisan grassroots network of concerned citizens. Our goal is to connect parents, students, educators and communities across Michigan and raise awareness of threats to public education.

We believe a free, quality public education is the cornerstone of a democratic society. We believe every child in Michigan deserves access to equal and excellent educational opportunities through public education. We believe public education must be locally-controlled, fully-funded, delivered by highly qualified professional teachers, and devoid of corporate involvement.

To this end, we support policymakers and public officials who reject the corporate, profit-motivated takeover of public schools, massive school closures, and meaningless high-stakes testing. We support wise policies and laws that forward sound, research-based, evidence-based solutions to support and improve our existing public school system.

Here is the facebook invitation. Invite your friends!