The Myth of Sisyphus, and the Myth of the EAA, with Kudos to the Ann Arbor School Board

I've been thinking lately about the Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus, you may recall, is condemned to eternally push a stone up a hill, even while the stone rolls down the hill. I've been thinking about the myth of Sisyphus in regard to an endless succession (in that sense, not a single boulder, but rather a rock fall) of terrible education-related legislation proposed by the state legislature. Those of us working against bad legislation seem to be constantly fighting a losing battle.

Drawing by Ruth Kraut. 2014. Creative Commons license.

That losing battle was in full view this week, with education advocates working hard to defeat the bill expanding the Education Achievement Authority. Today, those efforts failed. On Facebook, Steve Norton of Michigan Parents for Schools posted this picture of the vote in the House: 

Photo (or screen shot?) of the House TV screen showing the EAA vote.

There were 56 votes to pass the--a bare majority. Many thanks to most of our local representatives for voting No--that includes Driskell, Irwin, Rutledge and Zemke. Democrats who voted Yes were Olumba and Santana. According to Gongwer, five Republicans voted No – Rep. Jon Bumstead of Newaygo, Rep. Ben Glardon of Owosso, Rep. Peter Pettalia of Presque Isle, Rep. Phil Potvin of Cadillac and Rep. Pat Somerville of New Boston. (If you happen to live near them, thank them!)

But ultimately, I'm more than hopeful that the story of Sisyphus is not the story of the EAA. I believe that the myth of the EAA as a productive school environment will be exposed. The myth of what the EAA does will be shown to be as fraudulent as the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. Behind the green curtain. . . if there ever is actual transparency. . . we will see the EAA schools are shadows of real schools, where intellectual inquiry and passion exist. 

The EAA, and many other terrible pieces of legislation, cannot really stand the light of day. The fact that public observers didn't get to read the bill in its latest form before it was voted on is simply more proof of that.

Drawing by Ruth Kraut. 2014. Creative Commons license.

The real story will not be a myth. Eventually, I really believe that the EAA will be defeated by the power of people. Sisyphus tried to roll that boulder up that hill all by himself. That's something that we don't have to do. 

We. The. People. Have. Each. Other.

Here is part of what Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton said on the floor today (she's the representative who got a lot of the FOIA'd documents about the EAA that you can read here):

Please know...that I know...those who will continue to fight against corporate education DE-FORM know...and most importantly that the children trapped in the EAA know....just how well we fought, and will continue to fight the EAA. They can pass the bill over our objections and ignoring the facts, but we know it is a failure in every way. Thank you to every Education Warrior, the thousands of you across the state. Please know...the fight begins anew....justice and truth WILL prevail.

And that's why I was so pleasantly surprised to see that the Ann Arbor Public Schools board, last night (March 19, 2014) voted to ask Eastern Michigan University to no longer authorize the EAA! The EAA needs an "authorizer" to operate.

It's an excellent resolution, passed unanimously. Read the full resolution here.

To cut to the chase, 

NOW, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED:
That the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education
A. Urges the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents:
 1. To discontinue its affiliation and partnership with the EAA;  2. To work in concert with local public school districts in opposing efforts to destabilize, defund and deconstruct community-based and -governed traditional public education;  3. Go on record as opposing the State’s efforts to rid communities of the opportunity to participate in and govern their local schools; and  4. Build, foster and expand opportunities to work more collaboratively with student teacher placement and similar efforts with traditional public school systems, including the Ann Arbor Public Schools. 
B. Urges State lawmakers to oppose HB 4369 which would expand the destructive model of EAA to a wider arena.

Well done, Ann Arbor School Board! Since I know sometimes I (and many others) are critical of what the school board does, when they do something we like we should also let them know. Send a quick note to the Board of Education at: boe@aaps.k12.mi.us.

Is EAA Pressure Starting to Get to EMU?

I hope so!

Forum Tomorrow at EMU: Wednesday, March 12, 11 a.m.

On Wednesday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to noon in the Student Center Auditorium, the Office of the Provost will host a forum on the Educational Achievement Authority (EAA). The forum’s participants will include EAA Chancellor John Covington as well as students, staff, faculty and parents from the district. The format of the forum includes a presentation by the EAA participants about the EAA’s mission, activities and results. That will be followed by a Q&A session to support the audience’s questions. The forum will be taped for those who can not attend. Public parking is available in the Student Center parking lots off Oakwood Street and Huron River Drive.

(h/t: HSM)

EAA Board Meeting Thursday, March 13th, 4 p.m. in Detroit

This meeting will be held in the Frank Hayden Community Room, #236, on the downtown campus of Wayne County Community College (1001 West Fort Street, Detroit.)

Eclectablog notes:

After canceling their February meeting, the EAA Board of Directors is meeting for the first time since early December. Apparently there hasn’t been anything of significance happening with their school district since then that warranted them meetings. The Board, which started out with 11 members, is down to six members. In fact, three of the existing members’ terms have actually expired:

• Mark Murray’s 1 year term expired on August 11, 2012

• William Pickard’s 2 year term expired on August 11, 2013

• Roy Roberts’ 2 year term expired on August 11, 2013

This meeting is open to the public and the announcement for it can be found HERE.On the agenda is the expansion of the EAA by adding a new high school near Phoenix Elementary in the southwest part of Detroit.

And by the way, if you are interested in going to the protest, that will start at 3:30. You can RSVP here--or just show up on Thursday.

Sign A Petition?

Also, if you are interested, there is a petition to Governor Snyder to shut down the EAA because it is a "failed experiment."

Sign here.


Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Does Pay Prove Worth? Teachers Race to the Bottom

The first time I thought about becoming a public school teacher, I was deterred by the thought of paying for a whole semester of school, and not being able to make any money during that time period, while working for free as a student teacher.

The second time I thought about it, I had a slightly longer view. The 13 weeks didn't seem quite as long, and plus my husband was working. I was more interested in putting to rest the question of whether I should be a public school teacher.

At the time, I asked a friend who was an Ann Arbor school teacher, if I should pursue teaching certification. "No," she said definitively. "I am a born teacher, but teachers are not valued in any way."

I didn't take her advice then (13 years ago!), but afterwards I thought maybe I should have.

Student teachers work for free. So, too, do their supervising (mentor) teachers, who get something like $100 for each teacher they take on.

I thought of all this today, listening to a story on NPR about how North Carolina teachers have had their pay cut; have no right to organize; and don't get rewarded for time as a teacher or masters-level education.

Then I opened up mlive.com and saw Kellie Woodhouse's article about how the majority of the full-time lecturers at EMU's School of Education have been laid off for the fall of 2014. These lecturers are unionized--and although part-time lecturers were recently able to unionize, I have to believe a part of this is a way for EMU to break the union. It could also be revenge for the fact that the union rightfully opposed EMU's involvement in the Education Achievement Authority--for very good reasons!--and asked local school districts' unions to not place EMU student teachers.

Full-time lecturers cost more too, so in that way EMU's action is part of the same Race to the Bottom that we see in North Carolina, and here in Michigan as well--where teachers have had to give up compensation year after year.

I didn't listen to my friend, and paid for the "opportunity" to be a student teacher. [I hope, sometime soon, to blog a little bit about that experience.]

Teacher certification, and other school of education programs that award teachers higher degrees (additional coursework is often a requirement of certification) have been a cash cow for education schools for many years. But that is changing.

According to Woodhouse's article, the number of people who are studying to be teachers has dropped dramatically at EMU.

"In 2008-09 undergraduates were enrolled in 40,089 credit hours, a number that shrunk to 30,743 credit hours in 2012-13, according to the 2013 EMU data book."

Honestly, I'm surprised that it hasn't dropped more.

If anybody asks me, I give them the same advice my friend gave me. "Don't do it!" I say. "I'm a born teacher, but teachers are devalued every day."

Some of them might take my advice.  Many of the others can be found substitute teaching around town for the princely sum of $75/day--an amount that has remained the same locally for at least 13 years.


*Coincidentally, the number 13 shows up several times in this short piece. What do you make of that?



Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Mascots: Mastering A Good Name

I didn't see this ad at the Superbowl, but afterwards my husband and son showed it to me. I have a special interest in this because of the month that I spent on an Indian reservation in South Dakota (Cheyenne River) many years ago with the Sioux YMCA.

This ad is about the NFL, but it has great relevance to school sports too.




Discussions of school mascots have been major topics in Washtenaw County. . .  remember the EMU Hurons (name changed to the Eagles)? The Ypsilanti Braves (name changed to the Phoenix before the merger to YCS, and then changed again to the Grizzlies)? The Milan Big Reds (name kept, but Native American imagery removed)?

Mascots: A good name is worth more than great riches.

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Understanding the Education Achievement Authority (EAA): An Activist's Guide

Are you confused about what the Education Achievement Authority is, and what some people want it to be? If so, join the club.

The Okemos Parents for Schools blog (which, by the way, is on my blogroll in the right-hand column) has just done an excellent three-part series on what the EAA is. I highly recommend that you take a look at it!

Part 1: Methods and Results

What is the EAA? Part 1, Methods and Results

To whet your appetite, here is a small excerpt from Part 1:

The EAA was created in 2011 by an interlocal agreement between the Emergency Manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Roy Roberts, and Eastern Michigan University.  An "interlocal agreement" is one of the methods of creating a charter school.  See What are "charter schools?", Okemos Parents for Schools, June 28, 2013.  The EAA is essentially a charter district. Originally, the EAA was tasked with taking over 15 schools from the Detroit Public School district.  Before the EAA had even finished one year of operation its proponents were trying to expand it statewide with a measure which would allow the EAA to capture 5 percent of Michigan's public schools every year, with no mechanism to return them to local control. 

Part 2: Management and Finances

What is the EAA? Part 2, management and finances

In Part 2, you learn some information about who is running the EAA and how they are managing financially. For instance:

The Chancellor of the EAA, John Covington, came to the EAA after heading up a public school district in Kansas City. One Michigan blogger wrote that Covington "faked a conflict with his former employer to get out of his contract" in Kansas City and "could make as much as $1.4 million in four years" at the EAA.  New Education Achievement Authority leader’s former school district loses its accreditation,Eclectablog, September 21, 2011.  Covington's tenure in Kansas City was a rocky one.  Covington oversaw closure of nearly half the schools in the Kansas City district.  Board strips Kansas City schools' accreditation, MSNBCNews.com, September 20, 2011.  As he was leaving, the district he oversaw was flailing on almost all measures of performance, "the district met only three of the 14 standards in the state's annual performance report, down from four in 2010."  Id. Less than a month after Covington left, the Missouri state board of education voted to strip the schools of its accreditation.  Id.  Recently, the EAA board "voted to hire Interactive Learning Systems LLC of Columbia, S.C., as an 'executive coach' for" Covington.  EAA collapsing, The Michigan Citizen, December 12, 2013. 

(And that's not all...)

Part 3: Widespread Opposition

What is the EAA? Part 3, widespread opposition

In Part 3 we learn about teaching and learning conditions, and we also learn about the local connection. As you may recall, EMU is the chartering institution.

Remember that the EAA is structured like a charter district, and so requires an "interlocal agreement" with an "authorizing institution" to receive state funds.  Eastern Michigan University is the EAA's authorizer.  We've discussed before how authorizing institutions like state universities give charters a feel of credibility, but in practice the authorizer has almost no involvement with the charter.  What are "charter schools?", Okemos Parents for Schools, June 28, 2013.  The EAA's colossal failure and the faculty's complete lack of oversight has proved too much for the EMU faculty to stomach. The faculty are protesting and their efforts have made national news:

And Part 3 ends with this:

In sum, outside the small circle of those politically and financially invested in the EAA, there is almost no one in Michigan advocating for expansion of the EAA. (Emphasis added.)

Ellen Cogen Lipton, a Michigan House
Democrat, has been a key point person on
getting the FOIA'd documents and putting
together the Inside the EAA website.
Photo taken from her state representative website.

More Information from Inside the EAA

After you've taken a look at the "primer" on the EAA, then you might me interested at reading some FOIA'd source documents and lots of other news articles at Inside the EAA.

And why is all of this important in 2014? Expansion of the EAA is one of many terrible educational initiatives we can expect to see back in the legislature...

Interviews with Teachers in the EAA

Just an hour before this post was set to "go live" I found out that today Eclectablog published an important piece about the EAA that has interviews with real live EAA teachers. Serendipity? I think that really it just highlights the fact that this is really important stuff! Read on.

As Chris Savage writes,

I spoke with several teachers, some of whom came to the EAA through the Teach for America program. What follows documents the outrageous and frightening situation in the EAA schools. I am keeping the gender of the teachers, which schools they work in, and any other identifying information hidden so that these teachers will not be fired for speaking to me. Every quote and statement, however, are real and the teachers represent both elementary schools within the EAA as well as high schools.
While much of what I learned from these courageous teachers I had heard about at least in part before, the most shocking thing I discovered was that school administrators have been seen physically abusing problem students. In addition to this, the teachers themselves are put in danger by violent students that the administration appears unwilling or unable to deal with.
It is critically important that these stories be told now because Republicans, including Gov. Snyder, are determined to expand the EAA statewide. The failure of the current EAA “experiment” shows in vivid and frightening detail what a colossal mistake that would be. I encourage you to share this information and this post with others you know so that all of us can contact our legislators and encourage them to stop the failed experiment before it is expanded even further. (Emphasis added.)

Read the interviews with the teachers on Eclectablog.

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Marking Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

If you're like me, you want to find a way to mark MLK Day with your family (besides doing something like shopping, even if you are shopping at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop 20% Off Sale--which, by the way, has to do with having a 20% off sale on the 20th of every month in honor of their 20th anniversary, and not with MLK Day.)

On the other hand, what exactly do you do with a 5 year old, a 10 year old, a 15 year old?

Here are a few ideas.

1. From 2-3p on Sunday, January 19 the Pittsfield Branch will honor Martin Luther King Jr. with award-winning author & illustrator Bryan Collier highlighting his 2002 book Martin's Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King Jr. The event is geared towards elementary school aged kids (grades K-5).

2. There will be a second event to honor Martin Luther King Jr on Monday, January 20 from 1-2p at the Downtown Branch with the Biakuye Percussion Group. The event is for grades K through adult.

A Cuban stamp with the image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King. Found online here. 

3. University of Michigan is hosting the MLK Children and Youth Program, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, at the Modern Lanagues Building, 812 E. Washington. This is targeted to K-12 students, and you can go in and out of the program. (It's really a series of events. I've found some to be very good, and others rather boring.)

4. University of Michigan is also hosting a Black History Mobile Museum on MLK Day from 10-7 in the Art Lounge in the Michigan Union. This year it is focused on 15 Black people who have won the Nobel Peace Prize, and there is also a special section focused on Harry Belafonte, who is the MLK Day Keynote Speaker at UM.

5. Older kids (especially those interested in the connection between music, acting, and social activism) may be interested in hearing Harry Belafonte, who will be speaking at Hill Auditorium at 10 a.m. on MLK Day.

(Find out more about the University of Michigan MLK-related events here.)

6. Really, this is more for adults: Geoffrey Canada, of the Harlem Children's Zone will be the EMU keynote speaker at 10 a.m. at the Student Center. I've been told that he's quite impressive--but remember that the HCZ has had millions and millions of dollars spent on it. Given the per-pupil funding of an Ypsilanti or Lincoln school district, you might ask him what aspects are easy to implement without tons of additional fund. 

7. Ypsilanti District Library--Main Branch has a concert with Rev. Robert Jones at 4 p.m.--he is a wonderful Detroit-area performer and huge supporter of American Roots music. (And you may remember his show on WDET.)

8. Ypsilanti District Library--Whittaker Branch has the You Can't Stop Me Project singing at 6:30 p.m. They are a group of kids who sing and perform. 

9. Read or listen to a related book (something about the Little Rock 9?)--there are lots of great ideas for books.

10. Watch a movie with your kids. Right now the movie 12 Years A Slave is at Rave Cinemas but of course there are many other options. Want a sports movie? How about Glory Road or 42 or the Jackie Robinson Story?

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

EMU Dean Resigns from Education Achievement Authority; Protests Tomorrow

Eclectablog is reporting that the Dean of the EMU School of Education has resigned from the Education Achievement Authority.

As Eclectablog notes: 

Not only have EAA administrators been evasive and failed to produce evidence to support their claims of success, they have been found to be leaving special needs students behind.
All of this has led to a number of teachers groups to boycott student teachers from EMU’s education program. Why? Because EMU is has partnered with the EAA since 2011 and is, in fact, the only one of Michigan’s 15 public universities to do so.

And the Dean of the School of Education's resignation is short and to the point. Basically, "I quit. Thank you." 

Why? Well, the faculty was up in arms about EMU's involvement. And without EMU's involvement, the EAA would need to find another university to participate to stay alive. 

According to Eclectablog, 

She [Jann Joseph] has given no reason for her resignation but faculty members’ outrage plus a planned protest during the EAA’s board meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3rd may have played a role. The protest will be followed by a “Teach-In on the Education Achievement Authority” and starts at 7:45 a.m.

Here are the details from the Facebook Event page:

Stand in solidarity with EMU faculty as they picket on Tuesday, December 3rd, in front of the offices of President Martin and the Board of Regents at Welch Hall on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Your presence will help illustrate the misstep that the EMU administration made as they entered this agreement under a cloak of arrogance. Hosted by Professors Steven Camron and Rebecca Martusewicz.
There are two half-hour informational pickets outside Welch Hall:- 7:45 to 8:15 to coincide with the 8 AM start of the EAA Audit Committee meeting- 8:45 to 9:15 to coincide with the 9 AM start of the EAA Executive Committee and Regular Board meeting
Teach-In to follow from 10:00-12:30 at Halle Library Auditorium

Thanks to Eclectablog for pointing all of this out! 

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Area Teens: Let's Make It Better Now

EMU is having a contest around LGBT Bullying issues. Money is involved. Yes, a $500 prize! Plus--it looks fun!

EMU's first annual advocacy speech competition! The focus of the competition is LGBT bullying among youth, titled "Let's Make It Better Now" (a spin-off of the "It Gets Better" campaign). Participants are invited to write and record a 4-7 minute persuasive speech articulating how students can "make it better now" for LGBT students within educational institutions and beyond. Speeches are due by December 1st . Participants must be EMU undergraduates and/or Washtenaw County youth (ages 16-24). Visit www.makeitbetternow.weebly.com or contact The Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights out of the CMTA department at msage@emich.edu for more information.

Find more details here: http://makeitbetternow.weebly.com/

Local Boy Makes Good In A Very Big Education Fishbowl

I spent this past weekend in the New York area.
I was shocked to see the name of someone that I actually had met more than once running across the trailer at the bottom of the screen on ABC News. Truthfully, that doesn't happen all that often.

And I was so very, very interested to read this article in the New York Times:
Mayor and State Reach Deal On A Schools Chief.

If you've been following this issue at all, you know that New York City is a huge, urban school district. In fact, it is the largest public school district in the world, and the school chief is appointed by the mayor. And Mayor Bloomberg has just appointed Cathleen Black, who has absolutely no education background, to be chancellor. Not only that, but she never even attended a public school. Read about the requirements for the New York City chancellor--this requires a waiver, which has just been given.

[The idea is, I believe, that schools can be run like businesses. I don't believe they can--first, because kids are not a product or service, and second--perhaps more importantly--because in a for-profit business you can try to control both your income and your expenses, and in the non-profit education world, you typically only get to control your expenses. But I digress.]

So anyway, to pacify the people who are outraged that she would be chosen (because there was a possibility that the New York State Education Commissioner could veto her appointment), Mayor Bloomberg suggests a compromise. . . a number 2, a deputy chancellor, who actually knows something about education.

And this is where the "local boy makes good" part comes in, and this is why I was so interested in the article. The local boy is Shael Polakow-Suransky, who got his high school education at the fine local institution, Ann Arbor's own Community High School. He also has the distinction of having a mother, Valerie Polakow, who is a professor of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University; and a father, Leonard Suransky, with a PhD from the University of Michigan who is a professor in the Netherlands.

Reviews of Polakow-Suransky's work from the education community in the New York area seem to be pretty positive. (See Gothamschools.org for an example.) The real question of NYC activists, though, is whether Polakow-Suransky will have any power at all.

That is likely because the New York Daily News reports Mayor Bloomberg responding to this question:

Q: How much autonomy will the chief academic officer have?
A: I think it'd be inappropriate to speak while we're waiting for the. . .  for David Steiner to act but there will be one person in charge. Make no mistake about that.

I like what Gothamschools.org quotes Polakow-Suransky as saying:

At a recent panel on how federal education policy is affecting local school districts, Suransky described his interest in standardized tests as being rooted in everyday teaching:

[U]ltimately the reason for assessment is to motivate what happens in the classroom. If it doesn’t actually lead to good practice in the classroom then it’s undermining practice in the classroom. And so this is an opportunity. This is a moment where there’s an opportunity to shift the direction of practice in the classroom and to push on the level of rigor and to actually figure out what is it that kids and teachers need in order to engage in that type of practice. (Emphasis added.)

It's not really a side note to say that I also had lunch with a few friends whose children are making their way through the NYC public schools. Suffice it to say that ensuring that your children get into the "good" schools might require that you yourself have an advanced degree. For high school, there is a huge book of school choices--which you get to wade through and rank order. . . and if your grades weren't good in 7th grade, you may have ruined many of your chances. . . if your test scores were poor, you can forget a different set of schools.

It's also not a side note to say that I'm sure Shael is influenced in the way that he thinks by his parents' work--in particular, Valerie Polakow's work on children and poverty. As it states in her biography on the EMU web site:

My scholarship is dedicated to advocacy on behalf of women and children in poverty, and in my writings I have attempted to document the lived realities of those who have been shut out— from early childhood education, from K-12 education, and from post-secondary education; and to give voice to those whose rights have been violated by poverty, race and gender discrimination.

In fact, Valerie Polakow is the co-editor of a journal I had never seen prior to looking up her biography. It is called PowerPlay: A Journal of Educational Justice and it looks interesting. [See, for instance, the lead article in the most recent issue: The Persistent Issue of Disproportionality in Special Education and Why It Hasn't Gone Away. And that topic is very related to an earlier conversation--see the comments section--on Ann Arbor Schools Musings.]

So, I admit, I was curious to see what someone I had met when he was a teenager looks like now.

Answer: he has a lot less hair!  In any case--good luck Shael!

Thinking About News: Part III

This is Part III of Thinking About News. Find Part I here. Find Part II here.

Parts I and II:

What do I think about the evolution of annarbor.com? (And yes, this gets review-y.)
Part III:

What have I learned about my own relationship to news and information?
What are the implications for the community?

Part III: What I found out about myself and my family, and our relationship to news and information

We always knew that news was important to us. In the past year, we've increased our donations to four local NPR stations: WEMU, WUOM, WKAR and WDET. We started subscribing to the Detroit Free Press--a paper that, it turns out, I like very much--in both its print edition and its web incarnation. We're thinking about subscribing to the New York Times. We are supporting the Ann Arbor Chronicle. We tried an annarbor.com subscription--we have let it lapse, but I might rejoin. We are still getting the Ann Arbor Journal for free. It is my 17-year-old who is saying, "We need to get the New York Times. We need a newspaper."

I really, really miss getting a Saturday paper. I've started calling the Sunday papers the "advertising injection devices." There are so many circulars in there! I think it's often half the paper, by weight.

I miss the obituaries. I do get the emailed annarbor.com obituaries, but it is not the same as the serendipity of reading an obituary about someone I've never met but did something really interesting, or the obituary that I read and thus find out that in fact, I do know the daughter (whom I only know by her married name). It's essentially a list, and if your name is John Smith, well--are you the John Smith I know?

We all spend way more time on the computer, checking numerous news sources (yes, I check annarbor.com and the Ann Arbor Chronicle just about every day), and sports blogs. Think it's so fun to have three people in a room, all on different computers? I think sharing the paper is more fun.

I don't read on the computer the same way that I read a newspaper. I picked up a New York Times at the airport, and I read all the little articles. When the Free Press comes, I read the entire sports section--even golfing! (Maybe that is a sport you are fond of playing or watching. My point is, I am not.)
Many (actually, most) of my friends seem somewhat disconnected from the local news, relying entirely on WEMU or WUOM for their local information, unless they are specifically referred to an article in the Ann Arbor Chronicle or annarbor.com.

What are the implications for the community?
This community--by which I mean Washtenaw County--has multiple news sources, but is not being well-serviced for news. I don't have the time to check a zillion different news sources.
Since I have spent most of my life in the nonprofit world, I have two things to say. First, I think most nonprofits cannot figure out the best way to get news out about their work. The venues for self-promotion are not so obvious. That is true for educational organizations too. Saline schools have multiple blogs and they have started tweeting. The Ann Arbor schools hired a journalist to write newsy pieces to distribute--to a limited audience. I believe that EMU has beefed up its public relations staff. Is this really just a way to transfer news costs from news organizations to other organizations? Are more press releases being "printed" as is? (The answers to those rhetorical questions are yes, and yes.)

Second, I realize that annarbor.com and the Ann Arbor Chronicle and the Ann Arbor Journal (all the Heritage papers) are for-profit organizations. So is the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, the New York Times, the Washington Post... you get the idea. I'm not critical of that--there are entrepreneurs in my family, too.

The question is: is news really a public service? And if it is, how do we deal with that? 

In the nonprofit world, the approach to this would probably be something along the lines of a "Community Conversation." Bring the key people together to answer the question,

What do we need in this community to be well-served by news?
How do we keep an eye on our public bodies?
How do we get there?

It's not always a successful process, but at least it sets out a vision. That is how we end up with documents like the Blueprint on Aging and the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. Some of those things actually do get implemented.

For many years (I think over 100), we didn't have to think about these questions. We relied on the Ann Arbor News. They've closed. I'm over it.

But now? We need vision(s).

To I.B. or Not to I.B., That Is the Question

I've been reading that International Baccalaureate programs may be coming to Washtenaw County. I wrote about the programs before here.

Take, for instance, this article from Dexter's Squall newspaper, written by Brittany Martini (Squall co-editor) and featured in annarbor.com on March 13, 2010--it features the process that Dexter High School is going through in preparation for switching from a school with AP classes to a school with an IB program.

Tentatively, in the fall of 2011, juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to either enroll in International Baccalaureate classes or enter an IB program and eventually receive an IB diploma... Dexter High School currently offers Advanced Placement (AP) classes to upperclassmen, but, according to [social studies teacher Susan] Walters, there is a definite difference between the two.“In terms of students, IB classes offer an opportunity for them to earn college credit, just like AP.... Also, the more challenging and greater variety of courses we can provide for students, the richer our curriculum will be.
"Students who take individual IB classes can test for college credit; students who only take IB classes during their junior and senior years can earn enough credits to enter college with sophomore standing or close to that.”
Besides a different approach to the test, IB and AP classes differ in price as well. 
According to Pam Bunka [Fenton English teacher]... Fenton recently adopted the IB program and has seen elective enrollements fall because of this adoption...The IB test is approximately $224 dollars, which is significantly more than the AP test.”...“The IB program allows students no room for electives,” Bunka said. “The electives a student in the diploma program has to take must be IB-approved classes. This means they can not take a band class; they have to take a band theory class instead. This applies for art classes as well. A student would have to take an art theory class instead of a regular art class."...
The IB diploma program forces students to take only IB classes...Regardless of the potential benefits and drawbacks from the program, whether DHS will become an IB school is still up in the air.

 At the same time, the WISD is looking at creating an IB program in East Middle School.  [Sarcastic side notes: 1) The WISD apparently doesn't have enough to do with taking on the "countywide" transporation; and 2) isn't it so convenient that Ypsilanti happens to have an empty middle school that could be used. Oh, but "no decisions have been made." OK, sarcasm over.]
Seriously, I am open-minded about the IB program, and I don't know much about it, but I want my questions answered.

According to this June 30, 2010 article by David Jesse,

"The Washtenaw County Superintendents Association has been talking about adding an IB program at the high school level for much of the last school year.
“This spring, they voted to move ahead with the planning of a countywide magnet high school using the IB Diploma Program, beginning with a target of 150 students with a goal of up to 600 students by year four,” Allen said."

 It happens that this article sparked a lot of comments, which I will get to in a minute. My basic problem is that I still didn't know what this program is/was.  Luckily for me, the New York Times posted an article a few days later that at least explains the details. 

The lesser-known I.B., a two-year curriculum developed in the 1960s at an international school in Switzerland, first took hold in the United States in private schools. But it is now offered in more than 700 American high schools — more than 90 percent of them public schools — and almost 200 more have begun the long certification process.
Many parents, schools and students see the program as a rigorous and more internationally focused curriculum, and a way to impress college admissions officers.
To earn an I.B. diploma, students must devote their full junior and senior years to the program, which requires English and another language, math, science, social science and art, plus a course on theory of knowledge, a 4,000-word essay, oral presentations and community service. (Emphasis added.)

Translation: devoting their full junior and senior years means no electives.

According to the New York Times article, the most common opposition comes from a belief that it is too internationally-focused (follows a "United Nations agenda"),  and the cost.

Others object to its cost — the organization charges $10,000 a year per school, $141 per student and $96 per exam — and say it is neither as effective as the A.P. program nor likely to reach as many students.

 Side note: I like the idea of a United Nations agenda.

 The Times article also looks at a school implementing the program in Maine:

Because it is so rigorous, the I.B. is not for everyone. At Greely, only 21 juniors started the full program this year, and three subsequently shifted to a mix of I.B. and regular classes. But those who stayed with it seemed enthusiastic. “It’s like a little club of scholars,” said Maggie Bower, a junior.

 In the comments on the Annarbor.com article, I thought there were some really good questions, which I will aggregate here:

Will the teachers at the IB program have to move from their current school district in Washtenaw County to the ISD? Will there be countywide busing available? How will students be selected for the program, using standardized tests or recommendations and grades? And, will students who attend the program be able to play sports at their "home school" or will the IB program also offer a sports program as a comprehensive high school? Is this just another way to funnel resources to elite students? How would this compete with the new High School program the Ypsilanti district is planning for the former Ardis elementary building? Will teachers remain employees of their home districts? How will districts fund this, and what will it cost them? How is the WISD going to be held accountable to the local voters? Will this program "cream" the most motivated students from each district, leaving fewer options for those left behind? How much money for renovations to a school building, and what will that cost/where will the money come from?

And I have a few more questions:
What kind of impact would this have on electives--music, art, gym?
What kind of impact would this have on after-school activities--theater, sports?
What kind of impact will this have on smaller schools in the county--for instance, Manchester, Willow Run, Whitmore Lake--will it mean they have to cut sports programs because they don't have enough enrollment to support them? Will this support disinvestment in local schools?
How do we keep the Washtenaw Intermediate School District accountable?
Why is the IB program preferable to AP?
We already have the Early College Alliance, connected to EMU (as well as the charter school, Washtenaw Technical Middle College). With both of those, students end up with actual college credits. Why is the IB program preferable to expanding these (ECA and WTMC) programs? 

Is there anything that I missed? Add your questions below.

The Bike Angel

It's not too late to sign up for the Commuter Challenge. If your school or office hasn't done it yet, that's okay, there is still time. (Hey, sign up on the last weekday in May and I think you would still get that ice cream coupon to Washtenaw Dairy. UPDATE: Nope. You need to sign up by May 7. )

A few years ago, I was on my way to work, on my bike, when my bicycle basket broke on the EMU campus. It got stuck in my spokes. I was thinking about walking my bike to my friend's house and taking the bus the rest of the way. How could I fix it? The bike looked terrible! And I had forgotten my cell phone at home! (Truthfully, I didn't really look at what had happened, I just kind of freaked out.)
Just then a guy on a bicycle came riding by. I still call him my bike angel.
He quickly assessed the situation, reminded me that I had a quick release wheel, helped me untangle my basket from the spokes, and I was on my way. But first, because I was doing that thing that women do--that "I'm sorry to bother you" thing--he told me that "bicycle commuters are going to save the world."
(Well, I doubt it--but it was a very nice thing to say.)
I also found out he was a new professor at EMU, teaching about Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which--coincidentally--is a special interest of mine. Thanks James Perren! You made my day.

You too can save the world. Sign up for the Commuter Challenge. (And if you should happen to need a bike angel, I am now convinced that they are everywhere.)

(Bike Angel picture taken from a t-shirt shop. You can buy your Bike Angel t-shirt at gringear.com.)