Lesson Learned? Pb, H2O, EAA & Investigative Reporting

Have you been reading about the scandal with lead [Pb] in the drinking water [H2O] in Flint? 

Maybe you have been wondering who is responsible for this mess. [Hint: start by looking at the emergency manager situation.]

Lead, in the periodic table.

Maybe you have have been wondering about the side effects of lead, and how they might affect a child's learning throughout life. In adults, lead can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, infertility. In kids?

• decreased bone and muscle growth
• poor muscle coordination
• damage to the nervous system, kidneys, and/or hearing
• speech and language problems
• developmental delay
• seizures and unconsciousness (in cases of extremely high lead levels

You know, there is a reason that kids are tested for lead when they go to WIC. 

(Side note: So yes, those kids with problems related to high lead levels could end up with being retained in third grade, if HB 4822 is passed with mandatory retention still in it, and if their learning delays are not diagnosed before then.)

Did you spend last year reading about the EAA, Detroit's "Education Achievement Authority?"

Maybe you wondered who was responsible for the EAA. Maybe you wondered about its staffing, its pay, what kids were getting taught... where the money was coming from, where it was going to...

How did we find out?

Eventually, our standard news outlets started doing a better job covering these stories (see, for example, this story). But in the beginning...in the beginning it was just some activists (education activists in the case of the EAA, and community activists in the case of the Flint water scandal), and a couple of people who were willing and able to investigate these issues. 

Worth noting: These "investigators" were not found where you would normally expect them to be found (by which I mean, the traditional press.)

In the case of the EAA, a state representative, Ellen Cogen Lipton, spent time and money FOIA'ing important documents.

In the case of the Flint water catastrophe, the decision of the ACLU of Michigan to hire an investigative reporter, Curt Guyette, a couple of years ago, made the difference.

In both cases, the links between state-directed emergency management and problems that directly injure kids and their families are inescapable. 

But what's also inescapable is that non-traditional investigations, using tools like the Freedom of Information Act, and with the person or people driving the investigation not being traditional reporters, made these stories see the light of day. 

Lessons learned:

We need more investigative reporters.
If we don't get them from our traditional news sources (and sometimes we do), we need to turn ourselves into citizen investigators.
I am grateful--very, very grateful--for the individuals and organizations that have invested time, effort, and energy into uncovering these stories.

What stories do you think need investigating, that haven't been investigated yet?


Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Key Updates--And A Survey

1. Have you liked Monet Tiedeman's live blogging of the school board meetings?
Find her work again tonight (the meeting is at Huron High School, by  the way):

https://annarbivore.wordpress.com/

Bookmark it!

2. Congratulations to Scott Westerman, for getting the Ann Arbor Preschool named after him. Dr. Westerman was Superintendent of the Ann Arbor Public Schools for many years and has stayed active in the community. (Yes, even now! He's still on the AAPS Blue Ribbon Advisory Group.)

3. Regarding the rumor that TAs might be outsourced, the school district would like to put that rumor to rest. Here's a comment from David Comsa, the Deputy Superintendent for Human Resources and Legal Services:

There is no chance of AAPS outsourcing teaching assistants. First, the district is actively bargaining with the Paraeducator unit, which includes teaching assistants. Second, state case law considers most teaching assistants to be protected from outsourcing. 

4. Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has been doing a lot of work on the needs of kids who qualify for special education services in this state.

He has had meetings around the state, and now he has got a survey going, and he's hoping for a better response.

Find the survey at michigan.gov/calley.

I think most parents who have kids with special education needs have been impressed by Lt. Gov. Calley's work on this issue, so...help him out!

5. Need shots? The Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools is offering free immunizations:

Student Immunization Clinics

Walk-ins available from 9 am - 1 pm     

July 29th, 30th  &  August 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th

RAHS - Scarlett Middle School

You do not need to be a registered student at these schools to receive services. RAHS accepts insured and uninsured patients, regardless of ability to pay.

Washtenaw County Public Health staff bringing in polio vaccines.
In the 1950s. From Old News at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!

Pertussis Warning Hits Home, or My Brush With Fame

Once upon a time, at the end of June, we got a friendly email from the parent of a child my son has spent quite a bit of time with this summer, and it said, in essence:

Andrew (fake name alert!) has pertussis (a.k.a. whooping cough), and your child may have been exposed. Andrew was fully vaccinated, but the vaccine is only about 60% effective. If your child develops a cough, go to the doctor and get tested. 

About ten days later, my son said, "Did you see this email from Andrew? Do you know that I've been coughing since Thursday?" At this point, my son's cough was so mild that we hadn't even really noticed it, but since he was set to go to sleepaway camp later that week, we thought we'd better get it checked out. . . especially since a) we didn't want to expose all those kids at camp and b) if we found out after he was at camp, we'd also have to remove him from camp for five days while he took the antibiotics!

So, off to the doctor we went--and although the doctor was skeptical that this was pertussis (especially since my son was vaccinated), he agreed that we should be cautious and he tested him for it (it's a simple nose swab test). Two days later. . . the test came back positive.  The good news is that because we found out early, his cough was gone in short order, and never entered the "whooping" phase or became very violent. 

And this is completely different from my experience 14 years ago, when my husband's coworker had "the cough that wouldn't end." And then my husband got that cough. And then my daughter got that cough. And eventually, we suspected they had pertussis. But I tried several times (and multiple doctors) to get my daughter tested. At that time, the test was not the one they have today, and it was difficult to get accurate results.  The doctors were reluctant. In any case, we never were counted as a positive case (but I was sure--my daughter had the classic whoop and my husband had the "cough until you're blue" cough.) Both my husband and my daughter were ill for quite a long time, and I am so glad that this time we caught it early.

Lessons Learned

1. Vaccinate. Even though the vaccine is only 60% protective, that's a lot better than nothing!

2. Especially if you have a known exposure (a contact who was diagnosed), or if you--or a child of yours--has a persistent cough, don't be afraid to ask the doctor whether pertussis should be considered. (Yes, adults are often the transmitters of pertussis--and frequently are not diagnosed.)

3. If someone in your family gets pertussis, don't forget to notify all the people you've spent time with, so they can be on the lookout...pertussis spreads in the air.

It turns out that our experience is not unique, because the public health department put out an alert when the number of cases this year went over 100.

And so, it came to pass, that I was asked to be on television this afternoon, to speak as a parent about my family's experiences--and as a service to public health, how could I not? 

So here, you have it--my 15 seconds (more or less) of fame! Thanks ABC News!

Horrendous Hazing At My Hometown High School

(I hope you liked the alliteration of the title. The subject, of course, is not at all funny.)

I was rather shocked when my mom told me about this. Apparently for quite a few years, in my hometown, there has been a day in the spring known as "Freshman Friday." On "Freshman Friday" the juniors would haze the eighth graders. In my hometown. Where I went to middle school and high school. Where the 7th-12th grade are in one building, with the middle school in a separate wing.

This year, the hazing came to a crescendo.

Rye, New York, Hazing Incident: High School Student Defiant in Face of Allegations - ABC News

(Maybe there is a way to embed this, but I couldn't figure out how. You will want to watch the video to get a sense of the district. My friend watched it and said, "The building looks like the Law Quad." It kind of does. The high school was built with the help of the WPA.)

This year, a student filmed (on a phone) some eighth graders (allegedly) being forced into a car. They were then (allegedly) taken to a local park where they were beaten so badly that one of them ended up in the hospital. Now three students have been charged--as adults--with felonies.

Also, as cited in the Gothamist, after the incident came to light:

According to MyRye.com, in 2010, Rye school officials warned parents about "Freshman Friday":

Dear Parents, Fear is in the air at Rye Middle School. There is a lot of chatter that June 4 is Freshman Friday, and eighth grade boys are fearful they are going to be attacked by balloons filled with Nair and have their bottoms smacked with paddles. It is hard to tell what is rumor and what is actually going to happen.
For several years, an odious spring tradition has taken place in Rye: junior boys paddle eighth grade boys off school grounds. In recent years we have heard of fewer instances of paddling, but the practice has not been extinguished.
Hazing is not tolerated in this community. The Rye Police Department will be on patrol tomorrow and will be on heightened alert all weekend. If you are the parent of an eighth grade boy, we suggest you encourage your son to keep a low profile this weekend. If the unthinkable should happen and you child should be on the receiving end of a hazing incident, we strongly encourage you to contact the Rye Police and help them identify the perpetrators. Together we can put an end to this dangerous tradition.
Have a safe weekend.
Regards,
Ann Edwards

(Emphasis added.)

And yet. . . according to the ABC News article cited above, the Superintendent had this to say:

Edward J. Shine, superintendent of the Rye City School District, disputed the notion that "freshman Friday" is a tradition. "Some have suggested that these alleged acts are part of an annual 'tradition' at Rye High School. Let me be clear: just because a small handful of students choose to believe that this is the case, does not make it a fact," he said in a statement to parents. 

 Obviously, that is not true. Apparently, my niece (in the middle school, but not in eighth grade) has been telling her parents all year that there was a "Freshman Friday" day where juniors made eighth graders do things. And in case you are wondering, "How old is this hazing tradition?" I don't know--but to my knowledge it didn't exist when I and my siblings were in high school.

What I found most disturbing about this story is not that kids got bullied. No, what I found most disturbing is that the school administration knew about the hazing years ago, but didn't take action--except for suggesting that parents ensure their eighth grade sons "keep a low profile."
Remember. Hazing is another form of Bullying.
And these administrators need to be held accountable.

Bone Marrow: We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming...

...to talk about something that only you can do.

Damn Arbor has a super-important post about bone marrow donation today. That's because the writer's friend has leukemia and is looking for a donor. The person in question happens to be South Asian, and South Asians are underrepresented in the donor pool. Well guess what? So are African Americans, so are Eastern European Jews, so are a zillion different small pockets of ethnic groups.

I am a registered donor. I haven't been called yet, but two of my friends have, and they said it was one of the most moving experiences in their lives.

And when I got registered, you needed to give blood to get typed.
Now? It's a simple cheek swab and a small amount of paperwork. That's right, no needles.

Guess what? There's an opportunity to sign up on the UM Diag this week!
Friday, November 4, from 2 to 8 PM on the Diag

And while we're discussing bodily fluids, have you signed up to give blood regularly? It's a simple way to save three lives with one hour of your time and one pint of your blood. The Red Cross awaits your call (or online signup).

Milan: Sad News

There have been three deaths in the Milan Area Schools in the last few months--the deaths of senior Eric Harrison and junior Brian Copiacu are believed to be suicides. The death of junior William Bowers is believed to be an accident. Milan has just under 1000 students in their high school, so this has to have a huge impact.

The Milan News-Leader has a story here.
More information is available at milanareaschools.org.

Teens and families of teens: Ozone House has a crisis line: 734-662-2222.
U of M Psychiatric Emergency Services also has a 24-hour line: 734-996-4747.

What's In A Name? DSM Changes May Have Impacts on Special Education

This is not an area I know all that much about, but from what I can gather, changes in definitions between the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder--Version 4) and the DSM-V (Verstion 5) could have a significant impact on special education services.

According to this NPR story, since the mid-1990s the number of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder has increased by 4,000 percent!
In particular: have children been diagnosed with Childhood Bipolar Disorder when they actually have Temper Dysregulation Disorder?
If they used to be diagnosed as having Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and then with Bipolar Disorder, or Conduct Disorder--what difference will it make?

And most importantly, what are the implications of these decisions for medication, treatment, and special education services?

Let's Talk About Food And Health

David Jesse's recent article at annarbor.com about a Mitchell Elementary School program to provide weekend "food backpacks," made me think it is time to say something more about food, and health.
Different schools and school districts have different feelings about how much they should help provide a safety net for students. Some schools have stepped up to the plate--for instance, Bryant/Pattengill in Ann Arbor runs a clothes closet, and the Ypsilanti Public Schools run one for the whole district. Other schools have been reluctant to jump into providing services, because the need is so great, and they don't want to be seen as a giant social service agency.

On the other hand--kids who are hungry, cold, or sick don't do very well in school. I think that those schools that try to support students' other needs are doing the right things. But remember, knowledge is power, and a lot of people who are eligible for programs don't know they are eligible. So here are a few resources. Please share them!

1. Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program (which includes breakfast): you can register for this at any time during the school year. If, for instance, you had work at the beginning of the year and wouldn't qualify, you might find that you qualify now. Ask for an application at the front office of the school your child attends. Some schools use this as a way to identify kids who qualify for other benefits/scholarships. (I've written about school lunch here.)

2. The Food Stamp application is now online. This is new, and it is great news. Spread the word. A lot of people are surprised to find out that they qualify. If you want an estimate as to whether your family will qualify, here is the link to a food stamp calculator. And here is the link to the application.

3. Similarly, you can now enroll your kids in the MIChild/Healthy Kids program with an online application. (Women 19-44 can be enrolled in the Plan First family planning program through the same application.)

4. The Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools has clinics in several local schools, including schools in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Willow Run. Check them out here.

5. Pregnant women and kids up to age 5 can be served by WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)--and that can help stretch the overall food budget. WIC also has some satellite clinics, which is helpful for people living on the edges of the county.

Bits, Pieces, Thank Yous

A few updates:

H1N1 clinic this Saturday, December 5th, at the new Manchester High School, 20500 Dutch Drive, Manchester, MI, 10-3.  (I took one child to the EMU clinic. The whole process took about 35 minutes, start to finish.)

Saline Schools Community Conversations coming up on December 14th. Details here. 

Dexter and Ann Arbor school boards are discussing finances this week. That is not the same as a community conversation.

You have until Thursday December 3d at 4 p.m. to put your name in the ring for running for Ann Arbor school board. Now is not the time for me, but maybe it is for you?

Willow Run has an interim financial manager. There is still no sign or news of their supposed superintendent, but the acting Superintendent is getting praised. (And I like the new look of ypsiciti.com).

The state house is beginning to discuss some of the items necessary for qualifying for the Race to the Top (the federal one). I think it's kind of ironic that two "must do" items are a) alternative ways of certifying teachers and b) more charter schools. I'm all for a) but that's because I was looking for that for several years before I gave in and went the traditional certification route. As for b), I'm not totally against or in favor of charters, but there are lots of problems with them, even if they are a moot point. But are either of these things going to make our schools better? I doubt it.

Oh, and in that same vein (things that I don't think will make our schools better--although this is potentially another option for people looking for high school options), I got this email the other day. So--have an opinion? Take the survey. 

As part of Ann Arbor's Strategic Plan, the Ann Arbor Public Schools and Washtenaw County school districts are examining the possibility of opening a 9th-12th grade county-wide high school utilizing the International Baccalaureate Program (www.ibo.org). This school will offer a challenging academic curriculum built on international standards as well as a variety of complementary co-curricular programs have been exploring doing an International Baccalaureate program. NO FINAL DECISION HAS BEEN MADE, but the county-wide IB Committee would like to determine if there is interest. Please complete the following survey.  The link is directly below:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEtUZ3RxOHdmRFlEVDd4Qi1odjhibnc6MA

Last, but not least--PLEASE nominate some teachers for thanking. So far I haven't gotten a single nominee. That makes me sad. Is it possible there is not a single teacher in the county you think should be thanked? Bushwah! The rules are simple, and everyone wins. [I know, maybe I shouldn't have called it a contest...]

November 14th Kids' Health Events

For priority groups H1N1 Flu Vaccination Clinic: Saturday, November 14th, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pioneer High School. The priority groups now include all individuals from 6 months through 24 years of age and individuals 25 to 64 years old who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

For youth aged 4-10 years old
Ypsilanti High School Dental Screening Day: 10 a.m.-12 noon, November 14th, Ypsilanti High School cafeteria. For children aged 4-20 years old. Does your child/teen have dental needs? Bring them to Ypsilanti High School for a FREE dental screening and a voucher for free follow-up care at the U-M dental school. Each child/teen will receive a FREE dental screening and referral for a dental visit. Eligible children will receive a voucher for necessary dental care. Ypsilanti High School is accessible by bus routes 5 & 6. Questions: Call Marita Inglehart (734) 763-8073

For children and adults aged 5 and older
UM Dental School Dental Health Day at the UM Dental School
Registration 8:30 a.m.-noon; screenings and evaluations 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
University of Michigan School of Dentistry, 1011 N. University, Ann Arbor.
Call (734) 763-6933 or e-mail dentalhealthday@umich.edu, http://www.dent.umich.edu/events/2009/dental-health-day
University of Michigan School of Dentistry students and faculty will provide free oral health care services—oral exams, oral cancer screenings, X-rays, and oral hygiene education—to individuals ages 5 and older. Please enter the School of Dentistry at the North University Avenue entrance. Parking will be available at the Fletcher Street parking structure.

A Few More Thoughts

OK, so first of all--the (schools) world didn't stop on Election Day.
In Willow Run, the new acting superintendent is the principal of Kaiser Elementary. Her name is Laura Lisiscki. She was appointed because the current superintendent had a car accident--bad enough to be on bed rest for more than a couple of days--yet it has been hush hush.  I understand about HIPAA (health privacy rules), but still it seems that Dr.Hope-Jackson and the school board were less than forthcoming. I mean, we can argue about whether she's meeting performance objectives, but isn't showing up for work a very minimal baseline? And doesn't a superintendent owe it to the staff and the public to let them know why you are not there? It makes me think there is more to this than meets the eye. [Do you wonder if history repeats itself? Reading this article about one of Dr. Hope-Jackson's earlier positions, I think maybe it does.] The way the public found out was through information provided by a board member, Harold Wimberly, who resigned a couple of weeks ago. That was also hush hush. The Willow Run School Board appointed a new board member last night, and his name is Don Garrett. I guess the good news is that the acting superintendent and the new board member both have a lot of experience with the Willow Run school district.
In other news, Thursday is a big day--a massive vaccination clinic for H1N1 flu. It's at the EMU Convocation Center, starting at 10--but you should probably get there earlier if you want to get the vaccine. Public Health will be handing out wristbands with vaccination times, and they have 4,000 doses. High Priority groups only... Since Huron Valley Catholic has closed school due to flu,  I have to wonder whether the flu or the vaccine will get to people first.

OK, now back to school funding. I concur with Jen Eyer's analysis in AnnArbor.com today that the community needs to be a part of the decision-making on budget cuts. At least for the long-term. I heard loud and clear that people want "transparency," although I'm not sure there's agrement on what that means (I will try to take a crack at that sometime soon). And obviously promoting a millage in these economic times is harder. I wonder if the pro-millage groups really made a strong case. I kind of think not.
I also wonder about the extent to which not having a newspaper made a big difference. The blog Inside Out pointed me to this analysis of a recent conference held in Ann Arbor, and a lot of what is said here rings true to me. In this Poynter Online piece, Bill Mitchell writes that:

Much of the discussion involved the role a newspaper plays in facilitating in-person discussion -- in homes as well as broader communities -- in ways that online news might not. Other gaps mentioned by the group included newspaper-as-common-document for the community, the story-telling form of a newspaper article and a popular re-use of newspaper delivery bags.
Julie Weatherbee... [said]... "What I miss is not necessarily the Ann Arbor News or the news in it but the physical sitting with someone and sharing, having your breakfast and talking," she said. "The paper became a physical connection between people ... and I don't think (other forms of) journalism are making those connections." She also said she misses hearing the phrase, "Did you read in the paper last night that...?" She added: "Now there's no (single) water cooler. There are 80 water coolers, and (visiting them) is very time consuming." She pointed out that many people simply don't have time to do what it takes to fill the gaps left by the paper. As a result, she said they "have simply dropped out" out of the community's news network.

 Regarding the schools (still excerpting):  

Liz Margolis, director of communications for the local schools, noted that the same reporter who covered the schools for the Ann Arbor News is on the beat for AnnArbor.com. But she said she finds his online stories "not as in-depth," and she said many of the comments attached to the articles are "truly destructive and ugly."

I find myself agreeing with all of those points.  I have an awful lot of friends who are not getting local news now, or are only getting it from WEMU and WUOM. I feel sick when I read some of the comments on AnnArbor.com, so it makes me read it less. And I really don't like the way the annarbor.com subfolder of News that is "Education" is not just news, but is largely...LARGELY...opinion.
SO--did not having a daily print newspaper make a difference? I guess we can't KNOW, but I think it did.
In any case, to turn my attention to the problem at hand: every single district in this county, and all of the charter schools, will need to make budget cuts in short order, unless some miracle happens in the halls of the state legislature. These cuts fall into two basic categories--short-term, and long-term. In the short-term, for this fiscal year (which for schools is just about half over), the options are rather limited. For those of you with grandiose ideas, you can take off the table ideas about consolidation, health insurance, reopening teacher contracts, and even--likely--school closings. Those might be things to discuss long-term, but they take too long to implement to generate the cost savings this year. Even ideas like cutting seventh hour may be hard to implement and still have kids get the credits they need for this year. In the short-term, I think it's going to be rocky and horrid.

Long-term, I hope the school districts will invite engagement from parents, students, and taxpayers. And I'm also slightly more optimistic that things will change for the better (school funding-wise) in Lansing. So on that mildly optimistic note, I'll close.

H1N1 New Vaccination Clinic Date

UPDATE 11/19/09: Next Clinic Date is Sunday November 22 at the EMU Convocation Center. The priority groups list has been expanded. Find details at publichealth.ewashtenaw.org. 

A mass vaccination clinic for high priority groups is scheduled for Eastern Michigan University (EMU), Convocation Center on Thursday, Nov 5th from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. The Center is located at 299 North Hewitt Road, Ypsilanti MI 48197. All school-based clinics tentatively scheduled to begin next week are now cancelled.

High priority groups ONLY.
According to CDC guidelines, high priority groups eligible for H1N1 vaccine while supplies remain limited

include:
• Pregnant women
• Household and caregiver contacts of children younger than 6 months of age
• Children from 6 months though 4 years of age
• Children and adolescents aged 5 through 18 years who have medical conditions associated with a higher risk of influenza complications
• Health care and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient care

More details here.

H1N1 Updates

We've got "flu days." I understand that over 50 200 schools in the state are closed due to high levels of flu circulating--most of them on the southwest side of the state.

Here are the updated guidance and vaccination clinics list from Washtenaw County Public Health.
School clinics right now are scheduled for the first week in November in Ann Arbor, Dexter, Milan, and Ypsilanti.
At this point, vaccination supplies are limited, and are only available to the high priority groups as follows:

Children and adults fitting within the following priority groups are currently eligible for H1N1 vaccination:
� pregnant women,
� household and caregiver contacts of children under 6 months of age,
� children 6 months though 4 years,
� children 5 to 18 years who have medical conditions associated with a higher risk of influenza complications (i.e. asthma), and
� health care and emergency medical services personnel who provide direct patient care.

If you like graphs, you might be interested in this Washtenaw County influenza surveillance data.

Other school-related health information can be found on the County public health web site here.

Teens Get Depression; Men Get Depression

The other night I was watching a very interesting documentary on PBS called Men Get Depression. The UM Depression Center was featured. Some takeaway points:
--Depression often first manifests for 15-25 year olds.
--Depression is a biological illness, just like diabetes or cancer.
--Depression in men and boys often shows up as anger and irritability.
--Many people self-medicate depression with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
--There are health disparities (differences between racial/ethnic groups) in depression.

You can read more at this web site, http://www.mengetdepression.com/
I was thinking about writing about this anyway, because I know too many people whose lives have been touched by depression.
Anyway, there is a group in Saline, called Saline Alive, that was founded by parents whose son died of depression/suicide. It turns out that they are having a meeting this week: Thursday, October 22nd. It's open to everyone, not just Saline families.

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009

Time: 7:00 pm
Middle School Auditorium
7190 N. Maple Rd., Saline MI 48176

TOPIC: ADOLESCENTS & ADULT DEPRESSION
This session will provide information on:
Recognizing the signs & symptoms of depression in the adolescent vs. an adult
Understanding what role that the genetic factor can play in depression
The difference between self-harm and suicide risks

7:00 – 7:15 pm Saline Alive Update – Brad Bezeau, SHS Assistant Principal
7:15 – 8:00 pm Guest Speaker – Mary Grambeau Gass, LMSW
Mary is a member of the U of M Depression Center and has worked as a clinical social worker in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatient Department for 20+ years. Mary also has a private practice, where she treats children, adolescents and families in Ann Arbor. Mary has a special interest in treating adolescents and their families.
8:00 – 8:15 pm Questions and Answers
If you would like to more information please contact Brad Bezeau at bezeaub@saline.k12.mi.us

School Lunch

In case you missed it, there was an interesting interview with a school "lunch lady" (Jean Ronnei, Director of Nutrition and Commercial Services for Saint Paul Public Schools) on The Splendid Table this week, titled "Lunch Ladies and School Lunch Programs."

It turns out, they have about $1/meal to spend on food--which is about the same as the budget of a person on food stamps. It is pretty limiting. If you are interested in what it is like to live on a food stamps budget, and you are not poor enough to live on one, you can read about the Food Stamp Challenge here. (I should note that ICPJ's official Food Stamp Challenge--which I link to--is over, but you yourself could try it at any time. In any case, the comments are interesting.)

And especially in school districts where a lot of kids rely on free and reduced price lunches, the quality of breakfast and lunch become a big issue.

October 1 Updates

There's still doom and gloom on the state budget front. The one slight ray of sunshine is that the cuts in the education budget are a big part of what are holding things up. So keep calling your legislators (and actually, I think the ones who represent the majority of Washtenaw County have been pretty good in safeguarding kids, but they can stand to hear from you--I'm not sure about the southern edge of the county). Next week, when the legislature returns (they apparently needed a break after working so hard), if you want, you can watch some really compelling tv of the House and Senate in session. (Reading a blog can come across with a measure of tone deafness. That was meant to be deep sarcasm.)
UPDATE 10/2: The Ann Arbor Chronicle points out that Ypsilanti City Council member Brian Robb has posted Kirk Profit's updates to the city about the state budget process on his blog, East-cross.com. You might find them interesting. I do.

H1N1 is spreading. I think you already knew that. Apparently the county health department is planning mass vaccination clinics, at schools, in early November (which is when they'll have access to the vaccine). What's unknown, at this point, is whether most of the kids will get the flu before the vaccine. And what's also unknown is whether parents will think the vaccine is important for their kids. Oh, and I just got a letter from the Ann Arbor school district, where the takeaway message was "stay home when you are sick" and that to avoid H1N1 you should "teach your kids to wash their hands." OK, so why didn't they write, "Use your common sense!" Maybe because, when you read about the state legislature's antics, you realize that common sense can be pretty uncommon.

If you liked the Bernie Mac show, you will like this piece about flu transmission. I think it is very funny! If perhaps a bit overdone...but then again, I'm not very squeamish.



Student count numbers are out. And what is amazing is the way that small variations really add up. In a district the size of Ann Arbor (over 16,000 students), going up 68 students is less than a .5% change--possibly just natural fluctuation. But it's also worth a lot of money. Of course, it would help the schools if they knew how much money they were getting per student. It's already 1/4 of the way through the school fiscal year  which means any cuts will be  magnified because they will have to be made for the second half of the year. The one district which didn't have a little swing--it had a BIG swing--was Willow Run. Read my thoughts about that here.

So, sooner or later I'm going to have to write about the proposed county education millage. I thought I would wait until the state budget was approved, but maybe that won't be feasible.What I will say tonight, though, is--if you need to register to vote, tomorrow would be a good day to do it.

H1N1, Discrimination, Staying Home

I heard from a Latina friend that there have been many cases in southeast Michigan of Latino/Hispanic kids being ostracized around the swine flu, particularly because it appears to have originated in Mexico. I haven't directly heard of any cases, but ever since the ICE raids (immigration service, used to be INS) there is a lot of reluctance--even on the part of legal residents and citizens--to draw attention to the Latino community. IF you hear about this kind of bullying and ostracizing, PLEASE share it with all levels of school administration, and the public health department--especially if the comments are coming from kids, and even more so if the comments are coming from staff. Have you heard about any cases? Because ethnic intimidation still happens in our communities, and the only way to stop it is to speak up about it.

On the east coast, my nephew came down with a slight fever. Despite the fact that his parents don't think he has flu--and unless the doctor excludes flu by either testing or confirming a different diagnosis (say, strep throat)--he has to stay out of school for seven days. Yes, even if the doctor doesn't think it is flu. And no, they are not routinely testing kids over age 5 for flu, so it probably can't be excluded. Which means major child care problems for his parents, and well--it seems excessive to me.

An Ounce of Prevention...

Is Worth A Pound of Cure (So says Ben Franklin).

As the H1N1 "swine" flu virus is hitting closer to home, schools have some difficult decisions to make...Father Gabriel Richard High School (on the north side of Ann Arbor, but a much wider student base) is closing until May 11th with a couple of suspected flu cases. Plymouth-Canton Schools (which do draw some Washtenaw County kids) are closing today and tomorrow while a possible flu case gets confirmed.

I'm sure there will be more. The CDC is recommending that schools close for up to 14 days! [This is based on contagion patterns.] Is this excessive? In a typical flu season, having one or two students with flu in your school would not cause you to close for one or two weeks. One or two kids with a stomach bug? The schools would not close.

On the other hand, we don't know much about this virus yet. And I guess I would still rather err on the side of cautiousness. I feel very sure that if I was a principal or superintendent, I would not want to end up with any severe illnesses or deaths on my hand. The extension of school by a few days seems like a small price to pay.

Ben Franklin's saying, by the way, applies to a very wide range of circumstances. Think about it.

In the meantime, I need some contingency childcare plans.