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!

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.]

Educating About Sports and Title IX: In Video

I have mentioned before that I am a huge fan of the Title IX blog.

It appears that they have been working on a TED Ed lesson about Title IX, including a video and discussion questions.

The video by itself is a good education--watch it now!

Ann Arbor: Are We Operating in a Data-less World?

I'm reflecting on the Ann Arbor school district's budget study session, and the recommendations that have come out of it.

And it just makes me wonder--are we operating in a data-less world?

It's a little hard to get a fix on exactly how much needs to be cut, and it does need to be cut. I might make some people unhappy by advocating for more cuts rather than fewer, but given the uncertainties in the budget that would make sense to me.

How do you go from needing to cut 20 million to 8.6 million. . . and then back up again. . .

In any case, I accept that there will be teacher cuts. [Speak to the legislators and tell them to restore funding to the School Aid Fund.] I don't have any trouble with cutting a staff person from the Pioneer theater program. [Have you seen how much money Pioneer Theatre Guild makes?] I accept that pay to play sports will cost more for my son next year.

But it seems to me that we are making decisions without data that the district should be able to provide.

For instance, I asked a couple of weeks ago, when the proposal to cut all of the Reading Intervention teachers came up, "But is the Reading Intervention program working?" [Not surprisingly, the Reading Intervention teachers say yes, and here is their web site.]

I argued, if the program is working, we shouldn't cut it, because early interventions for reading are important; and if it isn't working, we should have cut it earlier.

And then. . . the school board decides to cut it. . . in half. To my mind, this is the least satisfying thing they could do. Is the program working, or not? I am sure that there is data that shows that it is or isn't working. But maybe the data doesn't exist. If it doesn't exist, then that's a different problem. Cutting the program in half appears to show that you have no idea if the program is working or not.

The school board is deciding to cut high school busing. I think this is a terrible idea, at least in the mornings. (I saw an interesting suggestion to keep busing in the morning, and cut it in the afternoon--I liked that idea but I'm not sure if it is legal.)

But what I really want to know is this: how many low-income kids live in areas that are too far from their high schools to get there without high school busing? Many of the complexes with large numbers of low-income students are not on bus routes.

If we assume that most middle class kids would, in fact, be able to find a way to school (and I'm not sure that's true, but let's make that assumption), how many low-income kids would have trouble getting to school? I'm thinking, for instance, of kids who lives outside the bus lines at Scio Farms, Orchard Grove Village, or Lakestone (formerly Eagle Pointe) Apartments. How would they get to Pioneer or Skyline? What about kids who live in apartment complexes that are on bus routes--say, for example, Glencoe Hills? Would we pay for them to have bus passes?

Do we have this data? I would think we should use it to inform our decisions. Do the supposed cost savings account for paying for kids (at least low-income kids) to have bus passes? Does it account for some number of low-income kids dropping out? Do we even know how many kids we would put at risk of dropping out?

Where is the data?

Olympics Redux

Some people are calling these the Title IX Olympics because there are more women than men competing. Here is what the Title IX blog has to say about that. [Partial summary: Title IX is a US law and the Olympics are an international competition.]

On the other hand. . . the New York Times reports that by the second Saturday in the Olympics, forty years after passage of Title IX, U.S. women won 27 of U.S.'s 41 gold medals, 54 of its 95 total medals. And that is due to Title IX.

You can read about my experiences with Title IX here.

And, I usually hate ads. But I have to admit that I really like the Proctor and Gamble ads--behind every Olympic athlete there is a mom. OK, I know that is not always true--sometimes it's a dad, aunt, uncle, coach, mentor. . . but most of the time it is true. . . and it definitely touches a chord for me even though non of my children will be Olympians. I have put in my time driving kids to athletic practices and events, though. 
Did you catch any of the Olympic race walking? It was amazing. It reminded me that at my high school track meets, in New York, we had race walking. But track meets in Ann Arbor don't appear to have race walking. I wonder why that is?

You might have noticed that my blogging has slowed down a bit. You can blame that on the Olympics too. I'm staying up far too late watching them. Which reminds me, the Paralympics are coming up next. I am looking forward to watching them as well, although the coverage is not nearly as extensive (read about it here). As those of you with children with special education needs know, disability rights is still a frontier that needs a lot of activism.

And that reminds me--the Michigan High School Athletics Association has taken an important step in allowing students with disabilities to access athletics. Because of the advocacy initiated by an Ishpeming parent, and support from lots of parents, teachers, and coaches around the state, MHSAA has changed its rules. MHSAA rules state that if you turn 19 before September 1, you can't do high school sports. And now, we finally have a limited waiver for kids with certain disabilities. This is something that a lot of other states have already done. Many thanks to dad Dean Dompierre, and his son Eric for paving the way for others.

Title IX in My Life--And Yours

A few weeks ago I was talking to my daughter's track coach about the SHARP Title IX conference that took place in Ann Arbor. Yes, she said, she had gotten an email about it. But in the course of our conversation it became clear that she (who was born after Title IX) really didn't understand the impact of Title IX. Two weeks later, it became clear to me that my son didn't either. Maybe that's not surprising, given that he's only twelve, but he did reject it as an interesting topic to write about as a sportswriter for the school newspaper. And then last night, it became clear to me that another mom on my son's baseball team--of a similar age to me--had only the vaguest notion of how her daughter's educational opportunities were affected by Title IX. Yet in the case of the track coach, in the case of my son and his classmates, and in the case of my friend's daughter, Title IX has had a tremendous impact on their opportunities.

Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding.
Many people have never heard of Title IX.  Most people who know about Title IX think it applies only to sports, but athletics is only one of 10 key areas addressed by the law. These areas are: Access to Higher Education, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Math and Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing and Technology. (From TitleIX.info)

So I thought I'd set down, for the record, some ways in which I am aware that Title IX directly affected my life, and the life of the girls in my hometown. The Title IX blog recently had a post where they described these as the "little moments" of Title IX. We do need to document these! I know I was not alone. Thousands of girls around the country had similar experiences.

1. I went to a middle school that was run separately from the high school, but was physically attached to the high school and was simply in a different wing of the building. There were two gyms in the building. The small gym was in the middle school wing, and the large gym was in the high school. When I was in seventh grade, all of the girls, grades 7-12, had gym in the small gym; all of the boys had gym in the large gym. In eighth grade, the building use changed. The middle schoolers got the small gym; the high schoolers got the large gym. (Also in eighth grade, we got to stop wearing silly one-piece uniforms in gym, but that is besides the Title IX point--although it did definitely affect my enjoyment of gym, which we had four days a week!)

2. In seventh grade, I took home economics (cooking). All of the girls did. It was a requirement. All of the boys took wood shop. I didn't mind cooking, but I didn't want to take sewing. That was the eighth grade home ec. requirement for girls. They wouldn't let me sign up for metal shop though. I was a girl. My father appealed to the assistant principal. Said assistant principal told him it was against the law to let girls take industrial arts. My father asked him to cite the law. When he couldn't find it, my father left--and called the ACLU. The ACLU informed him about Title IX (which at that point was a few years old), and they wrote a letter to the school district threatening further action. They must have also put out a press release, because I remember that the issue made it into the local newspaper. The district changed its policy.

We can't leave aside the part that in the end, I was the only girl in the class, and if my dad hadn't gone to a lot of trouble for me I would have dropped out of industrial arts, because I was somewhat shy. Because the point is that my parents did go to bat for me, and actually, parent advocacy is a huge part of Title IX's success.

We can't leave aside the part that the teacher gave me an "A" for a project that was, objectively, terrible. This was an action I didn't understand until a few years later, when I realized it was his way of being supportive of the fact that I took a risk. And I do think that the industrial arts teachers--and probably the home ec. teachers too--were very supportive. If you think about it, giving students choices doubled their potential audience of students. In fact, when my brother, two years later, took home ec., one-third of the class was boys; and when he took industrial arts, one-third of the class was girls. In other words, because of one apparently small decision, things changed rather quickly.

3. I ran track in high school, but there was no girls' cross country team. When a group of us decided we wanted to start a girls' cross country team, Coach Miller was able to say yes. He was able to say yes because of the Title IX mandate.

4. And after years of advocacy on the part of my friends Denise and Anne, in our twelfth grade year the district agreed to add girls' soccer. We were on the first team. That was because of Title IX. It's not an accident that a couple of years ago the soccer team I helped start won the New York state championships. It's a legacy of Title IX.  (Two years ago I wrote about soccer, Title IX, and the Skyline soccer team here.)

What's your Title IX story? 

Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" and Physical Education

Probably because I've been thinking about the cuts to Ann Arbor Public Schools' sports teams, I particularly noticed this article in Health Affairs Blog: Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move" Is Losing Its Footing. In this article, Amitai Etzioni argues that while Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move' program is predicated on both nutrition and exercise, most of the reaction to it has focused only on the diet/nutrition piece.

And here is the shocking part:

Thus, as the program evolved, the focus turned to caloric intake and not expenditure.

We were unable to find much evidence about implementing the exercise parts of the Let’s Move initiative. This is particularly relevant because of the scaling back and cancellation of physical education classes due to budget cuts. In 2006, only 3.8 percent of elementary schools, 7.9 percent of middle schools, and 2.1 percent of high schools provided the minimum level of weekly physical activity as recommended by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (150 minutes per week for elementary-school-aged children and 225 minutes per week for middle and high school students). [NB: The 2010 report says only one state meets this benchmark.] Only eight states require that students take physical education every year from first through twelfth grade. [NB: The 2010 report says five states.]  22 states (43 percent) allow required physical education credits to be earned through online courses. Less than one-third of all children ages 6-17 engage in “vigorous activity” (physical activity for at least 20 minutes that makes the child sweat and breathe hard.  [Commentary added in brackets.]

As Etzioni says about 'Let's Move,' "One cannot help but wonder how and why a program that started so well is leaning so heavily in one direction, when it would do much better if it moved on both legs."


Well, I think it's pretty obvious. I had P.E. every year and every term in middle school and high school, four days a week--and I couldn't get out of any of it thanks to my afterschool sports. Right now in Michigan, students need to get 1.0 of high school credit in physical and health education (that is the equivalent of one class for two semesters), with the recommendation being to split that 50/50. Districts and schools can permit students to substitute the P.E. credit for interscholastic sports, JRROTC, and marching band or cheerleading.
Read more about Michigan's regulations here. In case you're wondering, we don't meet the benchmarks for the amount of exercise per week or for the requirement that students take physical education every year.

Athletics in AAPS: Safety, Title IX, Process

I think this message from Liz Margolis and the Ann Arbor Public Schools is so important that I am sharing it in its entirety. I suggest that you read through to the end, at least in part because that's where I put my comments.

Dear AAPS Families, This message explains high school athletic changes for next year due to budget reductions.  

AAPS High School Athletics  2011/2012

            The Athletic Directors at all respective High Schools in Ann Arbor have been pondering budget reductions.  The economic reality facing the Ann Arbor Public Schools are a result of continued State Budget Reductions. AAPS is reducing the 2011/12 budget by $15 million. Last year the district reduced by $18 million and the previous years reductions of $35 million occurred. Funding from the state continues to impact all areas of public education, in the classroom and on the athletic fields.
            These cost cutting measures translates into fewer resources to effectively operate all of our athletic programs resulting in the elimination of teams/programs.  We can no longer provide adequate resources for all 35 programs and are forced to reduce the athletic budgets.  We will be sharing the following information with parents and students via an email in the next few days. Please review this information. It is very likely that you will get questions from parents. We all need to be consistent with our response. Always know that you can direct any questions to me.

Budget Reductions:
All three high schools will contract with an outside agency (Michigan Rehabilitation Services) for athletic trainer services.  Each school will receive two certified athletic trainers who will provide the services we currently have in place.
Reduction in half time secretary in the athletic office
Coaches who are not employed by the district in another capacity will be paid through a third party management service.  The coaches will remain the same but employed by the outside services.
Ice hockey teams at each school will be responsible for the first $12,000 for ice time rental.  Skyline will implement this system when hockey is started in 2011.

Since 1990, freshman teams as well as the following sports have been added to the Ann Arbor Public Schools Sports Menu.
Men’s and Women’s Bowling (all high schools)
Crew (all high schools)
Figure Skating (Huron and Pioneer)
Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse (all high schools)
Dance (Skyline)
Men’s and Women’s Track received a third assistant coach position
The following programs will no longer be funded by the Ann Arbor Public Schools.

All Freshmen Sports with the exception of Freshman Football.  Safety issues were a major concern with the freshman competing in football at the junior varsity or varsity level, thus we will continue to run a 9th grade football program.
Fall Crew is eliminated.  (All high schools).  (Crew was the only sport to have two seasons funded).
Dance (Skyline)
Cheer (Huron)
Figure Skating (Pioneer and Huron)
Field Hockey (Second J.V. team at Pioneer/Huron will no longer be funded).
Men’s and Women’s Bowling (All high schools).
Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse (All high schools).
One assistant track coach (Huron and Pioneer as Skyline was not yet fully staffed).
Transportation to schools in Washtenaw County with the exception of Football and Track.  (Equipment concerns).

Options for Club Sport Status
A club sport is defined as an athletic program participating in interscholastic competition operated directly under the supervision of the high school building principals and funded outside of the athletic department budget.  Club sports originate only with the approval of the building principal and athletic director.

Requirements to achieve and maintain club status shall include
1.Demonstrate adequate student interest, defined as double the minimum squad size.
2.If the faculty sponsor is not the coach, the building principal and/or athletic director will approve a qualified coach.
3.There will be no minimum number of opponents or contest required to achieve or  retain club status.
4.It is not necessary for all district high schools to offer a given club sport for that club sport to be offered at one of the high schools.
5.Club sports and coaches will comply with all Michigan High School Athletic Association and Ann Arbor Public Schools rules and regulations.
6.Other factors to consider are costs, safety/risk, and Title IX participation.
7. Varsity letters will be awarded by the school and paid for by the club

Athletic Club Team Sign - up
1.     Draft a charter and have it approved by the building principal
2.     Provide the building principal with a proposed budget, which must be approved by the principal – It is recommended that the club become a 501(c)3 organization
3.     Be sponsored by a faculty member
4.     Provide the building principal with an approved transportation plan and insurance plan
5.     Complete an annual program reports
6.     Adequate administrative resources and physical facilities be available
7.     Turn in (4) copies of eligibility list (divided by team)
8.     All club members must have current physicals
9.     All club members must meet the Districts eligibility requirements
10.  All club members must pay an insurance fee
11.  All expenses are to be paid for outside the Ann Arbor School System, for examples;
                        Coaches Salary                                    Rentals          
                        Transportation                                        Awards          
                        Supplies                                                Uniform
FAQs
1. Were all the cuts consistent across all three high schools? Yes
2. Can a Varsity sport that's been cut move to club status? Yes –if funds are raised to support the fees and the requirements are followed. See above
3. How much of the overall school budget is athletics? 1%      
4. Once a team is a club can they go back to funded status? Yes
5. Since the JV coach quit can I fill that spot without having to interview? No, interviews must take place for any open coaching position including open club sport positions.
6. Whose decision was this?
The Athletic Directors were instructed that the school athletic budgets were to be reduced by $475,000. Athletic Directors were asked to assess the reductions and make recommendations to administration. These cuts are just part of the $15 million AAPS is making in response to the decrease in funding from the state.                                              8. If a team is a club do they have to pay the "pay-to-participate" fee? No, if the sport now has “club” designation participants do not have to pay the  “pay-to-participate” fee.
9. How much money has been cut from athletics over the last two years? $1.6 million has been reduced from athletics over the past two years, which  includes all three high schools.

I understand the need for most of the cuts, and some of them--such as cutting freshman sports, now that we have a third high school--make sense to me. But as is so often the case, I'd have to say that I don't agree with the process that was used. Where were parental and student input? I--even as a parent of a current athlete--didn't hear a word about this until today. I wonder if the parents of some of the teams that are being cut (e.g. lacrosse, bowling, figure skating) had been consulted? How convenient to share this after the schools have essentially closed for the summer. 

On the transportation issue, I foresee a lot of problems with cutting transportation to all school competitions in Washtenaw County. That includes schools that are nearly 20 miles away, and will require parents to take time off from work to transport their kids.  The alternative (for at least some kids) is to let them drive their friends.
In the past few years I've had two children get their drivers' licenses. However, between child #1 and child #2 the Michigan rules for younger drivers changed. The new regulations:

Prohibit a driver with a Level 2 graduated driver's license (GDL) from operating a motor vehicle carrying more than one passenger who is under 21 years of age, unless:
    a. passengers are members of the driver's immediate family, or
    b. travel is to or from school or a school-sanctioned event.

Now, admittedly, these student-athletes would be driving to and from school-sanctioned events, so they aren't asking students to break the law. But as a parent, I have to ask the question--would this law have been enacted if it was safe for teens to drive large groups of kids? [Don't be a smart aleck and answer, "Well, maybe, given our legislature!"] Statistically, it's not nearly as safe. Just ask the Centers for Disease Control. Their Teen Drivers fact sheet says:

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.⁴

Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are:

• Males: In 2006, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 15 to 19 was  almost two times that of their female counterparts.¹
• Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.⁵
• Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive.⁴

(My auto insurance company seems to know these facts, too--my insurance is a lot higher than it used to be.) I don't want to be overly melodramatic about this, but on the other hand, I'm not interested in risking kids' lives.

There are some significant Title IX concerns embedded in these decisions. First, I think it's more likely that the reason they are continuing transportation for track is that football is only a boys' sport, and if that was the only sport being privileged by transportation "safety concerns" they felt they needed to balance that with a sport that serves both girls and boys. The track teams are a natural choice because they are large teams, and they have both genders.  

Should basketball retain the freshman teams? They field the smallest teams and often "cut" the most kids at tryouts.

Second, I wonder if the cuts to all freshmen teams except football in any way violates Title IX?
Third, does the fact that they are cutting more women's sports than men's sports violate Title IX? They are cutting 4 women's and 3 men's sports at Pioneer; and 4 women's and 3 men's sports at Huron. (At Skyline, they are cutting 3 women's and 3 men's sports.) Both Pioneer and Huron have been the subject of Title IX complaints in the past--and the district spent lots of money on those litigations.


I also wonder why there were no cuts made to the middle school sports? What about cutting all sixth grade sports? Reducing the number of middle school seasons to three, from the current five?

But most importantly--it's about the process. Why weren't there public meetings, as there were with the rest of the budget, to discuss the proposed changes? I think feedback might have changed the look of this proposal. For all I know, it still could.

School's Out!

Enjoy your summer, whether you end up juggling soccer balls, lying on a beach, swimming in a Great Lake, hiking a steamy trail, or reading a favorite book.

A Boy Juggling a Soccer Ball
by Christopher Merrill
after practice: right foot to left foot, stepping forward and back, to right foot and left foot, and left foot up to his thigh, holding it on his thigh as he twists around in a circle, until it rolls down the inside of his leg, like a tickle of sweat, not catching and tapping on the soft side of his foot, and juggling once, twice, three times, hopping on one foot like a jump-roper in the gym, now trapping and holding the ball in midair, balancing it on the instep of his weak left foot, stepping forward and forward and back, then lifting it overhead until it hangs there; and squaring off his body, he keeps the ball aloft with a nudge of his neck, heading it from side to side, softer and softer, like a dying refrain, until the ball, slowing, balances itself on his hairline, the hot sun and sweat filling his eyes as he jiggles this way and that, then flicking it up gently, hunching his shoulders and tilting his head back, he traps it in the hollow of his neck, and bending at the waist, sees his shadow, his dangling T-shirt, the bent blades of brown grass in summer heat; and relaxing, the ball slipping down his back. . .and missing his foot. He wheels around, he marches over the ball, as if it were a rock he stumbled into, and pressing his left foot against it, he pushes it against the inside of his right until it pops into the air, is heeled over his head--the rainbow!-- and settles on his extended thigh before rolling over his knee and down his shin, so he can juggle it again from his left foot to his right foot --and right foot to left foot to thigh-- as he wanders, on the last day of summer, around the empty field.

Top Eleven List: Things to Think About Tonight. Or Tomorrow.

1. The tenure bills passed the House. All of them. One major change, given how many layoffs have happened this past year...the seniority rule of "last in, first out" changes (this was pushed by a group championed by Michelle Rhee, the highly controversial former Washington DC superintendent). Another bill limits topics that can be bargained to wages and benefits.  I think this could be a sea change for many school districts. Read more about it in this Grand Rapids Press article.
As far as evaluation goes, of course it is important. It also strikes me that many principals are lousy at it. Principals are typically trained to be administrators, not managers. If we're going to ask them to be managers, then we'd better make sure we're training them on that!
It also highlights for me how disorganized the teachers, and teachers' unions have been. And by the way, it has always surprised me how many Republican teachers I know. And there are plenty of teachers who live in districts represented by Republicans. So tell me--do those teachers agree with the new laws? Or did they just forget to press their Representatives? 

2. I've written previously about how Carolyn King broke the Little League barrier for girls nationally in Ypsilanti.  Well, it turns out that there is a very elite all-girls' baseball team (yes, not softball) called the Dream Team--and they are coming to play in an elite baseball tournament in Ypsilanti this very weekend! Read about it in this Detroit Free Press article. What's even better is that you can go watch them, as well as some other very good teams, this weekend--and it's free! These are very high-level teams. That story reminds me that my older son had a girl on his baseball team for several years, and she was just as good as the boys. . . better than some of them.

Details of the tournament, from the Detroit Free Press:

Check out the Dream Team
WHERE: The Michigan Major Elite will be held at the baseball fields at the Eastern Michigan Recreation Complex on 100 Westview Street in Ypsilanti.
ADMISSION: Free
WHEN: The Dream Team will play at least five games in the tournament, which features 28 teams of 13-year-olds:
Friday: Brighton Black on Field 1 at 2 p.m.
Friday: Great Lakes Cardinals (Canton) on Field 2 at 8 p.m.
Saturday: Boys of Summer (Ohio) on Field 3 at 10 a.m.
Saturday: Strongsville Stallions (Ohio) on Field 3 at 6 p.m.
Sunday: Consolation and championship games, beginning at 8 a.m.

3. Scarlett News--I was sorry to hear about the sudden death of the science teacher James Bryant. I had met him, but I had no idea that he was an Olympian!

4. The special education department (SISS) has at least two vacancies right now--Bill Harris is moving to Eberwhite to be a principal and there is another vacancy. Parents with special education concerns should make sure to keep an eye on the process of filling these positions. The other day I heard a story about a parent whose child has an IEP. The child was not doing well in school. They had a parent meeting a couple of weeks ago and one of the teachers says, "Oh, so s/he's a visual learner?" Umm. Yeah. That's what the IEP says. Teachers, read the IEPs. That's what they are there for--so you can tailor your teaching to the needs of the students you are teaching. Parents, don't be afraid to be your child's advocate...even if you have to keep repeating yourself!

5. I recently heard that the number of graduate students in the University of Michigan's elementary-school-age one-year Masters and Certification program (El-MAC) has dropped substantially. So maybe people are getting the idea that there are very few jobs out there. . . I've written before about how we are training too many teachers. 

6. I'm glad to hear that busing won't be cancelled for kindergarten or high school students in Ann Arbor. Although I understand the rationale for asking high school students to walk further, in my neck of the woods,  for Skyline students that would mean walking down a fairly busy street (Newport) with no lights or sidewalks while it is still dark out in the winter. It would only take one hit-and-run accident to change the whole cost-benefit analysis. I'm glad the school board has recognized this!

7. Speaking about millages. . . did you know that even though we approved the special education millage, it is still not enough money to keep special education funding flowing at the same rate as last year? Read the background here. Since special education funding is mandated, that means that money needs to come from somewhere--and yes, that somewhere is general education. What, you say? How could that happen? Well, I believe it was the WISD board that put this millage on the ballot. Why did they decide to ask for less money than last time? I believe it's because the WISD board operates behind the scenes. Nobody elects them; nobody goes to their meetings; nobody gives them any feedback about their ideas. By "nobody" here I don't actually mean "nobody." I'm referring to the general public that bothers to give the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dexter, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake, Lincoln, Willow Run, Chelsea and Manchester boards of education a piece of their minds. That public process sometimes keeps school boards (which are, after all, just groups of people) from making bad decisions. [Yes, not always. It was a bad decision to offer the incoming Ann Arbor superintendent such a high salary, and the school board was told that. On the other hand, the school board was also told it was a bad idea to cut high school transportation, and they listened.]  Scott Menzel, I hope you are planning on making the activities of the WISD more public. 

8. The Manchester School Board is conducting a non-traditional search for a Superintendent (they have informally identified a preferred candidate). The first interview will be June 21. Read about it here. In addition, according to the Manchester Enterprise article, the next regular school board meeting is scheduled for at 6:30 p.m. June 20 in the Ackerson Building and will begin with the budget hearing.

9. School of Choice enrollment for Ann Arbor fell short. Surprise, surprise. Remember when I discussed the school board and administration's rationale for not opening up the high schools to school of choice students? I was pretty critical of their reasoning. You know, Ann Arbor school board, there is actually still time to do that. And if not this year, there is always next year.

10. It looks like James Dickson has joined the Ann Arbor Journal/Heritage Newspapers and has been assigned the local schools beat. I believe he was one of the layoffs from annarbor.com a couple of months ago. I personally welcome any additional coverage of local school districts. They deserve much more coverage than they get, despite the best efforts of Kyle Feldscher (annarbor.com); Jennifer Coffman (Ann Arbor Chronicle); Tom Perkins (stringer for several local news sites); and other freelancers. I appreciate all of you!

11. Do you know what the #1 post on this blog has been? It's (very) hard for me to believe, but a lot of people apparently want to know why some female softball players wear bows. Yup, that's right. I invite you to read my post, No Bow Lesbo, to find out the answer. 

Sports News

The Dexter school district fires their athletic director and football coach.

The ACLU of Michigan is warning the Downriver League that women's and men's basketball need to treated equally (remember: Title IX).

If you're interested, I wrote about Title IX, and how the Michigan High School Athletic Association had to be forced to abide by it, here.

Oh, and Skyline varsity boys' basketball beat Pioneer at the buzzer. I guess the Skyline students are growing up...

"No Bow Lesbo," or Straight Pressure

A friend recently reported to me that--not so much in Ann Arbor, but in some other parts of southeastern Michigan, it is common for girls who play high school softball to wear bows in their hair. And if you don't?

Then you might be tagged a 

"No Bow Lesbo."

In other words, if you don't wear a bow in your hair, you must be a lesbian. Since kids generally don't want to be tagged a lesbian by others (whatever their personal identity)...the pressure to wear bows is on.

And it's this kind of insidious pressure...this semi-conscious use of name-calling...that is emblematic of the ways in which issues around sexual orientation are not just about BULLYING.

I mean, I wouldn't call that bullying. But is it name calling? Yes. Is it a culture of respect? No. Is it wrong? Yes. What are we doing about it?

Events This Week! SISS, Physicals

The Black Parents Association and the NAACP (I believe) are sponsoring a reception for the incoming SISS Director. (That is the person in charge of special education for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The acronym stands for Student Intervention and Support Services.) You may recall that Ann Arbor had a disproportionate number of African-American special education students labeled as cognitively-impaired. (That, by the way, is not unique to Ann Arbor, and changes have been made, but that does explain the interest.)

In any case, if the intersection of special education and the achievement gap interest you, you can meet the new SISS Director, Elaine Brown, at an informal reception Wed. September 8th from 3:30-6:30pm at the David Byrd Center on Lohr Rd.

Sports Physicals: If your middle school children need sports physicals, they are being offered tonight, Tuesday 9/7 at Scarlett Middle School, and tomorrow night, Wednesday 9/8 at Slauson Middle School--both evenings they will be offered from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Supica Family: Lawton, Slauson, Pioneer

Some of you may have heard the sad news that two members of the Supica family were killed (daughter Samantha and mother Theresa) and two teenage daughters were injured. Here is the annarbor.com article about the deaths, which occurred on the way to a field hockey event. Updated 3:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.: The two injured sisters are named Sydney and Shelby Sloane, and they Sydney played field hockey for Pioneer High School this past year.

UPDATE 6/26/2010: Obituary for Theresa and Samantha Supica

UPDATE 6/25/10
Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, July 3d, at Knox Presbyterian Church, 2065 S. Wagner Road, with private interment. The family will receive friends on July 3d from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Ann Arbor Public Schools is responding with a gathering and crisis team. Here is the information from Slauson principal Dr. Curtis:

To bring the communities of Lawton, Slauson and Pioneer together during this time of grief, a gathering is scheduled for tonight, Tuesday, June 22 at Slauson on the front deck from 7pm – 8:30pm. We will have district crisis team members available for support as well as cards and paper to send support to the Supica family.

I will add more information as I find out more.

Updated 10 p.m.
Here is another article.


Donation information:
Please consider a donation to the Supica Benefit Trust by going to http://hockeyhasheart.com and click on HHH Forms, Donation Forms, and in the "Comments or Special Request" box, enter "c/o Supica Benefit Trust". Donors of $50 or greater will receive an official tax receipt later in the year.
Checks are also welcome. Make your check out to Hockey Has Heart c/o the "Supica Benefit Trust" and send or drop off the check at the TCF Bank on W. Stadium and Pauline or any TCF location.
TCF Bank
1900 Pauline Boulevard
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-5002

Saturday Night's Fun: Skyline Soccer, MHSAA, and Title IX

 My Saturday Night

The Skyline women's soccer team made it to the District 2 regionals and I went to see my daughter's friend play. Saturday night, at Trenton High School, this group of 9th and 10th graders played a Livonia Ladywood team (grades 9-12) that included at least one all-stater. Skyline lost, 1-0. Their best chances to score came in the last 15 minutes.  Read all about it here (with video). 
(The team runs the field--out to the bleachers and back--at the end of the game.)

Watching the game sent me down Memory Lane. I was in high school in the years post-Title IX.
 

Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding.
Many people have never heard of Title IX.  Most people who know about Title IX think it applies only to sports, but athletics is only one of 10 key areas addressed by the law. These areas are: Access to Higher Education, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Math and Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing and Technology. (From TitleIX.info)

From a Sports Perspective
What a difference a few years make! When I was in middle school, all the girls (grades 7-12--the middle school was separate, but attached to the high school) were consigned to the small gym. All the boys (grades 7-12) got the big and beautiful gym. By the time I got to high school, the powers-that-be were beginning to implement Title IX (it took them a few years). By 1976, the middle school students got the small gym, and the high school students got the big gym. Did that mean more juggling of space? You bet. And with physical education four days a week, for four years, space got tight. That is, actually, how I learned to juggle--in the wrestling room. They made it work though, and juggling space just seemed normal.
In retrospect, the physical education department at my high school seemed to want to make Title IX work--but they had a lot of catch-up to do. There were hardly any girls' after-school sports at the time. And that's probably why, when my friends Denise and Anne lobbied for a girls' soccer team (we weren't called "women's" soccer), they let us form one. So as a senior, I was on the first girls' soccer team for our high school.
Then and Now
Here are a couple of differences between then and now: the skill level of the Skyline players is vastly vastly better, and the women's game is much more physical. It was fun to watch.

Another thing that was different--and completely, totally, outstandingly cool? The men's soccer team showed up as the cheer section--with face paint and school colors. And they brought the mascot!

If we had made it to regionals back in 1980, I think we would have gotten the parents. But the boys' team? No way! (Yes, of course the parents were there Saturday night. My favorite parent line was from a parent who didn't think the ref was being fair: "Ref, you're missing a great game here!") Digression: Did you know that the chant "Go Blue" works for Skyline as well as UM?

MHSAA: Dumb Decisions, and Where Does My Money Go?
The game cost $5 per ticket to get in (I spent $15), and the tickets are stamped MHSAA: Michigan High School Athletic Association. MHSAA is, essentially, the statewide high school sports organization. I believe all of the local schools that field sports teams are members, and I'm including private, parochial, and charter schools (e.g., Greenhills, Gabriel Richard, and Central Academy).

If you want, you can think of it as a monopoly. On the one hand, maybe a monopoly makes sense for coordination purposes.
On the other hand, MHSAA spent the last ten-or-so years strenuously fighting a Title IX challenge. Remember, school districts around the state support MHSAA with their dollars (our tax dollars), and I certainly didn't support the MHSAA fight. So I started thinking about the lawsuit.

CFE v. MHSAA
Here is the very quick summary:
Communities for Equity, a Grand-Rapids-based group, sued MHSAA over the placement of sports seasons. It's not illegal to have (for instance) one season of basketball in the fall or spring, and a different season in the winter--and obviously that makes it easier to schedule gym time. However, in Michigan, the "worse" or non-traditional season was always given to the women's sports season. Under Title IX, the discriminatory practice--always giving women the less desirable season--is illegal. So--Communities for Equity sued, and won. MHSAA appealed, and lost. Appealed, and lost. . . The lawsuit went on for nine years (!). In the end, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
During those nine years (that is nine graduating classes), other states' high school athletic associations had the same issue. But instead of pursuing ongoing legal action, and racking up millions of dollars in legal fees, those states' athletic associations changed their practice. In the end: Michigan had to align their seasons the same way that 49 other states had already done. (That's right, we were LAST to adopt a practice everyone else had already done.) As far as I'm concerned, that was the right thing to do--but it would have been the right thing to do many years earlier. Hey people, you were a little late to the party!
Further--if it were up to me, I would have changed the MHSAA leadership a long time ago. What were they thinking, fighting this for so many years? What's more, they are still whining about the change. Want some cheese with that whine?

From a Detroit News article written 2/25/2010,

 "I don't think people are much happier about it today then they were when the court ruling was made," said John "Jack" Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA, which opposed changes to the seasons.

WAIT A SECOND. Who is "people?" I'm people. And I am VERY HAPPY about the change.

Then the article quotes Connie Engel:

Engel, who lives in Grand Rapids, is one of the founders of the Communities of Equity, the group that sued the MHSAA in 1998 for what it described as discriminatory scheduling practices at the convenience of boys sports.
"Looking through the eyes of Title IX, gate receipts can't be a persuasive factor," she said. "It isn't anything about the public, it's about the children's legal rights to be treated without discrimination. I just opened the newspaper Saturday morning and there were two big spreads on each side with boys and girls basketball."

RIGHT ON!
It was MHSAA's own damn fault that they ended up with a huge legal bill at the end. They didn't need to appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court. They could have changed their practice. After the final ruling stood, MHSAA started moaning and groaning. They said that they might need to file for bankruptcy. They said they might need to assess all of the high schools in the association a special (and very large) assessment.
So I wondered, after I noticed that my ticket money was going to MHSAA, what ever happened to that legal bill? It was hard to find out.
You know that iPhone commercial, "There's an app for that?" Well, it turns out that--almost whatever you are looking for--"There's a blog for that." In this case, title-ix.blogspot.com had the answer. (They have several posts on the case. If you are interested, click on the Michigan tag.)

In summary, instead of paying $7 million all at once, MHSAA is paying less and paying gradually, with final payments coming in 2014. And they can't get out of paying by filing for bankruptcy. The details of the agreement were originally covered by the Downriver News-Herald. (Which brings me back to the soccer game, I guess, since Trenton is Downriver.) What's surprising to me is how little news follow-up there was of this huge story that affects thousands of student-athletes--and all the Michigan high schools--every year.

In the Billie Jean King/Chris Evert/Martina Navratilova era, Virginia Slims supported the women's tennis tour, with the tag line "You've come a long way, baby."
We sure have. But we have a long way to go.
Read more about Title IX and athletics at TitleIX.info and at title-ix.blogspot.com.

Tiger: The Lighter Side

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
(William Blake, The Tiger)

Headlining a chapter in my daughter's math book is a picture of Tiger Woods. You know, it's the attempt to introduce relevance. As if Tiger sits down with his calculator to analyze the best angles for hitting balls on the golf course.

"Mom," she said. "Look at this picture. I'll bet they wouldn't include that picture if they were writing this textbook now."

I'll bet they wouldn't. Math teachers are just not as interested in angles of repose. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Baseball: Winds of Change

Nobody will confuse Little League with the baseball playoffs going on now, but I thought a little "herstory" might be in order: 

From This Week, 9/21/09

Huron ninth grade student, Courtney Ziemba, was filmed playing baseball last week as part of an HBO documentary about Carolyn King, the first girl to play Little League baseball in the Ypsilanti-American Little League team soon after the Title IX law was passed.  Courtney plays second base and pitches for this same team.  The movie is scheduled for release in the spring of 2010.

(I have written about This Week before. It is good news (a brag sheet, if you will) of news in the AAPS district. Here is the link to it.)

From the Ypsilanti Little League web site:

The Ypsilanti American Little League was founded in 1953 and is the oldest Little League in Michigan. In addition, our Little League was the first in the world to include a female player. When Little League was founded in 1939, girls were not allowed to participate, but that changed in 1973 when Carolyn King of Ypsilanti played in our league.

A June 4, 1973 article in Time Magazine tells the story. “When Outfielder Carolyn King, 12, tried out for the Orioles, an Ypsilanti, Mich., Little League baseball team, she beat out 15 boys and qualified for a starting position. Not long afterward, Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa., cited its rule barring girls from league teams and threatened to withdraw the Orioles' charter. Ypsilanti's city councilmen issued a counterthreat: if Carolyn did not play, they would cut off city support for the league and bar it from public ballfields. After some soul-searching, the Orioles decided to let Carolyn play. Promptly, national headquarters made good on its threat and withdrew the Orioles' charter. Last week, just as promptly, the city council voted 10-0 to file suit in federal court charging violation of the U.S. Constitution. No verdict is likely for weeks.”

Ultimately the US Division of Civil Rights ordered Little League to drop its boys-only policy, and in 1974, Little League revised its rules to allow girls to compete. Girls worldwide now enjoy Little League thanks to Carolyn and our league! Carolyn joined us again to throw out the ceremonial first pitch during our 50th & 56th Anniversary Opening Day Ceremonies.

 

Watch May 11, 1973 national news coverage from CBS & NBC, as well as footage of Carolyn throwing the 2009 ceremonial first by selecting video links below.

 

      1973 CBS National News:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkciYjOGbNo

      1973 NBC National News:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1C6zORZ1Qg

      2009 Ceremonial First Pitch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqY-MZIEVVQ

 

Track Meets!

This week, for the first time ever, I got to be an "official" at a track meet. It was fun! It reminded me of my time running track.
The sheer volume of Pioneer kids (at all of the meets I have been at) is rather intimidating for the other teams. On the other hand, it is great to have no-cut sports, and Pioneer has a great program. It was also really nice to see that there are a lot of kids on all of the local teams (including Pioneer) who will not be super-track-stars. And yet they are still out there, running, jumping, and throwing. Keep on!

Observed

In recreational sports in Ann Arbor, soccer is both King and Queen.
In recreational sports in Milan, it seems that baseball is King, and softball is Queen.