School to Prison Pipeline

There's no doubt that this presentation will be thought-provoking.
Monday, June 8th, 6-9 p.m., Unitarian-Universalist Congregation, 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road

The ACLU of Michigan Washtenaw Branch will hold its annual Jerome Strong Awards with special guests
Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn who will speak about
Juvenile Justice and the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
In addition, the Jerome Strong Civil Liberties Award will be presented to Representative Alma Wheeler Smith, the Community Leadership Award will be presented to Derrick Jackson and Rosemary Sarri will receive the Civil Liberties Champion Award.RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY! Admission is free for ACLU members. http://action.aclumich.org/jeromestrong2009Non-members: Join online or at the door and your admission is free. Admission is $20/individual, $30/couple, $5/students. Join or register for this event at http://action.aclumich.org/jeromestrong2009Read more about Bill Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn at http://action.aclumich.org/jeromestrong2009

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.

Tappan Gardens, Slow Food

Have you seen the garden at Tappan Middle School? It is on the upper field, and it is beautiful. Every school needs a garden like this, a well-tended garden that kids can work on. Yes, I took this picture of the ripening strawberries there. I believe this gardening project was inspired by Alice Waters and the Slow Foods movement. Tappan is not the only Ann Arbor school with a garden. I know, for instance, that Ann Arbor Open has a garden, a mini-greenhouse, and a gardening elective for 7th/8th graders. See this older post for more information about Ann Arbor school gardens--some of them are flowers though, not vegetables.

Kids, Social Action, and the Three Fires West Park Trail

One of my favorite books about teaching is The Kid's Guide to Social Action by Barbara Lewis. The book has some inspiration--it has real stories of how kids and teachers made a difference in their communities, and it also has some how-to--how to write letters, how to write grants, how to make speeches, how to circulate petitions...

When I used to share this book with teachers at teacher trainings, I would sometimes get the stares of fear--how could one start on such audacious projects? That's probably because the book starts out with a group of kids, and a teacher (Barbara Lewis), who notice a local toxic waste site, and end up getting Utah's first Superfund law passed. Yes, I'm serious. Yes, it took more than one year. Yes, the teacher was essential. Yes, the kids were essential. Yes, building allies in the community and the government was essential. Yes, persistence was essential. Yes, parents were essential. And yes, that started a culture of social action in the school. But NO, the kids were not rich, the parents were not rich, it was not a fancy neighborhood. When you read about it, it is ultimately so awe-inspiring and yet seemingly achievable. Those kids are grown now, but I'll bet that a lot of them have gone on to do great things. And they have a lasting achievement--legislation that ultimately made a difference.

But can kids get involved in social action anywhere? Yes, they can. Even in Ann Arbor.

It might be a little hard to read this plaque. It says,
This stone placed February 12, 1929 by the Ann Arbor Council Boy Scouts of America and marks an old Indian trail plainly visible on that date.

The plaque can be found on the southern edge of West Park where the stairs go up. I "knew" about the trail from the sign, but it wasn't "plainly visible" over the years that I've lived in Ann Arbor.
Well, that is about to change. Thanks to the persistence of a few years-worth of classes of kids, and two dedicated teachers (one at Ann Arbor Open and one at Community High School), AND thanks to the parks planners at the City of Ann Arbor, that trail is being re-established. It took persistence on the part of the teachers, especially; and interest on the part of the students.

Click here to read more about the West Park master plan. Thanks, Cindy Haidu-Banks and Denise Chacon-Lontin (teachers). Thanks, Amy Kuras (parks planner). Thanks, everyone else--students and community members--who supported, and support, this small effort to remember the tribes who lived in this area. It's spring! Get outdoors, go visit the trail.

Poetry Redux

On a recent morning, I was listening to NPR, a piece from Planet Money on Recession Haiku.

My nine-year-old says to me, after listening to the poems, "Those aren't haikus. Those are sen-ree-yus." (Spelling: senryu.)
"What?" I say.
"Haikus are about nature. Senryus are like haikus, only not about nature."
(OK, it is slightly more complicated that that, but just slightly.)
"Do you think I should let NPR know?" I say.

I'm not telling you this to boast about my smart child (although of course I think that all my children are above average:). I'm praising the smart teaching that taught him this. And did I mention that that poetry unit was taught by a parent who loves poetry?

H1N1 and Language

The Ann Arbor school district just came out with updated information about swine flu, aka Influenza A H1N1. While reading it, I noticed that the Superintendent's first letter has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. (I guess those are the top five languages in the Ann Arbor schools for families whose first language is not English.) I'm glad they translated the letter.

It triggered two related thoughts.

1. The county web site has a widget at the bottom that allows you to click on a flag and do a translation into a lot more than five languages. It's not perfect, but it is pretty useful. And no, it's not on the AAPS web site. But it could be! I don't think it is very hard to add to the web pages.

2. If these are the top five languages, then why is Spanish the only one taught at all of the high schools? And why is Chinese only taught at Skyline? Why are we so focused on European languages? These non-European languages would be pretty useful. Want to know how many people speak Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese? A lot (but estimates vary).

And let's not even get into how these non-European languages could be a recruiting tool. [OK, let's get into it a little bit. For instance, they teach Japanese at Greenhills (private), and Arabic at Central Academy (charter). I'm not sure about the rest. If the primary or secondary reason you sent your child to Central Academy was to learn Arabic, and she or he could learn Arabic at Pioneer, would it change your mind?]

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!

Drama Queen?

So, Doris Hope-Jackson retracts her resignation as Willow Run Superintendent.

But is it true that she:

• interrupted professional development speakers brought in from outside the district to tell the teachers she was rescinding her resignation?
• hinted to some groups of teachers that she felt threatened and therefore carried a concealed weapon?
• showed teachers some threatening notes and asserted that teachers were threatening her (with proof of threatening notes but no proof of guilt)?
• told teachers that it was God's intention that she remain as superintendent?

I wasn't there, but that's what I heard. It all sounds completely inappropriate. Doris Hope-Jackson appears to crave attention.
And meanwhile, Willow Run might suffer from the closing of the GM plant.
WRCS does not deserve this.

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.

Next Year in Willow Run

Assuming that this story is true, Doris Hope-Jackson will not be the superintendent of Willow Run Community Schools for too much longer.

Obviously, there was a lot of strife around her, but I also wonder if the fact that the district reported the wrong number of students attending the schools (said there were more than there were) had anything to do with it. If so--and if it was intentional--then we are back to (minimally) malpractice, and maximally some kind of fraud. Although I note that I have no proof that it was intentional--this is pure speculation.

In any case, all of that begs the question--what next?
I think the district needs a strong interim manager. Unfortunately, Robert Bobb (DPS manager) is not available, but James Hawkins is retiring from Ypsilanti. Maybe he wants another tough situation...

Otherwise--maybe there is someone within the district? Someone with strong financial management skills and a giant heart, full of compassion for the kids of Willow Run. If you only care about money, prestige, or your own career, then--please--don't apply.

Dandelion Wine and Other 7-12 Tales

My friend was telling me about the Ann Arbor Young Actors Guild performance of Dandelion Wine. This reminded me of how, when I was in middle school, I had to read Dandelion Wine, and I ranked it as one of the worst stories I had ever read. (Of course I finished it--I was a "jeune fille rangee," a dutiful child.) Digression: a few years ago, reading a book on the herbal properties of dandelions, I saw a suggestion to make dandelion wine, and was completely turned off by that idea--only because I couldn't stand the book of the same name.

In any case (because this is the way my mind works), thinking about Dandelion Wine reminded me of a high school encounter with literature. I was in 12th grade and decided to opt into the Humanities (2-semester) course in the second semester. The teacher had a reputation of being slightly ditzy, but also nice, and the class read interesting pieces--for instance, Antigone. As a condition of coming in during the second semester (into what was essentially a year-long course), the teacher asked me to read a few of the pieces they had read in the first semester. A little extra work for me, but I didn't think it would be a problem.

A couple of weeks into the term, the teacher (I'm sorry I don't remember her name although I do remember what she looked like) runs into me in the hall and asks me how my reading is coming along. "Fine," I report, "except for Waiting for Godot."
"Why?" she asks.
"I can't stand it, it seems endless, and I'm only reading it for the class," I say.
"Oh no!" she says to me. "You don't have to read it if you can't stand it. I really don't want that. I want you to enjoy what you read."

Many years later, I still appreciate that teacher's attitude.

Please! Raise My Taxes

Many schools are approaching the year with deficit budgets. Ypsilanti is actually thinking about adopting a deficit budget--which might not be a bad plan for the short-term, although it's hard to see how it's a long-term solution.

Saline has a blog devoted to the budget. The May 11th post details how bad the state funding situation looks, and the information is relevant for every Michigan school district.

Ann Arbor has union negotiations this summer--I'm sure the budget will be a big factor there.

And the state is cutting, and cutting, and cutting. The only reason K-12 education has been spared is that the stimulus money requires it. Instead, local governments are getting cut; and they are cutting. Health, parks, police, fire. Think that won't affect kids? Think again.

I want nice parks.
I want healthy kids.
I want police officers, and firefighters.
I want adequate funding for schools everywhere (the state itself defined adequate as $8400/pupil, and guess what--the only district in the county that is over $8400/pupil is the hold-harmless district of Ann Arbor--most of the districts are at least $500/pupil below that).

Please--raise my taxes--how about that graduated income tax? It's time. I am willing to pay for services. And I hope you are too.

A Tale of Two Poetry Units

Recently, two of my kids completed poetry units.

In one unit, the students read a lot of poetry, and they had a lot of poetry read to them. Sophisticated poetry. T.S. Eliot. William Shakespeare. William Blake. e.e. cummings. Gwendolyn Brooks. William Carlos Williams. From books, and from sheets the teacher copied. They learned about meter, rhyme schemes, odes and sonnets. They wrote lots of poetry, including a sonnet. They performed their poetry.

In the other unit, the students had to go to several poetry web sites. They had to read poetry online to find 4 favorite poems. They had to write reactions, and type them on google docs. There was a small amount of class discussion. They had to listen to audio. They had to write one or two poems.

Both of these kids enjoy poetry, both reading and writing it. The one who had the first unit was affirmed in loving poetry; the one with the second unit was completely turned off (despite getting an A on the unit--and that's not really the point, is it?).

I use computers all the time. Obviously, I'm writing on one now. But they are a tool, and they are not a good tool for everything. I was, and am, completely perplexed by the idea that "browsing" for poetry on a web site is useful unless you know what you are looking for. [Are you looking for the Dylan Thomas poem that has the line The force that through the green fuse drives the flower? A web search could be the ticket. But if you are just browsing for poetry? No way.] In the first place, as my own child pointed out to me, poetry web sites are not organized for browsing. They're indexed (by author's name, by topic area, maybe by first line) but they are hard to browse when you don't know what you are looking for or even what you like. In the second place, we don't read on the web the way that we do books. At least, I don't, and I think most people don't. I tend to be a skimmer anyway, and the web speeds that up for me. Poetry is full of nuance, and to get that nuance, you need to read slowly. Which is why, for me, poetry (which I love) is challenging. On the web, is a student more likely to understand William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience or Emily Dickinson's I'm Nobody! Who are you? Even though I feel pretty sure that most high school students would like, and understand, both of them, I also feel pretty sure that--online--I'm Nobody! Who are you? is much more accessible.

There is a better way--bring in BOOKS for students to browse through and discuss, to choose "favorite" poems. It's ok to require students to type their work, and once a favorite poem has been discovered, audio might be best accessed on the web. But for r-e-a-d-i-n-g p-o-e-t-r-y? BOOKS are the way to go. And not only that, but the Ann Arbor library has an excellent selection.

I sometimes think that now that teachers have technology, they think that every assignment should use technology. Of course that is absurd, and I hope they come to their senses soon! I am not at all sure that the technology my kids use makes their papers better than they would be without them--although their papers are probably neater.

The big question for me--do I approach the teacher of the second unit, and share my thoughts? Note that I have not spoken to him yet about anything yet this year. I hate to come off too critically, but--English education and curriculum development is something I have a lot of training in, and--I really hate it when a student who loves a subject is completely turned off by it due to the way it is taught.

Young Citizens and School Boards

Sunday's Ann Arbor News had the Young Citizen of the Year Award. There was also a "Where have they gone?" article that was focused on what previous young citizens have done.

To my surprise, two of them (out of eleven!) have found their ways onto local school boards.

Jeremy Keeney, 2005 Young Citizen, has been elected to the Lincoln School Board, running "because he felt unprepared by his curriculum to compete at U-M, and wants to improve it - something he said the board is doing, "one subject at a time.''

Kent Sparks, 2007 Young Citizen, has been elected to the Whitmore Lake School Board, "I'm not joking around here, I'm serious. I want to make a difference in my community and my school district,'' he said. He's studying secondary education at the University of Michigan and plans to go into educational administration. "The current system leaves so many students behind,'' he said. "Someone needs to shake things up, make a difference, educate every student.''

One follow-up that was slightly less surprising to me: A third Young Citizen, Michael Johnson (1998), went to Willow Run High School and is now a 5th-grade teacher in Ann Arbor. "It's all about building positive relationships,'' he said.

Hoo-boy!

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse.

I would like to know, who made this "error?" Was it truly an error, or a series of errors, or was it intentional and done in the hopes of avoiding an audit? Is it time to go back to the "all kids on one campus" idea?

Bike, Bus, Walk to School--Curb Your Car!

Teachers, Aides, Administrators, Parents, and yes--kids--It's

Curb Your Car Month! Time for the Commuter Challenge.

I see a lot of teachers in my neighborhood walking to school, and I've seen a few bicycling too (in other words, they are already doing the commuter challenge), but only one school is signed up so far as an "organization." That school would be Clague Middle School, which has not one, but two ambassadors--Jeff Gaynor and Bruce Geffen. If you see them, thank them for their efforts. [Clague signed up as Ann Arbor Public Schools--Clague, so I guess that's a good model to follow for those of you from other schools, if you are the first one from the school to sign up.]

This is a great way to model sustainable commuting for all the kids in your classes, or your kids at home.

You can sign up here, and set your own goals. Did I mention that even one sustainable commute gets you free ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy? (There are some prize drawings too--it didn't hurt my feelings that I won a really comfy fleece blanket last year.)

Most of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti schools have fairly good bus service. And carpooling counts too. And--if you get to school on your bike, or on foot, and there's a thunderstorm threatening on the way home, well...you can even put the bike on the bus!

Last year, Curb Your Car Month was a great motivator to get me to start riding my bike and setting a goal to ride my bike once a week, all summer, to and from work. (I mostly made that goal--but I wouldn't have even started if not for Curb Your Car Month and the motivation of some bicycling pals--it's about 12 miles each way, and knowing I had to meet someone was a big help.)

Yes, it's good for you, good for the earth, and there are prizes--what more could you ask for?

Post-Election, Post-Executive Order Thoughts

In Ann Arbor, the guy who withdrew from the election--though not in time to remove his name from the ballot--and didn't campaign (Adam Hollier) beat the guy who did run, and did campaign (Ravi Nigam). Considering the low turnout, obviously the withdrawal wasn't publicized well enough. But I have often wondered, when people go to vote and they don't know who is whom, are they influenced by names? Was the "foreign-soundingness" of Ravi Nigam's name the ultimate factor in his loss? I'd hope not, but somehow I think so. Alternate explanations will be happily accepted.

In Saline, Craig Hoeft won one seat, but there is a close contest over the second seat (right now, Amy Cattell is ahead of Bari Lynn Livsey, but fewer than 50 votes separate them). 

In Willow Run, the long-time incumbent Andy Blakita has lost to two current parents, Joi Jenson and Anglesia Brown. Here's hoping that they keep the students' best interests in mind. In a recent Ann Arbor News article about closing Kettering School, board member Sheri Washington is quoted as saying, "Kettering is the closest school to enemy lines," she said. "It's a strategic school for us." No! No! No! That is the wrong attitude. Ypsilanti, Van Buren, Lincoln, Plymouth-Canton, and charter schools are NOT the enemy. The enemy is apathy and infighting that keeps Willow Run from seeking the best for its students. For its students--whether that means rejuvenation for WRCS, or merger. Good luck, Jenson and Brown! Remember: it's about giving Willow Run kids the best that you can.

The state is required by law to have a balanced budget, and it is the use of stimulus money that required the state to protect K-12 education in the latest executive order. Don't think, though, that yesterday's executive order won't have an effect on kids. (If you want to see the actual executive order, scroll down to the bottom of the page at this link.) Cuts to Department of Human Services, cuts to the Department of Community Health, cuts in payments to child care providers... the state budget director put it well when he called the budget "horrible." But there is probably worse to come, even in the next few weeks. It's hard to be an optimist.

Election Results

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.

School elections

See the linked article (click on the title). It's true for Washtenaw County, too.

Remember to vote on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 anyway.

Top 5 reasons:

5. It will make the county clerk happy:)

4. Some districts (Saline and Chelsea) have sinking funds or other bonds that require your thoughtful consideration. [AND, by the way, Ypsilanti Township--which includes several school districts--and the Chelsea Fire Authority have other items on the agenda.]

3. Some districts (Saline and Willow Run) have contested elections. These people make important decisions for us, and if you don't want them, write someone else in.

2. Even if the election is uncontested, when you have a complaint, you can go to Candidate X and say "I voted for you, and..."

1. They are your schools. You are a taxpayer (yes, even if you rent). Voting is your right, and your responsibility the kids in your district.

OK, I admit, it's not the greatest list. It's hard to get the motivation when there is no contest. What can I say? Vote anyway.

Interesting News of the Week

First, let's start with the comprehensive series by David Jesse for the Ann Arbor News, on the trials and tribulations of the Willow Run Schools. I have to say that when I saw last week's Willow Run school closing proposals (close two schools and reopen one that was closed before, or close one this year and one the next)--neither of them made any sense to me. Why reopen an already-closed school? And if you are going to close two schools in the end, why not just get it over and done with? And the Willow Run school board is obviously still not ready to make a decision. I guess if they delay long enough, there will be some new school board members. And one of the more interesting rumors that I have heard (I emphasize the word rumor here), is that some people would like it if the state takes over with a finance manager (like the Detroit Public Schools situation), because that will allow someone else to make the hard decisions.

Second, the Ann Arbor Chronicle summarized the League of Women Voters discussion session with prospective board members (the election is not contested, so I think I wouldn't call it a debate...). I got this little tidbit out of it: Liz Margolis, the AAPS PR person, is setting up a communications committee.

Glenn Nelson: Liz Margolis, AAPS director of communications, is putting together a group to strategize about communication issues, Nelson said. He gave out her phone number – 734.994.2236 – and urged people to contact her if they are interested in getting involved.

Call if you would like to be on it (or try her email, margolis@aaps.k12.mi.us) , and perhaps help improve the AAPS web site. (Hope springs eternal, anyway.) I'm not sure why this committee is not publicized on the web site.

Third, apparently AAPS has an "Options" program geared toward attracting homeschoolers and people who want to take online courses into the AAPS system. Here's the link. The program is open to anyone in the Washtenaw ISD district. This seems like a back door way into Schools of Choice. I have to find out about the funding flow for this. Typically in Schools of Choice the person coming in brings in whatever their district's per-pupil funding is. Since AAPS has higher per-pupil funding than any other district in the county, it is a disincentive for AAPS to open up the district to choice students. Either this funding mechanism works differently, or it is just that online courses are much cheaper to operate, so it is still a net profit. [If you know, please comment.]

Last, but not least, Jeff Kass is doing something really fun and interesting (if you are into poetry and/or theater). Wrestling the Great Fear: A Performance Poetica, will be performed on Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League, 911 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. Admission is $5. To reserve tickets or for more information, call (734) 223-7443 or email Jeff Kass at eyelev21@aol.com. Go if you can.

P.S. Take my poll, just open for a few more days, on the right hand side of the screen.

I liked what I saw

I happened to be inside Pattengill Elementary School recently. I have always felt that you can learn a lot from just walking the halls of a school--and this was no exception.

I liked the art on the walls--drawings"in the manner of" Picasso, geometric patterns.
I liked the variety--there were lots of things in the hall, and they looked fresh and well-cared-for.
I liked the sentiments--Pattengill has been trying to become a Michigan Green School (successfully, I guess, although I'm still not clear on what that means exactly) and Earth Day (today) was a day full of service learning and school ground cleanup.
I liked the--recycling bin for toner cartridges, batteries, and more--in the hall.
I liked the clothes closet donation box--did you know that sister school Bryant (grades K-2) has a clothes closet where families can get free clothes during school hours? (I didn't know that until I saw the sign.)
And I especially liked the "giveaway" box for hats, gloves, and mittens (labelled, "Not the lost and found")--given the number of gloves and mittens my family loses every winter, I really liked this. If we had this at my child's school, I could buy less, save money and irritation, and reduce consumption.

I wanted to find out more about the Michigan Green School program and Pattengill, so I did a web search, and that brought me to a little-known corner of the AAPS web site (ready, set, grumble). Seriously! Apparently the Superintendent sends out a notice to staff every week that is a summary of great things happening in the district. And we can read it. After reading just one (I think the memo is called "This Week"), I cannot--for the life of me--figure out why this is not more prominent, and publicized to all interested parties. It's kind of a brag sheet, so why not brag to parents and community remembers? You can read This Week here.

Letter to burned out teachers

I say, over and over, to my friends, that what makes magnet schools like Ann Arbor Open, Community High School, and Skyline High School good--in large part--is that teachers (and kids and parents too!) CHOOSE to be there. Magnets are often extra work, and these teachers willingly sign up for it!

At Skyline, nobody has been unwillingly bumped into teaching there, and it's pretty rare for that to happen at Ann Arbor Open or CHS. Most people arrive by requesting a transfer. (Yes, it did happen to my oldest child at AAO twice. But it's not common.)

Not so at some of the other schools. Some of my friends with kids in middle school and high school report that their kids have burned-out teachers for half, or more, of their classes!

I'm not opposed to tenure; I believe in unions. And before you blame unions, remember that unions do not make people stay in jobs--people choose to stay in jobs. I myself stayed in a job too long. There was nothing wrong with the job, in fact it was rather comfy. It was a job that I loved for the first 6 years, a job that I liked for the next 5 years, and after that--well, it was still "good work" (defined by me as helping to make the world a better place), there were still some parts of the job that I liked, and it did have good flexibility and benefits. But when I finally left, I felt like I had gotten some fresh air, and I said to myself, "What took you so long?" The fact is, there was nothing wrong with the job, but I was ready for something new.

Yes, some teachers can teach for 30 years, and still be excited when a new group of students start. But for others, that is simply not true. So--this is my letter to burned-out teachers.

Dear Teacher,

I know that when you started teaching, you were full of enthusiasm. You have always loved your subject, and the kids were endlessly fascinating. But here it is, 20 years later, and--well, the kids? Same old, same old. The subject matter? There is only so much you can do to make the same grade's subject matter new and different--the kids still need to learn the same things! If this describes you, then you are a. . . burned out teacher. And yes, the kids notice. It doesn't mean that you weren't a good teacher for a long time, or that you couldn't be a good teacher again, but admit it--it is time for a change! Ask yourself how you can make things change.

I am asking you, as a parent of kids you teach, can you:

A. Consider retiring. Possibly it is time for you to stop working.

B. Consider changing careers. If you still love kids, but are sick of the school routine, you could look for informal education opportunities. But if your passion is politics, or math, maybe you could do something else with that passion. You could also go back to school in a non-education-related subject.

B. Can't afford to retire? Not interested in changing careers? Do you love the kids, but you are just bored with your subject matter? Now would be a good time to think about working with a different grade, getting a new certification so you can teach a different subject, trying an administrative post, or even just moving to a new school.

Yes, you know who you are. And the kids and parents do too. You owe it to the kids to bring your best teaching to the table.

Change it up!

And thank you.

Updates

Information about the last round of Ypsilanti superintendent interviews can be found here.

The Willow Run deficit plan was approved by the state, conditional upon meeting the targets set forth in the plan.

Saline is having a forum for school board candidates, Tuesday April 21, Woodlands Elementary School, 7 p.m. Yes, the election is contested.

I put up a little poll, on your right--please participate--check as many categories as apply to you. Thanks!

Open to the Public? Or Not

David Jesse posted this on Mlive. This Saturday, Willow Run is having time for public comments about closing an elementary school. There is a public commentary session from 6-7:30 p.m.
Before that, there is a strategic planning session from 1-4 p.m.

This is the part that leaves me scratching my head.
A strategic planning work session will follow from 1 to 4 p.m. It's open to the public, but participation is by invitation only, the district said in an announcement.

HUH?

I'd encourage you to read the 4/16 12:32 p.m. comment by WRCS Parent (scroll down). It's pretty interesting.

Ypsilanti Superintendent Interviews, Part II

Summaries of three more candidate interviews, found here.

Willow Run and the Three-Legged Stool

In the comments section, Steve Norton wrote:
The state-mandated "deficit elimination plan," which WRCS must get approved by the state, focuses only on finances and has no provision to judge effects on quality of education. Willow Run is in an especially difficult position, because schools in other districts can be literally across the street. So they are faced with the bind that the savings from closing a school (about $360,000) may be completely wiped out if 45 of those students shift to other districts...
There is clearly a lot of worry and anger in the Willow Run community, and among their staff. I very much hope that they can overcome the past and work together to save their community's schools. But they can't do it alone: much of the problem rests with the economy and with our state's system of school funding, which punishes schools precisely when they are at their most vulnerable.

I have a couple of thoughts about this. First, as of 4/7/09, Willow Run is one of only 4 districts in the state that have still not had their deficit plans approved. That does not bode well to me.

Obviously, the ongoing loss of students is huge--but finances alone are not the only piece of the puzzle, and I don't think they are the piece that will solve the problems. I think of public school systems as resting on three legs of a stool: community buy-in; academic integrity and strength; and financial strength. Right now, WRCS does not have community buy-in. That's not entirely the district's fault--a lot of people have moved out of the district. It's also not helped by the active in-fighting that has gone on, even though there is good reason for the in-fighting (to the outsider, it is kind of confusing). But without community buy-in, the district cannot move forward. With community buy-in, the district has a chance.

Second, the district's academic strengths are spotty--academics seems to get weaker as you move up the grades, at least if you are using the graduation rate as a guide, and some schools are weaker than others. I'm sure that it is possible to get a good education in the Willow Run schools, but as a parent evaluating options, I think most parents would conclude that you might have to work a lot harder at getting that education; your kids might not have the same opportunities for extra-curricular activities as at other schools; and (bottom line) your kids might be less likely to graduate.

Ultimately, parents who are active in their kids' educations will be, and should be, making decisions based on what will be best for their own kids in the long run (and I hope for the day when all parents are doing so!). And many studies show the importance of a good education in preparing for a prosperous future--and don't we all want the best for our kids? So unless WRCS can make parents and the community believe that it is possible for their kids to have academic success at Willow Run, no deficit elimination plan will ever, ever, ever solve the problem.

That said--
There might be some positive things that come out of merging some schools. For one thing, it might provide opportunities for teachers to collaborate more. For another, merging some of the school libraries might strengthen them. Third, if the strongest principals remain as principals, that could be a good thing.

Last, but not least--
There is at least one very positive development this year at Willow Run Middle School:
There is now a health clinic, operated in conjunction with the UM Regional Alliance for Health Schools, at the middle school.

New Beginnings Academy

I took this picture outside of New Beginnings Academy, one of the charter schools in Ypsilanti. Two thoughts about it--first, the sign is about the history of interurban transportation in Washtenaw County. Let me just say--the work and school landscape in the county would be VERY different if the interurbans still existed, and their dismantling is largely due to aggressive efforts by auto companies to get people to buy automobiles. All of which feels a little ironic these days. If the interurbans were around, maybe we wouldn't need school buses. Seriously, in NYC, school children take public transportation to get to school. Why couldn't it be so in our county?

Second (and you can't see this from the picture), although some of the charter schools in the county are seriously doing a great job, it's not so clear to me what New Beginnings Academy has going for it. It gets a Great Schools rating of 2/10, a Michigan Yes! ranking of a C; and the playground is not-so-hotsy-totsy. Oh, but wait--there is that one minor thing--you get to choose to go there.

Ypsilanti Superintendent Interviews

You can find information about the ongoing interviews here.

K-12 School Aid Budget

Read about the details, here, summarized by Michigan's Children.

School Board Competition Dwindles

Adam Hollier has withdrawn from running for AAPS school board.

I don't know any of the candidates, so this (broad) statement is not targeted at any of them, but:

I know there are people who are not happy with their schools--I hear from them.
I know there are people who think we could do things differently.
Yet there is no competition for most of the school boards in the county.

Which is too bad. Especially since the people I have talked to who have been on school boards have uniformly told me that they found it to be interesting, and some have even used the word "fun." (I kid you not.)

I think we need to ask why people don't run for school board. At least for me (some people have said, well if you are interested and blogging about the schools, why don't you run for school board), it comes down to two things: time, and money.

The time is significant (at least in larger districts). Estimates I've heard for Ann Arbor are in the "15 hours on a light week, and 25 hours on a heavy week" range.

The money is (at least in Ann Arbor) very insignificant. Currently it is $130 per calendar month.

The combination of a high workload, with a very low compensation rate, means it is challenging to be on the school board while working and raising a family. Obviously, some candidates don't work, or don't work full-time; other candidates don't have kids at home--but if you need to make more than $3/hour, it might be difficult to be on the school board. It seems to me that such low compensation reduces our pool of candidates.

More Budget Information: Saline

On the Saline Schools web site, there is a presentation about the Saline Schools budget for next year. (It was easy to find a few weeks ago, but I had to do a search to find it this time.)

The Saline schools superintendent also has a narrative description on his blog, here.

Saline also has two school-related millages coming up for a vote, and you can read about them here.

Look Out The Window: School Nature Areas

I was at Gallup Park recently, and I started thinking about schools and natural areas. Now, Huron has both Gallup and Furstenburg parks right next door. Forsythe and Wines have Birdhills Park. Allen Elementary is next to County Farm Park.

All of which is fabulous. (Even if those parks are underutilized by the nearby schools, they could and should be used for more.) But did you know that the schools actually have some natural areas attached to the schools? Some of them are jointly owned with the city or county. And guess what? Since I couldn't find a list on a web site (say, perhaps, the school district's?), I probably missed a couple. So please, add to this list!

Are you looking for something to do over spring break? Try visiting these areas! Flowers will be budding and blooming, birds will be building nests.

Scarlett-Mitchell Woods
Read this nice description of the Scarlett-Mitchell woods.

Thurston Pond and Thurston Nature Center, described here.

Eberwhite Woods, described here.

There are more locations: Pioneer High School has Pioneer Woods, Skyline High School has 45 acres that were kept natural, but I could not find good information links for them. (Send them to me, I will post them.)

Snow Day!

Even though I generally will have to go to work, the words "Snow Day" still warm my heart. So I was very happy on Monday. The reaction from my friends who teach in school districts that were on vacation this past week? "That's not fair! We're already off this week!" I think snow days, unexpected and infrequent as they are, are like getting an extra birthday present.

When the state of Michigan switched from a number of school days/year policy to a number of school hours/year policy, it gave a little more flexibility in terms of calendar scheduling.

But up north, there are many more snow days, and schools still run into problems.

More Thoughts on Willow Run

David Jesse summarizes a recent Willow Run board meeting here. Board member Harold Wimberly had this thought:

He reminded the 100 or so people there that as bad as the finances are, the district's academics need just as much help."Our kids need to graduate," he said. "We need to look at how we can educate these students."

I hadn't thought about it in exactly those terms, but Harold Wimberly clearly is right. I mean, what are schools for? To educate students. Obviously Willow Run must have a short-term focus on finances, but if they don't simultaneously maintain a long-term focus on student achievement, then what exactly is the point?

I went and looked at some of the more recent school board minutes. A few things surprised me. First of all--

For the most part, the Willow Run board doesn't use a consent agenda. Staff changes, check approvals, and school field trips (to places like the Toledo Zoo!) all get voted on and approved separately--even when there is clear agreement.

Second, in every set of minutes I have looked at (admittedly, not all of them) they are dealing with at least one, and sometimes as many as 4 or 5, students being suspended, expelled, or sent to alternative educational settings like COPE. That is really a LOT of suspensions and expulsions. Either the schools are too quick to suspend or expel, or things are really out of control. Or both. In a 2000-student district, that is a lot!

Third, many of the meetings ended in an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Given the weighty issues the school board is dealing with--and the number of routine agenda items--that scarcely seems like enough time.

Sure, Willow Run is a high poverty, low per-pupil funding district. But they are not the only ones with those challenges, and other school districts have dealt with those challenges by focusing on the needs of students and teachers.

What it all comes down to, in my opinion, is leadership. The last Superintendent of Schools in Willow Run who had a presence was...Dr. Joe Yomtoob. I don't attribute all the district's woes to his leaving, but he was not replaced by any superintendent who showed that they cared about the community, or even the schools. Dr. Yomtoob had a passion for the kids, and for the community. He was also a part of the wider Washtenaw community, serving as a trustee at Washtenaw Community College. Actually, I think he still has a passion for the kids--for years after he left, he and his wife have been giving U.S. savings bonds as awards to Willow Run students every year.

What happens when you don't deal with your problems when they are small? They get a lot bigger. That's why Pontiac schools recently discussed laying off all teachers (a union busting, cherry picking maneuver) and re-hiring only a few. That's why the Detroit schools are faced with closing 50 schools. That's why Willow Run has a 52% graduation rate.

What Willow Run needs now?

LEADERSHIP

and a vision that says, "We need to educate students well. If we are not educating students well, then we are not doing our job, and we should find a way to let someone--or some other school district--do it for us."

It's Worth A Field Trip

Whether on your own, with a class, or with your family, I think you will find the newly-expanded University of Michigan Museum of Art worth the trip. There is a lot--and a lot more--to see. I think it will take several visits for me to appreciate all that is there.

I'm also told that some woodworkers have taken the wood from the trees that were cut down for the expansion, and turned them into bowls that can be bought in the gift shop, with the proceeds going to the museum. I'm thinking of wedding gifts...

Performing: An Educational Capstone

If you have ever watched your kids--or your friends' kids--perform in a concert; have a role in a play; argue a position on a debate, mock trial, or Model U.N. team; have a bar or bat mitzvah; run a mile in a race; or speak at City Council or another public body, then

YOU KNOW

that there is nothing like an upcoming performance to encourage mastery of the material.
And, there is nothing like a successfully completed public performance to give kids confidence.
And--for parents, teachers, and coaches--successful public performances are a huge source of pride.

Although there is plenty of educational research that says all that, and more, most "public performances" in schools are associated with extra-curricular activities (i.e., sports, theater, debate club) and electives (i.e., music). For our "core curriculum," what is there? Would students do better in math if they had to somehow provide a public performance? What students do better in English if they had the opportunity to perform?

I think they would.

Well, coming right up are two awesome, and different, performance opportunities. Although these are both extra-curricular, they do tie right in to curricular goals.

First--Poetry Slam! (Teens and Adults) If you have never seen a poetry slam, it is basically a chance for local poets to perform their own work. Yes, it's a competitive environment--but it's also supportive. The poems are sometimes funny, sometimes heart-wrenching, and generally pretty high quality. These performers have already gotten to the finals. It should be a good show. Local teen poets and spoken word artists compete for the chance to advance to the city-wide slam finals and the opportunity to represent Ann Arbor at the 2009 National Youth Poetry Slam competition in Chicago.
2009 Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam Finals
Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m. @ Neutral Zone, 310 E. Washington, Ann Arbor
Admission $5 students/$7 general public
The Neutral Zone's Creative Writing Director, Jeff Kass, has a day job as an English teacher at Pioneer High School.

Second--Science Olympiad! (2nd to 5th graders) A Science Olympiad is basically an excuse for elementary school kids to practice, and perform, science-related skills in competition with other teams from other schools. Think Puff Mobiles (build a "puff-mobile" and blow it across the room), Estimania (how do you estimate those M & Ms in the jar?), and Water Rockets (yes, that involves shooting things in the air). But it's not just about knowledge--it's also about teamwork, cooperation, and strategy. Kids practice for weeks--PRACTICE learning SCIENCE; parents and teachers volunteer as coaches. Then, kids PERFORM...SCIENCE. It is really fun to watch, even if you are too old to participate. (Bring your first graders to get them interested. It's also interesting to watch the different schools perform. Yes, schools do have personalities, and they show up along with the kids on Science Olympiad day.) It's also really nice to see schools from all over the county--public, private, and charter. Last year, there was even a team of homeschoolers. Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad has been growing, and growing. It has outgrown the space in the local middle schools, and this year will be held at:
Skyline High School, Maple Road
Saturday, May 16th (it is more or less an all day event)
Find out more about the WESO Wizards here.

I'm wondering

Community High School Dean Peter Ways is leaving. Jennifer Hein, Assistant Principal at Huron and former head of the Student Intervention and Support Services division of AAPS (yes, including special education) has been appointed the new Dean, effective July 1. Change can be nervewracking, and at a place like CHS, that is definitely true. I'm wondering--those of you who have worked with Jen Hein, what did you think? Is this a good move?

The AAPS budget presentation is available online here. (Warning--it is a very large pdf.) There is also a way to submit questions about the budget. I'm wondering--what are your good ideas for saving money? While strengthening the district, of course.

I did post some questions that I thought I might ask school board candidates. I'm wondering--do you have a few more suggestions for questions?

In other news: The Ann Arbor Open lottery occurred yesterday. There is no posted list to check. The second round of In-District Transfer applications will begin in April.

Upcoming Events and News

1. College and Career Fair, Thursday April 2, 2009, 6-8 p.m. at Pioneer High School. There are mostly small colleges, but also key larger state universities (i.e. MSU, U of M, EMU, WMU, MTU--yes, that's Michigan Tech). If you have a student ready to venture off into the larger world, this could be worth your time.

2. Willow Run Summit, Thursday, March 26, 2009, 6:30-8:30 at the Willow Run Secondary Complex (Middle School Auditorium). State and local educators will be present and the letter (downloadable from the web site) says that the deficit will be discussed, but other things will be discussed as well. Side note: Willow Run's deficit reduction plan has not been approved yet. But if you would like to see the company that Willow Run is keeping (vis-a-vis deficit reduction plans), here is the link.

3. Ypsilanti is searching for a superintendent. If you missed the community meetings but have something to say, you can fill out the input form and fax it before the end of the week (scroll down to the bottom to click on the link for the input form).

4. The Ypsilanti school district web site says that Michael Flanagan, Michigan Superintendent of Instruction, will be visiting the district on April 21, 2009--that is all I know so far.

5. Tech Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age, Thursday, May 6th, 7-8:30 p.m., sponsored by Washtenaw Area Council for Children. Details found here.

6. This Saturday: Washtenaw Children's Dental Clinic is offering $5 visits. Your child(ren) must qualify for free/reduced price lunch. Here is more information. (See also my earlier post about getting full medical coverage for kids.

7. Oh, and one last thing--on the blog roll I have posted a link to a blog that collects autism research. I thought some of you might be interested.

News!

When I was in high school, my social studies teachers made sure that we knew how to fold the New York Times, in eighths, so that we could comfortably sit on the subway, or commuter train, and read the paper without making our neighbors uncomfortable. Yes, in the New York suburbs, that remains a useful skill.

Today I really felt that those days were gone. Or not--I will be subscribing to the New York Times (but I don't have a subway to ride). I will also be supporting the local news at the NPR affiliates, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle too.

I do like to sit down and read a newspaper, even though I also glance at the headlines on the computer. I also read a few blogs--but I don't rely on them for news. How much time can I spend on the computer?

More to the point, I don't think that bloggers like me (a.k.a. people with kids, jobs, and other hobbies in our lives) can approach comprehensive, in-depth reporting. For instance, someone today wanted to know if I had been to the Open Education Conference, and what did I think of Deborah Meier? Well, I didn't go. I had out of town guests, and the usual amount of carpooling, and the hope of planting a garden this spring. [I will, as I note below, happily post a summary of the conference if someone who did go wants to share it.] There are also a whole list of other meetings I didn't go to over the last few weeks--although I was able to tell you that they were going to happen. This blog is generally more like the editorial pages than it is news. And I'm not apologizing for that, either.

Where the Ann Arbor News went wrong was in thinking that the newspaper should cover summaries of global news. After all, I can get that at the BBC News site. What I can't get from the BBC News, however, is how the Huron women's soccer team did in the state finals; a summary of the discussion at the Ypsilanti school board meeting; or a comparison of local teacher salaries. Those require reporting. After 174 years (that's how long the Ann Arbor News has been around) I sure hope we continue to find some.

Do You Know An Uninsured Child?

This week is Cover the Uninsured Week. Do you know an uninsured child?
Kids who are sick, kids who are hungry, don't usually do very well in school.

For people with incomes up to 200% of the poverty level, there is public health insurance available for kids--and a lot of people don't know that you can enroll online!

Visit healthcare4mi.com

[Women can also qualify for family planning and pregnancy health care at this site; sorry dads, but you are out of luck. Any (entire) family that believes it might be eligible for full Medicaid, food stamps, and/or cash assistance, needs to fill out the full Medicaid application. You can print out the application (DHS-1171), but you can't fill it out online.]

AND--if a child is eligible for health care through the Healthy Kids/MIChild program, then she or he is likely also eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program.

From the Wider World

Brave teacher. I dream a world without prejudice.

Look Out the Window: School Gardens

Three cheers for Michelle Obama, who is starting a Kitchen Garden at the White House, and involving the students at Bancroft Elementary in Washington D.C. I don't know anything about Bancroft Elementary, but I did like their Vision and Mission statement.

And--I found this very sweet, albeit outdated, web page on the AAPS web site. School gardens! Yes, many of the schools that are featured here still have them. And there may be more now. Take some pictures of the school gardens you know about, and send them to the AAPS webmaster so the site can be updated.

What can I say? Gardening is a great activity, and a lot of kids don't get outside very much, or know where their food comes from. Kudos to those schools with gardens. Keep up the good work, gardeners!

Attention! In-District Transfers Process Happening Now

A while ago I mentioned the in-district transfer policy. If you are not satisfied with the school you are districted to, and you didn't get into Ann Arbor Open (or that is not what you are looking for, or you are hedging your bets in case you don't get in), you do have another AAPS option if you live in the school district.

You would be forgiven if you thought the schools didn't really want to promote it. Like so many things, you need to know what to search for on the AAPS web site. And apparently this great option doesn't qualify as "news." And if you were looking for it, how would you know to call it the "Space-Available In-District Transfer Policy?"

EVEN THOUGH (yes, I'm shouting here) THE FIRST SET OF DEADLINES IS FRIDAY! MARCH 20. TWO DAYS FROM NOW. 5 p.m. To read the policy and get the application, click here.

I kid you not. Is this incompetence? Or are they trying to hide the policy?
Per the policy,
"Under the Space-Available In-District Transfer policy, families that live within the Ann Arbor Public School district may apply for a transfer from their assigned school (as defined by the Ann Arbor Public School Street Index) to one of the identified space-available schools. Families of students who receive these transfers are officially assigned to the requested school instead of their original school. If the transfer request is granted, students can stay for all grades offered at that school.

This year we will have two windows during which applications will be accepted and approved:
February 1 – March 20, 2009 with notification by the end of April
April 27 – May 29, 2009 with notification in June."

As of right now, these schools have openings.

Abbot	Eberwhite	Pattengill	Clague - 10 slots
Bach	Lakewood	Pittsfield	Forsythe - 10 slots
Bryant	Lawton K-1	Thurston	Scarlett - 10 slots
Carpenter	Logan	Wines K
Dicken K-4	Northside		Slauson - 10 slots

No high schools have openings via this policy. You can put up to 4 schools on your list.

The upshot is:
This is a good policy, and a lot of schools have openings! (More than half the elementary schools, most of the middle schools.)
I have friends who have used it, and been happier. Different schools do have different personalities.
This is a good policy, but it is being poorly publicized. The question is, why?

Questions for School Board Candidates?

I would like to ask the school board candidates some questions and post their answers on this blog--not the same ones that you would find in the newspaper!

Here are a few I have thought up. Please add to this list. (I am happy to expand this to other districts with competitive elections, just imagine these same questions with School District X in there.)

1. To parents who are wavering between sending their child to the Ann Arbor Public Schools and a charter or private school, what would you say to convince them to try the Ann Arbor Public Schools (besides cost)?

2. What specific ideas do you have for engaging parents and taxpayers in AAPS decision-making and governance beyond the child/school level?

3. What ideas do you have for making the AAPS web site more user friendly for parents, staff, students, and taxpayers?

4. Describe your personal approach to school union negotiations. What are your primary goal(s)?

5. What was your most influential high school experience (good or bad)? How does it influence your approach to the school board?

What He Said

The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.

Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.


Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.

Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.


All quotes from John Dewey, 1859-1952


(Though I quibble with that last quote. I think you could say that life is education itself.)

AAPS and Committees

A recent article in the Ann Arbor News, found here, discusses racism in special education placements--an issue totally deserving its own post. Nationally, a lot has been written about that.

In any case, this line got my attention:
As a result of the state's directive, the district formed a committee to look not only at this issue, but also the broader issue of minorities being over-represented in special education.

Really? Why is this the first I've heard of it? Were parents recruited to be on it? Who is on it?

Want to be on a committee, board, or commission related to Washtenaw County government? Learn all about them here. You can find out who is on the various committees, and what the vacancies are. And it's only three clicks from the home page.

Want to be on a committee, board, or commission related to the City of Ann Arbor? Learn all about them here. It took a little longer to find the right page (it's not as clearly labelled), but four clicks from the home page, and I was there, and you can find out about vacancies too.

Want to be on a committee for the Ann Arbor Public Schools? A committee that has broader reach than, say, the school your kids go to? For instance, I had heard there was one, previously, addressing racial disparities, but I couldn't find it on the web site. There were only a couple of committees I could find. Under "Especially for Parents," I scrolled way down to Organizations/Departments, and found the PTO Thrift Shop (thrift shop committee), the PTO Council (association of PTOs), and the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee (more on that in a minute).

Are there committees on racial disparities? Finance? Music and arts? Athletics? I'm not saying those committees don't exist, but if they do, I don't know how to find them. They don't appear to be on the web site. Which could make you think that AAPS doesn't want parents to be involved in any boards or commissions. Unless, of course, they involve fundraising.

Actually, the "Especially for..." section needs an added piece: "Especially for taxpayers." That would be a good place for financial information, and why shouldn't any taxpayer be a member of a committee, board, or commission? (Yes, that of course includes parents, and teachers who live in the district, but it might also include some people without a direct relationship to the schools too.)

Now, back to the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee: unless you looked at the fine print, you wouldn't know that this is an advisory committee that is for parents with kids who qualify for special education. The details spell out the importance of widespread representation, and say that March/April is the time to fill slots. They do list representatives, and schools that don't have representation, and there are a lot of them. If you are a parent of a student receiving special education services, at one of these schools, maybe this is an important opportunity for you: Abbot, Bryant, Burns Park, Carpenter, Clemente, Lakewood, Logan, Pattengill, Pittsfield, Stone, Thurston. There are also opportunities for at-large members and a WISD liaison. Plus there are additional spaces for middle and high school representatives. The process is here, and there are so many vacancies I don't think it's hard to get in.

Like so many things in the AAPS--both the good and the bad--the process and the data seem secretive, not transparent. It doesn't have to be that way. It shouldn't be that way. And not only that, but--I'm not sure whether the staff and school board mean it to be that way.

Can the AAPS post a list of committees, with information about what they are and how to join them?

Skyline, Community: What Does It Mean?

As noted in the comments, the Skyline enrollment lottery list is posted. So: over 215 students applied to Skyline, over 365 students applied to Community. Does this mean, then, that Community is much more popular than Skyline? At this point, without knowing where kids are applying from, it's a little hard to say. After all, 1/3 of the district students are automatically districted to Skyline. So they don't need to apply to the lottery. If they did, maybe the ratio would be more like 330:365, with a slight edge to Community.

What appears to be true is that a lot of kids--though not all--are applying to both schools. (And their chances are better of getting into Skyline.) And some of them are also applying to Greenhills, Gabriel Richard, etc. Is this to avoid Huron or Pioneer? Or because Community and Skyline are a draw? I'm sure there is some of both.

Community High List is posted

A very large number of kids applied this year. At least 367 kids were in the lottery! They accepted 120. See the pdf here. I think this is more than last year. I wonder whether more kids are applying from the Huron, Pioneer, or Skyline geographic districts? Does the fact that there are two choices (three, actually: home school, Community, and if you are not in the Skyline district, Skyline) make more kids want to enter the lottery? Is there more dissatisfaction with other schools? Is the economy having an impact (i.e., kids who would have gone to private school can't)? Wow.

Dating Violence

Worth listening to: NPR's On Point show discusses dating violence. A lot seemed applicable to the Anna Maria List and Kisha French cases. Listen to it here.

Kudos to Huron High for having an In Loving Memory section on the front page of their web site. Here is the link to the Anna Maria List In Loving Memory piece, including memorial donation information. I couldn't find the notice about Kisha French on the Ann Arbor Open web site, but donations for her daughter Jayla are being accepted by the AAOCC (PTO-equivalent at Ann Arbor Open), write it to AAOCC, French Family Fund in the liner note.


Need help regarding dating violence? Help is available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.

SafeHouse Center (734)995-5444
Ozone House (for teens, all kinds of issues) (734)662-2222

Willow Run: Deficit Reduction--What's It All About?

There is an interesting article in the Ann Arbor News about the deficit reduction plan filed in Willow Run. Or read about it in the Ypsilanti Citizen, here. Even more interesting, however, are the additional materials David Jesse put on the mlive.com web site (scroll down to get to the charts and data).

First--the proposed deficit reduction plan is probably nowhere near enough, and I hope that the Michigan Department of Education agrees with me. If you think about it, Willow Run has lost 40% of its students, and closed only a preschool building. Ypsilanti schools have approximately twice as many students, yet the same number of open elementary schools. So realistically, Willow Run should probably close two or three schools, minimally.

David Houle, the finance director, notes:
"Substantive discussion of suspending operations at some facilities had been eschewed by the Committee (a cost-cutting team of administrators, a parent, two board members and several other staff members) as some members remained concerned that decommissioned buildings present a blight to the surrounding neighborhoods," the document says.

Willow Run schools are, in some ways, an accident of fate. Willow Run doesn't really have a geographic center, they don't have a downtown. The schools are the identity. BUT--A closed school building doesn't have to mean blight. In fact, it doesn't have to sit empty! And based on the economy alone, school district numbers will likely decline further.

I see three ways for WR to go:

1. Cut down to two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school.
2. Have an elementary school for K-2, use the middle school for 3-8, and the high school for 9-12.
3. Merge.

No, those options are not pretty. But schools are supposed to serve the kids--and nearly half of them don't graduate. I don't think Willow Run is doing a good job right now, and rather than thinking of shrinking as a negative, maybe it could provide some benefits.

Teacher Web Sites and Blogs: Windows to the School

I thought I would show you a few class websites and blogs. It wasn't exactly a "random sample." There are a lot of class sites that don't seem to be regularly updated (these appear to be), and this took quite a while to do. It's a lot of work to maintain a web site, and there are a lot of sporadic efforts (those are not featured here). Another time, I will have more comments about the different schools' web sites. Let's just say--the school web sites are highly variable in both information and tone.

Some schools have more than one teacher blogging or web-siting (and some schools have none), but I only chose one per school. You should feel free to look at individual school web sites to find some others. Yes, these are alphabetical by teacher's first name--no favoritism here!

Debra Wenzel's web site (Career and Technical Education, Slauson)

Gary Bartosik's web site (Special Education Math, Huron)

Jeffrey Bradley's Science Guy In A Tie blog (Science, Skyline)

Ko Shih's/Rick Hall's website (5th/6th grade, Ann Arbor Open)

Peggy Leonard's web site (Art, Lakewood)

Rick DeKeon's web site (Physical Education, Northside)

Sarah Bradley's blog (Kindergarten, Abbot)

Susan Haines' web site (5th grade, Haisley)

Good News, Bad News: AAPS Budget Forums Update

First, the good news: If you missed the AAPS Budget Forums, a) the powerpoints are scheduled to be posted on-line at the AAPS web site next week (no, they are not up yet) and
b) the Ann Arbor Chronicle has posted a fabulous summary of the Tuesday meeting, found here. I think it's the next best thing to being there. (Thank you, Mary Morgan!)

The bad news is, of course, the looming deficit. I like some of the ideas that were presented. Per the Chronicle article:

Those options include lobbying state legislators and the governor, increasing student enrollment, raising more funds through private donations, and passing a countywide educational “enhancement” tax.

In particular, I hope to focus on the first two areas. Proposal A is broken, what can we fix? And as far as student recruitment goes, well, personally, I believe there is a lot we can do. I think the AAPS estimate of 1200 students in the school district who go to private or charter schools, or are home schooled, is a LOW estimate. (I know, you might think that saying that over 7% of kids in the district not being in the public schools is high, but based on the cohort of people that I know, and particularly in the elementary school population, those numbers are low.) But hey--that is a problem that has the potential for being solved.

Some of the comments following the Chronicle article are interesting. One thing that I notice in the comments is a lot of union- and teacher-bashing. The fact that people are the largest expense of the district perhaps makes that a natural, BUT--people--yes, teachers, aides, bus drivers, principals, and even lunch workers--are also what power the district. Another set of grousing comments focus on the creation of Skyline. I'm pretty sure that Skyline is already a good thing, but more on that another time.

Open Education Conference Books Great Speaker

The 26th annual Open Education Conference, "Rekindling the Vision," is scheduled for the weekend of March 20-21, 2009. The conference is loosely affiliated with Ann Arbor Open School, but it's really about the idea of Open Education. And to be perfectly clear about it, there are probably teachers in every school in Washtenaw County who teach in an "open" manner, and there are certainly parents in every school who like that style of education.

Some years the Open Education conference is better than others, but I have reason to believe that this year will be excellent. I've been to a few, not all, and always as a day-tripper (which you can do--the prices are reasonable, and the conference is at a lovely camp just outside Ann Arbor). One of my favorite memories from an Open Conference was a discussion of the MEAP, where we got to actually take part of an (old) MEAP. I think it was 5th grade social studies. I felt much more informed about the test after that--it was somewhat hard, and it seemed more like a reading comprehension test than a social studies test.

In any case--this year, the Open Conference has a speaker whom I believe will be excellent. More information and registration flyers can be found here. I want to encourage you to go hear Deborah Meier. Although I haven't heard her speak, I have read some stuff by her. She will be speaking on Saturday. You can read more about her at www.deborahmeier.com, and here is a brief synopsis:

Among Deborahʼs many accomplishments she is well known as the founder and teacher director of a network of highly successful public elementary schools in East Harlem. In 1985 she founded Central Park East Secondary School, a New York City public high school in which more than 90% of the entering students went on to college, mostly to 4-year schools. During this period she also founded a local Coalition center, which networked approximately fifty small Coalition-style K-12 schools in the city.
Her books are: The Power of Their Ideas, Lessons to America from a Small School in Harlem (1995), Will Standards Save Public Education (2000), In Schools We Trust (2002), Keeping School, with Ted and Nancy Sizer (2004) and Many Children Left Behind (2004).

AAPS Schools of Choice Update

The list of students who are going into the Community High School lottery is up, here. (Check by student number, and if you think you are not on the list, but should be, call right away, because Monday at 3 p.m. is the moment that lottery results are posted.) It's a long list, it looks like chances of getting in are about 1 in 3. But somebody has to be lucky!

Skyline High School has a note up that more than 125 students have applied for the out-of-Skyline-district spots, so there will be a lottery. (No word on how many kids have applied, and no list is up. To confirm that you are on the list, I suggest you call them directly.)

Ann Arbor Open School has two more orientation sessions so you still have a little time. You have to go to an orientation session to have your child considered for the lottery. Here are the dates:
Saturday, March 14, 10-11:30 a.m., Parent Orientation
Sunday, March 22, 2-3:30 p.m., Parent Orientation
(You will also need a classroom visit.) More information about the process is here.

So--Skyline opens, and both Skyline and Community have more kids who want to get in, than there are spots. Proving...people like to have a choice.

Are You a Bocie?

In the town where I grew up, if you wanted to really insult someone, you didn't call them a dope, or a greaser, or a freak, or even a retard (although all of those would be construed as insults).

The ultimate insult: You're Bocies!

In high school, I knew that the kids who went to vocational training, at a centralized location, to become auto mechanics, or beauticians, went to the BOCES location. And I'm sure you see where this is going. It wasn't until after high school that I made the connection between the epithet, and the Board Of Cooperative Educational Services.

Which just goes to show you, that in some communities (and I admit to growing up in a middle/upper-middle/upper class community), career/vocational/technical education has had a bad rap for a long time. Which, I should say, I don't necessarily think it deserves.

It's true that in some communities vocational classes are used for tracking (at my high school, most of the kids who went to BOCES did not do well in school, and came from working-class Italian Catholic backgrounds).
It's true that on average, college graduates make more money.
And it's true that a lot of community colleges now offer some of those "vocational" tracks, but with the advantage of a 2-year degree.

On the other hand:
If we believe in the idea of multiple forms of intelligence, we should expect that some kids will do better in this format.
Some jobs don't really need an advanced degree.
Some kids need to start making money right away, even if they do go on to college.

So: I think options are good, and I feel queasy when I see vocational programs being considered for the chopping block.
Which is why I was somewhat interested to see, on the AAPS web site, a follow-up survey for students from the Career and Technical Education department. It asks if you are the "student" or a "proxy." (Not being either, I didn't go any further.) If it applies to you, I encourage you to fill this out. I'd like to see them survey the rest of us, too.

Square Root Day

It turns out that today, March 3, 2009 (or 3/3/09, as you might prefer) is Square Root Day. Why? Because 3 x 3=9, and so we say that 3 squared equals 9.

Math educators have been pushing the idea that you need to understand the concepts behind math, and I have to admit that I haven't fully bought into the idea. It's not that I'm pro-rote learning...it's really more that I think sometimes you can learn the concepts after you learn how to do the problems. But in any case I hate to be dogmatic and I am sure learning the concepts first works better for some kids.

The importance of understanding the concepts in math got a boost the other day, as far as I'm concerned, after a conversation with one of my children (one who is in elementary school).

Child (out of the blue, while sitting in traffic): I finally understand the idea of why a squared number is called a square.

Me: Really? Why?

Child: Well, because each side of the square is the same, and when you want to get the area you have to do the width times the height and in a square those lengths are the same.

Me: (To my internal alter ego) Wow! I've been squaring things all these years and I know how to do it, but I never knew why it was called a square.

Me: (To my child) That is exactly right! And do you know why the next power up is called a cube? (Discussion followed.)

Seriously. I use math very frequently at work, and I think I'm pretty good at math concepts, but I never put together the idea that squares and cubes are not just representing a multiplication fact, but also a geometric concept...until this week.

Which adds a whole new dimension to Square Root Day. Have a happy one!