Millage Basics

Tuesday, November 3d election discussion:

Ann Arbor Public Schools: There will be a community presentation on the millage hosted by AAPS Superintendent Dr. Todd Roberts and Deputy Superintendent Robert Allen. Monday, October 19th, 7:00-8:00 p.m. at Pioneer High School's Little Theater.

Washtenaw Intermediate School District Millage Information Link

Saline Schools budget blog

Niche Marketing

This summer, at the Townie Fair right before Art Fair, one of the local private schools--Ann Arbor Academy-- had a table, with a big picture of a brain. It was part of advertising how their school deals with ADHD kids. I was surprised, but I guess I shouldn't have been. The way that private schools--and charter schools--compete is often by marketing to a specific subset of parents. That is very obvious with private parochial schools like Gabriel Richard High School, but it is sometimes a little less obvious with the charter schools (aka public school academies). Nonetheless, it is there.

Consider: Honey Creek--"The mission of Honey Creek Community School is to provide an education of the whole child emphasizing the integration of thought and experience by centering learning on themes and projects in a multi-age setting."
Consider: Central Academy--"Central Academy also has a strong ELL department that helps newcomers.  The school offers Arabic as a foreign language, a full day kindergarten, advanced classes, and a required dress code."

On the other hand, when a public school district tries some of its own niche marketing: alternative education programs like Community High School, magnet programs, or gifted and talented programs there is often some push-back. 

To me, that is a conundrum, because lots of families are looking for the "niche." People like me.

Spending Cuts By District

The Free Press has an online database that gives you an idea of last year's per pupil funding and what each district stands to lose with the $165 per pupil funding cuts. It includes the charter schools, too.

Our Best and Brightest: What Has Your Counselor Done For You Lately?

Now that I have a child who is actually in the "looking and applying to college stage," I finally understand why the application process strikes fear and awe into peoples' hearts and minds.

I understand why my co-worker's son, who was initially interested in a small liberal arts college in Michigan where he could play his sport of choice, but whose mom was born in another country and confused by the application process, whose father is deceased--found it easier to pursue a possible career in the Air Force. The Air Force recruiter walks you through the process, step by step. They make it easy.

Last spring I was very puzzled by an Ann Arbor News supplement--you know, the graduation supplement? That is (I guess I should say "was") the one that profiles the top 5 students from every school in the county. Some of these kids can really knock your socks off, and they are all--every single one of them--overachievers. Most of the ones from Ann Arbor told the News they were going to small private schools, the University of Michigan or Michigan State University. But take a look at the ones from some of the outlying areas: Willow Run, Whitmore Lake, Manchester, Chelsea... All of a sudden, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State, and even Washtenaw Community College pop up as probably school choices. Washtenaw Community College for a valedictorian or salutatorian? That makes no sense at all.

I have nothing against any of those schools, but now that I am experiencing the college application process "up close and personal," I have a different take. All of these students--we are talking the top five in the class--are strong candidates for UM, MSU, and, yes, small private colleges. Those students who don't have money could probably get financial aid. But I'll bet that a lot of them never applied.
Why? The application process is intimidating. The financial aid process? Even more intimidating. Yes, even to those of us who have been to college and graduate school ourselves. The applications are primarily online. What if you don't have a computer at home?

A few years ago, I had an intern who grew up in a working-class school district in Macomb County. She was one of the top 10 students in her graduating class. In 11th grade, she went to her counselor and said, "What do I need to do to get into the University of Michigan?
Replied her counselor, "I have no idea."

Really? Then why are you working as a school counselor? 

Is it any wonder that she reports to me that of her graduating class, one student went to an Ivy League school; 2 or 3 each went to the University of Michigan and Michigan State; a handful went to Oakland University, Wayne State, or Eastern Michigan; a bigger handful went to Macomb Community College, and the majority did not pursue any higher education at all. Nada. Zip.

School counselors have difficult loads. But colleges also expect them to write letters of recommendations for their students. This year, at Pioneer High School, I understand that all of the seniors have been assigned to one counselor; one counselor, who has never met a lot of them before. Do you think that counselor will be able to do a good job writing letters of recommendation?

Even worse--because it does not relate to their workload--are the counselors who cannot advise students on how to apply to the excellent state schools that we have in Michigan.

Worse still are the counselors--and I just heard a story about one of these the other day--who tell students who indicate an interest in applying to schools which are in their range, or even "reach" schools--"Oh, don't bother, you will never get in."
Why don't you let the college or university decide?

Counselors, listen up: If you don't know how to help students apply to the colleges of their choice, then you either need to learn, or you need to get a different job.

Do you ever wonder how we, as a society, perpetuate class differences? This is how. 

As Langston Hughes wrote so beautifully:

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

Autism: News and Notes

"No mom, he's not autistic or anything. He just has an anger management problem."

That was the beginning of a conversation I had with my son a couple of years ago. Thanks to the openness of a couple of families who had had children in his class, he seemed to have a moderately good grasp (for an elementary school student) of what autism is, and what Down Syndrome is. Anger management? That was different entirely (and it was probably more disruptive to the class too).

I don't have a very sophisticated understanding of autism, although I do have increased interest now that a close relative has been evaluated and found to be "on the autism spectrum." Nationally, special education services are mandated, but they are undoubtedly better in some districts--and some states--than others. Friends of mine who have moved from California and Massachusetts tell me that special education services which are standard there are hard to come by here. And parents of children with special needs who have some control over their destiny (e.g., middle and upper class people) will choose their school districts based on the special education services available.

When we talk about autism, a few things are clear. Autism treatments have been subject to a lot of controversy. The autistic spectrum covers a wide range of behaviors and actions. And the prevalence of autism seems to be going up--whether that is because of better diagnoses, or an actual increase, I don't know.

In any case, I thought it would be good to write about some local resources. I have no personal experience with them.
First, for several months I have had on the right-hand sidebar a link to a Child Psychology Research Blog. In fact, I linked to it in this post for an article on the prevalence of autism, as well as the links for autism and autism treatments. What I value about this blog is the way that the author(s) explain(s) scientific findings in easy-to-understand language. Well, it turns out that Dr. Nestor Lopez-Duran has recently moved to Ann Arbor--and that despite the very large number of entries around autism and autism causes and treatment, his own research is on mood disorders in children and adolescents. Side note: If you find a notice that he is speaking locally, he'll probably be worth going to hear.

Second, Eastern Michigan University is opening an Autism Collaborative Center. It is opening in the former Fletcher School Building (in case you wonder whether, or how, closed school buildings can be repurposed--here is one positive example). You can find more information at www.accemu.org.

Third, the University of Michigan has a well-established Autism and Communication Disorders Center. You can find more information about them at www.umaccweb.com. 

Want to Guest Blog?

There are a lot of things I know about, but a lot more that I don't! For instance, I don't have much experience with the world of special education. However--from numerous conversations with acquaintances, I know that the special education process can be hard to navigate and understand.

If a parent or two (and/or teacher/administrator) who has been through the special education processes--from diagnosis/evaluation/testing to IEP development and implementation--would like to guest blog very occasionally, contact me at rlk234 at gmail.com.

Open Meetings Act Part 2

Here is some more information about the Open Meetings Act.

1. From the state legislature: text of the OMA and Freedom of Information Act, as well as background information on some of the legal cases (up to 1997, only--but I've pasted some of the relevant ones below). It turns out that there is a lot of case law involving school districts and school boards!

2. Relatively concise summary from the Citizen Media Law Project.

Michigan Court of Appeals: “The OMA should be construed broadly in favor of openness; exceptions should be construed narrowly, with the public body bearing the burden of proving the applicability of an exemption.”

Michigan Court of Appeals Court Decisions on the Open Meetings Act

Michigan courts have rendered decisions which, when published, become precedent and are the law of the state until changed by a higher court or by the Legislature. The following list contains the principal published decisions of Michigan’s appellate courts and is current through July 1997. Court decisions may be obtained in law libraries or from the courts of record at a nominal fee.
Because the Legislature has amended the Open Meetings Act after its enactment, the cases interpreting and applying the Act may not reflect the current law.
13. Rochester Board of Education v Michigan State Board of Education, 104 Mich App 569 (1981)
Where the State Board of Education provided parties with the full panoply of procedural safeguards guaranteed by the Administrative Procedures Act in contested cases, it should not allow parties or nonparties to address it concerning the merits of a contested case at a public meeting, because the Administrative Procedures Act requires that contested cases be decided solely on record evidence.

15. Ridenour v Dearborn Board of Education, 111 Mich App 798 (1981)
The evaluation of the performance of school administrators is not an action that is exempt from the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.


16. Palladium Publishing Company v River Valley School District, 115 Mich App 490 (1982), lv den
The Open Meetings Act requires the naming of a suspended or expelled student at the meeting and in the board’s minute when a student is expelled or suspended by action of a board of education.
[NOTE: The Open Meetings Act was amended in 2003 or 2004 so that students could be identified by number, and their identification remain hidden.]

21. Cape v Howell Board of Education, 145 Mich App 459 (1985)
In extending the time period of an option contract, the Board of Education made a “decision” requiring compliance with the Open Meetings Act. Also, the time period for commencing an action under the Open Meetings Act begins to run when the minutes of the meeting in question are approved and made available to the public.

26. Jackson v Eastern Michigan University Foundation, 215 Mich App 240 (1996)

A foundation empowered to exercise delegated authority by resolution of a university board of regents is a public body subject to the Open Meetings Act.

30. Moore v Fennville Public Schools Board of Education, 223 Mich App 196 (1997)
A public body may arrive at a conclusion as to negotiating strategy at a closed meeting. That conclusion is not a “decision” that the Open Meetings Act requires to be made at an open meeting.

Opinions of the Attorney General Relating to the Open Meetings Act
The Attorney General has issued numerous Opinions of the Attorney General (OAG) which explain various applications of the Open Meetings Act. This list of the principal opinions issued is current through July 1997.

e. Hearings under the Teachers Tenure Act fall within the provisions of the closed meeting exceptions provided for in section 8(a) of the Open Meetings Act. p. 32
f. Section 8(b) of the Act allows the school district to consider dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of a student in closed session when requested by the student or the student’s parent or guardian. p. 32
k. The provisions of section 8(f) of the Act apply to employment interviews for the position of school superintendent with the local K-12 school boards. p. 41


4. A board of education may not: (a) deny a person the right to address a meeting of the board on the sole ground that that person is a representative of an organization of board employees; (b) limit the subject and issues that certain persons may cover in the course of addressing the meeting; (c) require persons to exhaust administrative remedies before addressing issues at a public meeting; nor (d) prohibit a person from addressing it on grounds the matter to be addressed is or might be the subject of a closed meeting. Attorney General Opinion No. 5218, p. 224, September 13, 1977.
5. A legislative committee is included within the purview of the Open Meetings Act and may not engage in the practice of “round-robining” by which votes on a measure are obtained by a member of the committee going to other members and obtaining their signatures on a tally sheet. Attorney General Opinion No. 5222, p. 216, September 1, 1977.
7. The Open Meetings Act prohibits a voting procedure at a public meeting which prevents citizens from knowing how members of the public body have voted. Attorney General Opinion No. 5262, p. 338, January 31, 1978.
18. The designated electors of constituent school districts may elect members of an intermediate school board by secret ballot. Attorney General Opinion No. 5412, p. 737, December 20, 1978.
19. The exemption from the Open Meetings Act which permits members of a public body constituting a quorum to attend a conference permits members of the public body to listen to the concerns of members of the public or of persons with special knowledge in the presence of other interested persons. It does not permit public bodies to conduct closed sessions to listen to presentations by department heads and administrators of the public body. Attorney General Opinion No. 5433, p. 29, January 31, 1979.
21. When members of a public body constituting a quorum are unaware that they are being brought together by another, this is a “chance gathering” that is exempt from the provisions of the Open Meetings Act and there is no violation of the Act as long as matters of public policy are not discussed by the members with each other at that meeting. Attorney General Opinion No. 5437, p. 36, February 2, 1979.
24. The following responses to specific inquiries are from Attorney General Opinion No. 5500, dated July 23, 1979:
a. Access to notes of a public meeting may not be denied solely because the notes may be revised. p. 264
b. School boards may meet in closed sessions to consider matters exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. p. 270
32. The meetings of a board of education expelling a student from school for repeated violations of rules and regulations must list a student’s name. Unedited minutes must be furnished to the public on request in accordance with law. Attorney General Opinion No. 5632, p. 563, January 24, 1980. June 4, 1980.
34. The minimum 18-hour notice required for a special meeting of a public body is not fulfilled if the public is denied access to the notice of the meeting for any part of the 18 hours. The requirement may be met by posting a notice at least 18 hours in advance of the special meeting at the main entrance of the building that houses the principal office of the public body. Attorney General Opinion No. 5724, p. 840, June 20, 1980.
43. A board of education of a school district may not conduct the public business of evaluation of the performance of the superintendent at private meetings of two or more committees of the board, each composed of less than a quorum of the members of the board and including the president of the board to provide continuity in the evaluation deliberations, from which the members of the public are excluded. Attorney General Opinion No. 6091, p. 711, August 18, 1982.
44. A bargaining committee authorized by a board of education to conduct negotiations with school officers and employees,may conduct such negotiations in closed sessions. Attorney General Opinion No. 6172, p. 161, July 20, 1983.
52. A teacher may close a disciplinary hearing if cameras will be present even if the teacher had not originally requested a closed hearing. A public body may impose reasonable restrictions on the filming of a public meeting. Attorney General Opinion No. 6499, p. 280, February 24, 1988.Opinion No. 6752, p. 18, March 10, 1993.
59. The Open Meetings Act does not preclude an intermediate school district from allowing representatives of member districts to attend a meeting via interactive television. Attorney General Opinion No. 6835, p. 10, February 13, 1995.
60. The Open Meetings Act does not require an advisory board formed by a board of education to recommend athletic policy to open its meetings to the public. Attorney General Opinion No. 6935, p. ____, April 2, 1997.

School Lunch

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

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

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

What Makes A Meeting Open?

There is a terrific column by Dave Askins at the Ann Arbor Chronicle about the Open Meetings Act.  The article is framed around the City of Ann Arbor email scandal, but the questions that are raised apply to lots of other governmental bodies, including school boards around this county. I have not (yet:) done any research around how our local school boards meet, or don't meet, the requirements of the Open Meetings Act. I'm interested in whether they meet both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. I have noted that, at least in the Ann Arbor schools, it is hard to find out if there are any district-wide committees that are open to interested parents.

If you have thoughts about your experiences with the "openness" of school boards, either post a comment here or email me at rlk234 (at) gmail.com.

October 1 Updates

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

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

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



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

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

Do Kids Count?

It looks like today--Wednesday, September 30th--is the date where we find out whether kids count, and how much they count for.

Yes, today is Count Day, the day on which 75% of per-pupil funding allocation decisions are based. (There is also a count day halfway through the school year.)

Tomorrow is also the last day before the end of the fiscal year for the state of Michigan, and as of midnight tonight, the state legislature had adjourned, and no vote had been held on per-pupil state funding. It is highly likely that the budget that eventually passes will include a significant reduction in per-pupil funding, to the tune of $100-$218 less per student.

So--when you send your kids to school tomorrow, so that they can count, remember--however much they counted last year, this year they are likely to count a little bit less.

(Yes, I'm exasperated.)

Ethics Question

I provide the questions, you provide the answers.

Let's say that you are an administrator at a school. You get involved with a parent of a child who is enrolled at your school. [No, you're not married or living together, but it is a serious relationship.]

As far as intervening in the student's school life, what is appropriate?

a. You treat them exactly like every other student, only accessing their records if there is a particular issue that requires your intervention.

b. You stay away from all issues related to the student, unless absolutely necessary, and when it is necessary you disclose your relationship to the parent.

c. You keep on top of the student's grades and behavior, beyond what you would do with any other student, and intervene if anything catches your eye.

d. None of the above. The right thing to do is...

Second Quote of the Day

True story: I saw a teenaged acquaintance riding his bicycle to school, with his helmet clipped to the handlebars.

I say to him, "Exactly what is the point of having the helmet on the handlebars?"

Says he, "Symbolism."

Quote of the Day

"The harder the math homework is, the more useless the math is."
--High school student

For more background reading, see this post.

Call Your Legislators

Your silence will not protect you. (Audre Lorde)

Your silence won't protect kids, the poor, people who need medical assistance. If doctors don't take Medicaid, it affects the whole system, not just people on Medicaid. If the state cuts all funding for health clinics in schools or for childcare so the working class can work, it will affect the whole system. If funding is cut to cities and counties, it will affect the whole system.

Here is an easy way to find your legislators. I'd tell you to look for the budget bills, too, but--guess what--nine days until the end of the fiscal year, and they haven't been published.

More Bad News for Willow Run?

The bad news is adding up.
In addition to the impending state budget cuts (which cannot be good news for any Michigan school district or charter school)--
In addition to the Willow Run superintendent already reporting that the district is running 150 students below projections (and yes, their projections assumed a drop in enrollment to from 1980 students 1840 students--this would indicate a drop to around 1700)

According to the [deficit reduction] plan [filed with the state], if enrollment falls below 1,840 this fall, another elementary school could close in the district. There are currently five elementary schools being operated in Willow Run, after Thurston was deactivated in 2008.

In addition to reports that make it seem that the Willow Run school board still has a lot of tension...

there is also the news that the Willow Run Airport is struggling financially.

And--to add fuel to the fire--Victory Academy, one of the county's charter schools, has moved right by the Willow Run middle school/high school complex. Although right now it is an elementary school, I believe it has plans to expand to be a K-12 school.

Need some background?
David Jesse did a comprehensive series for the Ann Arbor News on the Willow Run schools. Here is the link.

A lot of this is related to external forces, but it might be time to ask the question: Is it time for Willow Run to merge with another school district? I know, you might think I'm nuts, or that I have it in for Willow Run schools--after all, Manchester and Whitmore Lake schools have around 1200-1300 students and I'm not suggesting closing Manchester or Whitmore Lake schools. But I'm not nuts and I don't have it in for Willow Run schools.

Here is why: 5 years ago, Manchester and Whitmore Lake schools had around 1300 students, nearly the same number that they have now. Five years ago, the Willow Run schools had just over 2700 students. Yes, just five short years ago. Ten years ago, Manchester and Whitmore Lake schools had around 1200 students, nearly the same number as they have now. At that point, the Willow Run schools had over 3250 students. Ten years ago. In other words, Manchester and Whitmore Lake schools are small, but stable. Willow Run schools are shrinking.

When school districts continually lose enrollment, and their budget is attached to pupil counts, it is not (solely) a question of how good the teachers are; how good the administrators are; or how economically stable the students' families are. It is nearly impossible to continue to provide a good school environment.

The student pupil counts are generally done on the 4th Wednesday in September--that's next week. More news will surely be coming out about them.

Playfulness

Play-ful-ness: Noun
Play-ful: Adjective: per Merriam-Webster, frolicsome or sportive; humorous or jocular
Play-ful-ly: Adverb
Play: Verb. A very old verb, dating from the 13th century.

I've been blogging about some serious topics lately. In this post at annarbor.com, Kass (Pioneer High School teacher and advisor to the Neutral Zone poetry collaborative) makes the point that playfulness in teaching goes a long way. [And he also tells you about an interesting upcoming poetry event, Monday evening November 28th at the Neutral Zone.]

He's right! Playfulness in blogging probably goes a long way too, so here is the knock knock joke my nephew told me the other day:

Nephew: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Nephew: You are there!
Comment of my niece, who texted me the whole thing: I don't get it either.

It's About Communication

Last night at Skyline's PTSO meeting, principal Sulura Jackson gave a pretty good summary of the events and AAPS follow-up to the first day of school bus fight. First, she characterized it as a fight that originated in the community, not in the school. Second, the school district does not at this point believe the fight to be a hate crime, although of course the police are doing their own investigation. The school district is following through with discipline for the students involved, as well as conflict resolution/mediation efforts that will go on throughout the year. And--finally! On Wednesday during "Skytime" (digression: everything at Skyline seems to have a "sky" pun in it--this refers to homeroom) the whole school will have a scripted/organized discussion. I believe that Ms. Jackson is right to keep the focus on ways to make the schools welcoming, and not focus on the incident itself. And, I'm relieved to hear, they are working with Peace Neighborhood Center as well.

So that's all well and good. I think they are on the right track. Yet I still have something to kvetch about: communication and transparency. Schools need to wake up and realize that they are service organizations, serving not just students but parents too. They will get a lot further if they communicate with transparency. I'm not asking for the moon--I should not have to go to a PTO meeting to find out basic information. That's what emails and letters are for! (And I didn't go to the meeting, actually, because I have found that you can't be in two places at once. I got this information from asking others.)

It may just be me, but: if I don't know what the schools are doing, then I am often not going to trust that they are doing the right thing. A paternalistic attitude that "we know what we are doing" doesn't get very far with me. I like to think for myself. I want openness and communication. At least as a place to start.

Let's Hear It For Ishpeming!

Ishpeming, you may or may not know, is a town outside of Marquette.
I've always loved the town's name, and I have met a few interesting people who come from there.

The state's budget negotiations are heating up. October 1 is the deadline. Considering that schools needed to have balanced budgets this summer, and the school year has already started, that's not all that helpful.
MLive reports that the Democrats are going to roll over and agree to the Republican Senate's proposed cuts--which include drastic cuts to early childhood education, health care, and yes--school funding.
There is a coalition opposing these cuts, and I don't think it's an accident that the coalition includes the Small and Rural Schools organization, the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation, the School Community Health Alliance, and the Michigan Education Association.

In any case: Senator Prusi, from Ishpeming, is standing up and saying NO. Thank you Ishpeming.

In a related vein: Jack Lessenberry's last few columns--related to the state budget--are also worth reading, if you don't catch them on NPR.

Last, but not least: here is the list from MLive of the proposed education cuts--but don't make the mistake of thinking that cuts to low-income families, cuts to health care, and to other areas won't affect education too, because they will.

EDUCATION:

• Cut K-12 school funding by $110 per pupil, dropping the lowest foundation grant to $7,206 per student: $174 million. The state would need to get a federal waiver to make the cuts; without the OK, it would risk losing millions of dollars in federal recovery money.

• Eliminate the Michigan Promise Grant college scholarship: $140 million.

• Eliminate grants to K-12 schools with declining enrollments: $20 million.

• Eliminate adolescent health centers in schools: $5 million.

• Essentially eliminate the school readiness program: $104 million.

• Reduce adult education funding: $2.4 million.

• Essentially eliminate the Great Parents Great Start ISD programs: $5 million.

• Eliminate money to set up small high schools: $8 million.

• Reduce vocational education funding by 10 percent: $2 million.

• Eliminate math remediation grants: $1 million.

• Eliminate Math/Science Centers and Health/Science Middle Colleges: $6 million.

• Eliminate state funding for the Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy, a voluntary quasi-military residential program run by the Michigan National Guard for high school dropouts or near-dropouts: $1 million.

• Reduce funding for some college financial aid programs and eliminate others: $48 million.

• Stop reimbursing community colleges for property tax revenue lost because of renaissance zones: $4 million.

Ramadan Mubarak: A Blessed Ramadan

First--to any Muslim readers--may you have a Ramadan Mubarak, a blessed month of Ramadan.

I started this post a few weeks ago, intending to write about whether or not the Ann Arbor Public Schools are welcoming to Muslims--and what more AAPS could do. And now that seems even more relevant, following the incident at Skyline. I have no doubt that--whether it was the "fault" of the school district or not, whether the fight was ethnically/religiously motivated or not--the perception of the fight in the Muslim and Arab communities will be that it was related to prejudice.

So--did I mention that there are two schools in the county that cater to Muslim and/or Arab families? The Islamic Academy is a parochial school with something in the neighborhood of 100 kids; and Central Academy is a charter school with over 350 kids enrolled. Admittedly, not all of those kids come from Ann Arbor, but I do know that when Central Academy opened, the Ann Arbor schools felt the loss, particularly in a few schools. Parents vote with their feet.

And remember--every pupil lost=thousands of dollars lost to the school.

So--are we welcoming? My guess is that some AAPS schools are, and some schools aren't, but institutionally--I don't think so. (Part two of this post will be whether or not we are welcoming to Jewish students, and it's my perception as a Jewish family that the schools are not too welcoming to minority religions. In general.)

The AAPS has a calendar that designates religious holidays as 1, 2, or 3 star. (3-star are the most "important" holidays.) Guess what happens on 3-star Christian holidays, and sometimes even 2-star Christian holidays? [Yes--school day off.] How about 3-star Muslim or Jewish holidays? [School day on.] It is a lot more complicated. There are lots of holidays. And yes, I know that there are way more Christians than Muslims or Jews in town. But (if you go) school by school, there can be a significant number of kids who are from practicing families. I worked in a school on the southeast side of town where 1/4 of the kids in my classes were out on the last day of Ramadan. But another couple of kids attended school, because their parents felt conflicted about the students missing schoolwork. Any time parents feel that conflict, and have another option, they may choose to go to a different school.

There is also a point to be made regarding perception. Giving one measly day off--say, for Id al-Fitr (Muslim holiday), or for Yom Kippur (Jewish holiday)--makes the district seem more welcoming to parents who are nervous about being a minority in a majority world. Yes, it is agesture--there are still other religious holidays where observant students would have to take off from school. It's a gesture, but I think it is an important action--it is not strictly symbolic. And, it raises awareness that the holiday exists.

And how about those languages? What if the Ann Arbor schools were to offer Arabic? Would that be so hard? I would think it would attract more students.

Last--but not least--where, and how, are we educating kids about prejudice. . . discrimination. . . other cultures and religions. Yes, lots of things are happening--multi-cultural festivals--SEEDS program at the Neutral Zone going into middle schools--but the only time my kids have ever had specific exposure to (some piece of) the Muslim experience was when there was a Muslim in their class. And even then, it tended to be more of the 'chance exposure' and teachable moment than the sustained effort. What, exactly, do our teachers know about Islam? What do we teach the teachers?

Whatever we are doing--it seems like it is not enough. Can we do more?

Tonight, 9/14/09: Skyline Parents

Skyline parents: Tonight is the first PTSO meeting of the year. If you want to talk more about what happened on the first day of school, and how we can promote tolerance at Skyline, it seems like this would be a good opportunity. The meeting will be held in the Skyline Media Center at 6:30 p.m.

School Income

We're still waiting for the state to decide what they are going to do about school funding for the year that just started. Ann Arbor Parents for Schools explains the ins and outs here.

Skyline "Hate Crime" Incident, Ypsilanti Death: 11 Things I Want To Know

A female, Muslim, Iraqi refugee is attacked by a group of mostly boys, reportedly African-American, and needs stitches and a hospital visit. Was it a hate crime, as defined? Was it a neighborhood fight? Was it bullying, unrelated to the girl's national origin or religion or gender? I don't know. The kids are from the same neighborhood, and there may be a back story. I'm sure there is a history. . . I believe in innocence until proven guilty, so I am not proclaiming anyone's guilt.

But--hate crime or not--it is definitely going to be perceived that way by the Muslim and refugee communities.

Things I Want To Know

1. I asked my daughter today whether anything had been said to the students. Any mention of the incident? Any discussion of prejudice? Any offers of crisis support for kids who might themselves feel nervous about being picked on because of who they are?
NOT. ONE. WORD. From the administration, that is. For the kids, of course it was the talk of the town. Which seems really, really odd. And I want to know--WHY DIDN'T THE ADMINISTRATION SHARE ANY INFORMATION WITH SKYLINE STUDENTS?!!

2. Did the incident in question take place only after the kids got off the bus, or did it start on the bus and continue afterwards?

3. How is the school district working with the students who witnessed the incident?

4. Is the transportation department reviewing its policies, and are any parents or students helping with that review?

5. In a letter home to Skyline parents (a useless letter, I might add, in that it said virtually nothing), parents are told the district has completed an investigation and taken appropriate action. Who have they investigated? What kinds of actions have been taken? And why should we believe the actions have been "appropriate?"

6. If the FBI decides it is a hate crime, how will the district deal with that?

7. If the FBI decides it is not a hate crime, how will the district deal with the perception (which I believe will persist) that it is a hate crime.

8. My daughter reports that only a handful of kids at Skyline wear a hijab (head scarf). How is the district planning on being more welcoming to Muslim kids? (I hope to have more of my thoughts on this by the end of the weekend.)

And a couple of thoughts about the shooting death of a 17-year-old in Ypsilanti.
Whereas the Skyline incident prompted many many comments on annarbor.com, the death of a 17-year-old in a shooting on the south side of Ypsilanti drew very few. I want to know:

9. Was the 17-year-old a high school student, or had he (I think it was a he) dropped out?

10. Why does the death get fewer comments than the attack which results in stitches?

For both incidents, I want to know:

11. What can we do to teach kids that violence is not the way to solve problems?

Depressing and a Hate Crime

5 teens attack, injure Muslim girl on school bus in Ann Arbor (Detroit Free Press)

What a great way to be a welcoming community. (SARCASM. HEAVILY LADEN.) And I do wonder, what was the bus driver doing during this and why didn't he or she notice this going on?

Meanwhile, John Conyers is working on an expansion of a hate crimes bill, and it looks like we need it.

The ACLU says:

The House hate crimes bill is pitch-perfect. It punishes only the conduct of intentionally selecting another person for violence because of that person’s race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identify or disability.House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and more than 40 bipartisan co-sponsors deserve credit for introducing what could become the first federal law of its kind to protect against violence due to someone’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identify or disability.But this bill doesn’t punish bigotry, as ugly as those beliefs are.So let’s really explore concerns that the hate crimes bill will chill free speech and association.For years, the ACLU was concerned enough to withhold support for this bill.That problem was fixed in 2005.

Now, the ACLU strongly supports the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevent Act of 2009. For four years, the ACLU has fought for this legislation as protecting both civil rights and free speech and association.

Here is what CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) has to say about it.

School Starts: Odds and Ends

1. Have you been to the Thurston Nature Center? Thurston School in Ann Arbor has a new rain garden--worth checking out. It was worked on by the third grade classes. (And apparently the nature center was used for filming "Flipped" as well! A movie was also filmed on the Ann Arbor Open at Mack playground, but I don't know what move it was.)

2. Small victory on the AAPS web site. This Week, the internal feature that I wrote about here, has been moved to the front page under publications. If you read This Week, you will see more good news about the AAPS.

3. Also on the AAPS web site--a new survey on cafeteria offerings. It's short, and there's lots of space for comments. Tell them what you think! (See the image, both This Week and the Survey can be found on the right-hand side of the page.) I hope you have a good year.

4. There's also new information on the AAPS web site around H1N1 flu. The upcoming season promises to be challenging. For one thing, all kids are recommended to get the H1N1 flu shots (yes, that is plural--they are supposed to be given one month apart), and many kids who have underlying health conditions (say, asthma) are also expected to get a seasonal flu shot. In case you are having trouble adding, that's 3 shots, and my guess is that a lot of people won't get them all. The new absence-reporting procedure asks you to tell the school why your child is sick (i.e. sore throat, fever, broken arm) and this is supposed to help them keep track of the flu. The only thing is that I bet a lot of parents won't follow it. I wrote about how my brother-in-law told the school his son had a 100 degree fever, and they said he had to stay home for a week. It wasn't the flu. My nephew was fine the next day, but he still couldn't go back to school. Will you tell, if you don't think it's the flu and it might mean staying home for a week?

5. How do you feel about school starting? You can take my unscientific poll if you like (right-hand side, top). I always feel like a Mack Truck has hit me--the change in pace is striking.

Adequate Yearly Progress

The ripples of No Child Left Behind continue. The 2008-2009 results are in, and David Jesse has a lot of the Washtenaw County data posted online at annarbor.com here.

Overall, the schools in Washtenaw County did fairly well. The only schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) were Stone High School in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti High School, and Willow Run High School.

Ypsilanti High School: It appears that Ypsilanti High School is a lot closer to reaching AYP than the other two schools. For instance, at Ypsi High School, Black/African American, Economically Disadvantaged, and White student subgroups all meet 4/5 of the target areas. (The special education subgroup subset is not shown, but I think that in Ypsilanti special education students and/or Limited English Proficiency students are not meeting the targets, because the "overall" Ypsilanti High School standards are only being met in two areas.) One thing that stands out is that NONE of the subgroups in Ypsilanti, and in fact NONE of these three high schools, are meeting the graduate rate requirements--but Ypsilanti High School is only a few percentage points away from the targets.

Stone High School: According to the Stone School web site,

Stone high school is an alternative high school serving two hundred students, ages 15 through 19, who have been unsuccessful in traditional education. Stone High School is a full day, full school year, academic NCA accredited high school based on William Glasser's theories of Reality Therapy.

What is reality therapy? Read more about it here, but this is an excerpt:

The reality therapy approach to counseling and problem-solving focuses on the here-and-now of the client and how to create a better future. Typically, clients seek to discover what they really want and whether what they are currently doing (how they are choosing to behave) is actually bringing them nearer to, or further away from, that goal.

I'm not sure that we can conclude that reality therapy doesn't work based on AYP scores and graduation rates, but it might be worth a second look. Because at Stone School, it is not just that graduation rates aren't being met (which isn't surprising--many of these kids already dropped out once). In fact, NONE of the goals are being met. Stone School is too small to have subgroups.

Willow Run High School: At Willow Run, the subgroups meet some of the goals, but overall NONE of the goals are being met.

The way that AYP is calculated is complicated, and it is getting more complicated every year, because a 100% compliance goal is only about 5 years away (I think the 2013-2014 year). In any case, if you want to understand more about how the calculations are done, you can look at the Michigan Department of Education Adequate Yearly Progress page.

Tweet

OK, I got a twitter account for the blog. You can find it at twitter.com/schoolsmuse.

I'm still not sure
what twitter is useful for
when I will use it
how I will use it.

But, as Tom Jones wrote in the song Try to Remember for the Fantasticks,

Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.

What is Math Good For?

This summer, while up north with my friends, my 10th grader and my friend's 12th grader had the following conversation. (My daughter goes to school in Ann Arbor and my friend's daughter goes to school in Grand Traverse County.)
"Math class is a total waste of time."
"Yeah, it is. Really, there's no need to teach math past middle school."
(Now, note that both of these kids took Algebra in 8th grade, so understand that comment as including Algebra I. Oh, and the issue here is not grades--they are both straight A students.)
Here I interjected that "I use math all the time." But they interjected semi-sarcastically,
"Do you use geometry?"
The truth is that I mostly use algebra (I) and statistics. Although the statistics might sometimes be based on geometric or algebra II or calculus concepts, I don't "see" that background. I don't need to know the difference between a cosine or tangent in order to push the button on the calculator. Yes, the concepts help somewhat, but does everyone really need geometry or algebra II?

"Really," my friend's daughter continued, "I asked my math teacher last year (algebra II) what math was good for, and he said to me, 'Well, if you become a math teacher you will use it teaching math!" (As if. . . ) She laughed.

I really think that--minimally--math teachers need to be able to come up with better explanations!
The fact is that currently, at least in Michigan, math is driving the rest of the curriculum, and it's driving student placement in other classes. How does it drive the curriculum? Here are two examples. In middle school in Ann Arbor, the only subject that is "tracked" is math--so your class placement for other classes is often based on the math class placement. (If you have math third hour, then you can't have Social Studies third hour. Therefore, advanced math kids often have similar schedules--and the same is true about remedial math kids.) The state's math requirements have been upped substantially (although the Detroit News reports that they may be removed). In high school, everyone is now expected to pass Algebra II. If you do poorly in math, you may have to repeat math at the expense of your electives. And if you've been wondering why several local schools have switched to a trimester system--this is a piece of a reason (you get additional electives over the course of the year, and if a student fails a math class they can repeat it in the same year).

So: let's either explain why we teach math, or. . . stop expecting kids to learn it or think of it as relevant. I liked this take on the subject of Why We Learn Math.

This writer points out that,

the subjects that apply the math are always taught after the math itself. Physics, economics, and so forth make the need for quadratic equations very clear, but you would never teach someone physics unless they had first mastered quadratic equations
and that
judging math by its usefulness is missing the point. Why do math teachers need to prove that their material will be vital for daily life in order to make it worth learning? Poetry would never be able to pass that test, nor would history or art. . . We fully recognize that sonnets aren’t “useful,” but we still learn them. We think it makes your life better to have the wider, deeper view of the world that comes with having studied art and literature.

What do you think?

Noteworthy News: Clemente, Take Two

Apparently, Roberto Clemente Student Development Center has a new principal--Ben Edmondson, former Scarlett Middle School principal--and the Scarlett position is posted. Edmondson sparked controversy at Scarlett Middle School in choosing to hold back 5% of kids at the school--mostly kids who were not doing well academically. Clemente (see my earlier post about the school) actually is a grade 8-12 school.

Holding kids back in middle school is controversial because it is associated with higher dropout rates. Whether this is because kids are "over age" for their grade, or because these kids would have dropped out anyway is, I think, still somewhat of an open question (but if you know more, share your knowledge!) On the other hand, social promotion has its drawbacks too, in that if kids get promoted through high school, but never learn the basics, what is the point of school? (See here for my earlier post on adult literacy.)

One thing that is for sure is that the "retention or promotion" debate shows just how limited our toolbox is for dealing with kids who need significant help, and Roberto Clemente expands the options. I'm sure that was what made Clemente attractive to Ben Edmondson, and vice versa.

Bus Scheduling (Sigh)

A few weeks ago, wanting to get ahead of the curve and hoping to have some input, I called the AAPS transportation office to find out what bus options there would be in my neighborhood. I was hoping that as the number of kids at Skyline expands, the busing options would improve. I, at least, want to encourage the public school bussing option, but I don't like to have my kids walking nearly a mile in the morning dark in order to get on a bus--which meant, of course, that I drove my daughter to the bus stop last year.
So imagine my dismay when I was told on the phone that not only hadn't the options expanded, the bus that stopped last year 3/4 of a mile from my house was no longer operational.
Whaaat?
The guy answering the phone suggested that maybe nobody had used that bus at the end of the year.
Not true--there were about 12 kids there on most days.
I was upset.
I left a message for the route supervisor. [Whom, it should be mentioned here, never called me back.]
I also emailed some of my friends in the neighborhood about this. One of them called Todd Robert's office (the superintendent), and spoke with his secretary. She was following my grandfather's adage, "Don't waste your time. I always go straight to the top."

[In case you need it, the Superintendent's Office number is in the phone book. And it is: 994-2230.]

A few hours later, my friend gets a call back--the person I had spoken to had, in fact, given me the "wrong" information--there was a bus that went to the old spots, and a few other spots too (which are, in fact, closer to my house). You might have thought that "all's well that ends well."

Except for a few things. (Of course there is more.)
When the Back-to-School Bus Schedules came, the promised route was...ABSENT. This prompted a whole 'nother round of phone calls among our friends. What did this mean???
At Skyline registration, the route in question was indeed posted. [Although I didn't go to registration--if my child hadn't asked the right question, would we know the answer?]
Obviously, they had to print the schedules earlier, so I still don't know: did they add this route under our questioning? Or was its omission an editing mistake that they couldn't rectify in time? And if the route was there all the time, then why was the person answering the phone using the (clearly incorrect) printed bus schedule--at least the AAPS transportation department should have access to the correct schedule.

One more thing: twice last year, for good reasons, my daughter's morning bus schedule had major changes in time and location. But did they give us more than a day's notice? NO! Did they change the posted information on the AAPS Web Site? NO! And really, there is no good reason for that. Families deserve at least a few days notice. The web site should be updated.

A few days after the first set of events, one of the other parents whose child rides the bus calls me to find out if there was an update. I told her what had happened. "Typical of the school district," she says (and she works for the district). "And the confusion is all so unnecessary."

Lessons learned about the bussing:
Call early about the schedule
Read the schedule. Re-read the schedule. If you don't see what you need, be persistent and ask for what you deserve.
If you don't like the answers, go up the chain of command. The squeaky wheel does get the grease--at least sometimes. I don't think most of us are asking for all that much.
Oh--and--give the bus drivers a break, especially the first couple of weeks of the year...

Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009

"Every American should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, a job that respects their dignity and protects their safety, and health care that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunity." -- Senator Edward Kennedy

Ted Kennedy's fingerprints were on nearly every piece of important education (and civil rights) legislation that came out of the Senate while he served there, and you can read about that legacy here or here.

In 1972, Senator Kennedy championed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX has had a profound, profound impact on my life, and sometime soon I'll hope to write about that.

Sunday NY Times: Kids and Social Action

I really really enjoyed this article in Sunday's NY Times: A Georgia County Shares a Tale of One Man’s Life and Death.

Sure, it's a sentimental story about an elderly man who tells students who are interviewing him that he is worried about affording a funeral.
What caught my eye was the kids' social action and performance in the story.
Nice--that the project of raising the funds and material to give this man a proper burial was initiated by one of the students.
Nicer still--that the industrial arts teacher had his students build a coffin. And they became the pallbearers. Educators talk about the importance of performance-based learning. What a great example this is.
Even better--the person in question had one of his greatest fears quelled.

But--in my opinion--the real star of the story--the unsung hero--is the Foxfire Project.

Since its founding here in 1966, Foxfire has sent students out to interview aging relatives, vanishing craftsmen and all manner of homegrown characters. Subjects run the gamut: beekeeping, moonshining, witches.

The magazine’s articles have been anthologized into a popular series of books. With about nine million in print, they have been adapted into a Broadway play and TV movie.

What is Foxfire? It is a lot of things, but here's the one I will highlight:

• "Foxfire" is a method of classroom instruction—not a step-by-step checklist, but an over-arching approach that incorporates the original Foxfire classroom's building blocks of giving students the opportunity to make decisions about how they learn required material, using the community around them as a resource to aid that learning, and giving the students an audience for their work beyond the classroom.

Read more about Foxfire in general here. Read about their educational approach here.

Sunday NY Times: And Ain't I A Woman?

The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.
- Aung San Suu Kyi

After reading the Sunday magazine of the New York Times this week, I found Aung San Suu Kyi's quote extremely relevant. The entire magazine is dedicated to the status of women--in many cases, women we would call teens here. The circumstances of hardship were almost unbearable to read about, but also very motivating. It is not a coincidence that infant and maternal mortality is highest in countries where women's literacy is lowest.

Was it just a coincidence that, this Sunday, I also drove past Seneca Falls in New York? While driving past the exit, we discussed the suffrage movement, and Sojourner Truth. I was sorry to hear that my son didn't know who Sojourner Truth was, and had not read her speech, And Ain't I A Woman? If you haven't read it either, you can read it here.

And maybe by the time we reach 200 years after the first major American suffrage conference (2048), women around the world will get some rights--including, but not only, education.

Exciting New Web Site

The Ann Arbor Area Government Documents Repository has launched! Thanks to the Ann Arbor Chronicle for pointing it out. Thanks to the ArborWiki Project (and Matt Hampel) for thinking of it.
This project is a way to publicly share government documents that you might have gotten, when you want other people to have access to them.

As of yet, there are no school-related documents up--but you can add them yourself--please do! This is a project with great potential, but even greater potential with your help.

Roberto Clemente

Many people in Ann Arbor think that there is only one alternative high school--Community High School. But that's not true. Let's not forget Roberto Clemente and Stone School.

If Community High School offers warmth and a lot of freedom, Clemente offers warmth and a lot of structure. Given that the founder, and principal for many years, of Clemente is retiring, it seems time to say a little something about the school.

First of all, do you know who Roberto Clemente was? Great baseball player, great person, killed in an airplane accident on his way to help with earthquake recovery efforts in Nicaragua. Roberto Clemente was a whole person--by which I mean he was well-rounded, smart and athletic and caring. A good model.

Even though he is retiring, Joe Dulin is not a retiring (as in shy) man; but for many years Roberto Clemente High School has been somewhat shy and retiring. In fact, the first time I visited there (in its old building), I wasn't sure we were actually still in the Ann Arbor school district boundaries, it was so far east.

Roberto Clemente Student Development Center is the school that you get referred to (or refer yourself to), if you don't do well at the other schools. You can't graduate from it (you graduate from your home school), and most kids only stay a year. But if you have been wondering how Ann Arbor keeps its graduation rates up, Clemente is definitely a contributing factor.

Want a school that provides a lot of structure, but also warmth? That is Clemente. The school became well-known for having its staff go roust kids out of bed, if necessary, to get them learning. Parent involvement is required.

The target has really been those kids described in Gwendolyn Brooks' poem:

We real cool.
We skip school.
We lurk late.
We strike straight.

From their web site:

Roberto Clemente is an alternative educational program that was established by the Ann Arbor Board of Education in 1974, for 8th through 12th graders, who reside in the Ann Arbor Public School District. The “Clemente Family” serves students who require a smaller, more structured and nurturing environment. Students may be self-referred or referred by their counselor or administrator. Please contact the liaison at your child’s school if you are interested in attending Clemente. Students may enroll at any time during the school year. Once accepted into the program, the student, accompanied by his or her parents, must be interviewed by the principal.


I feel pretty sure that Joe Dulin will continue to do interesting things. Not only has he been the principal at Clemente for many many years, he is also the founder. I imagine that having a new principal there will make things...interesting. Sometimes when founders leave there are big shake-ups. I haven't always agreed with Joe Dulin--and I am guessing that I'm not the only one. But--he has made a difference in a lot of kids' lives, and I appreciate that.


And as for Roberto Clemente Student Development Center? May it live long and prosper.

More Notes on Schools of Choice

Last week, I posted some information about schools of choice. I got the following comment, which I have to admit, I didn't understand at the time.

"If a student is trying to transfer into a school outside of the school of choice system (i.e. from Ypsi to Saline), that student would need a release to avoid paying tuition in Saline. Ypsi doesn't give such releases anymore."

I set out to find out some more--and one thing which you might already know is that school regulations can be a MAZE! Even highly-literate adults can find them confusing. And let me also say that I am thankful that James Hawkins and Scot Graden (Ypsilanti and Saline superintendents, respectively) answered my questions and clarified this information.

A Michigan school district has three options:
1. Don't admit any school of choice students
2. Become a limited school of choice district
3. Become a completely open school of choice district.

Districts can make their decisions year-to-year, based on enrollment projections and other reasoning. Ypsilanti and Willow Run, for example, are completely open schools of choice districts. Saline is a limited school of choice district. Schools of choice can be limited by grade or by school, and generally there is an opt-in period. In the case of Saline, for instance, there were 10 kindergarten openings this year, and selection was by lottery.

IF you apply to, and get into a school of choice, then the school district you leave has no say in the matter--there is no "releasing" of students (although, of course there is a request to transfer records).

However, in a limited school of choice district the options are a little more confusing.

Writes Mr. Graden, "As an example, if a student in 9th grade wanted to attend Saline - School of Choice policies do not apply as we have not declared any openings. This is where a release would be needed. I will also say that getting a release does not mean they will be accepted - in Saline this situation is reviewed on a case by case basis. Based on explanations I have gotten from the State, releases are intended to be used for special cases where a specific program in a district would be the best placement for a student and in some relocation cases (to stay and complete a senior year, etc.)." (emphases mine).

Mr. Hawkins explains Ypsilanti's policy,
"We will release any family to a School of Choice district when a request is made. We will not release Ypsilanti families (those residing in Ypsilanti which is their home district) to attend a school district outside of their home district unless there are compelling circumstances. We have had several requests from families to release their child/children to Saline in those grade levels that are exempt or non school of choice and we have rejected the parents requests." (emphases mine)

So--Lolita (my commentator) was correct, insofar as what happens if the student is not applying through the school of choice avenue. So I asked Mr. Graden and Mr. Hawkins,
Is it correct to say that, "If a family applies for a grade that is not part of school of choice (or if they didn't get in through the lottery), then in order for the student to transfer into Saline they a) need to be accepted by Saline based on special exceptions--for instance, relocation or special needs and b) the other district needs to agree to it? And if that is correct, why is it that the other district has a say in it--" (emphases mine)

Mr. Graden answered,
"In your second example it is important to understand that in Michigan the "home" or "resident" district is designed to serve all the families residing within the district. That is the policy/law set from the state - and is why they have a say it the matter. Many districts have policies that prevent them from releasing students except is very specific cases. Yes, we there is the tuition option and we have a handful of families that have gone this route over the years. They would still apply and would be enrolled on a case by case basis." (emphases mine)

[Some other time I will hope to write about the idea that the school district is the "home." But not today.]

So, there you have the answer. Lolita (my commenter) was correct. Michigan education law is very confusing. You don't need a release if you are going to a school of choice, or a charter school, or a private school--but you need one if you want a special exception to attend a non-school of choice school. Lolita explained in her comments, "If Ypsilanti does not execute a release for a student to attend Saline, the student won't bring their per pupil monies with them, and Saline will charge the equivalent of what it gets from the State for each pupil."

This whole situation strikes me as pretty anachronistic, and paternalistic. Obviously the district that decides not to release a student is doing it because they want to hold onto those tuition dollars. But they could lose them anyway, with the student going to a charter school, or private school, or paying tuition to the public school--AND in the process they build up ill will. Who are you, school district, to tell me that my child can't switch schools and I don't have options? It seems very short-sighted to me. It would make me very cranky. And even if I don't leave the school district, if I tell 100 people that the school district wouldn't "release" my child, that can only reflect badly on the school district. Bad news spreads quickly.

Bottom line: parents want choice. Sometimes there is good reason for that; sometimes not, but it's up to me as a parent to decide the best placement for my child. And if the school I want my child to go to accepts him or her, then who is the other district to tell me that is wrong?

Annie Get Your...Gun?!

High school theater is a special kind of theater. On the one hand, at times the productions seem professional. On the other hand, those who choose the shows are constrained by "community standards" (whatever that means), as well as by the fact that the whole cast is generally between 14 and 18, typically there are more girls in the shows than boys, and (if a musical) the music needs to be catchy and singable. In addition, at the bigger schools, directors generally need to choose shows which have a capacity for a large chorus or to otherwise accommodate large numbers of kids.

What we mean by "community standards" varies from place to place, but there are all kinds of issues raised by the very idea. What about a show that is racist? What if the storyline would be called racist today, but it depicts historical truths? (Think, for instance, of Huckleberry Finn.) What if it is sexist? What if the storyline would be called sexist today, but it depicts historical truths? (Think, for instance, of The Taming of the Shrew.) What about stereotyping? (Think of Fagin, in Oliver.) What if it discusses prostitution? (Miss Saigon, Runaways). What if there is swearing? Partial nudity? What if I think that something is...sexist, racist, otherwise unwholesome in some way...and you disagree? What if there is something scary or troubling? (Othello kills his wife. And intimate partner violence is a national problem, as we saw this last school year.)

When we start applying a lens like this, it would be easy to conclude that we can't perform almost anything historical (likely way too sexist and racist) and we can't perform almost anything modern (likely way too edgy). Should we abandon Shakespeare entirely?

So the first question is: Who gets to choose the shows? Is it one person, or a committee? Does the district have a standard? It turns out, that that depends very much on the school.

Second: What is the bottom line? And what if a show brings up some of these issues--does that mean we rule it out? Are there other options? For instance, last year, Pioneer High School's Theater Guild showed Miss Saigon, and during rehearsals, the students involved in the production had a chance to learn about the setting, the era, Vietnam, etcetera. I think that is a partial solution, but it doesn't address the education of the audience. What does the audience take away from the performance? Should we take that into account?

Personally, I find it much less troubling to show a modern production like Miss Saigon, and much more troubling to show some older shows which have very stereotyped gender roles (Taming of the Shrew). It turns out that things haven't changed too much from when I was in high school--the same productions are being staged. During my high school years, I remember the theater group staging Guys and Dolls, the Taming of the Shrew, and Annie Get Your Gun.

Annie Get Your Gun is an interesting case. It purports to tell the story of Annie Oakley (I have no idea how well it sticks to her real story--it is a musical after all). In any case, years after it was originally written, the play was revised to make it less racist (treatment of Native Americans) and sexist. (Note that I said "less.") The last I heard, it was on tap for the fall show at Skyline High School. The music is excellent, and it meets a lot of criteria for high school theater--it is singable, has a nice size cast, and a "happy ending."

Now I have to say that--although I find racism and sexism in plays to often be a problem--it's also often hard to avoid completely. [Skyline Theater performed Cinderella in the spring. Sexist? Yes--but also a fairy tale, right? Is that then different?]

But there's one thing about Annie Get Your Gun that makes it a little different, I think, and that's the G-U-N part. Never mind all the research that suggests that exposure to guns incites violence. Forget Columbine.

It has more to do with school policies, and what happens if you actually bring a gun to school. I once taught in a school where a teacher (not me) and class were reading a book that had guns in the story line. The teacher had the kids make clay objects of artifacts in the book. One of the kids made a gun. Yes, he was a smart aleck. So then what happened? The teacher, and the student, got in big trouble--even though there is no way that a clay gun looks like a real gun.

Starting in 1994, the law became extremely strict around penalties for bringing weapons to school. According to the Michigan Department of Education,

Pursuant to federal legislation enacted in 1994, local educational agencies cannot receive federal funds unless they have a policy requiring expulsion for at least one year if a student brings a firearm to school.

Now, it is true that the law specifies some exceptions.
School boards are not required to expel a student if the student can establish in a clear and convincing manner at least one of the following:

(1) The object or instrument possessed by the student was not possessed for use as a weapon, or for direct or indirect delivery to another person for use as a weapon.
(2) The weapon was not knowingly possessed by the student.
(3) The student did not know or have reason to know that the object or instrument possessed by the student constituted a dangerous weapon.
(4) The weapon was possessed by the student at the suggestion, request or direction of, or with the express permission of school or police authorities.

On the other hand, the Student Advocacy Center says:

Basically, you don't want to be caught on school premises with anything that can even be remotely thought of as a weapon. This includes hunting knives, toy guns, penknives, nail files, water pistols, etc. Items that once seemed like goofy kid toys are now seen as dangerous weapons. And schools are expelling young kids in huge numbers for bringing them to school.
We have seen schools expel students for such violent 'weapons' as paper clips and water balloons. Be aware of this trend and make sure your children know this too. Kids expelled under mandatory expulsion laws for bringing weapons to school have a very hard time getting alternative schooling placements and often are not readmitted after the year is up. With expulsions in particular, schools have the tendency to fall back on Michigan's highly punitive weapons legislation as format to follow for other offenses. (Emphases mine.)

So, obviously, the theater production, sanctioned by the school, fits right into exception #4. Unless. What happens if a kid, thinking she or he is funny, brings a gun up to the fourth floor, far from the theater? What if a kid holds the fake gun up to another kid's head and goes "bang, bang" just to be funny? Aren't we borrowing trouble here?

So, um, maybe Annie Get Your Gun is not the best show for high school anymore. I don't want any kids in Ann Arbor getting expelled because of a theater production. Oh, and by the way, if you are interested--the ACLU of Michigan is working on a project to get the state law to be a little less strict--right now it is more strict than the federal law. Here's the link for information about the school-to-prison pipeline.

So how about it, Skyline? Choose a different play?

It could be worse

At least in this county, you are likely to get into one of your
top seven school choices.
Seriously. In San Francisco, that might not be the case.
(By the way, that report makes getting into Community High School, where your chances are about 1 in 3, look like a piece of cake.)

Note to Counselors

A friend of mine with a child who is entering high school recently spoke with the counselor at her child's (new) school. [Which high school? I've heard similar tales from the other Ann Arbor schools, so I think it doesn't really matter which high school it is.]

She was very disappointed.
Remember that in high school, counselors are frequently
a) the gatekeepers and
b) the most frequent person with whom a parent has contact.
She was slightly unhappy with the information she got about her son's schedule, but what really upset her was the patronizing tone that the counselor used.

"Well, Mom, let me explain."

Mom? Excuse me, but that is what our kids call us.
Only our kids.
Note to counselors: We have names. First names, last names--take your pick.
(I personally prefer first names, but that's my preference.)
My suggestion: Ask the person you are speaking to, "What name would you like me to use when addressing you?"

Think it doesn't really matter? Yes, it does. This was my friend's first impression of the way the school works, and quite frankly, she was disappointed.

Ypsilanti Superintendent Search

Details about the Ypsilanti superintendent search, including interview times (which start today), are posted here.

Want to go to a school of choice?

Google Search that led someone to my blog:
Can a student be released from [local school district X] and go to a school of choice?

I don't think I've fully answered this question, so here is the short answer: You don't need to be "released," so to speak--there is no requirement that you go to public school in your school district. You could choose a private/parochial school, or a school of choice in a different school district--the requirement is that your child gets an education (and that includes the possibility of home schooling).

Depending on the school district you would like to opt into, you follow their enrollment/application guidelines. They can generally be found on the school district's web site. For instance, Lincoln Schools and Ypsilanti Schools have "schools of choice" buttons on their web site. (Although Ypsilanti's form and information is outdated, I think the procedure hasn't changed). I believe that they will notify your "last school" that you now have a new school. One other thing--typically, if your child has been suspended or expelled in the last two years it will not be so easy to switch them.

Note added 8/6/09: Here are the details from the state's web site.