AAPS Trustees Lightfoot and Stead Step Into State Policy Debates--Thank You!

I didn't know that AAPS Trustee Simone Lightfoot has been sitting on a subcommittee of the "Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren," but she has been--and now she has resigned. Her letter is below, where she articulates why she had to resign.

Meanwhile, AAPS Trustee Stead deserves overdue (from February) recognition for pushing the school board to oppose the Education Achievement Authority and to support local control of public schools--and her memo to the school board is below as well. The entire school board approved the resolution.

Thank you to both of them!

From Simone Lightfoot: 

Today, I submitted my official letter of resignation from the COALITION FOR THE FUTURE OF DETROIT SCHOOL CHILDREN policy subcommittee. The statement needed to made. The Skillman Foundation and United Way along with our Governor and the corporate community are fully committed to destroying public education in Michigan....unacceptable!(See below my official letter of resignation) 

The sole member of a fully empowered, locally elected school board (Ann Arbor Board of Education) has resigned from the Coalition For The Future of Detroit School Children policy sub-committee to: evaluate the current-education related political and policy landscape and developing strategy and policy recommendations for the Coalition as it relates to the goal of transforming education in Detroit - in protest, criticizing the atmosphere of predetermined solutions, prioritized profit centered education, and an unwavering commitment to maintaining the EAA and other practices not evidence, achievement, or solution based. 

Dear Coalition For The Future Of Detroit School Children Policy Sub-Committee Members:
After much deliberation and multiple attempts to consider all pathways and outcomes, it is with great disappointment that I submit my official letter of resignation from the Coalition For The Future Of Detroit School Children policy subcommittee effective immediately.
I did not enter into this role lightly nor am I easily discouraged. I recognized from the outset that the eleven consecutively scheduled, Monday morning meetings would not be without sacrifice, conflict or compromise.
With that, I welcomed the opportunity to join other respected colleagues from across Southeast Michigan to lend my public policy, public education, civil rights and social justice expertise to our stated purpose of “evaluating the current education-related political and policy landscape while developing strategy and policy recommendations toward the goal of transforming education in Detroit”.
However, with just four meetings remaining, questions continue to plague the sub-committee as to our actual charge. This reality is incompatible with advancing thoughtful, sustainable best practices through collective review, consideration and feedback. Further concerns are exacerbated by the fact that no policies have been allowed to emerge from the fragmented, evolving and nuanced process in the manner promised. And which required we look at methodological and evidentiary-based solutions that focus on the unique challenges facing DPS and public education in our state.
To date, our only collective and deliberative action as a body has been to review proposal responses from several lobbying firms seeking to contract with the Coalition. In that process, each participating member had three options to exercise for their final choices, however the selected firm was presented to the body as the finalist without the benefit of witnessing or fully understanding the process by which that decision was made.
Moreover, our sub-committee has been continuously dissuaded from specific, expert, and thoughtful best practice solutions and persuaded toward broad, overarching and non-specific recommendations subject to broad interpretation. When questioned about this approach, we were directed to believe that the issues raised were somehow beyond our scope. In reviewing the charge of “developing strategy and policy recommendations toward the goal of transforming education in Detroit”, it is hard to imagine much of what we wanted to consider to be beyond that scope.
As time passed and multiple media accounts reported out important and relevant information not brought before our full body, more questions were raised. Each time the subcommittees concerns were brushed aside as unwarranted.
And rather than convening this outstanding group of vastly experienced education and policy leaders to cooperate and help shape solutions in a systematic way, those leading the conversation consistently re-directed it toward support for EAA, charter schools and for profit models of education.
At this point, it is without question clear that the direction and narrative dominating our work is to uphold the EAA (although another apparent failure to join the ranks of the other failing charter schools and for profit education experiments fostered on our students in the State of Michigan). I have become less and less satisfied with the apparent predetermined direction, solutions and commitment against public education of this effort and it appears we are no longer tasked with improving public education for Detroit – or anywhere else in Michigan.
Our work should leave Detroit Public Schools stronger and more empowered than before, with greater student learning outcomes and fiscal solvency. This sadly appears will not be the case.
I have a great deal of appreciation for my colleagues and their enormous time and travel commitment. Many of us volunteered for this work because we want a strong, vibrant and high achieving public school system across this state.
Unfortunately, those that lead this effort have prioritized preserving the EAA, for profit education ventures and charter schools over educational expertise, common sense dialogue and student centered, data driven decisions. In doing so they have also squander the educational legitimacy that at one time had been Michigan’s most potent offense, defense, economic and social driver. All while dismantling the largest and most effective institutional structures our nation has known, the public school system.
In keeping with this trajectory, we are straining beyond the limits of both the Detroit Public School and the Michigan education system in order to advance destructive educational outcomes that ensure instability to families, municipalities and school districts.
While it has been a privilege to witness first hand the inner workings of this policy sub-committee, it has become impossible for me to escape the conclusion, that the fervent political and profit centered policy pursuits of the Skillman Foundation, the United Way Foundation, the Governor and others on behalf of the EAA, charter schools and unproven educational experiments are not compatible with the interests I represent. The systematic manipulation of the subcommittee’s expertise intelligence is unacceptable.
I realize the emotion and tone of my letter and ask that you receive it in a manner that conveys my passionate concern and intimate awareness of the outcomes disparately impacting public education, education policy and urban school districts.
It is my contention that both my colleagues and I have extended more credibility than the current structure and destined outcomes deserve. And so, for the reasons outlined, I have determined my continued service on the Coalition For The Future Of Detroit School Children policy subcommittee is not the best use of my experience, public education expertise and time.
Simone Lightfoot
Trustee
Ann Arbor Board of Education

Christine Stead's memo to the school board: 

TO: AAPS Board of Education Trustees FROM: Christine SteadDATE: February 8, 2015SUBJECT: Resolution to Preserve Local Governance of Public Education
WHEREAS the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) maintains a governance body that is designated primarily by the Governor; and
WHEREAS the current school districts that comprise the EAA are the 15 original schools that were part of the Detroit Public Schools, and;
WHEREAS the right to a free and public education, governed by locally elected officials, remains the foundation of public education in the United States, and;
WHEREAS the elected Board of Education for the Detroit Public Schools continues to be excluded from the governance of the EAA, and
WHEREAS a recent academic review performed by the Educational Policy Center of Michigan State University was unable to document any improvement in student outcomes under the EAA1 and;
WHEREAS this same study shows that the EAA continues to exceed cost expectations, while realizing a negative economic return on investment, and;
WHEREAS the citizens of the current EAA school districts have a right to representation in the governance of their schools, which is currently being denied them;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED:
The Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education
• Stands by the right of the people of Detroit to elect School Board Members for the Detroit Public Schools and upholds their right to be fully empowered to govern their schools and represent their community; and
• Opposes the continued erosion of local governance across the State of Michigan; and
• Opposes any efforts to expand the EAA until the model can be realigned with local governance in a way that enhances public trust and until the model has demonstrated positive educational and economic results; and
• Opposes any further efforts to remove the oversight of education away from education-focused governing bodies, including the Governor’s recent suggestion to move the school reform office (where the EAA resides) out of the Department of Education and into the Department of Technology, Management and Budget; and
• Directs the Executive Assistant of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education to transmit copies of this resolution to:
Governor Rick SnyderSenate Majority LeaderSpeaker of the HouseSenate Democratic leaderMinority Leader of the HouseChair, House Education CommitteeChair, Senate Education CommitteeChair, House Appropriations CommitteeChair, Senate Appropriations CommitteeSenator Rebekah Warren, 18th DistrictRepresentative Jeff Irwin, 53rd DistrictRepresentative David Rutledge, 54th DistrictRepresentative Adam ZemkeRepresentative Gretchen DriskellJohn Austin, President, State Board of Education and all members of the State Board of EducationDon Wortuba, Executive Director, Michigan Association of School BoardsLocal print, voice, and internet media.
[1] “Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority and the Future of Public Education in Detroit: The Challenge of Aligning Policy Design and Policy Goals”, Working Paper #3; Mary Mason and David Arsen, The Education Policy Center, Michigan State University, December 2014.

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Ann Arbor Public--And School Board--Want Guns Out of the Schools

In case you missed it, at last night's board meeting there were some nice statements from Superintendent Jeanice Swift, President Deb Mexicotte, and Secretary Andy Thomas. And there was also agreement from the board to ask the state to change the law. Show the school board some love for stepping up to the challenge! (In other words, tell them thank you.

Meanwhile, Josh Wade, the guy who started the whole thing off by bringing his gun into a choir concert, called schools "mass murder enablement zones" during public speaking time. You can't make these things up! Aside from the Wade family, most of the "open carry" people came from out of the county.

Read: 

Dr. Swift's Comments

Nice quote:

The presence of guns in schools runs contrary to everything we are wired for in education, and we believe it is counterproductive to maintaining a rich, productive, and healthy learning environment for our children.

Deb Mexicotte's Comments

Nice quote: 

There are those that somehow think that this discussion is outside of our purview as a Board, or that we are somehow passive bystanders as the debate around school safety and the law ensues. That the law is the law and we are simply the willing sheep that follow and enforce it. That is not the case...We are bound to follow the law, but we are not required to agree with it. As a matter of fact, if there is law that is detrimental to what we believe is in the best interests of our students or our citizens, it is our responsibility to work to get that law changed. We pass resolutions, lobby Lansing and chide the Governor on a regular basis when we think something is in need of change. The policy on CPL owners in gun free zones is no different than railing against the funding model of Proposal A, or the interpretation of the State Constitution allowing alternate uses of the School Aid Fund.

Andy Thomas' statement

Nice quote: 

First, the “open carry” law as it exists in Michigan and as it applies to our schools places our principals and teachers in a completely untenable position. The presence in a school of an individual with a gun is a potential threat to the safety of children. Principals and teachers will have to act very quickly to assess the threat. The stakes involved in making the wrong assessment are incalculable, adding even more stress to an already stressful profession. Open carry needlessly turns principals and teachers into security guards instead of educators.

Teacher Trevor Staples asked people on twitter to show what they would like to open carry. I like this one: 

We definitely need more clipboards, fewer guns.
Screen shot from twitter, 3/12/2015.

I asked for haikus about Open Carry. I got these two: 

Thank you haiku artists! Screen shot from twitter, 3/12/2015.

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Bringing Guns to School: Legal, Yes; OK, No; Kids Can't, Teachers Can't, But Others Can

By now you know that on Thursday night, March 5th, a man named Joshua Wade--grandson of a former deputy superintendent in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, William Wade--brought a gun to a choir concert at Pioneer H.S.

By now you know that the police were called, that they learned that Joshua Wade had a license to carry concealed weapons, which gives him license to carry openly (but not concealed) in schools. The police concluded they could do nothing.

As the Free Press explains:

MCL 28.450 provides that a person with a concealed pistol license may not carry the weapon in a pistol-free zone, including a school or school property, except a parent or legal guardian who is dropping off or picking up a child and the pistol is kept in the vehicle; a public or private day care center; a sports arena or stadium; a bar or tavern; a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other place of worship; an entertainment facility with seating capacity of 2,500 or more; a hospital, and a dormitory or classroom of a community college, college, or university.
However, the statute applies to concealed pistol license holders carrying a concealed pistol. If the holder is carrying a non-concealed pistol, the statute does not apply. (Emphasis added.)

By now you know that the Ann Arbor Public Schools are trying to figure out what their options are. They are, of course, constrained by state law.

It's true. You can follow me on twitter. @schoolsmuse

You might or might not know that state law requires that schools have, essentially, zero tolerance for kids bringing weapons--on purpose or accidentally--into schools. 

Read:

Student Advocacy Center: Michigan's Brand of Zero Tolerance: Is There Another Way?

Ann Arbor Public Schools Rights & Responsibilities Document

From the State Law: 

(2) If a pupil possesses in a weapon free school zone a weapon that constitutes a dangerous weapon, commits arson in a school building or on school grounds, or commits criminal sexual conduct in a school building or on school grounds, the school board, or the designee of the school board as described in subsection (1) on behalf of the school board, shall expel the pupil from the school district permanently, subject to possible reinstatement under subsection (5). However, a school board is not required to expel a pupil for possessing a weapon if the pupil establishes in a clear and convincing manner at least 1 of the following:
(a) The object or instrument possessed by the pupil was not possessed by the pupil for use as a weapon, or for direct or indirect delivery to another person for use as a weapon.
(b) The weapon was not knowingly possessed by the pupil.
(c) The pupil did not know or have reason to know that the object or instrument possessed by the pupil constituted a dangerous weapon.
(d) The weapon was possessed by the pupil at the suggestion, request, or direction of, or with the express permission of, school or police authorities.

It's true. You can follow me on twitter. @schoolsmuse

You might, or might not know that school policies generally prohibit employees from bringing weapons onto school property, even if the employee in question has a permit to carry concealed weapons.

See, for instance, the Ann Arbor Education Association's Office Professionals contract, which states that having a weapon on school property is grounds for dismissal for an employee. (Similar language can be seen in other contracts.)

DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE This article shall not pertain to probationary employees with fewer than ninety (90) days of employment in this Association.  

Section 1- Just Cause  

A. No employee shall be disciplined (written reprimand, suspension, or discharged for disciplinary reasons) without just cause. For purposes of this Agreement, just cause shall include but not be limited to:
1) Refusal or failure to accept or perform work assigned during regularly scheduled hours, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement;....
8) Possessing a weapon on the Employer’s property;  (Emphasis added)

You might or might not know that the majority of workplace and school shootings happen with people who have a prior relationship to the workplace or school and are known. These might be co-workers (think disgruntled employee), relatives of co-workers (think domestic violence), "customers" (think students or parents).

You might or might not know that schools throughout the county are being trained in the A.L.I.C.E. protocols, which states that when you have an active threat, you Alert; Lockdown; Inform; Counter; and Evacuate (if it is safe to do so). All of the county's districts are doing trainings with teachers and administrators, and students are being taught ways to respond, particularly as far as evacuation goes.

I recently went through the ALICE training at work, and I can therefore state quite confidently that:

1. ALICE protocols were not followed at the choir concert (police were called but the people present were not alerted to someone having a weapon), and
2. How are you supposed to know if someone walks into a school building, openly carrying a weapon, whether they are or are not an active threat? I think you would have to assume that they are.

The very *idea* that somebody--known or unknown--can open carry into a school building, and NOT have the schools react, is ridiculous. What kind of confusing messages are we giving to students and parents and teachers? When does ALICE apply, and when doesn't it?

Schools in Michigan are struggling with these contradictions.

Obviously, the easiest thing would be for the state legislature to make it illegal to carry weapons--whether concealed or carried openly--into schools--just as they are banned at places of worship and bars.

While Representatives Schor and Hoadley have introduced this type of legislation, given our current legislature, I'm not holding my breath.

In the meantime, some school districts are trying other things. I believe that the Huron Valley Schools ultimately decided that if anybody brings in a weapon, they will invoke ALICE protocols.

Meanwhile, in Clio, near Flint, somebody is suing because he wants to open carry into his daughter's school. Let's give support to the school district, whose former superintendent explains things this way:

Former Clio schools Superintendent James Tenbusch said in September 2013 that the district adopted the philosophy of being a drug-free, weapon-free environment and that it understands state law and the U.S. Constitution allow firearms to be openly carried on school property.
He had said the district has the right to ask individuals to leave the school if they disrupt the academic process.
Tenbusch said following the incident the school goes into lockdown when a weapon is found on its property, and those lockdowns cause a disruption in the school. He said those disruptions justify the district's demand that those with weapons leave.

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Guess Who's Evaluating Those Standardized Tests? (I Wish This Were a Joke!)

From an ad on Craigslist:

"The starting pay is $10.70 per hour." For that sum, I'm sure they are getting
some highly skilled staff. Screenshot from Craigslist.

Who? Measurement Incorporated

We are a diverse company engaged in educational research, test development, and the scoring of tests administered throughout the world. 

What? Reader/Evaluator Position

If you qualify as a reader/evaluator, you will be eligible to work on a number of our projects. Many projects require readers to score essays for content, organization, grammatical convention, and/or the student's ability to communicate and to respond to a specific directive. Other projects involve scoring test items in reading, math, science, social studies, or other subject areas. The tests you will score come from many different states and from students at all grade levels, elementary through college, depending on the project.

Where and when? 

Starting in March of 2015 , day and evening shift, in Ypsilanti!

REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor's degree in any field
Ability to perform adequately on a placement assessment

HOURS: Temporary, but 5 days/week.

PAY: The starting pay is $10.70 per hour. 

Yet we are going to use these temporary employees to evaluate our students' work, and our teachers. Yippee.



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The Governor's FY 2015-2016 Budget: What Does All This Mean To You?

This is a guest post by A3 Teacher:

As the State lays out its K-12 budget for the 2015-16 school year, there are some interesting things to note.  

First, Governor Snyder is claiming a $75 per pupil increase across the board for all schools.  

While on the surface this seems wonderful, the reality for some school districts is that this will result in a net loss.  While increasing the per pupil amount, other aspects of funding are being reduced or disappearing (for example the “best practices” incentive and performance incentive). 

 According to MLive’s article and database, Ann Arbor Public Schools would stand to lose $55 per pupil, Ypsilanti Community School would stand to gain $176 per pupil, Saline Area Schools would lose $10 per pupil, Dexter Community Schools would lose $44 per pupil, Chelsea would gain $28 per pupil, and Whitmore Lake would gain $25 per pupil.

[Ed. Note: Here is a nice piece about the implications of this so-called increase for one school district, written by the Superintendent of the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.]

Now for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, there is a surplus in the K-12 School Aid Fund to the tune of $284.4 million; conversely the General State Budget is short $454 million.  Right now the Michigan legislature is figuring out ways to take that K-12 surplus to pay for our general fund shortfall. 

[Ed. Note: See my post from yesterday about this year's budget machinations.]

Wouldn’t it make sense that money allocated for K-12 education should go towards education?  

A surplus in the K-12 School Aid Fund should be reinvested in students, not used to pay a general fund deficit.  

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You Should Be Super Mad Right Now: Legislators Rob School Aid Fund

As a friend wrote on Facebook, 

"This just makes my blood boil."

What was she talking about? She was talking about today's House vote to steal money from the School Aid Fund to fill a General Fund deficit. 

This clip art is derived from clip art
released into the public domain by the Open Clip Art Library. clipartist.net also recommends donating
any clip art you make to the Open Clip Art Library
and any images you create to Wikimedia Commons.

Excerpt #1 from Kyle Feldscher's MLive article, or 

How are we screwing our school districts this time?:

HB 4110 would shift $167 million from the K-12 portion of the School Aid Fund to the community college portion of the fund. The money that would be freed up by the move would then go toward the general fund deficit.
The legislation also uses $80 million that was initially intended to be paid toward Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) to pay down the deficit. That payment would have been above and beyond the required payment to MPSERS, according to state officials.
"Two hundred and fifty million dollars is being siphoned from the School Aid Fund," said Rep. Sarah Roberts, D-St. Clair Shores. "This money could be used to significantly increase the foundation allowance in support of improving education here in the state of Michigan."

Excerpt #2: 

In which the Republican legislators try to make this sound like it's budget-neutral. It's not.

The School Aid Fund was projected to end the fiscal year with a $283.5 million surplus.

Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville, said he was voting in favor of the bill in order to balance the budget and "uphold the Constitution." The Michigan Constitution requires a balanced budget.
"I'm proud of the fact that we are balancing this budget without touching kids, without touching colleges, without touching universities," Pscholka said.

The House passed the bill 62-48. Surprise! It was mostly Republicans who voted for it, and Democrats who voted against it.

And here's Excerpt #3, which explains something you might be wondering:
Why do we have this deficit after all? I thought there was going to be a budget surplus! (You weren't dreaming.)

The budget shortfall in fiscal year 2015 is the result of businesses in Michigan cashing in old Michigan Business Tax credits issued between 1996 and 2011. Representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said Wednesday the state is on the hook for $9.38 billion in leftover tax liability until 2032 due to the credits.

Right. You read that correctly. 9.38 BILLION DOLLARS. I can predict how this story goes over the next ten years. Unless we change what we're doing.

Translation: We could have shored up our schools' foundation allowances. We could have supported the school retirement funds and thus reduced the burden on our schools (which now spend something like 1/4 of their foundation allowance on pensions). We could have protected the school aid fund for K-12 funding. [And really--I'm all for community colleges! But as I mentioned the other day, we already pay--quite a bit--for them.]

In any case, we should not be subsidizing businesses at the expense of schools.
I suppose you could still say something to your state senator...if you live somewhere else. I'm pretty sure Sen. Rebekah Warren already agrees with me.

Read the full article here.

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Why Is Washtenaw Community College So Inexpensive? We Pay For It!

I was getting my hair cut the other day, and the hair dresser's assistant, who is currently at Washtenaw Community College, mentioned that she was planning on going to cosmetology school.

The hairdresser then said, "It's not cheap, either! It costs a lot more than WCC!"

And I said...

"That's because we pay for WCC. In our taxes."

"We do?" she said. 

I'm pretty sure she is not the only one who doesn't know that we pay a millage for WCC. 

We pay 3.46 mills for WCC, and that is higher than the Ann Arbor Public Schools operating millage (2.18), higher than the Ann Arbor District Library millage (1.55), and just about one mill lower than the millage for Washtenaw County's general operating budget! (4.55).

So next time you are thinking about how "inexpensive" WCC is, remember--that's because we are subsidizing it. 

And that is today's public service announcement.

WCC--yet another of our public schools.







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Five Updates: Who's Covering the First Elected Board, What's Your First Choice, Where's the Money Gone, Who's Listening Anyway, Why Keep Testing

1. Ypsilanti Community Schools board voted 4-3 not to do a superintendent search--their superintendent's contract will automatically renew in April for another year if they don't do anything.

It's not that I have an opinion about whether the school board should continue with Laura Lisiscki as superintendent, but I first heard about this issue on a facebook group. As a rumor. The rumor turned out to be true.

It also turned out that heritage.com did cover the school board meeting, but that is not always a sure thing.

Who is routinely covering the school board meetings now? (Good question.) Does it matter that a discussion like this ends up with a 4-3 vote? (I would say that it does.) What is the best way to keep the community informed?

2. Ann Arbor schools has opened its doors to students from other districts. Part of me feels that this is poaching. On the other hand, the other school districts had already opened their doors to schools of choice.

But also--perhaps more interesting--you can also choose to send your kids to a different school within the district. Here's some information, the "window" for applications ends February 27th: http://a2schools.org/aaps/ins.child_accounting/space_available_transfers.

3. Local state representative Jeff Irwin explained how we can follow the money the other day on Facebook: 

I just finished my first meeting of the Appropriations committee. Chairman Al Pscholka offered some thoughtful and well-offered commentary at the beginning of the meeting focused on encouraging committee members to get educated on Michigan's budget. Then, we received a report from the House Fiscal Agency on state revenues.
This report highlights the impact of the massive changes that were made to business taxes in 2011. In summary, business taxes are expected to net just over $180M in the next budget. This represents only about 2% of the state's general fund. Just a few years ago, corporate taxes brought in around $2B per year in state taxes (about 25% of the GF). If you're wondering why tuition is going up, class sizes are going up and taxes on individuals are going up, now you have your answer. (Emphasis added.)

4. Ann Arbor Superintendent Jeanice Swift is on her second listening tour. I thought the first one was pretty successful, and I'm planning to attend at least one of these. I hope you will go to one too--so you can bring up your most important issues, whether they be transportation, testing, trimesters, trigonometry, tenth grade, or (I'm running out of "t" words here)...

All discussions run from 6:30-8 pm unless otherwise noted:

Clip art taken from:
http://www.clker.com/cliparts/0/6/8/6/11971488431079343407barretr_Pencil.svg.hi.png

Monday, February 9 at the Administration Building hosted by the PTO Council
Tuesday, February 10 at Scarlett Middle School
Thursday, February 12 at Slauson Middle School
Monday, February 23 at the Downtown Library, 4th Floor at 12noon-1:30pm
Tuesday, March 3 at Tappan Middle School
Monday, March 9 at Peace Neighborhood Center
Thursday, March 12 at A2 STEAM at Northside
Thursday, March 26 at Pathways to Success Academic Campus
Monday, March 30 at Community High School
Tuesday, March 31 at Ann Arbor Open

5. Last, but not least, we come to testing. 
This spring there will be the M-Step, which is Michigan's "not" Smarter Balance and "not" the MEAP and "not" the ACT [but 11th graders will still ALSO have to take the ACT]...the last minute, untested, unvalidated, uncomparable to last year's MEAP but being used because state officials couldn't agree on using Smarter Balance standardized test. And this will probably be replaced by something else next year. Read all about M-Step here.

Well--if you want to know what is going on with testing at the state level, then I suggest you subscribe to the Michigan Department of Education's Spotlight on Student Assessment and Accountability. 

If you were paying attention a few months ago, you might remember that several local superintendents voiced the concern that there was too much testing in the 11th grade. And so I was interested in this tiny concession that was published in Spotlight: 

Due to concerns around testing time, the Classroom Activity andPerformance Task components of the 11th grade M-STEP are optionalfor high schools. While there are some benefits to administeringthese components, they will not be required. There will be noaccountability penalty in terms of participation or scoring for highschools that choose to not administer the classroom activities andperformance tasks. This does not apply to the classroom activitiesand performance tasks in grades 3 through 8 — those are required.

Anyone want to opt out? Here is an article about some strategies.
Also, you can find some local resources (people!) at the Facebook page, Ann Arbor STOP: Stop Overtesting.

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Standardized Testing and My iPhone

Today I got a notice that my iPhone system software was ready for an upgrade. And this is what the upgrade will do. Note point #5. [No, this is not a joke--the new iphone/ipad software is set up to make it easy to take "education standardized testing."]

Today This Blog Is Five Years Old

Five years ago today I started this blog. Read why here.

Five years, two children who have graduated from the Ann Arbor schools, one more with just 2-1/2 years left, educational policy in this state that goes from bad to worse.

I'm not sure what comes next with this blog. I do know that I have a lot of other things competing for my attention, and a lot of other interests that have gone untended.

I also know that there is a huge need for attention to be paid to the schools--much more than I anticipated when I started.

In the meantime, I expect the next year to be one of discernment regarding what I should do with this blog. It might continue, more or less as, or perhaps with a focus on higher level thoughts about education. I might be looking for someone else to take it over. Is that you? Or it might just remain, as a piece of history.


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Silence Is Assent: Je Suis Charlie #charliehebdo

Je Suis Charlie. I Am Charlie Hebdo.

A collage of Charlie Hebdo covers. Taken from Berlin's BZ paper.

I'm posting this following the good idea of Dov Bear, who wrote: 

I am urging ALL of you to do this too. Put the collage of Charlie Hebdo covers (taken from Berlin's BZ paper) on your blogs, your Facebook pages and tell your local papers you want them to take a stand and run this, too. Tell the terrorists that they don't control the public discourse or the free exchange of ideas.  Tell them they aren't going to win this. We get to think. We get to talk, We get to laugh. And they can't stop us.

Silence is assent.
The pen is mightier than the sword. I hope.




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Louisiana Lesson #3: Invasive Species

One of the things we did in New Orleans was to go on a kayak trip. But first, we had to learn about the devastation of the Louisiana wetlands--how dredging and channelization, levees, oil and gas exploration, climate change and more have had a devastating impact on the Louisiana coastline. It is losing miles of land every year and is more at risk than any other part of the U.S. And that is even without hurricanes! I'm not going to go into a detailed explanation of it here--but if you are interested, this link has a nice primer.

[I'm not going to do into an explanation of why the nearly-all Republican legislators from Louisiana don't take the lead on trying to find a solution to the problem. Granted, most of them don't believe in climate change but I personally think you don't even need to believe in climate change to understand this is a problem...]

But anyway--while we were out there kayaking, we did hear about how some of the invasive species are contributing to the devastation of the wetlands.

In particular, we heard about the water hyacinth. A native of South America, it was innocently introduced as a beautiful plant for water gardens in the south at the 1884 Worlds Fair. And now it has spread, and spread--taking over wetlands throughout the south.

Having seen it, I can tell you that the Water Hyacinth is a pretty plant. It looks shiny and new.

It struck me that invasive species are a good metaphor for what happens with the schools. The idea of introducing a new species sounds good. And then it turns out that it wasn't such a great idea. In fact, that it caused a lot of new problems.

Here in Michigan we've got our own invasives to contend with--purple loosestrife, periwinkle, garlic mustard, buckthorn...(read about them here).

Testing, charters, Teach For America--to me they are all invasive species. They sounded like good ideas, but in the end, they are (as a famous story in my family goes) "not so hotsy-totsy, and not so ai-yai-yai!". In fact, they are destructive.

Louisiana is ahead of us in invasive species and wetlands loss, and ahead of us in destruction of public schools as well. But don't think that we are not catching up! And understand that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

As with the fight to get rid of invasive species, different techniques are required for different species. So too with all the "new, better" school invasions.


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Louisiana Lesson #2: Charters and Choice

I spent part of my vacation in New Orleans. I didn't spend much time on the schools there (although my daughter did get me some Louisiana-themed books for Chanukah, including one on education that I have not read yet). Nonetheless, I did hear a bit about how the (nearly) all-charter New Orleans school system has negatively affected students.

Just two points:

1. One person described to me how the for-profit school charters are trying to decrease their costs--and the way that they are doing it is to make class sizes larger. And the initial reason for charters? Supposedly they were going to make class sizes smaller...

[You might want to read this Diane Ravitch post with important links demonstrating why class size really does matter. In fact, the needier the kids, the more it matters...]

New Orleans school district. Screen shot taken from Google 1/4/2014.

2. I visited with an old friend of mine who was visiting her family in New Orleans. She is a teacher in Florida now. She described to me how in New Orleans today, you put in your requests to schools to a central administrative body who decides what schools your kids will go to. One of her relatives has three elementary-school-age children, and each of them is in a different school. That is not his choice. I immediately thought, "getting kids to school must be a nightmare!" But that's not what she pointed out to me. She pointed out that the system is completely disempowering to parents.

The great irony, of course, is that the whole "promotional" idea behind charter schools is that parents should have choice.

But now, the last laugh is on New Orleans parents.

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Louisiana Lesson #1: Plessy v Ferguson

I spent part of my winter break in New Orleans. And during a cemetery tour, I saw the grave of Homer Plessy.

Plessy, as in the famous "Separate but Equal" 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson.

What I didn't know is that the Plessy v. Ferguson case, which was applied to schools until the case of Brown v. Board of Education, did not start out as an education case. It was a case about separate transportation on street cars. It was a transportation case (think Rosa Parks), but its impact was felt on education. 

The family grave, which includes Homer Plessy,
and is in French, says that Homer Plessy
died March 1, 1925, age 63. Photo by Ruth Kraut

From oyez.org:

Facts of the Case 
The state of Louisiana enacted a law that required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. In 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy--who was seven-eighths Caucasian--took a seat in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train. He refused to move to the car reserved for blacks and was arrested.

[Editors note: Back then, Plessy was described as an "octroon," since he was only 1/8 black. I always loved the sound of that word, though not what it connotes--that someone with only a single drop of blood ascribed to a black ancestor would be considered black.]

Question 
Is Louisiana's law mandating racial segregation on its trains an unconstitutional infringement on both the privileges and immunities and the equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment?
Conclusion
Decision: 7 votes for Ferguson, 1 vote(s) against
Legal provision: US Const. Amend 14, Section 1
No, the state law is within constitutional boundaries. The majority, in an opinion authored by Justice Henry Billings Brown, upheld state-imposed racial segregation. The justices based their decision on the separate-but-equal doctrine, that separate facilities for blacks and whites satisfied the Fourteenth Amendment so long as they were equal. (The phrase, "separate but equal" was not part of the opinion.) Justice Brown conceded that the 14th amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law. But Brown noted that "in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the two races unsatisfactory to either." In short, segregation does not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination. 

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