The Birthday Problem Revisited

Math people, history people, social science people, people people--this one's for you.

What follows in this New York Times article is a nice exposition of a classic puzzle.

Does anyone in your family share a birthday? Steven Strogatz writes. . .

By an amazing coincidence my sister, Cathy, and my Aunt Vere have the same birthday: April 4.

Read on.

Actually, this entire Steven Strogatz series about math in everyday life is excellent.

Teachers and Political Action: Getting into the Swing of Things

I've been thinking lately about how most teachers are not very political, and they're not very politically involved.

Sure, there are a few who are, but it seems to me that if they were politically active then there would be much more pushback on all the things that are being done to them by legislators who don't know much about teaching. And I've been wondering why that is. Is it because they fundamentally prefer working with individuals rather than systems change? Is it because during the school year they are overwhelmed with teaching? I'm interested in your opinions about this. Why???

Yesterday, however, I heard about something that made me think maybe I could be wrong. You might recall that over the past two years, Ohio's Senate Bill 5 proposed major rules changes for labor rules affecting public employees. It was far-reaching, and it passed. It was then repealed.

And in the process, it energized a lot of teachers. This fall, there are ten teachers running as Democrats for the Ohio legislature. Ten!

I heard about this from my friend Rebecca. One of her closest friends, Maureen Reedy, is running for the Ohio House of Representatives in Ohio's 24th district. Maureen has been a teacher for 29 years, and in 2002, she was the Ohio Teacher of the Year.

Maureen's web site has this to say about education:

As a 29-year veteran educator and Ohio’s Teacher of the Year, I am convinced that strong public school systems are not only the foundation of our democracy but also the cornerstone to lasting economic prosperity.
I am the mother of two wonderful children who are graduates of our Districts’ public schools and are second generation Buckeyes at The Ohio State University. As parents and citizens, we invest in our schools and communities so that our children come through our classroom doors ready to learn, thrive and build successful and secure futures.
In our District and in Ohio, we are looking for stellar school systems whose bottom lines are not based on a “For Profit” business model, but on the betterment of society by cultivating young minds that can meet three complex challenges of the 21st century. (Emphasis added.)

Maureen Reedy is also featured in this piece on Diane Ravitch's blog.

Learn more about some of the other teachers running for office in Ohio in this NPR article. One of them is the Cleveland Heights Teachers' Union President.

Here is a piece from Plunderbund about why teachers may be good for the state legislature. This line caught my eye:

the ability of a teacher to organize and convey information using a variety of methods to large groups of immature and uncooperative individuals seems like exactly what we need in the Statehouse.

OK Michigan teachers--how about you?

Skyline High School: Two Pluses and a Wish

When my children were in their middle elementary years, they had a teacher who would have students read and evaluate other students' projects. In their evaluations, they were asked to write down "two pluses" (things they liked about the report), and "a wish" (something they wish the student had done better).

A typical comment on a project might be:

Plus: I liked the pictures in your report.
Plus: I liked hearing the music they play in that country.
Wish: I wish you would speak louder when talking to the group.

Since I have a recent graduate of Skyline, many people have asked me what I thought of the experience, and I think that "two pluses and a wish" is a good format for me.  The pluses are really strong, and the wish might be even stronger.

Plus: On balance, the teachers and extracurricular staff were truly excellent. I don't mean to say that there was never a poor teacher (of course there were a few), but in general the level of teaching was fantastic and the teachers were not burned out. The same was true of the people who worked with my daughter on extracurricular activities. THANK YOU, teachers and staff!

Plus: Mastery learning. Although it's not always been implemented all that well, I think having a goal of every student mastering material, and grading them for mastery, is fantastic. Keep working to improve this.

Wish: I wish, I wish, with all my heart that the school would drop the trimester system. I've written about this before, but at this point I could add some more reasons:

• Teachers report to me that when students get behind, it is harder for them to catch up because the pace has to be faster.
• It causes many more conflicts between classes. As a student moves into their junior and senior years, it is much more likely they will have to choose between AP Biology and Orchestra.
• If you want to take band, orchestra, or choir, you end up needing to use 50% more credits.
• It makes dual-enrolling at Community, taking a CR class, or taking a class at Pioneer or Huron much more difficult. (Even if you can get to the other school, it's likely the timing won't work out.)
• Most students end up taking math over three terms instead of two, so they end up using 50% more credits on math too. This reduces the number of electives they can use.
• Many of the AP classes end up being three trimesters instead of two. Again, this ends up eating up elective credits.

In my dream world, at lunchtime, there would be a bus allowing students to switch schools to take that German or Mandarin class, that Physics or higher-level math class that can only be offered at a single school. But even if we don't get the bus, can we at least offer students who can figure out how to work things out the opportunity to make sure that the schools are on the same, semester-long, system? That's my wish.

Externalizing Transportation Costs: Yes, We Pay

Today, the Ann Arbor Chronicle has a piece by David Erik Nelson, In It For The Money: School Transportation. In it, he points out that  

If you’re wondering why there is such a crazy drag on Michigan’s economy, maybe part of the problem is that we make 40 able-bodied adults do, at no pay, the work that we once paid one dude a basically fair salary to do with a big yellow bus. Those are hours spent not making anything anyone can buy, not earning any money to buy anything from anyone else, not creating jobs for another person, not rendering or using services, not being useful to the community.

Nelson describes how, in place of each cancelled bus route, we now have many, many adults driving their kids to school, and what a drag that is. . . on the environment, on the economy, on people's time.

He has some other examples and I think the entire article is worth reading, but the basic point is that the costs don't go away. They just get transferred from the school district (the public good) to individuals. In some cases, the costs go up--how much do you think all of those parents are paying in gas? But they don't go up for the district, they go up for the individuals.

Nelson then goes on to detail the ways in which the most vulnerable get the least attention in this shuffle, because the parents with email, the parents who speak good English--they are the ones whose complaints get noticed. The ones who don't have email, who don't speak good English? Forget about it.

One of the side effects of cutting transportation--and one that definitely contributes to the number of parents driving their kids to school--has been the expansion of the "walk zone." How far away from school do you have to be to get a bus ride? Now, it's 1-1/2 miles.

Now I have no problem with an expanded walk zone, if it's safe for kids to walk, year round. Even in snowy weather. Even in the early mornings in late fall when it is dark. That would require sidewalks.

Do we meet that test? Funny you should ask. No, we don't. I'm just waiting for the serious accident to happen. How much are our savings worth?

I was glad to see, in annarbor.com today, an article about Clague receiving a $180,000 Safe Routes to School grant. According to the article,

The grant is one of six awards MDOT allocated to Michigan schools this month — about $990,000 in all — to help students safely walk and bike to school.

Huron High School students walk north toward home on Nixon Road just south of Green Road Thursday afternoon in Ann Arbor

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

 

The grant will fund the installation of sidewalks and crosswalks on Nixon Road, flashing beacons on Green Road and crosswalk improvements at the intersection of Green and Nixon. Clague Middle School Principal Cindy Leaman said students currently walk on a bike path space on the side of the road to get to and from school because a sidewalk on Nixon Road is incomplete.

The picture above, excerpted from the annarbor.com article, shows kids walking to Clague from Huron High School on a roadside bike path. They are not walking against traffic, and I don't know if the bicycle path even exists on the other side of the road. Now imagine those kids walking to school, in the morning, in the dark. Does that seem safe to you? Not to me.

And the grant is truly fantastic. Except for one thing. There are nearly thirty schools in the Ann Arbor school district, and I don't know if there is a single one where every student within the walk zone has a safe route to school. I know for sure that my local schools, Wines Elementary and Forsythe Middle School, do not. Are we going to get these grants for every school in the district? That would be impossible. There were only six grants given out in Michigan this year. [Thurston Elementary School did get one a few years ago.]

As noted in the article, 

Students walk on the shoulder of Newport Road and over M-14 to get to [Wines] school because there is no sidewalk on the road, [City Council member Sabra] Briere said. “There is no safe route,” Briere said. “These students are forced on to Newport Road or they don’t walk — their parents have to drive them. The burden has shifted from the government to the individual.”

Showing Real Promise

There's an excellent story in the New York Times about the Kalamazoo Promise. It's a nice overview, and it raises some interesting questions about incentives for learning and about the achievement gap.

It Does Matter Where You Start and Finish Teaching

Ypsilanti administrators just took a 9.3% pay cut. Ypsilanti teachers took a 10% pay cut and a 12.3% reduction to their salary scale.

Chelsea teachers got a 2% raise. Although with higher health care contributions I'm not sure if that is a pay increase or a pay cut.

Meanwhile, top Ann Arbor administrators (non-union) are getting contracts that say that while their salaries "shall be subject to further adjustments throught the term of this Contract at the discrtion of the District," they "shall in no event be less than $XXX,XXX per annum."  In other words, can they be required to take furlough days or other pay cuts? No. Even though that might be the case for others in the district. Might I add, these contracts come with automatic extensions (excluding terminations for cause). [In this 12/19/2011 Ann Arbor Chronicle article scroll down to Special Briefing: New Administrators--Incentive Compensation to access .pdf files of a couple of these contracts.]

Yes, it depends on where you work.

Patricia Green "Declines to Comment"

Check out this morning's article in annarbor.com by Danielle Arndt about class sizes and difficulty enrolling in full classes. And what does our Superintendent Pat Green have to say about this?

"Superintendent Patricia Green declined to comment last week on what solutions the district is considering. She stated the administration will work these issues out with parents."

Check out last week's article in annarbor.com by Danielle Arndt about the search for a permanent Pioneer principal. What does Superintendent Pat Green have to say about this?

"Following Wednesday’s school board meeting, Green declined to provide a status update and would not confirm how close the administration is to hiring a new principal. She said the position is “still in process” and when a decision has been finalized, it will be communicated to Pioneer parents."

 What about the decision that information from the school district needs to be FOIA'd even when it is readily available? (Look for a specific example of this on the blog later this week.)

Back in May, annarbor.com reported that:

"Later in the meeting, Trustee Simon Lightfoot asked Superintendent Patricia Green about the process community members should employ to obtain information such as how much busing to AAO costs. Green said parents should use the Freedom of Information Act for these requests.

 Trustee Susan Baskett said FOIAs cost money and are 'not equitable to all.'"

Sense a pattern here? I do. And I don't like it. Superintendent Green, your responsibility is not just to the parents, but to the entire community. We are all taxpayers. We all understand there are budget issues. But--if you think that by failing to disclose a timeline for hiring a permanent Pioneer principal, or failing to explain how you will address overly full classes, that you will alleviate parent anxiety, you are completely wrong. What alleviates parent (and taxpayer) anxiety is open communication. Right now, we don't have that.

I find it completely ironic that the school board identified as its number one issue at the board retreat "trust and relationship building" within the board, while Pat Green appears to be completely unaware of how her actions affect "trust and relationship building" within the broader schools community.

Andy Thomas, school board member, has had a great idea of having monthly coffee hours. The first one is tomorrow, September 11th, 9:30-10:30 9:00-10:00 a.m. at the downtown Sweetwaters. (I will try to post upcoming ones in the top right section of my blog.) I hope you will go, and I hope you'll talk to him about the importance of open communications. It's even more important when budget cutting is on the horizon.

Five Thoughts About Labor Day and the First Day of School

1. Read about the history of Labor Day here. Remember that in the late 1800s, the average worker worked 12-hour days, 7 days a week.

2. In most public schools in Michigan, we have unionized teachers, custodians, secretaries and principals. If you think any of them are paid too much, get too much time off, have pensions or other benefits that are too high, just remember. . . they didn't negotiate those contracts by themselves. There was somebody. . . administrators and school board members, generally. . . on the other side of the negotiating table.

3. For a lot of schools, the first day of school is tomorrow, and in Michigan, that is going to be the first full day of kindergarten in many school districts, including Ann Arbor. Between the time that my oldest child started school and now, kindergarten has gotten much less play-ful and much more work-ful. Let's hope that full day kindergarten will still be fun for kindergartners.

4. That reminds me of a story:

When my (oldest) son was in first or second grade, he never seemed to want to read at home.
One day I said to him, "Why don't you want to read? Reading's fun!"
And he said to me, "Look mom. Maybe someday reading will be fun. But right now, it's work!"

School--it's a day of labor for both students and teachers. But that doesn't mean it can't also be fun.


5. Where I grew up, school always started the day after Labor Day. You might know that the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) also starts in September. As a Jewish kid, growing up, it never ever made sense to me that the "New Year" started in December. Clearly, the New Year started in September. I hope this new school year is a good one for you and for your kids. I foresee a lot of battles ahead. . . I hope to be writing more about testing. . . charter schools. . . arcane details of contracts. . . and more. But time presses, so we'll see how the blogging goes. I had told a friend of mine that when September starts I always feel like a Mack Truck has hit me. [She found that to be a helpful comment, because it validated her feeling. Maybe it will help you too.]

Mack AC-model flatbed delivery truck from the Petersen Automotive Museum

Fall Sports: Title IX, Pay to Play

This fall, Skyline High School has a female kicker on their football team! Like so many other kickers, Tori Norris grew up playing soccer, and has played soccer for Skyline. (Boys' soccer is a fall sport, so they can't recruit boy soccer players if they also want to play soccer. Boys' soccer is a fall sport thanks to a Title IX lawsuit that dragged on and on and that I wrote about here. Girls' soccer is a spring sport.) Anyway, read about Tori and the Skyline football team here.

Chelsea has rescinded its pay-to-play requirement for sports. It's going to cost them money, but on the other hand, they are very sensitive to the fact that athletics are very important to a large sector of the community (and as the article points out, that's true for athletes but also true for spectators), and that enrollment in sports dropped by double digits when pay to play started. That is true, even though there were exemptions for people getting free and reduced price lunches. It's rather easy to understand why--people just above the free/reduced price lunch cutoff probably comprise a fair number of the students. When you think about it, the median family income in the country is something like $52,000. (I can't remember the exact amount, but I heard the number the other day.) In other words, half the families in the country make less than $52,000. And yet, a family of four whose income is $50,000 is going to be at 250% of the poverty level. They probably have enough income for rent/mortgage, food, gas, and other necessities--but not a lot left over. [Added slightly later: in fact, it turns out that for a family of five, they will qualify for a reduced price lunch with an income of $49,969.]

“Most students will not ask for help, they just won’t show up,” Vogel said.

Read Pete Cunningham's article.

Preschool: Ecology, Pacifism, Solidarity

 

I recently got back from Montreal, where I found this lovely mural on a "Service de Garde," or preschool/child care center. And seriously--where in the United States would you find a mural on a school (even a child care center!) that promotes ecology, pacifism, and solidarity? (If you find one, send me a picture!)

Olympics Redux

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

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

You can read about my experiences with Title IX here.

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

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

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

Skyline High School and the Shortest Poem in the English Language

At the end of this school year I went to the Skyline "Pinning" Ceremony. The "pinning" ceremony is where honors students get their honors pins. The speaker for the event was a well-loved Skyline teacher--Collin Ganio. I really enjoyed the speech, and I thought you would too. So I contacted Mr. Ganio--who teaches Latin and etymology--and asked for permission to publish it. Permission given!

Permission given, with the caveat that I mention that the story about Ali's speech to the graduating class was originally told by the sportswriter George Plimpton.  He tells it in the film When We Were Kings, and I've put the youtube link (if you want to see Plimpton tell it) at the very bottom of this post.

The Shortest Poem in the English Language

by Collin Ganio

Good evening, everyone.  Those of you who know me know that I love words.  I really do.  I honestly think they’re the most powerful tool humanity has ever created.  Words have started wars, words have ended wars, and—when we’ve gotten really lucky—words have averted wars altogether.  I love it when people use words well.  And whenever I hear someone using words poorly, it makes me throw up in my mouth just a little.  If you know me, you also know I love telling you stories, so here’s one last one for you.

Muhammad Ali—there was an amazing wordsmith.  You know, he struggled with dyslexia, but rhymed with ease.  He composed extemporaneous poetry about his upcoming fights all the time.  One of my favorites: “I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale.  I’ve handcuffed lightning an’ thrown thunder in jail.  Yesterday I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick.  I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”  There are plenty of others. Just go google ‘em and you can find ‘em easily.

Muhammad Ali bust portrait by Ira Rosenberg. Available from the Library of Congress.

His most thought-provoking poem (for me, at least) is also the shortest poem in the English language.  Harvard had invited him to come speak to their graduating class.  He gave a great speech about how he had not had access to their education, and how the new graduates should take the opportunity that they had been given to go out and change the world.  At the end of his speech, as the applause died down, someone yelled “Give us a poem!”

He looked out at the class of graduating seniors, people very different from him in so many ways.  He gestured to himself and said “Me.”  Then he opened his arms to include all the students and said “WE.”  The crowd went wild.

What a poem!  Two simple pronouns, without even a verb.  Four letters in all.  The first letters of each word are just reflections of one another.  Is the second word the opposite of the first word, or just a reflection of it?  The meaning of this poem is so much greater than the poem itself, when you think about it.

We’re all part of Generation ME—anyone born in the 1970’s, 80’s, or 90’s is a part of this generation—and we’ve been taught largely that the self is the most important thing out there.  “What’s in this for ME?  How does this benefit ME?  What am I going to get out of this?  How is this going to help ME succeed?”  And the internet, which theoretically broadens our social horizons to include a global community, ironically tends to focus on the self—Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter are all, ultimately, in a way, tools for the narcissistic.

With two little words used so simply, Ali suggested that this world might be a happier place if we spent less time thinking about me and more time thinking about we.  I issue the same challenge to you—think less about Myspace and more about Ourspace.  Use your agile minds and big hearts—ask the deep questions—in order to make this world better not just for yourselves, but for everyone around you.  I mean, think about it—if everyone worked to better a community for their fellow citizens, then we might not spend a lot of time working to make our own lives better, but we might not need to, since everyone around us would be doing that for us. 

And wouldn’t that be a hell of a thing?  Thank you.  Good night.

Thank you, Mr. Ganio!

 

An Ypsilantian Discusses the Possible Schools Consolidation

I asked, "But Ypsilantians, what do you think? Would you vote for consolidation?" and YpsiAnon answered. Here's a guest post.

Would I vote for consolidation?  My thoughts on this have evolved from “What’s the point?” to “It might be good but it will never happen,” to “I can see the benefits.”  Actually, I am one step beyond that now, thinking, “We really need this, and I hope it’s not too late.” 

Most of us could see the path the school districts’ budgets were taking (and I don’t just mean Ypsi’s or Willow Run’s).  In the last two years, the increase in the rate of speed of hit upon hit, coming from all directions, could not have been foreseen, even to the most cynical. Ypsi has tried to live up to the promises of its deficit elimination plan, which is all about cutting the budget, while at the same time trying to bolster its academics, which is all about adding new costs.  There is a constant conflict between these two demands.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the state would push “pause” on the debt repayment, while the district could establish the new educational programs that could retain and even draw in pupils?

What the state seems to be offering, instead, is the chance to slow down the repayment of the debt, extending it from two years to possibly twenty.  It is offering a three-year moratorium on the establishment of any new charter schools in the area so that the new, combined district has a chance to get established before competition increases.  (Unfortunately, two or three new charters started last year, and one or two more are coming this year.)  It is dangling up to $10 million (likely much less) in consolidation funding (and it will surely be a costly endeavor).  These things could delay or, hopefully, prevent a takeover by an Emergency Financial Manager (EFM).  (By the way, to those who like to say that an EFM is a satisfactory solution, I remind them that EFMs are only about the budgets, not the academics.)

In exchange, our new “unified” district (the term the WISD uses) needs to develop a new educational model, which is going to include students from birth to age 20.  We are already in the process of changing our systems in order to improve student achievement, and need to expand this anyway so as to avoid a takeover by an Educational Achievement Authority (EAA).

Those are the basics.

Obviously, both Ypsilanti and Willow Run districts need make big changes, and they need to make them soon.  Do we want to undertake these efforts separately, with no support from the state, or together, with state support?  We have common needs and common goals.  To me, it makes sense to join forces, combine the resources we do have, and throw ourselves into solving these problems in a unified way.  Long shot?  Maybe.  But I’d prefer to go out with a bang rather than a whimper, if we do, indeed, have to go out.

- YpsiAnon

Athletics: Equity and Cost Between Ann Arbor High Schools

Last year, for a blog post I wrote about administrative positions in Ann Arbor schools, I requested data from the 2005-2006 year and the 2010-2011 year. In the post, Administrative Cuts: Easy to Be Hard, I discussed the changes that occurred over those five years.

In 2005-2006, Skyline did not exist, and when it opened, Skyline High School was allocated an Athletic Coordinator (not an assistant principal level position, but a lower-level position), while Huron and Pioneer had Athletic Directors (which are assistant principal level positions).

I was told at the time (which was just before Pat Green started), by Liz Margolis, the AAPS Director of Communications, that the plan was to move to a single Athletic Director/two Athletic Coordinators format, after one of the current Athletic Directors retired. Obviously, this would be a cost savings.

Well, one of the athletic directors just retired.

In an annarbor.com article about administrator-level changes, Danielle Arndt writes,

"Pioneer’s athletic director, Lorin Cartwright, also retired at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Cartwright worked for the district for 32 years, Margolis said. She made $103,690 last year, the top of the pay scale for her position, which starts at $91,965.
An interim athletic director will be appointed next week. Like the high school principal’s position, the interim will carry out the athletic director’s duties for the “foreseeable future," Margolis said. Officials are looking both from within and from outside the school district for a replacement, she added."

I wondered if perhaps Danielle Arndt had misunderstood, and the position was actually going to be filled at the athletic coordinator level.

So of course I had to ask: Did Danielle misunderstand what the position is? Or, if not, what happened to the plan? 

And I got back the answer, "As is common with new leadership, plans change. I understand the plan is being reviewed."

So I asked, "Of course--that is understandable. What is the timeline for reviewing that plan? And what permutations are being considered? Would, for instance, the district considering raising John Young's level to be athletic director, giving the district three ADs?"

Liz Margolis' response: "I am  not sure of the timeline. I know the Pioneer AD position is set for interviews this Friday. I am unaware of any plan to create the position at Skyline as an Athletic Director position but if that did occur ( and I have no idea if this will or will not), the job would have to be posted for applicants. There are different requirements for this person including administration qualifications."

So I asked, "Thanks--so can you find out: a. If there is an actual thought out "plan" regarding the levels of athletic direction at the three schools? And if so, what that plan is?"

Liz Margolis' response: "Based on the posting  I would say the plan is to hire an AD at Pioneer and maintain the AC at Skyline. I will ask Alesia Flye if this has changed."

****

I am still waiting to hear back, but it's only been a couple of days. Based on what I know though, the supposed (new) plan doesn't seem reasonable. My concerns relate to both equity and cost.

The original plan, to maintain one athletic director and two athletic coordinators, was clearly based on cost. Athletic coordinators cost less, so there would be a savings. Other local school districts have adopted this approach--for instance, Plymouth-Canton. At the time (last year), my main beef with this idea was that maybe it should happen immediately, and not at some hypothetical time in the future.

The current "plan," to maintain athletic director-level positions at Pioneer and Huron, but not at Skyline, doesn't make any sense at all. The schools are essentially the same size now. Why should Pioneer and Huron get athletic director positions, but not Skyline? With similarly-sized schools and programs, shouldn't the work be equivalent? Speaking as a (former) Skyline parent, what would be the equity in bringing in a new person to Pioneer at the AD level (and keeping the Huron staff person at the AD level) but keeping the Skyline staff person at the AC level?

My third concern is this: was there an actual, real-life, thought-out decision to scratch the earlier plan? Or was there just an automatic "let's fill the position" reaction when Lorin Cartwright decided at the last minute to retire?  With both Pat Green and Alesia Flye being brand new to the district, did anyone even realize (and share) that there had been a plan to stick with a single Athletic Director position?

How is it possible to read about this sequence of events, and then not laugh at the headline in today's annarbor.com, "Ann Arbor school board to set goals: zero-based budgeting will be top priority." In zero-based budgeting you have to justify the rationale for your expenses. Where is the rationale?

I'm not an expert at what athletic directors and coordinators do, or whether cost or equity is more important in this case, so I can't tell you what is the right decision: three athletic directors at three schools; or one "lead" athletic director, and two athletic coordinators assigned to the other two schools.  What I do know, though, is that a plan with two athletic directors and one athletic coordinator serves neither equity nor cost savings, and should not be pursued.

School Supplies

I happened to be on line at one of our big box stores last week, and in front of me were some people buying school supplies. School supplies! In early July! I mean, really?! I'm usually the person at the store the day after school has started!

It reminded me of something that happened mid-year. I was cleaning out a shelf, and I found a surfeit of pencils. So I asked my son if he needed some for school.
"Oh no," he said.
"Really? You don't need them? You still have plenty of pencils from the ones I got at the beginning of the year?"
"No," he said.
"Then how do you get pencils?" I asked.
"Oh," he said, "I just find them on the floor!"

Perhaps your children are not quite as enterprising as my son.

Seriously, I do have money for school supplies. But not everybody does, and if you can't afford them, the beginning of school is stressful. Washtenaw County employees are trying to fill a school bus with school supplies. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 30th-August 3, the school bus can be found in front of the Target store, 3749 Carpenter Road, Pittsfield Township. Supplies will be given to Washtenaw County kids who need them.

If you miss that drive, many of the local shelters collect school supplies (and other supplies too) year-round.

Calling All Ypsi Area Readers: Your Time and Thoughts Are Needed

Ypsilanti-area readers: Whether you live in Ypsilanti/Willow Run, or you are a staff person in one of the districts, now is the time to learn about, and put your two cents in about the proposed consolidation of the Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts.

Yes, I know it's Art Fair, and I know it's the work day, but on the 18th and 19th (Wednesday and Thursday) there is a strategic planning retreat at Eagle Crest (8:30-3:30 p.m.) and I think it would be well worth your while to be there.

According to this annarbor.com article:

Download a copy of the preliminary data report here or visit the new task force website, www.together4ss.org, for more information about the consolidation effort.
An updated data portrait will be uploaded to the site Tuesday [note: yes, that is tomorrow] following the last session. Naomi Norman, director of assessment, planning and research for the WISD, said the public gave some very good suggestions during the first session and she will be adding some additional data to the report as a result.

 I recommend that you download the preliminary data report (or, better yet, the updated data report). The preliminary data report does not give very much new information.

We already knew that both districts have proud histories.
We already knew that the academic performance in both schools is well below the county averages. (The poverty rates are well above the county averages, too, but they don't talk about that.)
We already knew that although Ypsi kids choose to go to Willow Run, and Willow Run kids choose to go to Ypsilanti, more Willow Run kids choose to go to Ypsi.
[I didn't know that you can find the information about where kids are choosing to go at the website mischooldata.org.]
We already knew that both school districts are in deficit--Willow Run has been in deficit longer, and their downward enrollment trend has been going on longer.

I didn't know that Ypsilanti's high school enrollment trajectory has been going up.
I didn't know that the majority of kids in both districts who do graduate at least start college.

In the data report, they don't talk about any implications of consolidating. [Should they? The one area where I think maybe they should have, is if they were to share data about other districts that have consolidated. How has it worked for those other districts?]

I'm not going to the two-day retreat. I don't live in either district, and I don't (rightly) get a vote.
But if you ask me today, there is nothing that would make me vote for this--if I had a vote.
I do think that Ypsilanti is much the stronger district than Willow Run, but I wouldn't describe it as strong. So why tie two weak districts together? If they need partners, they should look for stronger ones.
Also--and this is a big deal--I understand that if they combine, they get an average per-pupil foundation allowance. That means their combined allowance would be lower, on a per-pupil basis. And since Ypsilanti has both the higher allowance and the higher enrollment, they would lose a lot of money.
I have said before that I think the Willow Run district should dissolve. The Willow Run school board's "last ditch" budget has them closing their high school. If I understand correctly, that would effectively close the district (a district is required to have a high school). On the other hand, they can choose to combine a high school without closing the district (and, I believe, without a vote). They could, for instance, send all the Willow Run kids to Ypsi High without consolidating the districts. That seems like a better option. But that's just me.

More discussion:

Mark Maynard: What the WISD got wrong in the marketing of their Ypsilanti, Willow Run consolidation plans

Mark Maynard interview with WISD Superintendent Scott Menzel about the proposed consolidation

[NB: What I like about Mark Maynard is that he obviously really cares about Ypsilanti and he is willing to share information and thoughts. Just realize that he lets his commenters more or less have free rein. There are some really great comments, and some that I could do without. . . Still worth a read, though. Who else is covering Ypsilanti?]

But Ypsilantians, what do you think? Would you vote for consolidation?

Sign of the Week

Love Andy Borowitz!

Skyline High School Math Teacher Doubles As A Track Star

The Olympic Diving Trials were on television the other afternoon and my daughter says to me, "My former* math teacher is competing at the trials. In something long distance--the marathon or something."
"The marathon?" I said.  "Do you think maybe it's the steeplechase?"
She gave me the "I don't know" shrug.
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Mr. Nowitzke."

Note the Skyline blue shirt!

Now the reason I said the steeplechase (do you even know what happens in the steeplechase?) is that I remembered something that happened. . . umm. . . about four years ago.

Four years ago, in early summer, I was invited to sit on a Community High School interview team for a new math teacher. We did three interviews. One of them was by phone. The interviewee had a good excuse, though. He was competing in the 2008 US Track and Field trials for the Olympics. In steeplechase.

So I remembered that. Nowitzke didn't get the job at Community (phone interviews are hard!), but I guess he got hired at Skyline shortly afterward. And at the 2008 trials, he came in 10th in the 3000 meter steeplechase. That 2008 phone interview is my Olympics brush with fame.


Watch the 2008 Steeplechase final here:

Nowitzke was an All-American runner at EMU

I don't think Nowitzke is the only Ann Arborite who is going or has gone to a 2012 US Olympics trial, but I'm pretty sure he's the only Ann Arbor school teacher this year! (He is also an EMU graduate; that's where he ran track and field and cross-country. So sure, Ypsilanti, you can take some credit too.)

This year, Nowitzke returned to the Olympic trials. Unfortunately, he didn't make it into the Steeplechase finals. (See the results here.) The first 14 advance and he came in 21st. Still, in my book it's pretty impressive to make it to the Olympic trials, not once, but twice.

And that's not all that is impressive. In fact, by focusing on the Olympics part, we might actually miss the most impressive part. Being a new teacher is a lot of work. Most new teachers don't have a lot of extra time during the school year. And conversely, many people who go to the Olympic trials don't even hold full-time jobs, because being an elite athlete also requires a tremendous amount of dedication and time. Juggling those two things--being a new teacher and being an elite athlete--is tremendously difficult. 

Corey Nowitzke, if you can do those two things at the same time, you can probably do anything. We expect great things from you! Today, Corey Nowitzke is probably mostly feeling sad that he didn't make it to the final heat in the steeplechase, and he won't be going to the Olympics. You can make him feel better though. Tell Corey Nowitzke that you're proud of his hard work by emailing him at nowitzke@aaps.k12.mi.us.

*Former, in that she is now a graduate of Skyline.
**And by the way, my daughter wasn't completely wrong about the marathon connection. Corey Nowitzke won the Detroit Free Press half-marathon in 2011.

Ypsilanti and Willow Run Potential Consolidation Meetings

Ypsilanti and Willow Run schools are considering consolidating. I may write some more about the pros/cons of this sometime this summer, but for now what I want to share is the list of meetings about the proposed consolidation. There are plenty of opportunities for you to weigh in on this--and you should, especially if you are a taxpayer in either of these districts (and maybe even if you aren't, because I believe this has implications for the whole county).

I took these meetings from this article in annarbor.com.

Joint task force meetings

• July 10 — 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Ypsilanti (located to be announced)
• July 30 — 5:30-7:30 p.m. location to be announced

Visioning sessions
Interactive brainstorming activities to target what members of the public identify as their hopes, aspirations and learning-experience expectations for the potential new district. These sessions will collect input from the community to set the focus of the consolidated district.

• June 23 — 10 a.m.-noon at the Ypsilanti District Library Whittaker Branch
• June 25 — 6-8 p.m. at the Willow Run Child Development Center
• June 28 — 6-8 p.m. at Superior Township Hall
• June 30 — 10 a.m.-noon at Ypsilanti District Library Whittaker Branch
• July 9 — 6-8 p.m. Perry Child Development Center in Ypsilanti

Data sessions
An opportunity to examine the educational trend data — such as head count and student achievement data — for Ypsilanti and Willow Run as well as to review and provide feedback on the community vision statements developed at the earlier brainstorming sessions.

• July 11 — 1-3 p.m. at the Ypsilanti District Library Whittaker Branch
• July 14 — 10 a.m.-noon at Superior Township Hall
• July 16 — 6-8 p.m. at Ypsilanti Township Hall

Strategic design retreat
A two-day retreat for delving into various options for school and district designs that would achieve the vision outlined by the community. It also will focus on the local partnerships needed to create a successful, united school system, officials said.

• July 18-19 — 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Eastern Michigan University’s Eagle Crest Resort

Design review sessions
Community feedback can be given on the design plan developed at the retreat. School officials also said the plan will be posted on the districts’ websites and an online survey will be available for feedback, as well.

• Aug. 6 — 6-8 p.m. at the EMU Student Center
• Aug. 7 — 6-8 p.m. at the EMU Student Center

Sarena Shivers of the WISD strongly encourages community members to attend the two-day strategic design retreat, which will be facilitated by an outside facilitator. 

The timeline is set up this way so that a consolidation vote could potentially be on the November ballot.

Horrendous Hazing At My Hometown High School

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

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

This year, the hazing came to a crescendo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Emphasis added.)

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

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

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

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