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| Race to the Top Fund; Detroit News- November 12, 2009 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 12 2009, 12:54 PM (4,833 Views) | |
| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 12:54 PM Post #1 |
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Editorial: Don't let propaganda and fear prevent Michigan from winning $600 million for state education Bogus fears shouldn't prevent adoption of reforms to gain $600 million for schools State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan today will be among the leaders who appear at a state House hearing to refute the disinformation campaign that threatens to deny Michigan schools more than a half-billion dollars in federal stimulus funds. Lawmakers should listen to what he has to say and ignore the self-serving whining of the Michigan Education Association. Within a week, the state will receive the official guidelines for the federal Race to the Top competition, estimated to be worth about $600 million to Michigan schools. It is one of President Barack Obama's most innovative tools to spur states to overhaul stagnant schools and prepare children to compete globally for jobs. Once Michigan receives the guidelines, it will have just 60 days to submit its application -- very little time for the dawdling Legislature to pass several packages of bills required to be eligible for the money. One of the biggest obstacles to the state's success is the misinformation campaign led by the MEA. The teachers union has been lobbying furiously against Race to the Top, especially targeting the requirement that states set up and use data systems that link student achievement with teacher performance. The Obama administration has good reason to demand such systems. Teacher quality is the No. 1 predictor of student achievement. To improve that requires reliable data measuring what's going on in classrooms. The union is claiming measuring teacher performance against student achievement takes away the union's right to collective bargaining. That is simply untrue. What the MEA is really concerned about is that its members will face more accountability if the change is approved. As Flanagan will testify today, the legislation will not only make Michigan more competitive for the federal dollars, but it should improve the overall performance of its schools. California is among the states that recently have made it legal to collect and use teacher performance data. Others, such as Colorado, have gone far beyond the requirements, passing unprecedented educational reforms to win. Michigan is losing valuable time in this race. http://www.detnews.com/article/20091112/OPINION01/911120342/1008/Editorial--Don-t-let-propaganda-and-fear-prevent-Michigan-from-winning-$600-million-for-state-education |
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| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 06:05 PM Post #2 |
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Column: MEA should not stand in way of state's race to fix schools By Muskegon Chronicle November 12, 2009, 7:07AM I recently received a letter from a reader, urging me to be as open-minded and nonpartisan as possible. How’s this for an open-minded statement? As much as I object to most of his policies, I think President Obama has the right goals in mind for public education. He’s demanding that teachers be held more accountable and students be given more school choices. And he’s offering big dollars to states that are willing to make fundamental changes in the classroom. Michigan officials are currently preparing an application for Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative, and if the grant is approved, our K-12 system could receive as much as $600 million. Reportedly, about half of that money would be dispersed among individual school districts. That type of cash infusion would take the sting out of the recent state education cuts, and perhaps spare Michigan residents an unnecessary tax increase. To qualify, states must demonstrate progress in several key reform areas, including the development of more charter schools, teacher evaluations based on student performance, a streamlined process for professionals in other fields to gain teacher certification, and methods to reform failing schools. Several bills that satisfy those criteria are currently floating around the Legislature. If they become law, Michigan stands a good chance to gain big education dollars, and we’ll finally be headed down the path of necessary education reform. But passing those bills will be a test of political courage for our elected officials. Obama already has set a great example on that front. He knowingly angered the nation’s teachers unions by pushing for reform, just months after those unions spent millions on his presidential campaign. Are Gov. Granholm and her allies capable of matching that leadership? To do so, they will have to battle the powerful Michigan Education Association, our state’s largest teachers union, which bitterly opposes the “Race to the Top” initiative and prefers a tax increase to fund public schools. The MEA goes overboard supporting liberals like Granholm in every election cycle, and expects them to remain loyal when the chips are on the table. Well, all the chips are definitely on the table for the MEA. The idea of education reform has the same effect on the MEA that water has on the Wicked Witch of the West. But it’s become painfully clear that the old labor-friendly way of running our schools isn’t getting the job done. A recent report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress said Michigan students are falling behind their peers in other states, and the decline has been ongoing for several years. That’s not acceptable. We must set high standards for our students and teachers and make sure they’re met. We can start by enacting the reforms recommended by the president, and collecting the money to help our schools survive the current budget crisis. The MEA and its allies will be fighting this effort tooth and nail. I urge everyone to counter the opposition by contacting officials in Lansing and urging them to support the state’s application for “Race to the Top” dollars. The children of Michigan certainly deserve it. Steve Gunn, a former Chronicle staff writer, is the communications director of Education Action Group. He adds a local conservative voice to our columnist lineup. Write: Muskegon Chronicle, P.O. Box 59, Muskegon, MI http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/11/column_1.html |
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| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 06:07 PM Post #3 |
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State ignores $600M for schools Embracing promising reforms would leverage federal money to help students Michael Van Beek Michigan's school funding debate has been cast as a choice between two ideas: Budget cuts or tax hikes. Yet there is a $600 million alternative that has been ignored by key players in the debate. Taxpayers should take note because the failure to explore this option suggests any tax increase for education will be wasted. In the next few months, the U.S. Department of Education will dish out $4.35 billion in "Race to the Top" money to the states. Michigan would be more likely to receive $600 million of this money if it adopted four reforms: Expand the number of charter schools, create a stronger alternative teacher certification program, link student performance data to individual teachers and systematize reform procedures for failing schools. There are good reasons to be skeptical of federal money, which often bureaucratizes the schools and advances a questionable agenda. But such concerns are typically overlooked by the governor and many in the Legislature, who desperately seek a school spending fix. In this case, the proposed reforms show promise. Consider charter schools. A growing body of evidence indicates that charter schools improve student achievement, and a recent study demonstrates that New York City charter schools have closed achievement gaps at an unprecedented rate. But charter school expansion in Michigan is effectively blocked by a legislative cap on the number of charter schools that can be authorized by state universities, which approve most of the charter schools in Michigan. School employee unions traditionally have fought raising this cap, arguing that there is insufficient evidence that charter schools improve student improvement. As for alternative teacher certification, Michigan law theoretically permits it. But every teacher is still forced to obtain a degree specifically in education -- no other specialty will do. This approach discourages many talented individuals from becoming teachers. Yet research shows teacher quality is key to student performance, and Race to the Top's multiple certification routes would permit accomplished professionals to enter teaching without needing to obtain a new degree. Michigan's student performance measurements, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program and the Michigan Merit Examination are reported school by school. But the results are not linked to teachers to allow teachers' successes to be more easily analyzed. Of course, such an analysis is complex -- many factors go into student achievement -- but the analysis is prohibitively difficult if the raw data is hard to obtain, a point that Race to the Top recognizes. As for the fourth reform, the Legislature is advancing bills to more aggressively reconstitute perennially failing schools. The bill most likely to pass, however, would make it harder to privatize noninstructional services, robbing districts of a major cost-saving tool. So why hasn't Michigan adopted these reforms, especially when the state could land an extra $600 million for schools? The school employee unions view them as threats. They fear more charter schools because the schools are not typically unionized, and reconstituted schools may follow their example. Tracking individual teachers' progress could lead to performance pay and threaten the union's rigid compensation system. Yet such concerns are primarily about union power, not better educational outcomes for kids. If the governor and Legislature refuse to consider constructive change, taxpayers should reject any proposed tax hikes. There's no reason to feed more money into a system that refuses the most moderate reforms. http://detnews.com/article/20091104/OPINION01/911040316/State-ignores-$600M-for-schools |
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| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 06:13 PM Post #4 |
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Obama’s ‘Race to the Top’ Who’ll blink first: the unions, or the White House? The Obama Administration unveiled its new “Race to the Top” initiative late last week, in which it will use the lure of $4.35 billion in federal cash to induce states to improve their K-12 schools. This is going to be interesting to watch, because if nothing else the public school establishment is no longer going to be able to say that lack of money is its big problem. Four billion dollars is a lot of money, but it’s a tiny percentage of what the U.S. spends on education. The Department of Education estimates that the U.S. as a whole spent $667 billion on K-12 education in the 2008-09 school year alone, up from $553 billion in 2006-07. The stimulus bill from earlier this year includes some $100 billion more in federal education spending—an unprecedented amount. The tragedy is that nearly all of this $100 billion is being dispensed to the states by formula, which allows school districts to continue resisting reform while risking very little in overall federal funding. All of this is on top of the education spending boom during the Bush years to pay for the 2001 No Child Left Behind law. Democrats liked to claim that law was “underfunded,” but the reality is that inflation-adjusted Education Department elementary and secondary spending under President Bush grew to $37.9 billion from $28.3 billion, or 34%. NCLB-specific funding rose by more than 40% between 2001 and 2008. It’s also worth noting that the U.S. has been trying without much success to spend its way to education excellence for decades. Between 1970 and 2004, per-pupil outlays more than doubled in real terms, and the federal portion of that spending nearly tripled. Yet reading scores on national standardized tests have remained relatively flat. Black and Hispanic students are doing better, but they continue to lag far behind white students in both test scores and graduation rates. Associated Press Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Obama .So now comes “Race to the Top,” which the Obama Administration claims will reward only those states that raise their academic standards, improve teacher quality and expand the reach of charter schools. “This competition will not be based on politics, ideology or the preferences of a particular interest group,” said President Obama on Friday. “Instead, it will be based on a simple principle—whether a state is ready to do what works. We will use the best data available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform, and states that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant.” Sounds great, though this White House is, at the behest of the unions, also shuttering a popular school voucher program that its own evaluation shows is improving test scores for low-income minorities in Washington, D.C. The Administration can expect more such opposition to “Race to the Top.” School choice is anathema to the nation’s two largest teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which also oppose paying teachers for performance rather than for seniority and credentials. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel told the Washington Post last week that charter schools and merit pay raise difficult issues for his members, yet Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said states that block these reforms could jeopardize their grant eligibility. We’ll see who blinks first. The acid test is whether Messrs. Duncan and Obama are willing to withhold money from politically important states as the calendar marches toward 2012. Race to the Top is bound to have some impact, and lawmakers in several states—including Tennessee, Rhode Island, Louisiana and Massachusetts—already have passed charter-friendly legislation in hopes of tapping the fund. But the exercise will fail if it is merely a one-off trade of cash for this or that new law. The key is whether the money can be used to promote enough school choice and other reforms that induce school districts to change how the other $800 billion or so is spent. Charter schools and voucher programs regularly produce better educational outcomes with less money. But as long as most education spending goes to support the status quo, Race to the Top will be mostly a case of political show and tell. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204886304574308442726348678.html |
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| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 06:38 PM Post #5 |
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http://www.michigan.gov/recovery/0,1607,7-172-52838-222516--,00.html Race to the Top Fund Total Funding Available: $4.3 billion Key Dates: Phase 1 will open for applications late in 2009. Phase 2 will open for applications in late spring 2010. Specific deadlines for Phase 1 and 2 will be announced in future notices. Program Information: The US Department of Education's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Grant Information: The Recovery Act provides $4.3 billion for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing significant education reforms across four ‘‘assurance'' areas: implementing standards and assessments, improving teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution, improving collection and use of data, and supporting struggling schools States that receive a Race to the Top grant must use at least 50 percent of the award to provide subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), including public charter schools identified as LEAs under State law. LEAs that choose to participate in their State's Race to the Top proposal must agree to fully implement the State's proposed plan and to use their funding under this grant in support of that plan. For More Information: View the full Funding Opportunity Announcement for program and application information. Also... The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education March 7, 2009 http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/implementation.html |
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| Administrator | Nov 12 2009, 07:44 PM Post #6 |
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Editorial: MEA works to keep reforms, federal money at bay while school districts struggle With Michigan schools facing an enormous funding gap, the Michigan Education Association is attempting to sabotage an effort that could bring in more than $600 million in federal education money. State policymakers are working to put together one of the essential pieces of legislation required to win federal "Race to the Top" grant money. President Barack Obama is using the money to give states an incentive to enact long-overdue education reforms. Next month state school Superintendent Mike Flanagan must turn in the application for the competition, now being watched by U.S. foundations for signals about which states are serious about education reform and merit even more funding. But the prospects for Michigan aren't good. The MEA, the state's largest teacher union, is pressuring cowardly lawmakers to block the Race to the Top legislation, which includes provisions making it easier for nonteachers to secure classroom positions, if they have critical skills. This seemingly innocuous change has stirred up intense political fighting, pitting teacher unions against Gov. Jennifer Granholm and others, such as the United Way of Southeastern Michigan, who want the Race to the Top funds for Michigan. Teach for America -- the heralded non-profit that prepares and places highly talented educators in struggling schools -- says it must have an alternative certification pathway for its members to become full-time teachers in Michigan. MEA leaders say they oppose alternative teacher certification because they believe teacher training is essential to properly instruct students. "This is not an union issue," MEA spokesman Doug Pratt says. "This is a fundamental belief ... that teachers who go through a traditional teacher prep process are going to be better for students in the long run." But urban districts are having trouble finding highly qualified math and science teachers, in no small part because of the failure of traditional teacher training programs in the state. That was one of the driving forces behind a Friday announcement by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that it is investing $16.7 million to establish a new statewide fellowship program to provide 240 teachers for hard-to-staff schools. If the MEA is allowed to sabotage Michigan's Race to the Top effort, it will mean the loss of about $600 million in federal money at a time when every classroom is facing an unprecedented budget cut. Ultimately, that will mean fewer jobs for teachers, hurting the union's own members. It is absolutely essential that Michigan gets this money, and the education reforms that come with it. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911080310 |
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| Administrator | Nov 13 2009, 09:05 AM Post #7 |
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State schools head urges compromise on reforms Lawmakers, teachers union pressured to meet fed aid deadline Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News Lansing -- State school Superintendent Mike Flanagan on Thursday urged lawmakers and the state's largest teachers union to compromise on education reforms required within 60 days to qualify Michigan for up to $400 million through President Barack Obama's Race to the Top education initiative. Flanagan's comments before the House Education Committee coincided with the release Thursday in Washington, D.C., of the application that states must file to compete for a share of $4.35 billion in funding. Also Thursday, Flanagan announced the selection of 13 classroom and administrative projects involving 52 school districts in Michigan. Detroit, Oxford and Utica districts are included. The projects are designed to demonstrate that districts are prepared to change the way they educate students and will be highlighted in Michigan's application for the Race to the Top funding. Reforms to qualify for the funding would include several measures opposed by teachers, including linking a teacher's job evaluation to how students perform on standardized tests, making it easier for people with nonteaching degrees to be certified as teachers and opening more charter or alternative schools. "We have to have a number of pieces of legislation or we will not win Race to the Top," Flanagan told the panel. "Colorado and some other states are exceeding the requirements. If we don't exceed the minimums we're going to lose the race." MEA lobbyist Dave Stafford told the committee that some of the proposed reforms would hurt education in the state. He said if teachers are evaluated on the basis of student scores, some teachers will be reluctant to take on hard-to-educate students. "The kids who are underperformers often get channeled into the teachers who work best with those kids," Stafford said. "If you now tell me that my job depends on how well kids do on their tests, I'm going to say 'No no, no.' " Stafford said his group opposes quick certification of people with nonteaching degrees. http://www.detnews.com/article/20091113/SCHOOLS/911130368/1026/rss06 |
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| Deleted User | Nov 13 2009, 10:49 AM Post #8 |
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Where is the outrage people? This is just rediculous. The MEA is fighting to keep this much money out of the school system. $400 to $600 MILLION. The money would be avaliable in April. Where is the protest going to be??? Will the people who marched to Lansing march for this?? If $52 million in 20j cuts sparked a rally in Lansing, $400 to $600 million ought to deserve a complete revolt, dont you think? |
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| Administrator | Nov 20 2009, 04:01 PM Post #9 |
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Rebuttal: MEA wants federal aid, reforms that work It's disappointing to read The News' claims that the Michigan Education Association is standing in the way of Michigan receiving "Race to the Top" funds from the federal government ("School sabotage: Michigan Education Association works to keep reforms, federal money at bay while school districts struggle," Nov. 8). Nothing could be further from the truth. Race to the Top funding will go to a handful of states that enact certain "reforms" being pushed by the federal government. Even by enacting these questionable changes, there is no guarantee that Michigan will receive additional funding. Michigan can't afford to accept a deal that's too good to be true. The MEA will support reforms that make our state competitive for Race to the Top -- and ensure that our students have a greater chance at success. We're proud to be discussing these issues with state leaders, as we did on Nov. 12 with the House Education Committee. At that hearing, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, whom the media like to pit against MEA, said he agrees with us that we must "walk carefully" on certain reforms. The MEA is thrilled at the prospect of more federal funding -- we're just asking a simple question: Whether or not Michigan gets these dollars, will these reforms help students learn? Does it help students to lower standards for teachers through fast-track certification programs when graduates from our great teacher prep colleges are leaving Michigan to find jobs? Will students achieve more if we blindly expand charter schools without enacting accountability and transparency measures to prove that charters actually outperform other public schools? We encourage the News to stop pitting the MEA against our state's leaders and students in an attempt to create controversy. Ed Sarpolus Director of Government Affairs, Michigan Education Association, East Lansing http://www.detnews.com/article/20091120/OPINION01/911200334/1007/rss07 |
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| IlikeLIvonia | Nov 25 2009, 12:58 PM Post #10 |
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State Tackles 'Race to the Top' Could receive $400 million from the federal government if it winsPosted: 8:12 PM Nov 12, 2009 Reporter: Liam Martin Email Address: liam.martin@wilx.com http://www.wilx.com/regional/headlines/69893802.html State Tackles 'Race to the Top' LANSING -- "This is about winning the race." With that, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan took his stance Thursday at the state Capitol: He wants Michigan to compete -- and compete all-out -- for the federal government's newest program: 'Race to the Top.' "Do we want to protect the status quo because there's some fear in change? Or do we want to lead this?" Flanagan asked members of the House Education Committee. Change is precisely what the federal government is hoping to encourage. The Race to the Top program will award $4 billion dollars in grants to the states that enact the most -- and best -- innovative education reforms. Michigan could get as much as $400 million -- if it wins. "Now that you're dangling a half-a-billion dollars in our face at a time that we're having economic struggles, to me it's something that's imperative," says state Rep. Tim Melton (D), who cairs the education committee and supports Flanagan's push to compete. But Flanagan says, in order to qualify for that race to the top money, the state would have to enact serious education-reform legislation. That includes a controversial new measure to hold teachers more accountable for student performance. "The teachers -- they want to be accountable, as long as it's not unfair, and as long as it's only one piece," Flanagan argues. "There are other factors that should be in the evaluation." Federal education officials say stricter teacher evaluation standards are a must to compete in the race. And the prerequisites don't stop there. According to the competition guidelines, states must also enact legislation to: 1. Turn around failing schools 2. Invest more in the development of charter schools. 3. Provide alternative certification routes -- like Teach for America -- to aspiring teachers. And flanagan says that's still not quite enough. "We need some icing on the cake," he says. "Because look at what Colorado is doing, look at what these other states are doing; they're going past the minimums. That's who we're competing with." Michigan has 60 days to pass the needed legislation and complete its application. Edited by IlikeLIvonia, Nov 25 2009, 12:58 PM.
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| IlikeLIvonia | Nov 25 2009, 01:01 PM Post #11 |
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Video: http://www.wilx.com/video?clipID=4296767&autoStart=true&contentID=69893802 State Tackles 'Race to the Top' Could receive $400 million from the federal government if it wins |
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| IlikeLIvonia | Nov 25 2009, 01:07 PM Post #12 |
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Running Out Of Time in 'Race To The Top' http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/7/0/1577519/Education/Running.Out.Of.Time.in.'Race.To.The.Top'. Laura Weber (2009-11-12) Detroit Public School students (photo by Steve Carmody, Michigan Radio) LANSING, MI (MPRN) - The state school superintendent told lawmakers today that they are running out of time to compete for school-reform money in a federal program called 'Race To The Top.' Michigan could be eligible for as much as 500 million dollars that would go toward fixing the state's worst-performing schools. But the Legislature must approve legislation in the next few weeks to be eligible to compete. State Superintendent Michael Flanagan says these reforms need to happen anyway, because too many students aren't getting the education they deserve. "The system is much more oriented to adult needs - it just is. It's not with malice," says Flanagan, "I mean the best people I know get into the education business." Lawmakers from the House and Senate will have to reach consensus before the end of the year, including how to appoint a chief who could take over schools with failing curriculums. © Copyright 2009, MPRN |
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| IlikeLIvonia | Nov 25 2009, 01:15 PM Post #13 |
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Sunday, November 8, 2009 Michigan Schools & MEA prefer tax hikes over $600 million in Federal Money. http://k12reformer.blogspot.com/ Michigan parents are being bombarded with “call your legislator” messages from school boards and superintendents, asking them to pressure the state for more money. Yet for all of the whining about funding, I haven’t seen a single message from any school asking that parents rally behind the federal "Race to the Top" initiative that would allow Michigan schools to potentially receive up to $600 million in federal funds. I haven't seen any "Action Alerts" from the MIchigan Association of School Boards -- the MASB -- suggesting that school boards lobby legislators to advocate for this money. Is it that schools need money, but only want it if there are no strings attached? Here are a few recent articles on the issue: Detroit News: Embracing promising reforms would leverage federal money to help students (11/4/09) http://detnews.com/article/20091104/OPINION01/911040316/State-ignores-$600M-for-schools Detroit News: School sabotage (11/8/09) http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911080310 Also note that this is not some new issue. I wrote about his back on August 2, 2009, in a blog entry found here. Here’s an interesting test… next time you see a school board member from your district, ask them if they know ANYTHING about this legislation. My guess is that they can drone on about the need to raise taxes in Michigan, but can't talk with any depth about this Obama/Duncan "Race to the Top" initiative. ==> Mike. Monday, November 16, 2009 The MEA is a problem, but your local school board is worse Year after year, report after report, Michigan’s education system gets pounded. Detroit News: Researchers from political left and right give Michigan schools mediocre grades (11/16/09) http://www.detnews.com/article/20091116/OPINION01/911160304/1008/opinion01/Editorial--Researchers-from-political-left-and-right-give-Michigan-schools-mediocre-grades Yet despite this sort of report card, people fail to hold school boards accountable for their failures. This is a great quote from the article: Upon the report's release, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted the country's education system is as important an indicator of economic health as the "stock market, the unemployment rate, or the size of the GDP." Our schools have smart kids, some great teachers, and wonderful buildings. The state devotes one third of its budget to K-12 education. Yet school boards have allowed expenses to grow in an undisciplined and out-of-control way, they set no meaningful and/or measurable goals, and have no clear or inspiring vision for the future. So, while the editorial is accurate when it points out that the MEA bears some responsibility, I think the lion’s share of blame rests squarely on the shoulders of your local school board. Hold’em accountable! ==> Mike. ---------------------------------------------------- November 16, 2009 Editorial: Researchers from political left and right give Michigan schools mediocre grades Michigan's education system is lagging in data collection and accountability, hiring and evaluating teachers and school management, says a new report co-sponsored by researchers on both the nation's left and right, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The "Laggards and Leaders" report, sponsored by the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the liberal Center for American Progress think tanks, reflects the growing realization on both sides of the political aisle of how stagnant and ineffective the U.S. educational system has become. Nationally the report's authors found less than two-thirds of American schools provide access to college-level coursework. Given schools' weak support for rigorous academic preparation, it's no wonder America is lagging behind other industrial countries for college-going and completion. State finance systems are inefficient and undermine innovation, the researchers also found. Other widespread problems include teacher evaluations that are not based on teacher effectiveness. Only four states require evidence of student learning to be a major factor in teacher evaluations. "Without the ability to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom, school leaders cannot build a cohesive school culture, create an environment of accountability, and ensure that all students will learn," the report said. In Michigan, the teachers unions surely have been one of the state's greatest obstacles to recent reforms. The Michigan Education Association has been lobbying fiercely against changes in school data collection and alternative certification pathways for teachers, among other ideas, stalling the state's application to win $600 million in competitive federal Race to the Top funding. The state's higher education system also has been hurting Michigan's Race to the Top chances by resisting the development and use of a long-term data collection system to track Michigan children's growth and progress from pre-kindergarten through college. The report's researchers noticed and gave Michigan a grade "D" for data collection. The state received "C" grades for school management; technology; staff hiring and firing; and removing ineffective teachers. Seventy-five percent of Michigan principals studied said teacher unions or associations are a barrier to the removal of bad teachers, 14 points higher than the national average of 61 percent. Eighty percent of principals also reported tenure is a barrier to removing low-performing educators. Overall Michigan received a mediocre grade. Just two areas, finance and its student pipeline to postsecondary learning, received a "B" grade. Upon the report's release, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted the country's education system is as important an indicator of economic health as the "stock market, the unemployment rate, or the size of the GDP." Michigan, failing in economic growth and job creation, must get its schools in order to educate its citizens out of the Great Recession and get them successfully working in the global economy. Edited by IlikeLIvonia, Nov 25 2009, 10:20 PM.
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| IlikeLIvonia | Nov 25 2009, 10:16 PM Post #14 |
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Why do we ignore school spending? http://k12reformer.blogspot.com/ Everyone seems to have an opinion on government spending at the federal, state, county, and even city level. I don't understand why parents will get involved in the school FUNDING debate, but ignore school SPENDING. Michigan's Governor just announced a shortfall in tax revenue, and the subsequent reduction in school funding. The predictable outcry from schools drove me to write this article: Detroit News – Schools often don’t budget wisely – (10/27/09) http://www.detnews.com/article/20091027/OPINION01/910270316/1008/opinion01/Schools-often-don-t-budget-wisely It ran the day after Governor Granholm used the Rochester Schools Administration Center for one of the stops on her PR Tour to raise taxes in Michigan. I was told that the by-invitation-only event included superintendents, board presidents, union presidents, and PTA presidents. You really couldn’t tell for sure because most of them snuck in the back door of the building. Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and House Representative Tom McMillen were also invited. They walked in the front door. You can imagine the conversations that took place… all designed to pressure Bishop and McMillen to raise taxes. Schools pleading poverty, claiming that they have already cut everything that could be cut, threatening that further cuts to schools will directly impact the classroom. That was Monday afternoon. Monday evening, Rochester had a school board meeting. There was not any mention of the Governor’s visit, nor did the board discuss the additional $1.9 million reduction in state funding that had been announced since the last board meeting. What the board did do was approve a $45,000 expenditure for wireless microphones “to be used throughout the district in the three auditoriums for events such as Plays, Musicals and Summer Music Theater.” I’m a “theatre parent”, and agree that wireless microphones certainly enhance the performance. I’d be happy to personally contribute to a fundraising event designed to fund the purchase of these sorts of theatre enhancements. But I don’t think this purchase can be considered a critical and necessary district expenditure after the board approved a deficit budget of $2.5 million. It seem especially excessive after the additional state funding reductions, which will presumably push the deficit to $5 million. It was approved on a 6-1 vote. Its one small example that shows how school boards are oblivious to the situation they’re in. ==> Mike. |
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| Ms. AK | Nov 30 2009, 02:03 PM Post #15 |
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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/OPINION01/911300324/1069/opinion01/En-route-to-the-Top POSTED: NOV. 30, 2009 EDITORIAL En route to the 'Top' The carrot is tantalizing: a share of $4.3 billion set aside in federal stimulus money to help a handful of states revamp failing schools. But some in Michigan's educational establishment are balking at the stick: more charter schools, expanded alternative teacher certification, and teacher reviews tied to student performance. If Michigan is going to win, or even compete for, the federal Race to the Top dollars that are being dangled in front of states, it will need to embrace reforms that have confounded the state in the past. It's well worth doing, no matter whose hide gets a little tanned in the process. In a way, Race to the Top is a shrewd follow-up to the No Child Left Behind reforms rolled out by former President George W. Bush. He believed his landmark education act would incentivize states to embrace reforms through the enforcement of tough standards. He learned pretty quickly that the education establishment could be bullheaded in its recalcitrance. Enter President Barack Obama and his administration, which puts the proposition more bluntly: Enact reforms, or be left out of key federal funding. Race to the Top requires states who even apply for funds to align their schools with federal guidelines. It's an attempt to change policy in a lot of states in a short time. In Michigan, as in most states, the primary opposition is expected to come from teachers' unions, which have opposed most such reforms in the past. But Michigan Education Association president Iris Salters says her organization hasn't decided whether, or how, it might oppose changes to help the state qualify for the federal money. Her union, Michigan's biggest for teachers, is working with the governor and the Department of Education to figure out what the state needs to change to compete. Some of Salters' concerns are reasonable and ought to help shape the state's efforts. But if MEA leaders are primarily interested in preserving the status quo, state policymakers will have to move forward without them. Salters, for example, points out that opening up broader alternative certification might make it even harder for the 9,000 teachers the state graduates each year to land jobs here. That may be so for teachers in some fields, but many districts have trouble recruiting good math and science teachers, and alternative certification might help there. Salters cautions that those who've mastered specialized content areas can't be presumed to have mastered teaching them, as well. But no one proposes putting wholly untrained instructors in classrooms; reformers simply want to rethink the requirement that every teacher have an education degree. Salters also says the Race to the Top requirement to tie teacher performance to student performance is limited to a single test (in Michigan, probably the MEAP), and she questions whether that would serve educational purposes. But nothing in Race to the Top prevents the state from going further. Michigan could create more sophisticated ways to measure student achievement. The MEA would do better to help shape those measures than it would to oppose the idea. The MEA has historically opposed the expansion of charter schools. One of its objections has been lax oversight. Race to the Top could be seen as an opportunity to tighten that oversight, a long overdue reform, so the expansion does not come with a downside. If the MEA is savvy, it could use Race to the Top as a way to help put its own mark on reform. If it doesn't, state officials should stiffen their spines to oppose union obstruction. The federal money, and the reforms that are tied to it, are too important to Michigan's future. |
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| Ms. AK | Nov 30 2009, 02:10 PM Post #16 |
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I'd like to see the MEA's ox get gored to some degree, but I can't think of a way to compare teachers' performance via MEAPs only. We all know that some kids are poor test takers, etc. Should an AP teacher's student performance be considered against a teacher who teaches special ed? I don't know. |
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| Whatever | Nov 30 2009, 10:08 PM Post #17 |
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Forget the MEAP test. It is changed yearly to dumb it down to show progress at the state level. You must nationally normed tests like the ACT or SAT. Michigans grading system is flawed & manipulated, and is one of the lowest in the nation. Hell, even 3rd world nation schools score better than Michigan. |
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| Administrator | Dec 1 2009, 01:28 PM Post #18 |
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RACE TO THE TOP NOW TOP PRIORITY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LANSING, Mich. - State lawmakers will concentrate heavily on education reform in the next two weeks as Michigan attempts to nab up to $400 million in Race to the Top federal funding for schools, according to the Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. The state's application for the competitive grant program is due Jan. 19, but a successful bid likely rests on whether Michigan enacts reform that allows alternative teacher certification, lifts charter school restrictions, creates a program to address failing schools and creates a means to link teachers to their students' standardized test scores, according to MIRS. Legislation dealing with all of those issues is expected to go before the House and Senate education committees and then to the full Legislature in the next several weeks, MIRS reported. House Education Chair Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, told MIRS that he's confident Michigan will receive Race to the Top funding if the legislation passes. SOURCE: Michigan Information & Research Service, Inc., "All Race to the Top, All the Time," Nov. 30, 2009 (Subscription required) FURTHER READING: Michigan Education Report, "State Ignores $600 Million for Schools," Nov. 13, 2009 http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=11430 |
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| IlikeLIvonia | Dec 1 2009, 02:31 PM Post #19 |
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The shell game of ‘making AYP’ Study: Michigan sets bar low compared to other states By Lorie A. Shane,Wed., March 18, 2009 http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=10387 ![]() If the Measures of Academic Progress test were given to all third-graders, how well would students have to score in order to be considered “proficient” in their home state? In Michigan, students would be considered proficient in math if they scored at the 6th percentile compared to their peers nationwide. In Massachusetts, they would have to score at the 68th percentile on the MAP before being considered proficient. The Fordham Institute arrived at those numbers by correlating each state’s 2005-2006 “cut scores,” (the lowest score a student can earn and still be considered proficient), to the nationally-normed MAP assessment. Their findings are listed in more detail at http://edexcellence.net/accountability_illusion/AccountabilityIllusion_DataMap.html Edited by IlikeLIvonia, Dec 1 2009, 02:34 PM.
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| IlikeLIvonia | Dec 1 2009, 02:40 PM Post #20 |
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FLANAGAN: GO BIG OR GO HOME ON RACE TO THE TOP REFORMS November 12, 2009 While the U.S. Department of Education this week finalized guidelines for Race to the Top grants, Michigan has to surpass the level of expectation for education reforms in order to be competitive enough to qualify, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan told lawmakers on Thursday. Mr. Flanagan, speaking before the House Education Committee, said states like Colorado are already instituting more reforms than required in order to compete for the hundreds of millions of federal dollars for schools. He said while some interest groups may not think all changes need to pass the Legislature, he believes Education Secretary Arne Duncan will look more favorably on states that put more reforms into law than those that don't. Both the House panel and the Senate Education Committee have debated and in some cases moved on legislation related to the state's efforts to compete for Race to the Top funding, including turnaround school plans (see related story). But Mr. Flanagan had a clear message for lawmakers: either get the bills done soon or he'll take his staff off the state's application process for the funding. He said he is willing to compromise on the nuances of any legislation in order to get bills through the process quickly, but he added, "I'm not going to have (my staff) work 24/7, which is what they are already doing, to make this work if we can't actually pull off the legislation." Mr. Flanagan said there are some things the state can do without legislation, including the Department of Education's ReImagine project (see related story), but even then he was hesitant about those programs working without the kind of money Michigan could receive under Race to the Top. "If we don't exceed the minimums, we are going to lose the race," he said. And he challenged those thinking the state's reform efforts of the past are good enough by saying no one should be happy there are 164 schools in Michigan where only 5 percent of the student population shows proficiency in core subjects. "Ninety-five percent of those kids are not proficient year in, year out. Do we really want to protect the status quo?" Mr. Flanagan said. http://mymassp.com/content/flanagan_go_big_or_go_home_race_top_reforms |
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