Contents of this issue:
- State Board of Education votes to keep MEAP
- Schools working to blunt parent reaction to school grades
- Grand Rapids parents to rate principals
- Kalamazoo charters "holding their own" with traditional schools
- Hamtramck superintendent suspended
- Fifth-grade teacher charged with drug dealing
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION VOTES TO KEEP MEAP
LANSING, Mich. — Last week, the state Board of Education voted to
keep the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)
standardized achievement test as the state standard for student
assessment.
The Board's unanimous vote to support the MEAP came after a
review of two independent studies critiquing the test. The MEAP
came under fire last year after test results were delayed by
several months. Some claim that the test is obsolete and doesn't
meet new federal testing requirements under the "No Child Left
Behind" Act.
Board members said the MEAP meets current state standards and is
current enough to use, according to state Department of Education
spokesman Martin Ackley. The resolution to keep the MEAP will be
forwarded to the Legislature for consideration.
SOURCES:
Holland Sentinel, "State keeps MEAP," Jan. 14, 2004
http://hollandsentinel.com/stories/011404/loc_011404010.shtml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure
Up?" December 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
SCHOOLS WORKING TO BLUNT PARENT REACTION TO SCHOOL GRADES
DETROIT, Mich. — Schools, worried about the reaction of parents
should they receive a poor grade in the upcoming release of the
state's grades for every school in the state, are preparing
parents for the worst.
On January 30, the state will release for the first time letter
grade scores for each school in the state under a new
accreditation system called "Education YES!" To prepare parents,
schools are holding parent meetings and conferences, sending
letters home and playing videos on their local cable channels.
The grading system will give schools a letter grade ranging from
"A" to "F" as an indicator of student achievement and progress.
The grades were originally released to schools last November but
a wave of 1,200 appeals by school districts pushed the public
release back to this month.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Schools brace parents for state grades,"
Jan. 14, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0401/14/a01-35457.htm
Michigan Education Report, "State superintendent launches plan to
grade schools," Winter 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4083
Michigan Education Report, "State Board of Education adopts
school grading plan," Spring 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4270
GRAND RAPIDS PARENTS TO RATE PRINCIPALS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A plan to include communities in school
decision making will allow parents and community members to rate
school principals in the Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Bert Bleke, Grand Rapids superintendent, unveiled the plan last
Friday, which may eventually include elected councils to help run
schools. In order for principals to do a truly good job, they
must be open and accountable to the people they serve, said
Bleke.
Currently, principals may not have that skill, but the district
will spend time teaching them to respond to outside input.
"That's not necessarily easy, but that's what we have to do," he
said. "I don't believe all of our principals have the capacity to
fully engage the community; it's not part of their training. We
have to build the capacity."
SOURCE:
Grand Rapids Press, "GR principals will be asking teachers,
parents to rate them," Jan. 12, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-12/
1073922458233040.xml
KALAMAZOO CHARTERS "HOLDING THEIR OWN" WITH TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Over the last 10 years, charter schools in
Kalamazoo have held their own with traditional schools in that
area, proving that parents have a choice as far as where their
children are educated.
Kalamazoo County has four charter academies serving a total of
about 1,100 students, about 3 percent of the county's K-12
public-school enrollment of 35,686 last year. Another 4,300
students attend the county's private and parochial schools. Two
of the local charter schools are upgrading their facilities, and
a third has seen its enrollment more than double since its
creation five years ago. A charter school run by the Family
Institute folded after a couple of years, citing low enrollment.
This fall Kalamazoo Advantage purchased the building it had been
renting in downtown Kalamazoo since 1998, putting $4 million into
improvements that include building a gymnasium, an indoor play
area for students and additional classrooms.
The law allowing charters, or public school academies, was signed
into law 10 years ago last week. Enrollment in charters across
the state has increased steadily, even though many of the schools
do not offer traditional programs such as athletics.
SOURCES:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Charters hold their own," Jan. 13, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-8/
1074011094187120.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Charter Schools Don't Need
More Michigan Department of Education 'Oversight,'" August 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5670
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
HAMTRAMCK SUPERINTENDENT SUSPENDED
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — The superintendent of the Hamtramck School
District was suspended with pay last week due to allegations that
he violated state law while holding bids for contracts and for
misallocation of school funds.
The Hamtramck school board voted 4-2 in favor of the suspension
of superintendent Paul Stamatakis. A report assembled by Wayne
County Assistant Prosecutor George Ward alleges Stamatakis
allowed over $1 million in cost overruns.
The report included instances in which a construction firm
didn't properly reimburse a school district for work done on a
school's heating plant, the awarding of contracts without
competitive bidding, and other violations.
Stamatakis, who has been superintendent in Hamtramck for three
years, denied the charges.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Hamtramck school leader suspended," Jan. 16, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0401/16/d06d-37657.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Financial scandals exposed in
Michigan school districts," Nov. 17, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?ID=4835
FIFTH-GRADE TEACHER CHARGED WITH DRUG DEALING
The Supervisor of Saginaw County's Carrollton Township, who also
is a 5th-grade teacher, is facing a number of criminal charges,
including drug possession, delivery and money laundering.
The Saginaw County Prosecutor charged Richard D. Hagerty, 45,
with four counts of manufacturing and delivering marijuana, and
one count each of conducting a criminal enterprise and money
laundering.
Authorities say the crimes occurred at Hagerty's home last fall.
Hagerty, who teaches at Buena Vista's Ricker Middle School, is
free on a $100,000 bond. Hagerty's preliminary hearing is
scheduled for Jan. 29 to determine whether there is enough
evidence for him to stand trial. He faces up to 20 years in
prison.
SOURCE:
Associated Press, "Carrollton Township Supervisor charged with
drug possession, delivery," Jan. 19, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-10/
1074541144237810.xml
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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