Contents of this issue:
- Southfield creates its own version of the 'Kalamazoo Promise'
- Technical and vocational schools fill niche for economy
- Flint area schools battle over health insurance
- NAEP results find students performing poorly in civics
- Brighton schools consider cutting transportation
- Hillsdale offering free seminar for teachers
SOUTHFIELD CREATES ITS OWN VERSION OF THE 'KALAMAZOO PROMISE'
DETROIT — Southfield is the first school district in metro
Detroit to create a program modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise
and offer college tuition assistance to those with financial
need, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The program started when an anonymous corporation donated $5,000
to the fund, which will be managed by the Southfield Community
Foundation. A committee is being formed to organize the program
and to raise money from other corporations and alumni, the Free
Press reported. A sliding scale of financial aid from the
foundation could be available for use by the class of 2009,
according to the Free Press.
Thom Bainbridge, a community activist, started the Southfield
program in hopes of bringing companies to the area and helping to
provide a larger pool of educated students, the Free Press
reported.
"If you're thinking of relocating your business and you can look
at a community that offers something like this, you might say,
'Gee, what a wonderful idea to start a business here or open a
branch of my business here,'" Bainbridge told the Free Press.
Enrollment in Southfield Public Schools has been declining over
the past five years, the Free Press reported.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Southfield schools seek to guarantee tuition
aid for grads," May 17, 2007
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/NEWS03/705170383/1005
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Flint Promise?" Aug. 15, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7871
Michigan Education Report, "K-Promise: A whole new environment
for Kalamazoo," March 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7624
Michigan Education Digest, "Charters, independent schools not
worried about K-Promise," Nov. 29, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7448
TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS FILL NICHE FOR ECONOMY
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Technical and vocational schools, which focus
on preparing people for careers that need specialized training
but not a generalized college study, are supplying the health and
IT fields with trained employees in as little as six months,
according to Michigan Business Review.
The Everest Institute, formally known as the Olympia Career
Training Institute, is a branch of Corinthian Colleges, a
publicly-traded corporation with more than 120 campuses in the
United States and Canada. The Kalamazoo campus offers programs in
medical assisting, dental assisting, medical administrative
assistance, pharmacy technician work and massage therapy. The
Grand Rapids campus also offers a program in practical nursing
and in medical insurance billing and coding, but does not have
the pharmacy technician program, the Michigan Business Review
reported.
"What your employers are looking for is someone who is trained,
ready to hit the ground and be effective," Stender told Michigan
Business Review.
The New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Michigan is part of
a national chain of information technology learning institutions
whose individual schools are privately owned, according to the
Michigan Business Review.
Both schools offer opportunities to any type of student, whether
they are recent high school graduates, or older people looking to
start their second career.
"Some have bachelor's degrees or even master's degrees," Stender
told the Michigan Business Review. "They're saying 'I want to do
something different but I don't want to take that long to get my
second career going.'"
Stender also commented on the Institute's ability to fill a
special gap in the economy, Michigan Business Review reported.
SOURCE:
Michigan Business Review, "For-profit schools: Fast training for
current jobs," May 17, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/mbusinessreview/west/index.ssf?/base/test/1179388894198200.xml&coll=12
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Graduation standards put future of
vocational ed. in doubt," Feb. 14, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7589
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Hope in State Graduation
Standards Misplaced," Jan. 3, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7498
Michigan Education Digest, "State board approves graduation
requirements," Dec. 20, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7495
FLINT AREA SCHOOLS BATTLE OVER HEALTH INSURANCE
FLINT, Mich. — Many school districts in Genesee County are
examining their union health coverage in lieu of a possible
reduction in the per-pupil funding increase from the state,
according to The Flint Journal.
Goodrich School District Superintendent Kimberley Hart learned
firsthand about health insurance sold by the Michigan Education
Special Services Association's as a teacher when her son had
surgeries to correct certain health problems and had to pay
nothing for them, The Journal reported. MESSA is a third-party
administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association
school employees union.
Now, as superintendent, Hart said she thinks it is time to
examine the amount the district pays for health insurance.
"I benefited from MESSA from the time I started as a teacher, and
I don't want to knock it, but the time has come where we have to
look at keeping the district afloat," Hart told The Journal.
Currently, five districts in Genesee County still fully fund
MESSA's most expensive health plan, Supercare I. In some
districts, like Clio, teachers have taken smaller pay increases
to keep their MESSA coverage, The Journal reported.
Most districts in the county have switched to MESSA's less
expensive health plan, Choices II, or have asked that employees
contribute a share of their own health insurance by paying the
difference in cost between the two plans, according to The
Journal.
In Flushing and Kearsley, districts have switched from MESSA
entirely and now use Flex Blue. Under this plan, the districts
pay a $1,250 deductible for single employees and $2,500 for
families, and hope to see savings from unexpended deductibles.
"We felt it would be more beneficial for teachers to have money
in their salary, which goes toward their pension, than to
continue with MESSA," Flushing Education Association union
President Gae Ann Dudley told The Journal. "We were offered
comparable coverage."
Switching from MESSA has been difficult in many districts because
teachers want to fight to keep an insurance that pays 80 percent
of the cost for wigs needed for health reasons, as well as
unlimited massages for those who physically need them. The
massages are limited to 38 per year under Choices II, the Journal
reported.
Hart said she thinks switching to less expensive health insurance
is reasonable and necessary.
"We have so many people in the community who are having to pay
for health care, who have no health care or lost their jobs," she
told The Journal.
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "A whole MESSA trouble," May 20, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-43/1179636883283120.xml&coll=5
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Collective Bargaining
Primer For Michigan School Board Members," Feb. 28, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8258
Michigan Education Digest, "Royal Oak teachers protest at board
meeting, want to keep MESSA," May 1, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8483
Michigan Education Report, "Growing number of districts seek
solutions to costly health insurance," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7479
NAEP RESULTS SHOW STUDENTS PERFORMING POORLY IN CIVICS
DETROIT — Students who took the National Assessment of
Educational Progress test in 2006 improved slightly on the
history test, but are still struggling in civics education,
according to the Detroit Free Press.
The test was administered to students in the fourth, eighth and
12th grades and each grade level outperformed their counterparts
in 1994 and 2001. Students in grade 4 improved their performance
on the civics test compared to students in 1998, but students in
grades eight and 12 showed no improvement.
"What is most discouraging is that as students grow older and
progress through the grades towards adulthood and eligibility to
vote, their civic knowledge and dispositions seem to grow
weaker," said David Gordon, a member of the NAEP Governing Board,
according to the Free Press.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "National test finds most students aren't
excelling in civics," May 16, 2007
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070516/NEWS07/70516020/1001/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Michigan is above average — but
that's not saying much," Feb. 23, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8252
Michigan Education Digest, "Michigan students average; black
students lagging," Oct. 25, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7391
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Ideology Perpetuates the
Achievement Gap," Feb. 2, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6974
BRIGHTON SCHOOLS CONSIDER CUTTING TRANSPORTATION
BRIGHTON, Mich. — The Brighton Area Schools need to eliminate a
projected $2.1 million deficit and are strongly considering
saving $2.3 million by eliminating all school transportation,
according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
The district has not decided on a plan of action, but has worked
on several different scenarios, including laying off 35 teachers.
Other plans include eliminating all athletic programs while also
saving nearly $1 million by contracting for all support staff. To
completely eliminate the deficit, the district would also have to
contract for all administrators and guidance staff, the Daily
Press & Argus reported.
Brighton is currently in negotiations with the union and may also
consider reducing salary and benefits. The biggest dilemma for
the district is cutting programs that will not impact enrollment.
"We don't want to create a situation where we balance the budget
and not have the programs that meets the needs of our customers,"
Superintendent Jim Craig told the Daily Press & Argus.
SOURCE:
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, "Schools may look to slash
busing," May 17, 2007
http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/NEWS01/705170301
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Budgets: A Crisis of
Management, Not Finance," Feb. 11, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6980
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," Dec. 3, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
HILLSDALE OFFERING FREE SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Economics, social studies, civics and history
teachers are invited to participate in a free summer seminar July
15-21 as part of the Foundation for Teaching Economics program,
"Economics for Leaders." The seminar takes place on the campus of
Hillsdale College and will be led by Dr. Gary Wolfram, Munson
Professor of Political Economy at the school. The program is
based on the National Voluntary Standards in Economic Education.
Room and board is free, and each participant will receive a $150
stipend. Credit hours are available, and three SBCEUs are free of
charge for Michigan public school teachers.
Visit
http://www.fte.org/teachers/programs for more information,
or call 800-383-4335.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of approximately 150,000 published by the
Mackinac Center for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a
private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational
institute.
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