Contents of this issue:
- Mid-Michigan schools not meeting state standards for special ed
- Four Grand Rapids Catholic schools to consolidate
- Three men sentenced for financial aid fraud
- Southfield scholarship program off to slow start
- Hancock and Houghton-Portage schools look at cost sharing
- Comment and win book money
MID-MICHIGAN SCHOOLS NOT MEETING STATE STANDARDS FOR SPECIAL ED
LANSING, Mich. — Some large mid-Michigan school districts are not
graduating enough special education students based on a standard
set by the state under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, according to WILX, a Lansing-based television
station.
In 2005-2006 the Lansing public schools graduated 44 percent of
special education students who were designated as able to receive
a high school diploma, WILX reported. Jackson graduated 49
percent of its special education students, while 57 percent of
special education students graduate from Charlotte Public
Schools. East Lansing and Holt schools are recorded as having
graduated 64 and 67 percent, respectively, according to WILX.
Some districts also have managed to meet the state goal of an 80
percent graduation rate among special education students. The
Mason schools graduated 83 percent of these students, while St.
Johns schools graduated 90 percent. The Okemos schools are able
to graduate 93 percent of its special education students, WILX
reported.
"You'll see a lot of variance in data from district to district
based on how many students they have, the severity of needs in
the students they identify as special ed bring to the process,"
Cindy Anderson, assistant superintendent for instruction for the
Ingham Intermediate School District, told WILX.
The report also graded how much time special education students
spend with their regular-education peers. The state recommends
that most special education students be kept in regular classes
at least 80 percent of the time. The Lansing and Jackson schools
were the only districts in the area not to meet this goal, WILX
reported.
SOURCE:
WILX, "Special Education Report Out: Some Districts Fail,"
July 11, 2007
http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/8431972.html
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Thousands unnecessarily assigned to
special-ed," Aug. 18, 2004
https://www.educationreport.org/6735
Michigan Education Report, "No local autonomy for special
education in Michigan," May 30, 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4365
Michigan Education Report," Frightened First Grader Becomes
Courageous College Sophomore: Student Benefits from Special
Education in Private School Setting," Aug. 15, 1999
https://www.educationreport.org/2223
FOUR GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TO CONSOLIDATE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Four K-8 Catholic schools located in Grand
Rapids are finalizing plans to merge and create All Saints
Academy in the fall of 2008, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
These four schools, Blessed Sacrament, St. Alphonsus, St. Isidore
and St. Jude, have a combined enrollment of 525 students and a
combined 300 years of experience, The Press reported.
"We're trying to get ahead of trends in Catholic education, and
the trend is rising costs and declining enrollment,"
Superintendent of Elementary Schools Bernard Stanko told The
Press. "Parents, teachers, everybody recognizes the need to do
something. We've been talking about it for 10 years."
The All Saints steering committee is working to decide which of
the four buildings will be used; they want to find the best
location for current students, as well as choose a building with
the best ventilation system and handicap access. The committee is
also working on activities to help students transition into the
larger setting, according to The Press.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Catholic schools on NE side to
consolidate," July 12, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-37/1184241315124510.xml&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Detroit-area Catholic schools look to
future," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8028
Michigan Education Report, "Catholic schools and the common
good," Aug. 16, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7251
THREE MEN SENTENCED FOR FINANCIAL AID FRAUD
DETROIT — Two Michigan men and a third from Ohio were sentenced
for establishing a financial aid scheme that attempted to obtain
federal aid for students who were ineligible. The ploy cost the
U.S. Department of Education hundreds of thousands of dollars,
according to the Detroit Free Press.
Emannual Njoku, 51 of Oak Park, Charles Nnaji, 44, of Detroit,
and George Zimmerman, 46, of Columbus, Ohio, were sentenced for
their various roles in operating the Metro Technical Institute of
Oak Park, which is now closed. Njoku was sentenced to one year
and a day in prison, while also paying $533,344 in restitution.
Zimmerman was sentenced to three years probation while Nnaji will
serve the first 90 days of a 2-year probationary sentence in
jail. Zimmerman and Nnaji will also pay restitution to the court,
the Free Press reported.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Judge sentences 3 who ran financial aid
scheme," July 12, 2007
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/NEWS05/70712063/1001/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS suspends two administrators,"
March 13, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8351
Michigan Education Digest, "Montrose school payroll clerk charged
with embezzlement," Jan. 23, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8179
SOUTHFIELD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM OFF TO SLOW START
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — A movement to create a scholarship program in
Southfield that imitates the Kalamazoo Promise is off to a slow
start as organizers expressed disappointment in turnout for the
second "Southfield Guarantee" meeting, The Detroit News reported.
Forty-five community and business leaders were invited to the
organizational meeting, with only seven making an appearance.
Thom Bainbridge, a retiree of Lanthrup Village and chair of the
group, remains optimistic.
"I'm not pointing any fingers," Bainbride told The News. "I don't
think this shows a lack of commitment. I've talked to a lot of
people and everyone says they think this is the best thing since
sliced bread."
Bainbridge also points to some miscommunication between him and
the Southfield administrative staff with regard to bulk mailing.
The focus of the meeting was on increasing support and
participation in the program. The committee is continuing to work
on a draft of a pamphlet to advertise the scholarships, according
to The News.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Southfield scholarship group disappointed in
meeting turnout," July 12, 2007
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/METRO02/707120392/1026/SCHOOLS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Southfield creates its own version of
the 'Kalamazoo Promise,'" May 22, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8617
Michigan Education Digest, "Flint Promise?" Aug. 15, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7871
Michigan Education Digest, "Charters, independent schools not
worried about K-Promise," Nov. 29, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7448
HANCOCK AND HOUGHTON-PORTAGE SCHOOLS LOOK AT COST SHARING
HANCOCK, Mich. — The Hancock and Houghton-Portage schools will
come together and form a Hancock/Houghton-Portage Township Board
of Education Cooperative Committee that will examine potential
cost savings and program sharing, according to The Daily Mining
Gazette.
The committee will consist of three members from each district's
school board, their athletic directors, business managers and
superintendents.
"We both recognize that the state of Michigan isn't going to find
a pot of gold any time soon," Buck Foltz, treasurer of Houghton's
school board, told the Mining Gazette. "We need to start looking
at things we can do to mutually achieve our common goals."
Foreign language education may be an area where the two districts
will work together, because there is a high demand for language
opportunities in earlier grades, but neither school district can
afford it.
The districts have no intention to consolidate, as a vote for it
failed in the 1990s.
"In no way, shape or form is the intent to consolidate," Hancock
board Vice President Susan Amato-Henderson told The Gazette. "The
intent is to remain two strong districts exploring cost savings."
SOURCE:
The Daily Mining Gazette, "Schools consider cost sharing,"
July 11, 2007
http://www.mininggazette.com/stories/articles.asp?articleID=7724
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School District
Consolidation, Size and Spending: an Evaluation," May 22, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8530
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "What Really Determines School
District Spending?" June 4, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8633
COMMENT AND WIN BOOK MONEY
MIDLAND, Mich. — Go to
https://educationreport.org and post a comment for a chance to win a $50 book gift certificate.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
(
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan
research and educational institute.
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