January 22, 2013
Good afternoon!
I am thrilled to share with you the Center for Michigan’s latest report, “The
Public’s Agenda for Public Education: How Michigan citizens want to improve student learning.” This citizens’ agenda for Michigan K-12 education includes:
• Detailed public perceptions about the state of today’s public K-12 system.
• Public endorsement of several strategies to improve K-12 student learning.
• Public feedback on school reform topics under consideration in Lansing.
As you know, this report is based on more than 250 community meetings across Michigan and two large-sample polls conducted in the past year. Altogether, more than 7,500 diverse statewide residents participated. An electronic copy of the report and its press release are attached. Bridge Magazine's coverage of this report can be viewed on Bridge's website,
http://bridgemi.com/. If you would like a paper copy of the report, please email your request to
engage@thecenterformichigan.net. Furthermore, if you're interested in becoming more engaged in implementing the agenda outlined in this report, consider becoming a Center for Michigan education task force member:
http://thecenterformichigan.net/articles/education-task-force/.
Thank you for being part of this community conversation campaign!
Many thanks,
Amber
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Amber Toth
Outreach Director
The Center for Michigan
4100 North Dixboro Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Twitter: @CenterforMI
Survey: Residents want help for teachers
Study shows priorities different from lawmakers
By Lori Higgins Free Press Education Writer
Many Michigan lawmakers see school choice and online learning as keys to improving the state’s education system, but a yearlong survey of Michigan residents released Tuesday shows a disconnect between what lawmakers want and what the public wants.
The report, “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education,” shows the majority of residents consider online learning and school choice to be important issues, but not urgent. Instead, survey participants say Michigan schools will improve by giving teachers more support, strengthening requirements to become a teacher, boosting early childhood education programs and holding educators more accountable.
Those four issues consistent ly received support from more than two-thirds of the participants in the survey, said John Be-bow, president and CEO of the Center for Michigan, an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit think tank.
The center conducted a yearlong public engagement campaign. Michigan residents who participated in 264 community conversations across the state and two polls ranked online learning and school choice at the bottom of a list of reform priorities.
“There’s a sense that what’s at the top of the agenda in Lansing is not exactly what’s at the top of the agenda on Main Street,” Bebow said.
Ari Adler, spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said there may be disagreement on which specific issues should be at the forefront, but he said the report shows lawmakers and the public on com mon ground overall. Michigan residents gave the state’s education system mediocre grades.
“People think our schools are not performing as well as they should be and that educating our youth is incredibly important,” Adler said. “It should be a priority for this state.”
Adler said Bolger believes choice has the ability to help improve education in all schools. The push for online education, he said, “acknowledges the fact that not every student learns the same way and that a one-size approach to educating our kids is not the way to succeed. We’ve never said online learning is the answer.”
The report reaffirms the importance that Michigan residents place on education, said Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder.
“The governor agrees in the importance of a quality educa tion for every Michigan student, and feels that more dialogue needs to take place in the coming year to ensure that every student is getting the education they need and deserve, so they can compete for jobs in the 21st Century.”
Overall results from the report show the public believes educators have been beaten up in recent years and it’s time to provide more support for them, Be-bow said. From a policy standpoint, that means a better evaluation system for teachers — something being worked on currently via a statewide pilot program.
At the same time, the majority of participants want tougher teacher preparation programs, beginning with higher standards for entry into the programs.
“They’re saying we need better people to go into the profession, we need better training, we need better mentoring,” said Phil Power, founder and chairman of the center.
A majority of the people who participated in the conversations and polls gave the state’s education system mediocre grades. Just 27% of the people who participated in the meetings and 41% of those who participated in the polls gave the statewide system an A or B. Seventy percent of meeting participants and 54% of poll participants gave the state system grades of C or D. The rest assigned the lowest grade, an E.
Participants were more generous in rating their local schools. For instance, 54% of meeting participants and 56% of poll participants gave local schools a grade of A or B.
To read the full report, go to www.thecenterformichigan.net .
• CONTACT LORI HIGGINS: 313-222-6651OR LHIGGINS@FREEPRESS.COM
HOW THE REFORMS RANKED
Here is a ranking of the amount of support for specific reforms backed by the public — both through community conversations and telephone polls — in the Center for Michigan’s yearlong public engagement campaign:
• Stronger support for educators: 88% conversations; 76% polls
• Improve teacher preparation: 79% conversations; 80% polls
• Expand early childhood education: 74% conversations; 68% polls
• Hold educators more accountable: 68% conversations; 69% polls
• Reduce class sizes: 71% conversations; 64% polls
• Change the school calendar: 43% conversations; 51% polls
• Increase school choice: 33% conversations; 51% polls
• Expand online learning: 31% conversations; 44% polls
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