U.S. House Republican Leaders Recognize National School Choice Week (January 26-February 1, 2014)

Congressman John Kline, Chairman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 27, 2014 CONTACT: Press Office (202) 226-9440 Republican Leaders Recognize National School Choice Week WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statements in recognition of National School Choice Week (January 26-Feb 1): Speaker Boehner: When parents are empowered to select the best schools, students have a better shot at an education that will help them succeed and pursue their dreams. The Student Success Act, passed by the House last year, provides these opportunities. This week, as we celebrate school choice and the people who work to advance this idea year-round, I urge the Senate to pass this measure as an important step in strengthening our economy and making life work for more Americans. Majority Leader Cantor: As we celebrate National School Choice Week, we come together as parents, teachers, and advocates to improve education. Still too many students are forced to attend schools that don’t address their needs, or worse, aren’t safe. Meeting with parents and students in my home state of Virginia and across the country, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that school choice has on so many families. At a time when the school choice movement faces threats from proponents of the status quo, fighting for education opportunity is more important than ever. Over six months ago, the House acted and passed the Student Success Act to provide parents with more choice so their children have access to good schools and a quality education. It’s past time for the Senate to join us in supporting education choice so all children have the chance to succeed. Chairman Kline: The power of school choice cannot be overstated. Charter schools, magnet schools, and scholarship programs have provided thousands of families new hope and opportunity, helping put countless children on the path to a brighter future. More parents deserve the chance to choose the school that best meets their child’s needs, and that’s why House Republicans advanced the Student Success Act. This monumental legislation will strengthen our K-12 education system, expand public school choice, and support the growth of high-quality charter and magnet schools. However, H.R. 5 has been awaiting Senate consideration for more than six months, leaving millions of kids trapped in underperforming schools. Our children deserve better. As we come together to recognize National School Choice Week, I once again call on the Senate to bring the Student Success Act up for a vote and help us craft a final proposal for the president’s signature.   # # #

President Obama awards Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science to Two Michigan Science Teachers

Math, science teachers from Michigan receive a presidential salute

2will receive $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation

By Lori Higgins Detroit Free Press Education Writer

   Brian Peterson was growing up in Grand Rapids when he was bitten by the science bug.

   “Instead of playing video games, I would be out in the woods flipping logs and up to my knees in the creek — exploring and pulling up plants and trying to catch snakes,” said Peterson, 39. “I loved exploring and doing new things.”

   Peterson, a fifth-grade teacher at Musson Elementary School in Rochester Community Schools and an instructor at Oakland University, is one of two Michigan teachers given top honors recently as recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

   The awards were given in each state and in four U.S. jurisdictions. They are the highest honor given by the U.S. government to recognize top math and science teachers.

   Peterson, whose specialty is science, won the science award for Michigan. Emily Theriault-Kimmey, lead teacher at Pattengill Elementary School in Ann Arbor Public Schools, won the math award.

   Both will receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

   “These teachers are inspiring today’s young students to become the next generation of American scientists, mathematicians and innovators,” President Barack Obama said in a news release. “Through their passion and dedication, and by sharing their excitement about science, technology, engineering and math, they are helping us build a promising future for all our children.”

   For Peterson, news of the award hadn’t sunk in by the end of last week.

   “People tell you you won,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem real.”

   But he said he is pleased to see teachers getting recognition because so much of the discussion around education lately has been negative.

   “It means a lot that it’s important enough for the country that we honor teachers,” Peterson said Friday.

   Theriault-Kimmey, in a statement posted on the recognition program’s website, said receiving the award “is an incredible experience,” and that she’s accepting it on behalf of those who have influenced her

   — from other teachers to students to mentors.

   “I will continue to pass on the passion for education that they have instilled in me,” she said.

   Sharing his love for science is important to Peterson. His students are currently studying astronomy; one of them could one day be the first person to step foot on Mars.

   “The greatest thing about science is the hands-on. You get to do activities and experiments and try things. It’s OK to fail once in a while ... because that’s how we learn.”

   Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651or lhiggins@freepress.com  

AWARD WINNERS: Emily Theriault-Kimmey teaches in Ann Arbor Public Schools; Brian Peterson teaches in Rochester Community Schools. PAEMST

DOW Sustainability Education Center (Update: STEM Manufacturing Workforce Collaboration)

Dow Science and Sustainability Education Center in collaboration with SVSU aims to prepare competitive STEM workforce

Jeff Schrier | Mlive.com Andrew Liveris, president, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Co., makes a point while speaking at the Saginaw Valley State University Economic Summit 2013, Oct. 25, 2013 at SVSU's Curtiss Hall.

By Heather Jordan | heather_jordan@mlive.com 
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on January 02, 2014 at 7:15 AM, updated January 02, 2014 at 7:19 AM

MIDLAND, MI — Manufacturing in America is at a turning point, and the recently announced Dow Science and Sustainability Education Center in collaboration with Saginaw Valley State University is what the Dow Chemical Co. says it needs to prepare a competitive workforce in a science, technology, engineering and math world.

Dow Chairman, President and CEO Andrew Liveris announced the new centerduring Saginaw Valley State University’s 50th Anniversary Economic Summit on Oct. 25. He said he hopes the STEM center inspires students to make science their life's work. 

“Today’s manufacturing is fast becoming unrecognizable to the generation that I represent,” Liveris told the crowd. “...Today, making things cannot be separated from the work of inventing them and improving them and (being) creative with them and developing a next generation of them.”

He said students at all levels must be re-skilled, creating workers the economy needs.

The Dow Science and Sustainability Education Center will include a research center and a mobile science lab. 

View full sizeJeff Martin

Dow and SVSU officials continue to meet to discuss the details of the program, a portion of which is expected to begin in the spring, said Jeff Martin, community relations leader for Dow. The program is expected to be fully implemented by 2015. 

According to a prepared statement from Martin, the program will provide “an educational experience for students and teachers that provides exposure to modern methods of research, analysis and inspiration for students to study science at the college level.

“The Education Center goes beyond undergraduate research and includes a broad educational outreach, focusing not just on college students, but also on high school students and teachers, through a summer internship program.” 

Why is Dow choosing to make this investment now?

“Manufacturing in America is at a turning point, and to be able to sustain a manufacturing renaissance, we need to prepare a workforce with advance skills in STEM fields that can compete globally," Martin said. "There is a historically strong connection between Saginaw Valley State University and Dow, and we see great value in having the education center located in the region, offering Dow the ability to be directly involved in engaging students, teachers and the community in the fields of STEM.”

J.J. Boehm, director of media and community relations for SVSU, said the university looks forward to this continued partnership with the Midland-based chemical company. 

“SVSU is very grateful for this generous commitment from Dow. STEM education is vitally important to our region, our state and our nation, and through these types of collaborative relationships, we can make our region a leader in these fields," Boehm said in an email. "We look forward to working with Dow to finalize plans to nurture interest in and understanding of the STEM fields among our region's primary, high school and college students.” 

According to Martin, the program will prepare students for STEM careers in a variety of ways, including by preparing future teachers to approach science in the classroom, supporting the ongoing education of teachers and providing them with the tools they need to provide the best science education, creating opportunities for research and data collection, and inspiring students' interest in STEM fields. 

“Dow recognizes that advances in STEM education will drive the economic strength of America and are critical to the nations’ prosperity and security in a global economy," Martin said. 

"Success in improving STEM education, changing youths' perception of these careers and increasing the number of students choosing STEM majors are imperative for the continued prosperity of the U.S. and our manufacturing sector. In addition to the potential impact STEM can have on the U.S. economy, the Great Lakes Bay Region will offer many of these STEM opportunities as the region continues to be a manufacturing hub.”

The broader community will be engaged in the program via the mobile science lab, through which schools and residents will have opportunities to participate in scientific studies of the Saginaw Bay Watershed, Martin said.

— Heather Jordan covers business for MLive/The Saginaw News/The Bay City Times. She can be reached at 989-450-2652 or hjordan@mlive.com. For more business news, follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

EAA (Update)

State reform district could add schools as early as January

It also faces enrollment, board challenges

By Chastity Pratt Dawsey Detroit Free Press Education Writer

   State Superintendent Mike Flanagan announced Tuesday that more failing schools will be placed into Michigan’s reform district in 2014, possibly as early as January.

   The announcement comes as the reform district for the lowest-performing schools — the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan — faces a host of challenges: a 22% enrollment decline, a board member resignation, as well as anti-EAA campaigns led by lawmakers and educators. Also, lawmakers are expected to vote on a bill that could give the EAA powers similar to other school districts but limit the number of schools it can operate to 50.

   Earlier, Flanagan had said that by the end of this year, fewer than 10 additional schools would be placed into the EAA, but he has not given a definitive number.

   A 2009 law allows schools ranked in the lowest 5% — called priority schools — to be placed into a state reform district if they fail to achieve satisfactory results. The EAA was created in 2011 and took control over 15 priority schools in Detroit in 2012. Today, Michigan has 137 priority schools ranked in the lowest 5%.

   Flangan said that although many more schools should be placed in the EAA, “placing schools in this statewide district is an extraordinary step to take, and we want to make sure it’s done right, and every consideration is taken.”

   The state Senate could take up a bill as early as today that says a failing school would become eligible to be placed in the EAA only after being ranked in the lowest 5% of Michigan schools for three consecutive years.

   The bill also would cap the EAA at 50 schools and allow some low-performing schools to be exempt from being transferred to the EAA if the state reform officer and EAA chancellor agree that the students would do better remaining under the control of the local school board .

   State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, suggested that the Senate might consider targeting elementary grade schools to be placed in the EAA.

   “There seems to be some evolving information that the earlier you get involved in a school, the better the chance to turn that school around,” Richardville said.

   The EAA was formed through an interlocal agreement between Detroit Public Schools and Eastern Michigan University. The DPS emergency manager and the EMU Board of Regents are state-appointed. In 2012-13, its first year of operation, the EAA had to use DPS as an intermediary to borrow nearly $12 million to keep afloat financially because it does not have that borrowing authority by law.

   Enrollment in the EAA’s 12 direct-run schools dropped from about 8,300 last year to 6,515, state records show. Enrollment at three schools that the EAA authorized as charter schools dropped from about 1,200 to 1,009. cial officer for the EAA, said the EAA does not expect to borrow money this year or lay off staff. The EAA budgeted conservatively, then got more donations and federal funds than originally budgeted, he said.

   Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, said the declining enrollment in the EAA after just one year of operation is proof that parents do not want it. “EAA has proven to be a complete disaster from the moment they opened their doors. The governor seems fixated on it,” he said.

   A mass of EMU faculty and students showed up at Tuesday’s board meeting to continue to campaign against the EAA. The EAA is not doing a good job teaching students, and EMU is suffering as a result of its involvement with the reform district, they said.

   “Affiliation with the politically motivated, dysfunctionally deployed and pedagogically unsupportable EAA has tarnished our reputation in Michigan and the nation,” EMU education professor Steve Camron told the EMU board.

   EMU board members had no comment but approved appointing EMU Provost Kim Schatzel to replace College of Education Dean Jann Joseph, who stepped down from the EAA board.

MEAP Test Replaced by SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT Exam (Update)

State education officials: Stick with MEAP replacement exam for now

Contracts are in place; test is to debut in 2014-15

By Lori Higgins Detroit Free Press Education Writer

   Michigan Department of Education officials say the state should for now stick with the decision the department made several years ago to introduce the Smarter Balanced Assessment as the state’s new exam — given that contracts already are in place and the new exam is expected to debut during the 2014-15 school year.

   But the recommendation isn’t a slam dunk for the Smarter Balanced test. MDE officials said the contracts for the exam expire in 2016, and they recommend that beginning next year, the state go through the formal process of entertaining proposals for other exams.

   The recommendations are part of a report mandated by the Legislature — via a resolution lawmakers approved in late October that allowed the MDE to move forward with implementation of the often controversial Common Core State Standards, a set of standards adopted by Michigan and 44 other states that spell out what students should know in order to be college and career ready.

   MDE released the 44-page report Monday.

   The resolution required MDE to make a recommendation on an exam that would be used to test students based on the common core standards and provide data to assist in evaluating teachers.

   The requirement was meant to address some lawmakers’ misgivings about the Smarter Balanced exam, which will replace the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) exam. The state gave the last MEAP exam in the fall. The Smarter Balanced exam is expected to debut in the spring of 2015.

   Michigan is one of more than 20 states that in recent years have opted to switch to the Smarter Balanced exam, which assesses the Common Core standards.

   Ari Adler, spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said a legislative hearing will be held on the report, likely in January. The intent, he said, is for the Legislature to make “some sort of decision” about what will become Michigan’s new test.

   “The idea was to see what was out there and to have some time to review this,” Adler said.

   But the Legislature only gave the department a little more than a month to complete the comprehensive report. MDE sent a survey to 185 vendors. Of those, 12 companies submitted replies.

   “Responding to the extensive survey in two weeks was undoubtedly a challenging task for service providers, as the questions were detailed and covered a wide range of topics,” the report said.

   The Smarter Balanced exam met most of the criteria MDE looked at, such as its alignment to the common core standards and inclusion of enough questions that assess critical thinking skills. Other tests that did well in the analysis are produced by CTB/ McGraw-Hill and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

   In the report, the MDE officials said that if the state chose an exam other than Smarter Balanced, the amount of time involved would mean the state wouldn’t have an exam ready for the 2014-15 school year, and it could impact having an exam ready for the 2015-16 school year. That would violate federal education law, they said.

   Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651or lhiggins@freepress.com  . Follow her on Twitter @LoriAHiggins.

See Full Report Here: 
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Common_Core_Assessment_Option_Report_441322_7.pdf

Michigan Schools Rating System Legislation Ignore's Deepened Understanding & Relevance

Local commentary

Rating system won’t make schools better or solve their problems

By Robert D. Livernois and Michael F. Rice

   Recently, the Michigan Department of Education unveiled a new color-coded scorecard rating system for schools. Like most big and complicated projects, its first moment in the sun was met with some confusion and criticism. Efforts to improve it began immediately and are ongoing.

   But rather than work with MDE and schools to improve the scorecards, some Lansing legislators have chosen to add to the confusion by proposing yet another new rating system. This new system, would have a tortured rating process with separate ratings systems for schools serving grades K-8 and 9-12, with each having a clumsy 800-point scale, a bell curve and letter grades.

   The basic premise of any rating system for schools must be rooted in what parents and community members need to be able to gauge school performance and determine the experiences their children are, or will be, having at a school.

   Parents are our partners in our schools. We speak with parents constantly regarding student achievement, plans to improve, as well as our challenges and successes.

   Neither of us has heard a parent ask for a complicated 800-point scale, bell curves or a success formula centered around a single high-stakes test. In fact, many want less testing.

   Parents across our respective regions want to know that their children are in safe and nurturing environments where they are learning daily. They want to know relevant things about student success in pre-K-12 and postsecondary education.

   They want to know that our districts are financially responsible and have reasonable student-teacher ratios.

   They want experienced and well-qualified teachers to provide student opportunities in pre-kindergarten, math, science, social studies, language arts, the fine and performing arts, athletics and technology.

   Parents want to make sure their sons and daughters are getting a strong education with cultural and global awareness and a readiness to pursue higher education and 21st-Century jobs.

   All of this is routinely reflected in public polling data, which consistently demonstrates that parents largely believe that their children’s schools are doing a good job, despite school funding cuts and constant micromanagement by some legislators.

   If our elected officials really want to do something to improve student achievement, they should stop re-creating rating systems every few months and start addressing the devastating effects of poverty, hunger, homelessness and underfunding on schoolchildren and schools in every corner of the state.

   Robert D. Livernois is president of the Tri-County Alliance for Public Education and superintendent of Warren Consolidated Schools. Michael F. Rice is president of Middle Cities Education Association and superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools.

Robert D. Livernois

Michael

   F. Rice

Education Achievement Authority (Update)

Educators urge EMU: Cut ties with state district; teaching concerns cited

By David Jesse Detroit Free Press Education Writer

   Teachers unions and faculty members are applying pressure on Eastern Michigan University, hoping to force it from its role in the statewide Educational Achievement Authority school district, created to take over low-performing schools in the state.

   Several Washtenaw County teachers unions have asked members to stop accepting student teachers from EMU, and the faculty of EMU’s College of Education has sent a letter to the university’s Board of Regents asking it to drop out of the partnership with Detroit Public Schools and State of Michigan.

   On Wednesday, EMU’s full faculty Senate approved a resolution calling for EMU to withdraw from the EAA.

   The faculty and unions are upset with how the EAA staffs its schools. They say that when the EAA takes over, every teacher is fired and then has to reapply.

   The faculty also is upset that EAA schools are run by an appointed board and taken away from local school boards, and, they say, the reform district’s teaching methods are flawed. That all adds up, the EMU faculty says, to harming the university’s reputation.

   “These negative impacts on our reputation, our local relationships, our students and programs, the clear effect on enrollments and thus revenue to the university are a repudiation of EMU’s legacy as a champion of public education and a leader in the preparation of educational professionals,” the letter to the EMU board says. “We implore you to remedy this situation as quickly as possible by unanimously voting to withdraw from the contract creating the EAA.”

   EMU has no plans to drop out, said Leigh Greden, vice president of government and community relations.

   Under the agreement, EMU could withdraw now only if it found another university to take its place. After Dec. 30, 2014, it can withdraw on the next June 30th, as long as it has given at least 180 days notice.

   An EAA spokesman said the initiative is working well.

   How EAA benefits

   The EAA was formed in July 2011. It took control of 15 low-performing Detroit public schools, with the intent to eventually become a statewide district for the state’s lowest performing schools.

   EMU was given two seats on the 11-member board of directors, but College of Education faculty members said they’ve been frozen out since the EAA began, learning only of EMU’s participation when the new school district was announced.

   “We really have nothing to do with the EAA,” said Steve Camron, a special-education professor. “They don’t want anything to do with EMU’s faculty.

   “The EAA went out to a private firm to evaluate special education. They could have gotten that for free from EMU.”

   Camron said EMU professors have had EAA teachers and principals in classes and are trying to help informally. He said the EAA is trying to use EMU’s reputation, but not its resources.

   EAA spokesman Terry Abbott declined to comment on the EMU faculty’s protest but said the district’s “student-centered approach is working.”

   “In its first year of operation, the Education Achievement Authority saw very significant academic improvement throughout its schools,” Abbott said in an e-mail to the Free Press. “Students who had been in failing schools are making strong improvements. That’s what the EAA was created to do, and the effort thus far has been a substantial success.”

   The EAA has operated schools for only one year, so it is too early for MEAP scores to measure its impact. EAA officials measured student progress internally with a test called the Performance Series, a Web-based assessment that is not aligned with the MEAP test but allows teachers to measure student growth.

   Firings and training

   Also trying to push EMU out of the EAA is the Washtenaw County Education Association, which is made up of teachers unions from the Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti school districts.

   The group has advised its teacher members not to take student teachers from EMU this year.

   “EMU is the only public university in partnership with the EAA,” said Tim Heim, a Saline teacher and association president. “The EAA feels school improvement means: ‘Fire all the teachers.’ EMU’s involvement gives us pause.”

   In a letter to teachers this year, Heim said that by firing teachers, EMU and the EAA are saying those teachers are poor teachers, but are then asking some of the same teachers to train EMU students.

   The number of student teachers from EMU who haven’t been able to get into Washtenaw County schools is not known. EMU said the boycott move could hurt its students.

   “This concerns us deeply, as the welfare and career path of our students is our primary concern,” Greden said. “We agree with many in our state and community who do not think it is appropriate for an organization to take actions that could potentially affect the careers of our high-quality teaching students, and the education of young people in our state.”

   Greden said a majority of EMU’s teaching students are from Michigan, and most plan to stay and teach in Michigan.Having a roadblock in their career development, he said, could lead them to look for opportunities outside Michigan.

   Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851or djesse@freepress.com  .

   Free Press education writer Chastity Pratt Dawsey contributed to this report.