HeadlinesA News Report for Michigan Education Leaders

School districts have been ad-vocating for years for flexibility

from the arduous requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). With reauthorization of the law stalled in Congress, President Obama an-nounced that states will be able to apply for waivers from some of the key provisions of the law.

The administration was clear to make the distinction that the purpose of the waivers isn’t to give reprieve from accountability. “We’re not inter-ested in giving flexibility for business as usual,” said a senior administration official. In exchange for the flexibil-ity, states will be expected to close achievement gaps, promote rigorous accountability and ensure that all stu-dents are on track to graduate college- and career-ready. States may request flexibility through waivers of specific provisions of the law, including:

• The 2014 deadline for achieving 100 percent proficiency. A state will no longer have to set targets that require all students to be proficient by 2014. Instead, a state will have flexibility to set their own “ambitious but achievable” student achievement goals.

• District/school improvement and accountability requirements. States, districts and schools will receive relief from a system that over-identifies schools as “failing” and prescribes a one-size-fits-all approach to interventions. Instead, states will have the flexibility to design a system that targets efforts to the schools and districts that are the lowest performing and that have the largest achievement

gaps, tailoring interventions to the unique needs of those schools, dis-tricts and students. States will also be able to recognize and reward schools that are the highest achiev-ing and making the most progress.

• Flexibility related to the use of federal funds. States, districts and schools will gain increased flexibil-ity to use several funding streams in ways they determine best meets their needs; rural districts will have additional flexibility in using

October 10, 2011

Since 1994 MASB has recognized more than 500 school districts with an Education Excellence Award/Michigan’s Best Award for their innovativeness and unique approach to student achievement. SET SEG School Insurance Specialists, the exclusive sponsor, has contributed more than $120,000 directly to schools.

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Charter cap expansion bill clears Senate Education Committee . . . . . . 3

Governor signs health care cost sharing legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

How NOT to be a terrible school board member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

AASA and AFT develop new teacher evaluation framework . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

inside this issue:

Volume 2, Issue 19Michigan Association of School Boards1001 Centennial Way, Suite 400Lansing, MI 48917

Michigan hopeful for No Child Left Behind waiver

Highlights• NCLB has become a barrier to

progress in districts.• States must adhere to four main

principles.

Waivers, continued on page 4

The Obama administration said it’s offering waivers now because

many of NCLB’s requirements have become barriers to states

implementing education reforms that lead to progress and academic improvement.

Waiver provides flexibility, but still demands rigorous accountability and student success

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 20112

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www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 2011 3

At press time Senate Bill 618, part of the so-called “Parent

Empowerment Package,” had been reported from the Senate Education Committee and it’s expected that the remainder of the bills will move to the full Senate within the next week.

These bills will further deplete resources for traditional public schools while helping the charter school industry, private schools and home-school students. MASB testi-fied against this package, arguing that these bills do little to help schools suc-ceed, and in fact, work against prog-ress as some schools will lose engaged parents and students.

SB 618 takes the policy debate over the number of charter schools Michi-gan should have and expands it to a conversation about how Michigan charter schools are governed, run, au-thorized and created. MASB believes this legislation is unnecessary with the current permeable charter cap that’s in place and will undermine recent leg-islative efforts to ensure high quality charter schools flourish in our state.

Issues and concerns• Eliminating authorizing boundar-

ies for community colleges further removes accountability from the local governing board.

• Allowing multi-site schools under one charter contract could create a statewide school district with thousands of students and no local tie to an elected board, further

removing options for community and parental input.

• Eliminating the cap on university-authorized charters removes the incentive to ensure performance before another school can open. Rewarding success is better public policy than rewarding mediocrity.

• Eliminating the current provision that only al-lows addi-tional char-ters in school districts that have a gradu-ation rate of 75.5 percent or lower is counter to the argument that competi-tion drives success. The intent of the current provision is to give stu-dents in low-performing schools options. This change seems aimed at boosting charter performance by allowing chartering in an al-ready successful school district.

• Exempting property taxes for property leased to charter school operators is a slippery slope for tax collections. It will serve to under-mine the already over-burdened School Aid Fund.

• Current law allows authorizers to collect up to 3 percent of the revenue from a charter school strictly for oversight. The proposed

changes remove this restriction and would allow authorizers, like universities and community col-leges, to mingle this money with their general operating dollars. This creates a financial incentive to

authorize charters without regard for success and achievement.

• Current law requires a cyber school to report, in its second year, to the state superintendent and the legislature regarding student par-ticipation and performance. This is important language to maintain until more data can be collected on the performance of cyber schools and operators.

• Lastly, the language to allow the privatization of instructional staff would severely diminish the ability of the retirement system to stay solvent and could lead to collapse.

Legislative Update

Highlights• Bill expands conversation to how

charters are governed, run, autho-rized and created.

• Legislation unnecessary.

Senate Bill 7 was signed by the governor on Sept. 24 and assigned Public Act 152. Recall that this law

will require either a hard cap or an 80/20 cost split on health insurance policies for public employers. Consult your legal counsel for guidance on how this impacts your current and future contract negotiations.

It will take some time to see the full impact of this act, but now that more of the cost is shifted, districts should see more engaged employees when discussing health care coverage at the bargaining table. Health care cost savings was the area of relief mentioned most by dis-tricts at regional meetings last fall and MASB is pleased we were able to work with the legislature and other edu-cation groups to get this priority adopted into law.

Governor signs health care cost sharing legislation

Charter cap expansion bill clears Senate Education Committee

Charters, continued on page 6

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 20114

$32.95

Author, Richard E. Mayer, takes a humorous approach to the serious relation-ship between school admin-istrators and board members. This book shows how to prevent good intentions from creating bad outcomes. Each chapter presents a negative school board sce-nario, offers valuable alternatives.

their funds. Funds to meet the needs of particular populations of disadvantaged students will be protected. There are seven other areas of flexibility within the plan. For complete details, visit www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility. In

order to obtain the flexibility, states must adhere to three main principles and a recommended fourth. 1. States must demonstrate that they’ve adopted and are implementing college- and career-ready standards. These stan-

dards must be aligned with assessments, and those assessments must be tied to student growth, which is now the measure of student achievement.

2. States must adopt a differentiated accountability system that gives credit for progress towards college- and career-readiness. As opposed to NCLB, which only highlighted poor-performing schools, the system must recognize the highest achieving schools that serve low-income students and those that show the greatest student progress. The states must identify the bottom 5 percent Priority Schools and implement rigorous interventions. An addi-tional 10 percent of the state’s schools will be identified as Focus Schools due to low graduation rates, large achievement gaps or low student subgroup performance. Districts will target strategies designed to focus on students with the greatest needs.

3. States will be required to provide guidelines for teacher and prin-cipal evaluation. These systems should be developed with input from teachers and principals and assess performance based on multiple measures, including student progress over time.

4. The fourth principle isn’t compulsory, but states are highly encour-aged to remove unnecessary administrative and reporting require-ments that impede progress and use valuable district resources.

The Obama administration is offering waivers now because many of NCLB’s requirements have become barriers to states implementing education reforms that lead to progress and academic improvement.

For an FAQ on what NCLB flexibility means for students, parents and teachers, visit www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility.

Waivers, continued from front page

Prior to the announcement of waivers, the Michigan Department of Educa-

tion asked for a 10-year waiver and to lower the proficiency goal to 80 percent. Michigan is positioned to qualify for a waiver because or proactive education reforms including:• adopting the Common Core Standards,• developing an educator evaluation system,• identifying the state’s 5 percent of lowest-

performing schools, among others. It’s expected the state will seek a waiver

under the new plan’s first deadline of Nov. 14. Waivers will be issued early next year and will be in effect through the 2013-14 school year, with an option for a one-year extension.

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan was at the White House for Obama’s announcement and said, “Michigan is a national leader in set-ting high standards that reflect the direction the president outlined. I’m confident that this new flexibility will allow our schools to contin-ue to improve for the success of all students.”

Michigan’s waiver status

How NOT to be a terrible school board memberEven the most well-intentioned

school board member can make mistakes. How NOT to Be a Terrible School Board Member, by Richard E. Mayer, shows how to prevent good in-tentions from creating bad outcomes.

The book presents 28 terrible habits, offers alternatives and provides win-win solutions. Here’s a snapshot of the terrible habits you can learn to avoid:

• Humiliate a district employee in public.

• Micromanage the superintendent.• Solicit complaints from teachers

and staff.

• Ask for special treatment.• Disrespect a fellow board member.• Speak for the board.• Abstain on tough votes.• Come unprepared to meetings.• Argue with a hostile speaker.• Ignore minor conflicts of interest.• Radiate negative energy. This is an excellent book for new

and veteran board members and for administrators who want to build a strong relationship with their board.

Order your copy today through the MASB bookstore, emerge.masb.org/source/Orders/index.cfm?task=0.

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 2011 5

The Michigan Blues offer a wide range of health plans for school districts,

backed by the strongest state and national provider network.

Your options range from our PPO and HMO plans, to consumer-directed

Flexible BlueSM plans compatible with health savings accounts, to MyBlueSM

individual coverage. Our first-to-market group wellness product, Healthy Blue

LivingSM HMO, rewards you and your employees with lower costs for a greater

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And you have Blue DentalSM and vision coverage options, too. All from a

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For information on Blues plans available to MASB members, call 517-327-5900.

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MASB adjunct brings experience, civility to negotiationsThomas Tebeau, WilliamstonPh: 517.285.6175 Email: tebeauthomas@yahoo.com

Tom retired

from public education with 30 years experi-ence in finance, personnel, negotiations, labor contract management and the op-erations of

school districts. Tom has a variety of experience, having worked for both Williamston Community Schools and

Benton Harbor Area Schools. Prior to his work in education, he worked as a certified public accountant perform-ing audits for public schools, cities, townships, counties, hospitals, non-profit organizations and various for-profit entities.

Tom has negotiated many success-ful teacher and support staff contracts and has experience in new contract development, the grievance process, arbitration, mediation and fact find-ing. Although Tom has experience navigating through the grievance pro-cess, he believes in problem solving before getting to that point. In short, he’s got your labor relations needs covered.

“I believe that both sides are on the

same team and we need to reach an agreement that will make us grow as a team,” said Tom. “If you want some-one to bring a positive aspect to your negotiating team and experience, I’m the person to join your team.”

Tom serves districts throughout the mid-Michigan area. He loves to read anything written by Clive Cussler and his favorite quote is, “Anything can be improved, we just have to be willing to take a chance.”

Call MASB’s Labor Relations De-partment, 800.968.4627, for assistance with all your labor relations needs and to work with an experienced negotiator who will bring civility to your contract negotiations.

Thomas Tebeau

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 20116

Have you explored the digital version of Headlines yet? If not, be sure to login to the Media & Publi-

cations page of our website, www.masb.org, and check it out. Beginning with the first issue in January, Headlines will become a digital publication that offers you a ton of features and capabilities not present in the print version.

You’ll have a digital archive of all past issues of Head-lines, creating space on your office bookshelves. It will also be easier to get more information, as the links will take you directly to the web and other documents for supplemental information.

You can create digital bookmarks of useful informa-tion, and easily share pages with friends. Explore this issue and others online and send your feedback to Sarah Ford, sford@masb.org.

There’s also no data to support that privatized staff perform at a higher level than publicly employed staff. It’s an unnecessary addition to the legislation and deserves a policy discussion separate from the char-ter debate.

This bill goes far beyond a discus-sion on how many charters Michi-

gan should have. Successful charter authorizers already have the ability to open more schools under current law and there’s no reason for expan-sion. These bills have been drafted to give private companies access to the School Aid Fund without evidence of success, while leaving struggling schools with fewer resources. Encour-

age your legislator(s) to vote no on this package.

For up-to-the-minute information on these bills and to easily contact your elected officials, visit www.masb.org/evocate. For questions, contact Don Wotruba, dwotruba@masb.org, 517.327.5913 or Peter Spadafore, pspadafore@masb.org, 517.327.5912.

There’s still time to take charge of your professional developmentAnnual Fall Conference & Exhibit Show • Grand Traverse Resort • Oct . 27-30

Charters, continued from page 3

The Annual Fall Conference is just around the corner, but it’s

not too late to register to attend. Your colleagues from across the state will convene on the Grand Traverse Resort Oct. 27-30 to share ideas and best practices,

be inspired and develop solutions to Michigan’s education challenges.

The conference gets under way on Thursday with a variety of pre-confer-ence sessions:

• Michigan Council of School Attorneys Fall Conference

• Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Between Groups: Lessons from Schools and Districts on the Performance Frontier, Katie Haycock, president, The Education Trust

• Secondary Success, Brian Davis,

superintendent, Holland Public Schools and 2011 Superintendent of the Year.

• Creating Data-Based Culture: The School Board’s Responsibility, Debora Boeck and Rich Parker, Washington State School Direc-tor’s Association.

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your skills and knowledge to become part of the education solution.

Register online and learn more at www.masb.org/conference.

I’m looking for optimistic kids in my school who are eagerly awaiting to make a difference in their school and community. Students at my school need to know that people aren’t going to hand you anything in life,

you have to work hard for everything you do!– Lopez, senior, Hamtramck High School

What I want from my educationHeadlines making the digital conversion in the new year

Take a moment and ask a student what they want from their education and/or school. You may be surprised by what they tell you, and, it’s always good to consider the student per-spective in your decision-making. Share your responses with us and send to Jennifer Rogers, jrogers@masb.org.

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 2011 7

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 20118

AASA and AFT develop new teacher evaluation framework

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Ameri-

can Association of School Admin-istrators (AASA) have collaborated to develop a new teacher evaluation framework.

The AFT and AASA present a two-pronged approach to educator quality—cultivating excellence and addressing concerns efficiently. It first focuses on designing and implement-ing high quality teacher development and evaluation systems. Second, it creates a fair, efficient and expedient process for addressing poor perfor-mance and misconduct.

The continuous improvement model for teacher development and evalua-tion is research- and standards-based and includes five components:

• Professional teaching standards that advance a common vision of the profession and communicate a shared belief about what’s impor-tant for teachers to know and be able to do.

• Standards for assessing teacher practice that are based on evi-dence of both good teaching prac-

tice and student learning.• Implementation standards that

address details of evaluation such as how teachers are involved, who evaluates them, how often evalu-ation takes place, how the results will be used and how the results are communicated to teachers.

• Standards for professional context that describe a school’s teaching and learning conditions, both physical as well as culture and climate.

• Standards for systems of support that must be available through a teacher’s career. Teachers who’ve been identified as not meeting standards must especially be given sufficient and meaningful opportu-nities to improve their practice.

According to AFT and AASA, “a rigorous and robust teacher develop-ment and evaluation system must also address the issue of poor perfor-mance.” They recommend that teach-ers be given appropriate resources and support to improve. If the teacher’s performance doesn’t improve then he/she should be dismissed using the three-step process of evalua-tion, support and hearing. The or-ganizations believe the timeline for dismissal should reflect the nature of the teacher’s unsatisfactory perfor-mance; however, the time allotted for

improvement shouldn’t exceed one school year regardless of the identified area of need.

AFT and AASA’s Continuous Im-provement Model for Teacher Develop-ment and Evaluation is designed to help all teachers improve their prac-tice and to support, in particular, the development of novice teachers. MASB/MASA addendum for superintendent evaluation

In addition to quality evaluations of teachers, regular objective super-intendent evaluation is critical for school districts. The July 18 issue of Headlines outlines the Sample Ad-dendum for a Superintendent Evalua-tion to Address Student Achievement. In recognition of the link between the superintendent’s work and that of teachers, principals and other staff, the sample language is directly linked to student achievement growth data. The Addendum will help you build a parallel and aligned system that links student achievement targets, teacher performance targets, administrator performance targets and, ultimately, district performance targets.

To download a copy of the Adden-dum, visit www.masb.org.

For a copy of the AFT/AASA frame-work, visit bit.ly/aasaevaluation.

Highlights• Framework develops high quality

teacher evaluation systems.• Deals with efficient dismissal for

poor performance.

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 2011 9

Improve, continued from back page

teachers, the Michigan Senate Educa-tion Committee chose instead to have Tony Bennett, a pro voucher official from Indiana, provide testimony and advocate for taking dedicated pub-lic school funds to support choice scholarships at private and paro-chial schools. Already, resources were robbed from the School Aid Fund for community colleges. Now there’s dis-cussion to take public dollars and fund tuition for private schools.

What our governor and legisla-ture need to do is look closely at the research regarding best practices of those countries that are high on the list of top performing developed coun-tries (Finland, Singapore, etc.). The key fundamental factors of these top performing countries include:

1. Elevating the professional entry requirements for teaching and

compensating teachers at the same status and level of other top respected professions in the country.

2. Providing adequate and sustain-able funding commensurate with the financial resources necessary to operate a high performing school system.

3. Ensuring a strong induction pro-gram as new teachers grow and evolve into experienced master instructors.

4. Investing heavily in the profes-sional growth of teachers. Sup-porting the conditions where best teaching practices can be inspect-ed, shared and replicated to scale.

5. Rather than promoting low level basic skills and drill tests, rely on assessments that measure higher-order thinking skills. With less of

a “drill, test and punish” environ-ment, teachers are free to engage students deeply where inquiry, critical thinking and creativity are fostered.

6. Foster and nurture the conditions where parents are better able to provide support and partner with the local school in supporting their child’s learning.

During committee hearings, in-stead of seeking input and listening to public school parents and teachers, our elected officials have only taken testimony from charter school repre-sentatives, the Mackinac Center, pro-voucher representatives and private business vendors. It makes me won-der. Does our leadership in Lansing really want to improve public educa-tion or do they have other ulterior motives?

Members of the Governor’s Council on Educator Effec-

tiveness were announced and one of your board colleagues is among the appointees. The Council was created under legislation that calls for more effective and regular evaluations of educators.

Monroe Public Schools President David Vensel has been appointed to serve on the Governor’s Council on Educator Effectiveness. Vensel is the principal of Jefferson High School in Monroe and was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe).

The governor’s appointees include:• Deborah Ball of Dexter, served as

dean of the University of Michigan School of Education since 2005.

• Mark Reckase of Okemos, pro-

fessor in the measurement and quantitative methods program within the Counseling, Education-al Psychology and Special Educa-tion Department of the College of Education at Michigan State University.

• Nicholas Sheltrown of Alto, direc-tor of measurement, research and accountability at National Heritage Academics in Grand Rapids.

These gubernatorial appointees serve a term at the pleasure of the governor. Additional appointees to the council come from the speaker of the house and the state superintendent.

• Jennifer Hammond, principal of Grand Blanc High School, was appointed by Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall). Ham-mond serves as the president of

the Michigan Association of Sec-ondary School Principals.

• Joseph Martineau, executive direc-tor of the Bureau of Assessment & Accountability in the Michigan Department of Education, will serve as the designee of Superin-tendent Mike Flanagan.

MASB member appointed to recommend student growth and assessment programs for educator evaluations

David Vensel

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 201110

Education NewsAround the Nation

Annual search underway for nation’s top youth volunteers

The Prudential Spirit of Commu-nity Awards program, sponsored by Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, has launched its search for young people who have demonstrated outstanding community service over the past year.

Participating in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a great way to reward and call attention to students in your schools who have distinguished themselves through volunteerism. At a time when schools and young people are so often the subjects of bad news in the media, this program represents a great opportu-nity to publicize the wonderful things that kids are doing and the positive role that schools play in promoting community involvement.

Students in grades five through 12 can apply online at spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. Applica-tions must be completed by Nov. 1 and then submitted to a middle or high school principal, Girl Scout council, county 4-H agent, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA or affiliate of HandsOn Network. Schools must cer-tify their top youth volunteers by Nov. 8 for state-level judging. Top volun-teers will be eligible for an unrestricted award of $1,000 or more, a medallion and a trip to Washington, D.C.

Please make this information avail-able to your building level principals

and encourage them to support young volunteers in your schools.

For questions, call 877.525.8491 or spirit@nassp.org.

NSBA names excellence in urban education finalists

The National School Boards Associ-ation has named three school districts as finalists for the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Annual Award for Urban School Board Excel-lence. Boston Public Schools, Washoe (Nevada) County Public Schools and Mesquite (Texas) Independent School District were selected based on:

• Excellence in board governance,• Building civic capacity,• Closing the achievement gap—

equality in education, and• Demonstrated success of academic

excellence.These districts have demonstrated

that diverse urban districts can suc-ceed and serve as a model for other urban districts.

Boston Public Schools was selected for its efforts to educate and assimilate English language learners. Its $10 mil-lion, multi-pronged approach has re-sulted in test score gains for language arts at all grade levels and significant improvements in math.

The 37,000-student Mesquite Independent School District, system-atically made major gains in student achievement and significantly closed achievement gaps while successfully rallying community support. This

has resulted in all subgroups show-ing improvement on state tests, with a significant close in the gap between white and minority students.

Finally, the Washoe County Public Schools have had an aggressive agenda of change and reform. The superin-tendent, school board, teachers and staff made impressive gains in a short amount of time to address the high dropout rate and improve student achievement. In 2010, the gradua-tion rate improved seven percent-age points. They’ve also significantly closed achievement gaps for minority and English language learners.

To learn more about the award, visit www.nsba.org/cube.

Colorado panel revisits post-Colum-bine safety rules

According to Education Week, a panel of Colorado lawmakers and law enforcement officials have determined that policies adopted after the Colum-bine High School shootings should be scaled back.

The group finds that state laws have tied the hands of many administra-tors with zero-tolerance policies and that officials are forced to refer a high number of students to law enforce-ment for minor offenses. During the past decade, about 100,000 students in the state have been referred to police. The panel will continue to meet to de-velop recommendations for lawmak-ers on policy changes.

Source: Education Week, 9.21.11.

The 2010-11 Annual Report is available for download and review at www.masb.org. The new dashboard format highlights the association’s goals and member contributions. The report also highlights your association’s

legislative priorities and provides an overview of the key benefits of membership.

Annual Report highlights MASB and member accomplishments

www.masb.org • MASB Headlines • Oct. 10, 2011 11

A publication of the Michigan Association of School Boards

Contact MASB800 .968 .4627 • www .masb .org 517 .327 .5907 • sford@masb .org

MAsB dAteBook

Board Leadership deveLopment

Opinions and sponsorships expressed in Headlines do not necessarily reflect the position of MASB.

Mission StatementTo provide quality educational leadership ser-vices for all Michigan boards of education, and to advocate for student achievement and public education.

2011-12 MASB OfficersPresident: Burl Ghastin President Elect: Steve Zinger Vice President: Ruth Coppens Past President: Gregory Peoples

Executive Director:Kathy Hayes

Communications & PR Director:Jennifer Rogers, MPA

Communications Specialist:Sarah Ford, MPA

Production Coordinator:Deb Richardson

HeadlinesA News Report for Michigan Education Leaders

News You Can Use

Spotlight Site

• Annual Fall Conference, Oct . 27-30, Grand Traverse Resort, Acme

• Superintendent Bootcamp, Nov . 10-11, MASB, Lansing

• CBA Weekend, Dec . 2-3, Oakland Schools

• Federal Relations Network Conference, Feb . 5-7, Washington, D .C .

• MASB/MASA Legislative Conference, March 15, 2012, Lansing

For the most up-to-date details, go to www .masb .org or call 800 .968 .4627 .

The U.S. Department of Education launched version 2.0 of ED Data Express, an interactive website aimed at making accurate and timely K-12 education data available to the public. The upgraded site adds new data visualization tools, enhanced documentation and social networking options for users. The site is designed to improve the public’s ability to access and explore high-value state-level education data collected by the U.S. Department of Education. It presents the data in a clear, easy-to-use manner, with options to download information into Excel or manipulate the data within the website. U.S. Secre-tary of Education Arne Duncan says the site supports the ability of parents and educators to understand, evaluate and improve how we educate our children.

Ed Data Express - Version 2.0www.eddataexpress.ed.gov.

• Learning to read and graduation linked. Low-income students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are at great risk of not graduating, or not graduating on time, according to Double Jeopardy, a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. More than a quarter (26 percent) of low-income, low-pro-ficiency readers fail to graduate high school by age 19, compared to 22 percent of low-income children overall, and 6 percent of children who have never experienced poverty. The rate was highest for poor African-American and Hispanic students, at 31 and 33 percent respectively—or about eight times the rate for all proficient readers. Among children who never lived in poverty, all but 2 percent of the best third grade readers graduated from high school on time. The study looked at third grade because it’s an important pivot point in a child’s education, the time when students shift from learning to read and begin reading to learn. Read the entire report at bit.ly/doublejeopardy.

• Family engagement a key component. When schools effectively engage families in health issues, they also are opening the door to families becoming more involved with academic and other school issues. Family engagement has been shown to: improve students’ attitudes toward schools and learning; improve academic achievement and student success; and, reduce children’s health-risk behaviors. To assist school districts, the National School Boards Association created Families as Partners: Fostering Family Engagement for Healthy and Successful Students, a document that provides an overview of family engagement strategies related to health issues, as well as suggested ac-tions districts can use to strengthen family engagement. Download your copy at bit.ly/famengagement.

1001 Centennial Way, Suite 400 Lansing, MI 48917-8249

Michigan Association of School BoardsLeadStrong

Gov. Snyder and our legisla-tors are engaged in another

round of reform measures for public education. While inspecting these set of bills closely, one would wonder if their interests are genuinely intent on improving public education or if there are other ulterior interests and mo-tives involved. Let’s take a close look at some of this new legislation.Lifting the Cap on Charter Schools While touting the need to have fewer school districts in Michigan to save on operational dollars, the governor is promoting more charter schools. These additional “little school dis-tricts,” that don’t need to comply with regulations and guidelines as K-12

public schools, will drain dollars from an already depleted School Aid Fund. I would encourage the governor to read the performance research on charter schools (Charter Schools–Not a Silver Bullet of Education Reform). The research is clear that charter schools generally underperform their public school counterparts, have little transparency and accountability for expenditure of public tax dollars, are more racially segregated and regularly turn away special needs students.Open Schools of Choice

The fundamental institution in our great American democracy is our local public school system. The local public school system isn’t only the bedrock of

our democratic society, but is en-trusted to educate each community’s most cherished asset, their students. Why harm and undermine the trust and relationship within a community by promoting and enticing students to betray their community by attend-ing a school in another community? The research is clear, schools of choice policy just further weakens struggling districts, causes facility, transportation and operation quandaries and under-mines communities in general.Public Tax Dollars Funding Private/Parochial School Tuition

Shunning any testimony and feed-back from Michigan parents and

Worth Repeating does not necessarily reflect the views or positions of MASB. It is intended to spark dialogue and inform readers about what is being said about public education around the nation.

Worth RepeatingDoes Lansing really want to improve public education,

or do they have other motives?Viewpoint by Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent David Larson. Reprinted from the Oakland Press, 9/30/11.

Improve, continued on page 9