hot topics

MASA news:

• MASA Executive Director attends Kalamazoo Central HS graduation
  

   

   

   

  Reflections by William H. Mayes, MASA Executive Director

  Awesome—no other word comes close to describing the Kalamazoo Central High School graduation last Monday evening. As guests of Dr. Michael Rice, superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools, Karen and I had a front row seat for this celebration of the dedication and commitment of the senior class of Kalamazoo Central. This class, this school, this district has impressed the whole world. They are all awesome. 

  Inspirational—to see the President of the United States praise a group of students that had dedicated their high school years to excellence on the promise that—if and when they graduate—they would be the beneficiary of the Kalamazoo Promise of a college education.

  The students were respectful, considerate and obviously committed. They were ambassadors of Michigan’s strong commitment to education. They were on cloud nine-and-a-half—and moving higher. The evening was about them and their accomplishments—not about the President. He was the bonus.

  The President’s comments were right on—he praised and challenged the students to be the best they can be and make “no excuses.” And as Dr. Rice said so eloquently in a passage from a Langston Hughes poem, life will consist not of “a crystal stairs” but of hard work.   Kalamazoo Central has provided the help—and some of the giants—to help them on their way. The encouragement was to keep on and keep climbing that stairs.

  What an evening. What a celebration. What an honor. The feeling of pride and awe was truly fantastic.  

  Congratulations Dr. Michael Rice and staff.  Congratulations Class of 2010 Kalamazoo Central.  You have made our whole state proud. 

• Superintendent of the Year 2011
  

  Region presidents are now welcoming nominations for regional 2011

  Superintendent of the Year awards, co-sponsored by MASA, AASA, and Aramark. Anyone can nominate a superintendent for this program. Most often, nominations come from a school board member, parent, community leader or another superintendent.

  Check with your own region president to learn the nomination process your region will follow. If the region has no planned process, then follow the following steps:

  1. Complete the “Nomination Form” at the Superintendent of the Year awards page on MASA’s website.
  2. Submit the nomination form to your Region President AND to AASA by July 30, in order to give nominees adequate time to complete the lengthy application packet. (The deadline for all nominees’ completed application packets is September 30.)

  This year’s theme will be “Negotiating the Peaks and Valleys of Leadership” and all applicants will be measured against the following criteria:

  • Leadership for Learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in his or her school system.
  • Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication.
  • Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team.
  • Community Involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.

  This year marks the 24th year of the National Superintendent of the Year Program.

  Nomination brochures have been mailed to all public school board presidents, so if you plan to nominate a colleague, be sure to check with their board president so you can work together. An invitation to participate should have been mailed to all public school boards and superintendents in mid-June.

  To learn more about the National Superintendent of the Year program, visit www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=3404.

• SOS Updates
  -

  NEW Candidate Forum Guide now available

  We are pleased to announce that the SOS Candidate Forum Guide is now posted at www.SOSMichigan.org.  We strongly encourage all school districts to consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring such an event before the primary election in August. 

  Candidate Forums provide a meaningful way to reach out to our communities and our supporters and get them involved in understanding candidate positions on issues of vital concern to our schools and state.  In these times of frequent turnover of legislators it is crucial that schools make connections early with candidates; and assure that our voice is heard and our issues understood. 

  As we mentioned previously, some schools are holding these types of forums and inviting only educators and human service personnel, others are opening the forum to their broader community. Do what works for you, but it is a good opportunity to reach out to senior citizens and your local business leaders if that makes sense in your community.

  Also consider who can/should co-sponsor this type of event in your district. It may make sense for the local PTSA to work with their school leaders.  In many parts of the state it will make most sense to conduct a forum through the ISD.

  Please review the materials at www.SOSMichigan.org. If you need something beyond what’s there, let us know. We are happy to help fill in the blanks, or otherwise help make this work for you. If you have questions or suggestions contact: Nancy Hawkins at nhawkins@msbo.org; or Tom White at tomwhite@masb.org; or Bob Kefgen at rkefgen@gomasa.org.

  Summer messaging

  As you know, the legislature is finishing up work on the budgets and hopes to have them done by June 30. They are currently considering using money from the School Aid Fund (SAF) to help balance other portions of the budget. This is wrong because:

  • They haven’t fully restored the cuts they made for 2009-10. All schools are still looking at cuts of at least $100 per pupil over what they received in 2008-09, a number are looking at significantly more.
  • They would be using one-time money (surplus funds from the SAF) to help support other budgets (Community Colleges/Higher Ed) when they haven’t, “kept their promise” to the K-12 community.  It is a short term fix that will cause long term issues.
  • Lansing just added requirements for annual evaluations and other programs associated with the Race To The Top (RTTT) legislation, and cut our funding at a time when they are increasing our costs on the local level.
  • Schools have reformed, now it’s time for revenue. Many in the legislature have said, “Reforms first, revenues to follow.” We have done the RTTT reforms; we have done reforms in the MPSERS.  We are asking for reforms in health insurance. How about getting us back to 2008-09 funding levels.
  • The School Aid Fund is not a cookie jar. Lansing has been reducing what the state pays from its General Fund (GF) dollars to K-12 for many years. The GF contribution to schools was $420 million in 1998-99;  it’s estimated at $30 million for 2010-11. They’ve also raided the SAF by spending millions on programs that were previously paid from other parts of the budget. If K-12 education IS a priority they should stop using it as a cookie jar for other programs. We have many needs in Michigan’s public schools and thousands of employees are being laid off.  The dollars should stay with K-12 for needed K-12 purposes.

  Schools are being shortchanged for 2010-11, and we haven’t addressed the fundamental issues of stable, equitable funding for the future. We have a record number of districts in bankruptcy, and many more on the edge. Lansing’s job on school funding is far from over.  Stay tuned and please stay involved.

  
  -

  NEW Candidate Forum Guide now available

  We are pleased to announce that the SOS Candidate Forum Guide is now posted at www.SOSMichigan.org.  We strongly encourage all school districts to consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring such an event before the primary election in August. 

  Candidate Forums provide a meaningful way to reach out to our communities and our supporters and get them involved in understanding candidate positions on issues of vital concern to our schools and state.  In these times of frequent turnover of legislators it is crucial that schools make connections early with candidates; and assure that our voice is heard and our issues understood. 

  As we mentioned previously, some schools are holding these types of forums and inviting only educators and human service personnel, others are opening the forum to their broader community. Do what works for you, but it is a good opportunity to reach out to senior citizens and your local business leaders if that makes sense in your community.

  Also consider who can/should co-sponsor this type of event in your district. It may make sense for the local PTSA to work with their school leaders.  In many parts of the state it will make most sense to conduct a forum through the ISD.

  Please review the materials at www.SOSMichigan.org. If you need something beyond what’s there, let us know. We are happy to help fill in the blanks, or otherwise help make this work for you. If you have questions or suggestions contact: Nancy Hawkins at nhawkins@msbo.org; or Tom White at tomwhite@masb.org; or Bob Kefgen at rkefgen@gomasa.org.

  Summer messaging

  As you know, the legislature is finishing up work on the budgets and hopes to have them done by June 30. They are currently considering using money from the School Aid Fund (SAF) to help balance other portions of the budget. This is wrong because:

  • They haven’t fully restored the cuts they made for 2009-10. All schools are still looking at cuts of at least $100 per pupil over what they received in 2008-09, a number are looking at significantly more.
  • They would be using one-time money (surplus funds from the SAF) to help support other budgets (Community Colleges/Higher Ed) when they haven’t, “kept their promise” to the K-12 community.  It is a short term fix that will cause long term issues.
  • Lansing just added requirements for annual evaluations and other programs associated with the Race To The Top (RTTT) legislation, and cut our funding at a time when they are increasing our costs on the local level.
  • Schools have reformed, now it’s time for revenue. Many in the legislature have said, “Reforms first, revenues to follow.” We have done the RTTT reforms; we have done reforms in the MPSERS.  We are asking for reforms in health insurance. How about getting us back to 2008-09 funding levels.
  • The School Aid Fund is not a cookie jar. Lansing has been reducing what the state pays from its General Fund (GF) dollars to K-12 for many years. The GF contribution to schools was $420 million in 1998-99;  it’s estimated at $30 million for 2010-11. They’ve also raided the SAF by spending millions on programs that were previously paid from other parts of the budget. If K-12 education IS a priority they should stop using it as a cookie jar for other programs. We have many needs in Michigan’s public schools and thousands of employees are being laid off.  The dollars should stay with K-12 for needed K-12 purposes.

  Schools are being shortchanged for 2010-11, and we haven’t addressed the fundamental issues of stable, equitable funding for the future. We have a record number of districts in bankruptcy, and many more on the edge. Lansing’s job on school funding is far from over.  Stay tuned and please stay involved.

  
  

• Highlighted Services
  Welcome, new superintendents
  

  This year, MASA has sent welcome letters to about 50 new superintendents… and counting!  We offer new superintendents a range of induction services, including:

  • Welcome packets
  • 90-Days-To-Success Kits, containing 2 90-minute CDs and 90-day tear off calendar
  • Phone calls and visits from MASA executive and associates
  • Matching with regional “On-Call Colleagues” who will lend a listening ear, offer advice when asked, and offer context and information as needed.

  New this year!  MASA will host bi-weekly “lunch hour chats” with the Executive Director and friends. By using web conferencing tools, new superintendents will be able to participate right from their own desks, without leaving their districts.

  Discussions will be informal, focusing on current “hot topics” as well as key areas of school leadership. Participants will be able to suggest topics for discussion as well.

  If you are a new superintendent, or know of a new superintendent who would benefit from support, please contact our office to make sure we have updated name and contact information in our files.

  Don’t go it alone. MASA is here to help!

  View a list of the MASA Class of 2010 and their districts…

• Winners' Circle

  Dan DeGrow, St. Clair County RESA
  21st Century Learning Symposium

  The 21st Century Learning Symposium is an annual event designed to encourage educators to embrace a new culture of learning. This culture is shaped by 21st century technology; its goal is to provide today’s young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The symposium annually attracts around 300 educators for an all-day series of workshops, presentations and guest speakers. It is the centerpiece for a series of spin-off activities that include targeted professional development, technology-related grant applications and an ongoing “think tank” investigating opportunities to more effectively integrate technology into the classroom.

  Many educators talk about educational innovation, but St. Clair County RESA found those individual ideas had little hope of being put into practice if the discussion remained unfocused. The 21st Century Learning Symposium, sponsored by St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), has drawn about 300 educators in both 2008 and 2009. It brought a focus to the subject for participating educators, as well as leading to a variety of action-oriented efforts an implementation. Over the past two years, a team of RESA colleagues came together, committed to learning more about how schools can respond to the changing world and changing learners. This evolved into what is now called the “Technology Think Tank.” The RESA team’s commitment has resulted in changes in the way the organization plans and delivers programs and services. The powerful result of the Technology Think Tank collaboration was the support teachers received during the seminars from people representing each of RESA’s departments. While math teachers learned how to use graphic calculators, they corresponded with teachers in a neighboring intermediate school district who were also taking part in the series via live videoconference. Technology and real-world applications came to life when a RESA Technology Center teacher shared math applications used in electronics. The demonstration was a hit with the middle school teachers who often have to answer the question, “How will I use this in real life?” RESA’s Think Tank leveraged opportunities to learn from others equally as passionate about bringing 21st century learning and technology innovation to schools. Dr. Elaine Weber from Macomb ISD introduced members of the team to digital tools she was using in her work with students and teachers. Soon, “protopages” became a standard in the RESA Education Services Department, and teachers across the county began using them to support their own classrooms. Kurzweil software, digital tools and UDL resources enhanced RESA staff development sessions. In another example, when RESA provided digital cameras to participants of the Literacy Learning Community, the impact was unanticipated.

  An elementary teacher took the camera back to her room and decided to try it out with a student who struggled with writing. “If you write me a story,” she bargained, “I’ll let you tape it on this video camera.” The resulting story brought tears to eyes as the groups watched a cute little boy with bright eyes and a tentative smile reading the story he had written into the little camera. For three months, his teacher had tried unsuccessfully to encourage the boy to write. Yet a $90 digital camera caused him to take that step. In early 2008, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Education Summit focused on 21st century learning. The summit provided a framework for extending the vision in St. Clair County. RESA hosted its first 21st Century Learning Symposium in August 2008. Nearly every school administrator in the county attended, as did teachers, university professors, business leaders and board members. Keynotes and breakout sessions focused on global challenges, the changing digital learners and innovative resources to reach them. A key component of the symposium was the student exhibition. Kids dazzled audiences with what they could do. In breakout sessions, a 4-year-old demonstrated building an animated graphic using a Linux platform. A middle schooler shared his impressive knowledge of social studies, acquired in part by playing the video game “Civilization.” A group of middle schoolers tested a health curriculum delivered in a gaming format. An after-school robotics club demonstrated skills that earned them top honors at a national competition in the club’s first year. Following the symposium, a concerted attempt to support failing and struggling students in the county resulted in the establishment of a task force to explore online options. The efforts resulted in adopting Education 2020, an online tool that provides course content in a variety of curricular areas. More than 1,100 St. Clair County students have used E2020 to date. Continuing its investigation into online learning, the RESA took steps to charter a virtual high school for students who have dropped out or been expelled from school. RESA pursued a seat-time waiver from the state to offer a program in which 100% of the high school course content is delivered online, with on-side and online support for students. Currently, 100 students are enrolled in the county’s Virtual Learning Academy. With on-site and online mentors, the virtual environment is meeting the needs of this at-risk population. Significant changes have occurred in the short time since RESA’s first 21st Century Symposium. One local principal called shortly after the symposium to ask how RESA could support him in leading 21st century learning in his school. Now, one of his staff meetings each month is devoted to helping teachers learn a new technology tool. Recently, he hosted a Saturday learning session in which participating teachers received digital tools and learned how to create podcasts to support their classroom instruction. A regional superintendents group devoted a Friday afternoon to learning how to Skype and connect via DimDim. A subsequent countywide professional development day focused on technology integration. National and RESA experts taught teachers how to blog and create podcasts, design protopages and create digital stories.

  Extending their learning to the classrooms, teachers now use interactive white boards, classroom responders and tablet PCs to engage students. At a recent staff development day, a principal and his staff created a pbwiki, blog and podcast to share their learning. If we want students to be equipped for success in a digital world, we need to push our own limits of technology expertise; to test and try, to explore and learn what it can do. Only then can we be credible when we encourage administrators to develop their own skills, and teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms. RESA’s Think Tank members are using Ning as a social networking platform, Skype to communicate with others, DimDim to conference without travel. We are blogging about digital learning and hosting web pages providing curriculum and instructional resources. We are LinkedIn to other education and technology innovators to extend our learning, and Twittering to capture current trends. RESA’s 21st Century Learning Symposium has been both the catalyst and centerpiece of an ongoing effort at truly integrating technology into effective teaching methods.

  For more information regarding this program, please contact Joanne Hopper at (810) 364-8990 or hopper.joanne@sccresa.org.

   

AASA news:

• New on AASA Radio: Julie Mathiesen, the director at Technology & Innovation in Education, talks to Dan Domenech about technology and 21st-century learning. Listen at www.aasa.org/radio.aspx.

• Make Plans for Denver:
  On July 1, registration and housing for the 2011 National Conference on Education opens for AASA members. Early-birds get the lowest rates and have first access to hotel blocks, so don’t delay!

  The president of AASA's Pennsylvania affiliate explains why he's excited about the conference on page 6 of the PASA Flyer. See http://www.pasa-net.org/PFMay10.pdf.

• June 1 Leader’s Edge
  In this issue…
  -The nation refocuses on college and career preparations in The School Administrator.
  -4 Things To Stop Doing Now to avoid stealing effort and energy away from improving instruction
  -6 Strategies To Build an Effective Administrative Team
  -Guiding principles from AASA, the National Education Association and the National School Boards Association on the Teacher Incentive Fund program
  -Apply for the 2011 Shirley Cooper & Walter Taylor Educational Design Awards by Sept. 30.
  -Read the complete issue at http://resources.aasa.org/LeadersEdge/June01-10.html.

in case you missed it:

• Retirement deal entices top leaders at schools

  With administrators taking offer, 'brain drain' a concern

  A can't-pass-up job opportunity combined with a retirement incentive for Michigan educators sealed the deal for Cheryl Kreger, superintendent of Okemos Public Schools who will retire from the district this summer.

  At least two other veteran administrators in Okemos have announced their retirements.

  Officials worry there might be more administrators taking surprise retirements - perhaps too many.

  "We anticipate a tremendous amount of what we consider brain drain," said William Mayes, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators.

  "Individuals who have had key positions, who have the history, who have the experience in administration, will choose to leave at this time, and it certainly will make replacing them somewhat difficult."

  Nearly 57,000 school employees are eligible to sign up for the retirement deal, which sweetens the pension pot for workers who are at least 55 and have at least 30 years of service. The majority are teachers, but many administrators qualify, as well.

  Mayes said the number of candidates for superintendent jobs has been dwindling in recent years.

  "I predict that we will have a number of positions that will be difficult to fill and certainly I predict that the pool of candidates for each position will be smaller," he said.

  Twenty years ago, he was one of 61 applicants for his first superintendent job, in a small district in Michigan's Thumb.

  Fewer candidates

  "Today, you can get a superintendency open in a beautiful area like Traverse City and you can have 20 to 25" people who apply, he said.

  Part of that might be the increased demands of running public school districts with less money. Virtually every district in Michigan has had to make tough budget cuts within the past year, and an estimated 40 or more are on the brink of insolvency.

  "It has not been fun being a superintendent in recent times," Mayes said.
  "You're forced to make cuts and you're forced to do away with programs that you feel are important for children."

  Kreger, who starts July 1 as president of her alma mater, the all-girls Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, said she thinks there is plenty of talent within the ranks of Okemos administrators to run the district after she departs. Both deputy superintendents, Patricia Trelstad and Catherine Ash, will be staying.

  "They are incredible leaders, and so are the principals and teacher leaders," she said.

  "What we've accomplished in three years has been tremendous. It would have been nice to have stayed and seen some of the fruit of that work."

  Read the full article…

  Source: Lansing State Journal, 6.7.10

• Not a good time to be super
  

  Excerpt of editorial by Kendall P. Stanley
   
  Who’s next?

  That seems a fair question to ask this week after the fourth area school superintendent decided last week to move on, taking with him years of experience.

  I won’t begin to ascribe motive as to why all four of these leaders are leaving their job, but I can tell you I wouldn’t want their job for anything.

  Slipping or stagnant student numbers on which state aid is based, cutbacks in state school aid funding the state provides and continuing pressure to produce more with less – in some cases much less – can’t be making the job of school superintendent any fun. At all. On any given day.

  And when you get right down to it, for every taxpayer out there who says “Just balance the budget, I have to,” you have to note that balancing the budget is easy – but you probably won’t like the end results. Or maybe you will, but your neighbors and their kids might not.

  Can you imagine the Friday night landscape without the Loggers, Red Devils, or for that matter Rams or Northmen, as a part of it?

  Schools are very limited on how they can generate income. Because of Proposal A there’s no easy way to go to the well to get more funding. So the increase revenue part of the equation is bleak, and that leaves cutting expenses and for school districts that means cutting people.

  You can offer incentives to older teachers to retire to save some money, and it does, but that’s not going to solve the underlying situation of declining revenues decimating school budgets. Even the best superintendents can’t keep a fund balance safe from the onslaught.

  Eliminating positions is the only way to make headway in balancing a budget, especially when almost all of your expenses are salaries and benefits.
  Worse, these are your friends and colleagues you’re giving the ax to. Who would want to be faced with those choices?

  This is a very talented group of educators and their contributions to their school districts will surely be missed. But the issues they faced sitting atop their respective districts aren’t going away any time soon. Their successors will find a very hot seat to fill.

  Kendall P. Stanley is retired editor of the Petoskey News-Review. He can be contacted at kendallstanley@charter.net.

  Read the full column…

  Source: Petoskey News Review, 5.24.10

  
  
• High court won't take up No Child Left Behind case more>
  

  Supreme Court yesterday turned away a challenge by school districts and teacher unions to the federal No Child Left Behind law. The court said without comment that it will not step into a lawsuit that questioned whether public schools have to comply with requirements of the law if the federal government doesn’t pay for them. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit and a federal appeals court split 8 to 8, leaving the judge’s ruling in place.

  Source: Boston Globe, 6.08.10

  
  
• Young professionals bring new ideas, social media to nonprofit fundraising more>
  
  

  The same entrepreneurial spirit spurring young professionals to take leaps in their careers also is spawning some creative approaches to charitable fundraisers.

  Rather than wait for nonprofits to host events that appeal to them, the younger set is organizing its own.

  They range from large house parties in Ann Arbor to a gathering celebrating new, Michigan-based technology businesses at the Royal Oak Music Theater and a charity celebrity basketball game that drew 1,300 people to Troy Athens High School in April.

  “A lot of different kinds of fundraisers we’ve attended are boring, to be honest,” said Josephine Nicholas, 28, who’s branded the socializing fundraising she and her siblings do under the Facebook group “Party With a Purpose.” “We’re entrepreneurs ourselves. …We feel like we can do it better and appeal to a larger audience,” said Nicholas, executive vice president at Ann Arbor-based CMPS Institute and an independent public relations representative.

  Nicholas and her siblings are among a number of young professionals hosting the third-party fundraising events and attracting large numbers of attendees by marketing them through sites like Facebook and Twitter, say local nonprofits benefiting from the events.

  Last year, local technology entrepreneurs Jordan Wolfe, 27; Mason Levy, 22; and Zach Lipson, 24; organized TechNow09 to “get the energy up” for other technology startups with a panel discussion, networking, live music and a cash bar.
  TechNow09 attracted about 800 college students, young professionals and local business leaders to the Royal Oak Music Theater. That and the trio’s “FutureMidwest” two-day technology and knowledge conference held this year raised about $10,000 for the Michigan Chapter, National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

  The Internet helps make third-party fundraisers successful by allowing people to take ownership of events in which they are interested by becoming part of the conversation, Wolfe said.

  Nonprofits can help head off problems by making sure they have third-party event guidelines in place about the use of their brands and presence of staff at such events, if desired, Dembs said.

  For young professionals organizing those events, notifying charities in advance about them will make sure the event doesn’t hurt the charity it’s meant to help, he said.

  Read the article…
  Source: Crain’s Detroit, 5.26.10

MDE news:

• Fall 2010 MEAP assessment schedule
  The Fall 2010 MEAP Assessment Schedule (revised 1-14-2010) is now posted on the MEAP website located at www.michigan.gov/meap. The schedule has been adjusted to allow for the new operational writing test to take place over two days; however, the published beginning and ending dates for the fall 2010 testing window have not changed. The writing test will be administered in grades 4 and 7 only, as in fall 2009.

  The new schedule also designates Fridays during the testing window as makeup dates. Schools will NOT need to submit a request to the OEAA to utilize Fridays as makeup test dates. Schools are permitted to administer a grade/subject area test on any makeup test date, provided the initial test date for that subject area has passed. Schools will use the originally assigned test form for makeup testing. No specific makeup test form will be used for fall 2010 MEAP tests.

  To view or print the revised MEAP assessment schedule, please visit
  www.michigan.gov/meap, then click on “MEAP Schedule (Fall 2010 – Fall 2014), Revised 1-14-2010” located in the “What’s New” section of the MEAP website.

  If you have questions about MEAP item descriptors or the revised MEAP assessment schedule, please contact the OEAA at 877-560-8378 or email oeaa@michigan.gov.

• MEAO-Access delayed one year
  

  The MEAP-Access assessment was operationally administered for the first time in Fall 2009. Low reliabilities from the first operational administration showed a need for more extensive modification of MEAP items to provide access to the content for the intended participants in MEAP-Access. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has spent considerable energy in planning for the additional modifications to be in place for Fall 2010. It has become clear, after internal discussions and discussions with contractors, that attempting to put the modifications in place could possibly result in insufficiently high reliabilities in 2010 as well.

  The decision has been made to delay the next operational administration of MEAP-Access until Fall of 2011. This has been done to assure that the necessary effort and study has been put into the next operational administration of MEAP-Access for its success and the ability to use it for calculating Adequate Yearly Progress going forward.

  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability at 1-877-560-8378 or oeaa@michigan.gov.

  
  
  
• ARRA Section 1512 Report Due July 5
  

  The next American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Section 1512 quarterly report is due July 5, 2010. Section 1512 reporting must be completed quarterly in the Michigan Electronic Grants System (MEGS) for each ARRA grant award received.

  The Section 1512 Reporting application will be available in MEGS beginning Monday, June 1, 2010. Complete the report by initiating an amendment to your existing ARRA Section 1512 report.

  The reporting period for this quarter’s report is the start date listed on the grant award notification through June 30, 2010. Report Jobs information only for the period April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. The next quarterly report will be due October 5, 2010.

  It is strongly recommended that you review available guidance documents prior to completing this quarterly report. View guidance documents on the website (http://michigan.gov/mde-grants) or within the MEGS Section 1512 application. (See the “Important Information About the ARRA Section 1512 Report Application” link.)

  For any ARRA grant, if all grant activities have been completed and a final expenditure report has been processed, recipients need to check the box within the reporting application to indicate that the grant is complete.

  In keeping with the transparency and accountability requirements of the ARRA, Section 1512 reports submitted will be made available on www.recovery.gov and on individual Federal agency recovery websites. Questions regarding this memorandum may be directed to the Grants Administration and Coordination Unit at (517) 373-1806.

leader resource:

• FOCUS on Results Available Online
  

  The latest issue of FOCUS on Results is now available on the Center for Educational Networking Web site. Select the links below to read the articles online or to download PDFs of the formatted versions.

  The May 2010 packet features the following articles:

  • Diverse Group of Stakeholders Provides Special Education Policy Guidance
  • Aligning Student Goals Promotes Postsecondary Success

  Please note: Due to recent changes to the Michigan Merit Curriculum legislation, portions of the article Aligning Student Goals Promotes Postsecondary Success have been updated and differ from the printed copy you may have received. Please pay particular attention to the Educational Development Plan section as well as the Algebra II requirement discussed in the Personal Curriculum section.

  FOCUS on Results are brief guidance and technical assistance documents published periodically by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services (OSE-EIS).
  

• Meeting the Michigan Merit Curriculum: A Teacher Supply and Demand Formula
  

  REL Webinar now online

  Although most school districts in Michigan had graduation requirements before the introduction of the Michigan Merit Curriculum, the number and types of credits necessary for high school graduation varied by district. As you know, the Michigan Merit Curriculum standardized the number and types of credits for graduation across the state. In the 2010-11 school year, the Michigan Merit Curriculum will be in effect for all high school students in the state. It is particularly important for Michigan school districts to plan accurately for full-time equivalent needs because school budgets are increasingly limited at the same time that high schools are implementing more rigorous courses that require teachers to have mastered specialized areas of expertise. 

  On April 20, 2010, Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest and the Institute of Education Sciences conducted a webinar exploring a formula to calculate within-school teacher supply and demand. The webinar, titled Meeting the Michigan Merit Curriculum: A Teacher Supply and Demand Formula, discussed a method that was developed through a collaboration between REL Midwest, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), and the Michigan Department of Education.

  The webinar, featuring Barbara Schneider, Ph.D., and Venessa Keesler from Michigan State University, has been archived and is now available online at REL Midwest Archived Webinars. The archived webinar begins with an introductory address by Dr. Schneider and is followed by a presentation by Venessa Keesler about a simple method to locate potential staffing shortfalls in core subject areas at Michigan high schools.

  The link also provides access to REL Midwest's report on this issue. In addition, three tools are available to assist you in calculating within-school teacher supply and demand: a sample schools spreadsheet, a demand calculations spreadsheet, and a demand spreadsheet.

  The host of the archived webinar was REL Midwest at Learning Point Associates, the regional educational laboratory serving Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The webinar is part of the Connecting Research to Practice series of events that are sponsored by REL Midwest.

  For questions or additional information, please contact Leslie Nylen by telephone (312-288-7608) or e-mail (leslie.nylen@learningpt.org).

  
  

• FREE School Crisis Management Training - DHS approved
  

  The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC), has developed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) federally approved one-day training course titled, “Crisis Management for School-Based Incidents – Partnering Rural Law Enforcement and the Local School Systems.”

  This course is FREE to rural communities (population less than 50,000) throughout Michigan. The course is designed specifically for rural K-12 school systems and local emergency responders.

  The course (AWR 148) is an 8-hour awareness level course designed to educate school administrators and staff as well as rural law enforcement personnel and other emergency responders on the critical elements that would allow for an effective response to school-based incidents. Rural schools, law enforcement and other emergency responders are often limited in resources, so it is imperative that all potentially affected parties collaborate on planning, preparing, communicating, responding, and recovering from a school-based incident. As a result of this training, rural law enforcement, school superintendents, principals, school resource officers and others within the school system and community will be better prepared to work collaboratively when a crisis occurs.

  The University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio) is one of the charter members of the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium and is the developer and presenter of the AWR 148 training course. Additional information on all RDPC course offerings can be found at www.ruraltraining.org. To request a course to be delivered in your area, contact Liz Goodman, RDPC Project Administrator, at 419-434-4353 or email goodman@findlay.edu.

  
  

leader resource:

• Mackinac Center reports “debunk” MEA “myths”
  
  - Report 1: Average teacher salaries in Michigan highest in the nation when compared to relative state wealth

  Recent data compiled by the National Education Association shows that average salaries for Michigan public school teachers from 2003 to 2009 outpaced those of teachers in all other states when factoring in states’ per capita personal income levels, according to analysis by Mackinac Center Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek.

  “Considering this state’s economic performance over the last decade, it’s rather surprising that average teacher salaries in Michigan continue to lead the nation,” said Van Beek. “With employee compensation consuming nearly 80 percent of most school districts’ operating budgets, education policymakers will have to consider whether this continued disparity is justifiable.”

  Claims by the Michigan Education Association that its members have given up $1 billion in contract concessions over the last three years is the latest school funding “myth”analyzed by Van Beek in an ongoing series of commentaries on public school funding. The project can be found at www.mackinac.org/schoolmyths.

  Unadjusted 2009 teacher salary averages vary greatly by state, with a high of $71,470 in New York and a low of $35,136 in South Dakota. However, comparing states by these figures fails to account for differences in overall state wealth, which impact the states’ ability to pay public school teacher salaries.

  Per capita personal income is a standard measure of the overall economic well-being of a state, and controlling for this variable allows for a baseline comparison of average teacher salaries between the states. When this is done, Michigan teachers come out on top. In a 1996 report using this same method, the Citizen’s Research Council also found teachers in Michigan to be the highest paid from 1990 to 1996.

  “School boards should keep this in mind when they take on the tough task of balancing district budgets,” Van Beek added. “This evidence flies in the face of the prevailing myth that public school teachers have made major salary concessions.”
  
  - Report 2:  Claims of ‘concessions’ and doing ‘more with less’ are unsupported, misleading or false

  The Michigan Education Association is airing television and radio advertisements that are misleading the public, according to Michael Van Beek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Instead of heralding its ability to shield its members from the effects of Michigan’s decade-long recession, the Michigan Education Association says school employees are victims of politically charged attacks.

  The Center produced a video analyzing each of the MEA’s claims.

  “Research shows there is little supporting evidence for the MEA’s claims,” Van Beek said. “Far from being punching bags, teachers have weathered Michigan’s economic troubles better than most.”

  For example, the MEA claims school employees have saved taxpayers $1 billion over the last three years through contract concessions. Using the latest data available from the Michigan Department of Education, Van Beek found that Michigan spent nearly $40 million more on public school employee compensation in 2008 than in 2006.

  “In the end, pay increases for school employees outpaced any concessions made by particular employee groups," Van Beek said. “The bottom line shows that there were no savings for taxpayers.”

  “A healthy dialogue on how schools can best use their limited resources is important,” Van Beek added. “Unfortunately, the MEA’s ads don’t add anything to the debate and perpetuate common school funding myths.”

  The Center’s video can be found at http://www.mackinac.org/12928#3322.

• Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters
  

  Michigan has a long way to go to make sure children have the reading skills they need by the end of third grade, a report released in May from the national KIDS COUNT project concludes.

  The state ranks behind 33 other states when it comes to reading proficiency among its fourth-graders, with only three out of every 10 students considered proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, according to the report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters. Michigan, Louisiana and Wisconsin were last in the country for scores of African American fourth-graders.

  “The report reinforces the urgency in Michigan of stepping up efforts that allow more kids to be proficient in reading by the end of third grade, and to close the large gaps by race and income,’’ said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, director of the Kids Count in Michigan project and a senior research associate at the Michigan League for Human Services.

  “Research shows that kids who read by end of third grade graduate, and the ones who don’t read, don’t graduate.’’

  The Michigan Department of Education this month is launching a statewide literacy initiative, trying to replicate the success of similar initiatives in Massachusetts and Kentucky. The initiative is aimed at developing a pre-K to adult statewide literacy strategy.

  State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said the Early Warning report is a clear call to improve reading proficiency.

  “We all have a stake in this,’’ Flanagan said. “Reading is the basic building block of a child’s education. Without the ability to read, a child’s chance at success in life is very limited.’’

  The report also reinforces the need to make sure children have the support they need, starting from birth. Early childhood – ages 0 to 5 – is the most crucial learning period when 90 percent of the brain’s intellectual and emotional hardwiring is set for life, said Michele Corey, director of advocacy for Michigan’s Children, a partner in the release of Kids Count.

  Read the report and consider how to address this issue in your district. Spread the word via  networks, website, Facebook, Twitter, media releases, and more.

  Read the Report…
  Factually Speaking blog…

  A “Reading to Learn, Learning to Read” button can be placed on a website that links to the report. Download it here. 
  
  
• Central Office Transformation for District-Wide Teaching and Learning Improvement 
  

  New Wallace Foundation report shows how central office administrators improve teaching and learning

  One of the first and most comprehensive studies of its kind, this report identifies five major changes that can help transform the focus of school district central offices from administration and compliance to improving classroom instruction.

  The report is based on an in-depth study of central office reform efforts in Atlanta, New York City, and Oakland, California. The changes identified include the offices’ strong engagement with school principals on improving instruction in their schools, and the reorganizing and “reculturing” of every central office so it centers its work on the classroom.

  The report is part of a series by University of Washington researchers that investigates how leaders can contribute to improved student achievement, particularly in challenging schools and districts.

  Download the report…

  
  
• America After 3PM, Special Report on Summer Learning Programs
  

  An estimated 725,000 Michigan kids would likely participate in a summer learning program, based on parent interest

  When schools close for the summer, safe and enriching learning environments are out of reach and replaced by boredom, lost opportunities and risk for too many children. 

  New analysis of data from the America After 3PM study measures the extent of this problem, concluding that just 23 percent of Michigan’s schoolchildren (an estimated 417,329 kids) participate in summer learning programs – safe, structured programs that provide a variety of activities designed to encourage learning and development in the summer months. 

  Fifty-two percent of Michigan kids (an estimated 725,789 children) not currently enrolled in a summer learning program would likely participate, based on parent interest.  Four in five Michigan parents (81 percent) support public funding for these programs. 

  America After 3PM is a survey of nearly 30,000 households across the United States, commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and JCPenney Afterschool in 2009.  The summer learning report is sponsored by The Wallace Foundation.  It finds that just 25 percent of children in the United States attend summer learning programs.  Nearly half of kids whose parents say they are interested in enrolling them in summer learning programs (46 percent) qualify for free or reduced price lunches.

  “These findings are sobering, especially because we know that inequities in summer learning are a major contributor to the achievement gap between high- and low-income students,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant.  “By not creating and funding enough summer learning programs, we are missing the chance to engage and educate millions of students during the summer, and instead are leaving them unsupervised and at risk.” Grant urged lawmakers to fund 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which support afterschool and summer programs. 

  Read the report at www.afterschoolalliance.org. America After 3PM Special Report on Summer is sponsored by The Wallace Foundation.
  

professional development:

• MI-LIFE Cohort 4
  Professional learning opportunity for over 550 school administrators in Michigan
  August 2010 through March 2011. 
  more>
  
• 2010 MITS Summer Institute
  Sessions including Universal design for learning (UDL), assistive technology (AT), augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and accessible instructional materials (AIM) focused on improving access and achievement for all students.
  June 21-22, Traverse City more>
  
• MACUL Educational Terchnology Leadership Conference
  Keynote presentations by Karen Cator, United States Department of Education Director of Technology, Jaime Casap of Google, and Liz Kolb of U of M and Madonna University, sponsored by Sprint the Now Network.
  June 21-22, South Redford more>
  
• National Academy for Superintendents
  Leadership and Schools of the Future: An examination of how research, technologies and demographics are impacting instruction, planning and governance
  July 13-15, 2010, Ohio State University
  more>

MASA Fall Conference
Integrated Technology: District Leaders Making it Happen

Registration now open for members and exhibitors. Visit gomasa.org today.