Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 1

$3.00 News and analysis for educators, parents, and policy makers Fall 2000 SHORT SUBJECTS School vouchers would be available Vote approaches in for parents of students in seven Michigan school districts, including Detroit’s 170,000 public school students, under a fall ballot proposal, according to a state high school dropout report released in September. See education reform battle related stories, right and page 5. Proposal 1: Vouchers, teacher testing, funding guarantee Private schools returned money to The issue of school vouchers will take The state would be required to provide adopt vouchers. the state last year when half of the schools political center stage Nov. 7, 2000, as Michi- tax-funded vouchers for nonpublic school Proposal 1 also would constitutionally participating in Milwaukee’s voucher pro- gan voters go to the polls to decide if a mea- tuition, worth half of the per-pupil expen- guarantee that the level of per-pupil fund- gram didn’t need to use all of the $4,894 they sure known as Proposal 1 should be adopted diture on public schools, for students in dis- ing for public schools never drops below fis- were given to educate students in the pro- to amend the state constitution. tricts with graduation rates less than two- cal year 2000-2001’s record-high levels, and gram. Meanwhile, the American Enterprise The proposal, if approved, would over- thirds. Seven of Michigan’s 555 school dis- would require teachers in public schools and Institute reports that Milwaukee public turn the constitutional ban on K-12 vouch- tricts, including Detroit, automatically nonpublic schools that accept vouchers to school officials are preparing to approve a ers, tax credits, and other forms of indirect would be affected the first year. Other dis- be tested in academic subjects. 2000-01 education budget that provides aid to families wishing to choose nonpublic tricts could decide by school board action “Every child deserves a chance to learn,” $9,500 per student to the city’s public education for their children. or a vote of local residents if they wished to PROPOSAL 1 continued on page 2 schools.

Detroit public schools CEO Ken- neth Burnley is considering hiring a com- Study: Over pany to run as many as 45 of the city’s worst schools, according to the Detroit Free Press. The leading contender is Edison Schools, a $600 million company that manages 108 schools across the country, including 19 in Michigan. The nearby suburb of Inkster recently contracted with Edison to manage all of its schools. per year for

Michigan ranks 11th nationwide in “education freedom,” according to a new remedial ed report from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. The “Education Freedom Communities Index” gives top marks to states offering parents greater educational choices. It found weigh in on un- that more choices among public, charter, private, and home schools equals better aca- prepared students demic achievement outcomes for all stu- dents in a state. Arizona topped the list, while Georgia came in last. The report can at public forums be viewed at www.manhattan- institute.org/html/cr_14.htm. across Michigan Michigan businesses and institutions of On November 7th, voters could make Michigan the second state to adopt a statewide voucher program A Florida District Court of Appeals for children in failing school districts. The amendment to the Michigan Constitution would also estab- higher learning are paying an estimated $601 recently upheld that state’s school lish regular testing of teachers in academic subjects and increase the guaranteed per-pupil funding in million per year due to the lack of basic read- voucher law as constitutional. The three- public schools. ing, writing, and math skills among students judge panel overturned on Oct. 3 an earlier and employees, according to a study released ruling by a Tallahassee trial judge that said in September by the Mackinac Center for the law violated the state constitution by al- Public Policy. lowing tax dollars to be spent on private Bush, Gore see larger “We’re not talking about higher-level schools. The decision remanded the case skills. We’re talking about reading, basic to the trial court to address other claims grammar, and simple arithmetic—skills ev- raised by the school employee unions. ery citizen must possess in order to survive education role for feds in an increasingly complex world,” says study author Dr. Jay P. Greene. Disagree mostly over school choice Greene is a senior fellow with the Man- Education reform has emerged as one federal programs into five categories includ- hattan Institute for Policy Research and a PAID

Fenton, MI of the leading issues of the 2000 presidential ing disadvantaged children, bilingual edu- research associate with the Harvard Program Permit #1776 Permit U.S. POSTAGE cation, teacher quality, character education, on Education Policy and Governance. NON PROFIT ORG. campaign. Opinion polls consistently show large numbers of parents concerned about the and school choice. He favors moving the The study, The Cost of Remedial Educa- state of public schools, and major party can- “Head Start” program from the Department tion: How Much Michigan Pays When Students didates George Bush and Al Gore are tailor- of Health and Human Services to the De- Fail to Learn Basic Skills, reached its aston- ing their messages to appeal to this concern. partment of Education and the creation of ishing estimate of remedial education’s costs Although the federal government ac- several new large federal programs. States by employing five separate strategies and counts for only about 7 percent of educa- may opt out of federal regulations if they taking an average of the five figures. tion expenditures in the country, federal BUSH, GORE continued on page 11 REMEDIAL continued on page 8 education dollars often return to state and local governments with a bewildering array of restrictions and requirements attached. Accordingly, federal education policy They choose private schools. can have a great impact on Michigan teach- State legislators and public school teachers, many of whom oppose ers, schools, and students. 41% expanding school choice, choose private schools for their children at Michigan Edu- a much greater rate than does the general public. cation Report therefore has compiled for its rivate School Grand Rapids Public School readers a summary of the two major party Teachers olicy candidates’ positions on various education 33% 33% Detroit issues, culled from Web sites and public 27% Public School pronouncements. Teachers 24% All Federal role in education Grand 17% Rapids All Both candidates support a strong fed- Parents Detroit All Parents 11%

eral role in education, but disagree on the Sending Their Children to P Percent Michigan degree to which that role should be ex- Parents panded. Source: Survey by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy Michigan State Michigan State Bush proposes to consolidate over 60 and education analyst Denis Doyle. Senators Representatives Mackinac Center for Public P Main Street 140 West Box 568 P.O. Midland, Michigan 48640 2 Michigan Education Report Fall 2000 Proposal 1 continued from page 1 according to the Web site of Kids First! Yes!, the approximately $6,600 schools receive in The Department of Education data also view is not shared by the U.S. Supreme the group promoting Proposal 1. “But too per-pupil funding. Each student who is list 188 school districts with graduation rates Court, which ruled in June that Louisiana’s many children in Michigan are being de- switched from a public to a private school above 90 percent, including 15 that gradu- use of public funds to purchase computers nied that chance. They’re trapped in schools would save the school aid fund $3,300. ated 100 percent of their students. (See page and other instructional materials for paro- that don’t work.” According to Michigan Department of 5 for a related story and charts on statewide chial schools was a constitutional form of Kids First! Yes! says its proposal would Education data, nearly 180,000 students live graduation and dropout rates.) indirect aid. improve education in many ways, and that in the districts that are immediately eligible While acknowledging that “Michigan Vouchers, argue Kids First! Yes! spokes- periodically testing teachers for competency for a voucher plan under the proposal. This has some great schools,” Kids First! Yes! men, are similar to the Louisiana ruling. is an important, and often overlooked, includes over 170,000 students in Detroit notes that citizens nevertheless should be “Vouchers provided under the Kids First! means of achieving better schools. and nearly 6,500 in the Buena Vista concerned if there are any children not be- Yes! education reform proposal are defined “Most everyone agrees that whether or (Saginaw), Coleman Community, Holton, ing served by their schools. as only indirect—and not direct—aid to not children succeed in school depends on Inkster City, Mackinaw City, and Vanderbilt “Supporters of Proposal 1 believe ev- nonpublic schools, clearly passing this lat- the knowledge, skill, and commitment of est constitutional test,” according to the their teachers,” says the Kids First! Yes! Web What Is Proposal 1? group’s Web site. site. “With so much riding on the quality of “Opponents of education reform lost a teachers, the public needs assurance that The State Board of Canvassers agreed in mid-August to the following language for Proposal 1: major battle,” Kids First! Yes! Co-Chairman every student is taught by teachers who A proposal to amend the Constitution to permit the state to provide indirect support to students DeVos said of the ruling. “Those who want know a lot about the subjects they teach.” attending nonpublic pre-elementary, elementary and secondary schools; allow the use of tuition to vote ‘no’ on equal educational opportu- According to current law, new teachers vouchers in certain school districts, and require enactment of teacher testing laws. nity will not be able to stop education re- who were state certified after 1992 are pres- The proposed constitutional amendment would: form in the courts.” ently required to pass a test, but the vast 1. Eliminate the ban on indirect support of students attending nonpublic schools through tuition The proposal’s opponents agree reform majority of teachers in the state have not vouchers, credits, tax benefits, exemptions or deductions, subsidies, grants or loans of public is necessary, but say that vouchers are not been tested. monies or property. the answer. “There is no quick fix or simple “Opponents of education reform have 2. Allow students to use tuition vouchers to attend nonpublic schools in districts with a gradua- solution to some of the problems that some tried very hard to divert attention from tion rate under 2/3 in 1998-1999 and districts approving tuition vouchers through school board schools face,” says ALL Kids First!’s teacher testing, but the overwhelming ma- action or a public vote. Each voucher would be limited to 1/2 of state average per-pupil public Beardmore. “Vouchers do absolutely noth- school revenue. ing to address the issues that are vital to con- jority of Michigan parents and taxpayers sup- 3. Require teacher testing on academic subjects in public schools and in nonpublic schools re- port this common-sense reform,” says Kids deeming tuition vouchers. tinually improve our schools to meet the First! Yes! Co-Chairman Dick DeVos. 4. Adjust minimum per-pupil funding from 1994-1995 to 2000-2001 level. needs of all children.” “Teacher testing is an idea whose time has “Voucher supporters continue to talk come.” Should this proposal be adopted? Yes or No about teacher testing, funding, and a lot of But the political battle over the proposal other things which are simply not detailed has indeed focused on its most controver- Area school districts. Of these districts, ery child in Michigan deserves a quality edu- in this deceptive proposal,” adds Georgene sial aspect, vouchers. “Vouchers have been Inkster has the worst graduation rate: 21 cation today,” says Robert Coverson, a Kids Campbell, chair of ALL Kids First! and cleverly packaged as a plan to help the poor- percent. The state average is 81 percent. First! Yes! spokesman and pastor of Detroit’s former president of the Michigan PTA. The est kids from the poorest, most troubled Another 120,000 students live in 30 dis- Second Chapel Hill Baptist Church. “No bottom line, she says, is that “Proposal 1 school districts,” according to ALL Kids tricts that are just above the two-thirds parents should ever be forced to send their takes money away from children in our lo- First!, an anti-voucher coalition of public graduation rate cutoff for vouchers. child to a failing school.” cal neighborhood schools and gives it to pri- school groups and unions including the “These kids are being left behind and Another contentious issue has been the vate and for-profit schools.” Michigan Education Association. “But it is are being robbed of the American dream,” question over whether or not vouchers run ALL Kids First! recommends that re- precisely these kids who will be hurt most says Kids First! Yes! Co-Chairman Eddie afoul of “separation of church and state” ju- formers focus on “lowering class size, im- by a weakened and abandoned public school Edwards of Detroit’s Joy of Jesus Ministries. risprudence. proving staff development, increasing paren- system.” Voucher opponents view the Depart- “Since 85 percent of the private schools tal involvement, investing in technology and Fear of an “abandoned” public educa- ment of Education data differently. “Let’s in our state are run by religious institutions, improving the physical structure of our tion system is no reason to vote no on the remember that this list proves almost all it is inevitable that public tax dollars will be schools.” proposal, say supporters. “The Kids First! public school districts in Michigan are suc- used for religious education if this proposal For more information on Proposal 1, Yes! funding guarantee will protect school cessful and doing a good job educating our passes,” according to the ALL Kids First! visit the Kids First! Yes! Web site at districts against a cut in their per-child fund- children,” says Dorothy Beardmore, presi- Web site. “This violates the U.S. Constitu- www.kidsfirstyes.org and the ALL Kids ing due to a recession or a change in fund- dent of the state Board of Education and tion and the principle of separation of First! Web site at www.allkidsfirst.org. ing priorities by politicians,” says the Kids honorary co-chair of ALL Kids First! “With church and state. Allowing indirect fund- Also, visit the Citizens Research Council of First! Yes! Web site. all the talk about failing schools, the fact is ing by passing money through the hands of Michigan at www.crcmich.org for a com- Proposal 1 supporters add that public that our schools are not failing. Our schools parents may be less obvious, but it still vio- plete analysis of Proposal 1. schools will not be harmed, pointing to the have shown a steady improvement over the lates the constitution.” fact that the vouchers are worth only half of past 10 years.” Proponents of Proposal 1 argue that this

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Published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy Matthew J. Brouillette Frank E. Starkweather Executive Editor Guest Managing Editor David M. Bardallis Daniel E. Montgomery Amy Kellogg Editor Graphic Designer Circulation Manager Michigan Education Report is a news and analysis quarterly published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, research and educational insti- tute devoted to analyzing Michigan public policy issues. Michigan Education Report is received by over 130,000 Michigan teachers, administrators, school board mem- bers, policy experts, and elected officials. Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint any article contained herein is hereby granted provided that Michigan Education Report, the author, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited, and a copy of the reprint is sent to the editor. Please contact the editor at Michigan Education Report • 140 West Main Street • P.O. Box 568 Midland, Michigan 48640 (517) 631-0900 • Fax (517) 631-0964 www.EducationReport.org • [email protected] Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 3 Teacher shortage forces states to relax rules for educators Alternative certification opens classrooms to other qualified instructors Many education reformers have long than 24,000 new teachers were certified least a bachelor’s degree, so the old model hand experience what they need to know to warned that state teacher certification re- through alternative programs. The total of training teachers in undergraduate edu- be successful after leaving school. Other quirements, instead of ensuring teacher number of teachers certified through these cation programs does not work. States are groups strongly represented among alterna- quality, were so rigid and bureaucratic that programs now totals over 125,000. aggressively meeting the challenge by cre- tively certified teachers are former K-12 they actually were keeping the best and the “What we are seeing are market forces ating new training and licensing avenues for teachers who have upgraded their creden- brightest instructors out of tials to get back into teach- America’s classrooms. Michigan Lags Other States on Alternative Teacher Certification ing, and others previously Now, a severe, nation- Department of Education Working to Deal with Dearth of Educators trained as teachers, but wide teacher shortage who took other jobs in- means schools are scram- With more than half of the states implement- crease, teaching will become more attractive to stead. Some are even com- bling to modify those ing alternative teacher certification programs to men, who come in and tend to stay. “Some of ing into the K-12 system teaching requirements— deal with a looming nationwide teacher shortage, them migrate to administration, because of higher from backgrounds in and not necessarily to find Michigan is still trying to come up with a plan. salaries there,” she says. “They move up for the higher education. better teachers, but just to Another twist to the find teachers. According to Dr. Carolyn Logan, director of increased pay.” population of alternatively The U.S. Department the Office of Teacher/Administrator Preparation Over the next year or so, Logan’s staff intends certified teachers is their of Education says America and Certification for the Michigan Department of to design a process through which people with diversity. “There is a will need more than a mil- Education, officials are looking at a 1995 proposal baccalaureate degrees can receive credit for the rather stark and troubling lion new teachers by 2010, for “individualized” teaching certificates, which skills and credentials they bring to the profession mismatch between the di- or almost half the number might be “customized according to the qualifica- of teaching and get the training they need in the versity of the student of teachers currently in tions each person brings, or doesn’t bring, to the areas where they are lacking. population and the relative America’s elementary and profession.” The active part of such a program would fo- homogeneity [white, fe- secondary schools. And male] of the current teach- that’s teachers who stay and “Unfortunately [the proposal] got a ‘no thank cus on the skills, information, and training prospec- ing force,” Brenda don’t leave for other, more you’” in 1995, Logan says, because “it was viewed tive teachers need. For instance, Logan says, Welburn, executive direc- rewarding jobs: 20 percent as a quick fix, which would devalue the standard “Does a prospective teacher need courses in ‘hu- tor of the National Asso- of all new teachers leave the teaching certificate.” man development’ to understand better how to ciation of State Boards of profession within three But now, Logan and her staff are devising ways work with children, or do they already have those Education, recently told years. An entire generation to bring the proposal back. “The timing is much skills through kids, grandchildren, or church?” School Reform News. She of veterans, now in their late better because of the huge amount of publicity Logan wants to come up with an expedited says alternative certifica- 40s and 50s, is expected to surrounding the pending teacher shortage,” she certification plan than satisfies all the necessary re- tion is bringing in teach- retire in the next decade. says. Furthermore, “there are particularly vital ers who are more likely to And the demand for smaller quirements and try to sell that plan to the various be older, to be men, and to classes means more teachers subject areas in which Michigan is coming up short, educational institutions and offices that would have be people of color. will be needed per school. for example, in physics, math, chemistry, and for- to sign off on it. She envisions a certification pro- New Jersey has more To help solve this eign languages.” Logan also says minorities and cess that is short, intensive, and would “equip the than 15 years’ experience problem, many states are males are underrepresented in Michigan’s teacher candidate with the essentials, plus a mentor.” with its alternative plan. adopting alternative teacher population, a lack of diversity that justifies “look- One problem yet to be worked out is how to After a state commission certification requirements, ing beyond the traditional candidate.” attach academic credit to the program, so that it report revealed that the to remove what reform ex- This means offering incentives that historically would count for graduate school. “But with the states’ teacher preparation perts have long regarded as have been used mostly in the private sector. For right program in place, Michigan could greatly ex- programs were producing a “bottleneck” in the acqui- poorly educated teachers, sition of new teachers. Ac- example, Logan believes teacher recruitment pand its pool of teacher candidates and begin plac- the state came up with a cording to School Reform eventually will include “recruitment packages” in ing them at a far quicker pace than we can now,” plan that produced teacher News, in the past two years, which school districts, out of desperation, offer Logan says. applicants boasting higher 14 states have passed, intro- prospective teachers a signing bonus, pay moving Michigan’s plan, should it be fully developed scores on teacher licensing duced, or plan to introduce expenses, and even pre-arrange home mortgages, and implemented, could be a year away, or more. tests than traditionally pre- new legislation to establish as a way of attracting experienced and certified To contact the Office of Teacher/Administrator pared teachers, with lower alternative programs to teachers to their faculties. Preparation and Certification, call (517) 373-6505. attrition rates. prepare and certify indi- Logan believes that as teacher salaries in- Perhaps best of all, al- viduals who already have a ternative certification is bachelor’s degree and want bringing in individuals to become teachers. Those states are Dela- in action,” said Dr. C. Emily Feistritzer, people to enter teaching.” who are more likely to accept positions ware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, president of NCEI and co-author of a state- Besides helping to solve the teacher where demand for qualified teachers is Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, New by-state analysis of alternative teacher certi- supply crisis, these alternatively certified greatest: in inner cities, in rural areas, and Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, fication programs. “People from all walks teachers bring diversity and a wealth of ex- in subject areas such as math and science. Virginia, and Wisconsin. of life are stepping forward to meet the pro- perience to the classroom. They come from The National Center for Education In- jected demand for teachers,” she added. business, industry, the professions, and the formation (NCEI) says that in 1998, more “Many of these individuals already have at military and can teach students from first-

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LEGISLATIVE ACTION Charter school plate numbers for traffic violations and other mained. Mercury encapsulated and secure, orders, such as dyslexia, and how to teach cap to remain for now information. Administrators say they have as in certain light switches, would not be students with these problems. As a re- had problems with suspicious or abandoned affected. sult, they claim, the disorders go undiag- The Legislature will not consider in cars near schools and in school parking lots. nosed and many of those students fail to September or October a measure to raise This bill would allow school officials to learn achieve their academic potential. The Michigan’s charter school cap. A bill to the vehicle registration information of any Teacher certification may require House passed the bill and it now moves raise the cap was tabled before the sum- vehicle within 1,000 feet of school property. reading disorder training to the Senate, with very limited time left mer recess. The current cap on univer- The bill has been passed by the Senate and in this session. sity-chartered schools is 150; the bill now passed out of the House Education H.B. 4378, introduced by state Rep. would increase this cap by 25 per year, Committee. It has not yet been voted on by Bob Brown, D-Dearborn Heights, would up to 225 in 2002. The last chance for the full House. require the superintendent of public instruc- School gift procedures proposed the bill to be considered this year would tion to establish new standards for diagnos- be if the Legislature reconvenes briefly ing students with reading disorders and for As increasing numbers of alumni give after the November elections. Failing Mercury in schools to be eliminated providing those students with specialized significant financial support to their that, the bill will be extinguished and training in reading. If passed, all teachers in former high schools, one legislator be- have to be reintroduced in the next State Sen. Shirley Johnson, R-Royal training will be required to take a course in lieves mandatory procedures are required Legislature. Oak, has introduced S.B. 1262 to prohibit reading disorders. Since it is required for for school districts handling the invest- schools to purchase, store, or use free-flow- all certifications, all new teachers must take ment of monetary gifts. Rep. Scott ing mercury, or to use a scientific lab instru- the course regardless of whether they teach Schachleton, R-Sault Ste. Marie, has in- School administrators ment containing mercury, after 2004. High chemistry, calculus, Spanish, or physical troduced H.B. 5786, which establishes might access police database levels of exposure to mercury may cause education. procedures for transferring such gifts to damage to the central nervous system and a community foundation or educational S.B. 945, sponsored by state Sen. internal organs, and even death. The De- Currently a teacher-in-training is re- foundation for management. The bill Leon Stille, R-Spring Lake, would give partment of Environmental Quality has re- quired to have six hours of reading meth- would govern how the money is handled. school administrators limited access to ported 14 mercury spills in schools since ods for elementary certification and three At press time, the bill was before the Edu- the Law Enforcement Information Net- 1994. This bill has been passed by the Sen- hours for secondary certification. Accord- cation Committee. work (LEIN). This is the same data bank ate, and referred to the House Committee ing to proponents of the bill, this training that police personnel use to check license on Education where, at press time, it re- does not emphasize recognizing reading dis- Legislator pushes for “character New student development” in public schools locker search Bill cites national programs as model for law in effect teaching kids values Districts must formulate, enforce On Feb. 15, state Rep. Valde Garcia, R- A third program, not mentioned in found in Character Counts! and which St. Johns, introduced a bill to amend the Garcia’s bill, is the Character Education Garcia’s bill seeks to promote. Michigan Revised School Code to include Partnership of Washington, D.C. The CEP Garcia’s bill was referred to the House policies by October a K-12 curriculum requirement for a pro- Web site (www.character.org) describes Education Committee, where it has yet to gram in “character development.” the organization as “a nonpartisan coalition be voted on. deadline The content of the program would have of organizations and individuals dedicated On May 1, Gov. Engler signed a bill to be the “same or similar to the Character to developing moral character and civic vir- that attempts to define and clarify the Counts! program or the Character First! tue in our nation’s youth as one means of proper procedures for conducting locker education series, be secular in nature, and creating a more compassionate and respon- searches in Michigan public schools. stress character qualities such as attentive- sible society.” CEP—which includes school Public Act 87 of 2000, which took ef- ness, patience, and initiative,” according to employee unions, school board and admin- fect immediately upon receiving the House legislative analyst J. Hunault. istrator associations, and the PTA—has de- governor’s approval, states that “a pupil The Character Counts! program is the veloped “eleven principles of effective char- who uses a locker that is the property of a brainchild of the Josephson Institute of Eth- acter education” which it believes are key to school district . . . is presumed to have no ics, a nationwide nonpartisan organization instilling “core ethical values such as respect, expectation of privacy in that locker or that that is leading the rapidly growing “charac- responsibility, and honesty” in students. locker’s content.” In general, courts have ter education” movement. The program Michigan State University Extension— held that the higher the expectation of pri- aims to “fortify the lives of America’s young which addresses “community-based issues vacy, the greater the justification needed people with consensus ethical values called in many areas including agriculture, natural by government employees to make a law- the ‘six pillars of character’” which are “trust- resources, community and economic devel- ful search. worthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, opment, families, and children”—takes part The bill requires school boards to caring and citizenship,” says the program’s in the Character Counts! program. Accord- adopt a policy on searches of pupils’ lock- Web site, www.charactercounts.org. ing to its Web site, www.msue.msu.edu, it ers and locker contents within 180 days The Character First! program was de- offers character “training and curriculum for of passage, which is Oct. 27, 2000. The veloped by the Oklahoma-based Character adults and teens in several locations across policy must state that, in the course of a Training Institute, an organization that pro- Michigan.” The training features materials search conducted pursuant to the policy, vides character training for employees in the to assist adults and even teenagers in teach- “the privacy rights of the pupil shall be re- workplace. ing children in five different age groups spected regarding any items that are not Character First! promotes values in- about character. illegal or against school policy.” The cluding “alertness, attentiveness, self-con- In Oct. 1996, the Michigan State Board school boards must supply students and trol, kindness, forgiveness, and truthful- of Education adopted a policy encouraging their parents with a copy of the school’s ness,” according to its Web site, “public schools to provide character educa- new policy. At the end of July, the super- www.characterfirst.org. tion focusing on principles” similar to those intendent of public instruction made available a model policy which local school boards may adopt. Once the policy is implemented, the statute permits a public school principal or his or her designee to search a student’s locker and contents at any time, as long as the published policy is followed. Any law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the school may assist the school per- sonnel. The law provides that “any evidence obtained as a result of a search of a pupil’s locker . . . shall not be inadmissible in any court because the search violated this sec- tion, violated the board approved policy or because no policy was adopted.” The text of the bill can be read at the fol- lowing Web site: michiganlegislature.org / text/publicact/1999-2000/ pa008700.htm. Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 5 Future education majors score below state average on SAT Report: performance subpar for likely teachers A recently released summary of SAT SAT, 10,280 Michigan high school students Of concern to many educators is the fact This is not to say that all teachers are scores for the Michigan high school class of from the class of 2000 took the SAT I test. that the highest performing students are not coming from this pool. In fact, many edu- 2000 reveals that students intending to ma- The report presents SAT math and verbal choosing education as a field of study in col- cation experts believe that future teachers jor in education scored below the state av- scores and also the students’ “intended col- lege. Of the 6 percent of students who se- should major in a non-education subject erage in both math and verbal performance. lege major,” chosen from 23 categories. The lected education as a major, their average area, such as math or biology, to develop According to “2000 Profile of College tables below show the math and verbal math score is 35 points below the state aver- content mastery, and supplement their ma- Bound Seniors,” a report from the College scores and intended college major for the age. The average verbal score for education jor course work with education theory and Board, the organization that administers the highest and lowest performing students. majors is 26 points below the state average. practice classes.

Highest and Lowest SAT Math Ranking Highest and Lowest SAT Verbal Ranking Class of 2000: What Will They Study in College? and Scores by Intended Major and Scores by Intended Major 10,280 SAT 1 test-takers reveal their intended college majors.

1 Math ...... 670 1 Language and Literature ...... 647 15% Health and Allied Sciences 14% Engineering 2 General or Interdisciplinary ...... 627 2 Physical Science ...... 637 12% Social Sciences 3 Mathematics ...... 616 12% Business and Commerce 3 Engineering ...... 609 4 Philosophy, Religion, or Theology ...... 615 9% Arts: Visual and Performing 6% Education 4 Language and Literature ...... 596 5 Library and Archival Sciences...... 608 6% Biological Science 5 Biological Sciences ...... 593 6 Physical Sciences ...... 608 6% Undecided 4% Communications State Average ...... 557 4% Computer or Information Science State Average ...... 569 3% Architectural or Environmental Design 2% Language and Literature 17 Education ...... 531 2% Physical Sciences 19 Education ...... 534 18 Architectural/Environmental Design ...... 530 1% Agriculture or Natural Resources 1% Mathematics 20 Home Economics ...... 534 19 Military Science ...... 529 1% Public Affairs and Services 1% Philosophy, Religion, or Theology 20 Business and Commerce ...... 527 21 Technical and Vocational ...... 527 1% Technical and Vocational 21 Technical and Vocational ...... 520 <1% General or Interdisciplinary 22 Agriculture or Natural Resources ...... 526 <1% Home Economics 22 Home Economics ...... 518 <1% Library and Archival Sciences 23 Public Affairs and Services ...... 487 23 Public Affairs and Services ...... 494 <1% Military Science 450 500 550 600 650 700 400 450 500 550 600 650 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Score on Math Portion of SAT Score on Verbal Portion of SAT Percent of Students Taking SAT I Test Source: The College Board State releases school graduation and dropout numbers Report tells which districts Proposal 1 would affect In September, the Michigan Depart- ment of Education released its report on Graduation Rates in Selected Michigan Public School Districts, 1998-1999 the 1998-99 graduation and dropout rates for the state’s 555 state school dis- tricts, including 18 public school acad- Districts graduating less than 66.67% of their students Districts graduating 100 percent of their students emies. The State Aid Act requires the Department of Education to provide the Graduation Rate Enrollment Bear Lake Schools North Muskegon Caro Community Schools Public Schools Legislature with this annual “District Buena Vista (Saginaw) Schools 51.77% 1,745 Coleman Community Schools 52.30% 1,106 Fowler Public Schools Pickford Public Schools Membership Retention Report.” Free Soil Community Schools Port Hope The report this year has added sig- Holton Public Schools ...... 54.39% ...... 1,257 Inkster City Schools ...... 20.57% ...... 1,749 Ishpeming Public Schools Community Schools nificance due to Proposal 1, an education Leland Public Schools Posen Consolidated reform initiative scheduled to appear on Mackinaw City Public Schools ...... 54.45% ...... 253 Les Cheneaux Schools the November ballot. If approved, the Vanderbilt Area Schools ...... 60.61% ...... 324 Community Schools Tekonsha Community Schools state would be required to provide tax- Detroit City Schools ...... 46.06% ..... 173,557 Manton Consolidated Schools Wakefield Schools funded vouchers for nonpublic school tu- Total Students...... 179,991 Marenisco Schools ition for students in districts whose 1998- 99 graduation rates were below two-thirds. Districts just over the cutoff for Proposal 1 vouchers (Graduation rates between 66.67% and 71.99%) The average district graduation rate is 81.12 percent. Graduation Rate Enrollment Graduation Rate Enrollment According to the report, seven dis- Adrian City Schools ...... 68.94% ...... 4,394 Highland Park City Schools ...... 67.05% ...... 3,606 tricts qualify for immediate vouchers, Albion Public Schools ...... 71.84% ...... 2,081 Jackson Public Schools ...... 66.89% ...... 7,384 and prominent on the list is the 170,000- Beecher (Flint) Community Schools ..... 68.84% ...... 2,762 Lincoln Park Public Schools ...... 69.37% ...... 5,555 student Detroit City School District. Belding Area Schools ...... 71.55% ...... 2,581 Mancelona Public Schools ...... 66.92% ...... 1,066 Vouchers will not apply in any of the Benton Harbor Area Schools ...... 69.92% ...... 5,883 Marcellus Community Schools ...... 71.67% ...... 1,078 other districts, unless a majority of Berrien Springs Public Schools ...... 69.79% ...... 1,684 Monroe Public Schools ...... 69.72% ...... 7,002 school board members or local residents Brimley Area Schools ...... 70.60% ...... 585 Morley Stanwood Community Schools. 70.89% ...... 1,604 later votes them in. (See story on page Cadillac Area Public Schools ...... 71.65% ...... 3,821 North Branch Area Schools ...... 71.87% ...... 2,598 1.) Camden-Frontier Schools ...... 67.81% ...... 684 Northport Public Schools ...... 69.56% ...... 302 The report also lists 188 school dis- Clarkston Community Schools ...... 68.42% ...... 7,074 Pinconning Area Schools ...... 67.07% ...... 2,172 tricts with graduation rates over 90 per- Coloma Community Schools ...... 69.03% ...... 2,346 Pontiac City Schools...... 69.23% ...... 12,805 cent, with 76 of those being over 95 per- Durand Area Schools ...... 68.26% ...... 2,148 River Rouge Schools ...... 67.85% ...... 2,548 cent and 15 achieving a 100-percent rate. Eaton Rapids Public Schools ...... 67.93% ...... 3,273 River Valley Schools ...... 70.42% ...... 1,324 The entire report can be accessed via Eau Claire Public Schools ...... 71.86% ...... 899 Springport Public Schools ...... 67.36% ...... 1,065 Internet at www.mde.state.mi.us/ Ferndale Public Schools ...... 70.98% ...... 4,730 Total Students...... 120,187 reports/distmembret.pdf. Flint City Schools ...... 69.95% ...... 25,133 Source: Michigan Department of Education 6 Michigan Education Report Fall 2000 STUDENT FOCUS Byrd soars at Saginaw public school Busy senior juggles academics, work, and community service The alarm goes off at 6:35 a.m. It’s the show to the closed circuit start of another school day for Javanese Byrd, TVs mounted in each of a senior at public Arthur Hill High School the school’s classrooms. in Saginaw. Most of her classmates also are The broadcasts cover getting up at the same time, but unlike them, school announcements, Javanese has had only 5 1/2 hours of sleep. upcoming school events, There are things to be done, after all. interviews with new teach- The National Honor Society student not ers, and footage from re- only maintains a 3.8 grade point average in cent athletic events. her classes—which include French, As- Javanese’s experience tronomy, World Literature, Yearbook, and with broadcasting has Broadcast Journalism—she also makes time made her reconsider her for the Pep Club, Student Government, the career aspirations. Black Studies Club, community service, Whereas before she was and, until recently, girls’ varsity basketball. interested in health ser- “She’s personable and outgoing, an vices, she now wants to ex- easy-to-like kid, but basketball at this level plore opportunities as a TV wasn’t her cup of tea” says Vonnie Killmer, journalist. “The competi- Arthur Hill girls’ basketball coach. “I think tion is fierce,” she says, “al- she’d really rather spend her time in extra- most like in acting. I know curricular activities like Student Govern- I’d have to start out as a ment, where she is so gifted.” news reporter at a local TV Student Government is not the only station, but I’d like to work area where Javanese is gifted. Her respon- for a network like CNN sibilities in putting the high school’s year- someday.” book together include the demanding and Javanese also is busy all-important task of coordinating the senior socially and off campus. pictures. “Javanese is an upbeat girl who Recently, she was elected has the follow-through to handle a big sec- to the school’s Homecom- tion of our yearbook,” says Patsy Procuro, a ing Court. And three days journalism teacher. each week, she works in Senior Javanese Byrd is one of only eight students in teacher Dave Kabobel’s broadcast journalism class. Her school’s full- service lab provides students with experience appearing before cameras and using lighting equipment, a soundboard and Javanese also is one of only eight stu- the daycare center at the character generator, and electronic editing tools. dents who are receiving training and daily nearby YMCA, where she hands-on experience with the television watches and plays with the kids from 4:30 homeless at Thanksgiving. sure of is that her time in high school has equipment in Arthur Hill’s full-service tele- to 9 p.m. After work, she does her home- What’s next for Javanese? In her junior been great. vision studio. Dave Kabobel, who teaches work until midnight or later. On Saturdays year, she applied to and was accepted at the “I love Arthur Hill,” she says. “If I had Arthur Hill’s broadcast journalism class, she works with the Ivyettes, a teen group University of North Carolina at Chapel a chance to start all over from 9th grade I’d oversees Javanese and his other students as that performs community service, such as Hill. She remains undecided about which still come here.” they prepare and broadcast a live 8-minute raising money for food baskets for the school to attend next, but one thing she’s

TEACHER FOCUS Teacher throws away the book on literacy Former nurse uses new method to help struggling students read She is a former nurse teachers in the Phono-Graphix method with no teaching certificate so that they in turn can use it to teach or degree in education. But other children to read. Nora Chahbazi is as dedi- Phono-Graphix, says Chahbazi, is cated, passionate, and effec- the antithesis of traditional methods of tive a teacher as you will find reading instruction, which teach students anywhere. symbols (letters) and the corresponding Chahbazi is the owner sounds they “make” and emphasize spell- and primary instructor at ing rules and memorization. Phono- Ounce of Prevention Read- Graphix operates in reverse, building off ing Center in Flushing. The of what students already know about center offers reading assis- sounds and speech. Phono-Graphix stu- tance to children and adults dents are taught that the sounds they for whom traditional meth- know can be represented in print by ods of teaching reading, “sound pictures,” or letter combinations. such as phonics, have not “This ‘sound picture’ approach been effective. works on almost everyone, including dys- Chahbazi employs a lexics and students with learning disabili- new reading method called ties,” says Chahbazi. “Studies have “Phono-Graphix” to teach shown that almost all children instructed her students. She discov- in Phono-Graphix—students who ered Phono-Graphix in the struggled with traditional reading meth- book “Why Our Children ods—achieved their grade level or better Can’t Read” by Diane in just 12 hours.” McGuinness, professor of Through her training seminars, psychology at the University Chahbazi hopes to expose teachers across of South Florida. the state to the Phono-Graphix method “After just a few hours over the next few years, so that more stu- with Phono-Graphix, my dents who struggle with reading can be daughter could read better taught this way. than she ever had in her “The most rewarding part of this life,” Chahbazi explains. program is when the students’ eyes light “She went from struggling Former nurse Nora Chahbazi founded her Ounce of Prevention Reading Center in Flushing to help students who were up and they finally ‘get it,’” she says. with reading pages, to read- struggling to read under traditional teaching methods. “Some of my students have been through ing whole chapters in just a years of traditional remedial reading pro- few hours of work.” opened her center. the Phono-Graphix method, which grams, with no avail, and this program Chahbazi’s success at teaching her “There are thousands of people like Chahbazi says can help beginning read- gives them new hope and makes them daughter to read led her to help her me and my family who need help. I just ers as well as those in need of remedial realize they can learn to read.” friends’ children with their reading. want to give them a chance,” she says. “I education. Her center, in fact, works Soon she enrolled in a course to be love doing this.” closely with local teachers to provide trained as a reading therapist in Phono- At the center, students ranging in age remediation services for students who Graphix, and shortly thereafter she from 3 to 67 are instructed according to need them. She also trains parents and Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 7

others planned. “All are built around a com- prehensive, intellectually challenging core curriculum, and an active campus life that Ann Arbor foundation funds emphasizes piety, evangelism and charitable service,” according to Foundation spokes- man Bill Koshelnyk. private school boom In 1999, Ave Maria College became Ave Maria University with the addition of St. Mary’s College of Orchard Lake, in Oak- land County. “With its 115-year tradition, K-8 schools, college part of new Catholic network St. Mary’s offers 16 majors with special fo- Domino’s Pizza founder Tom the foundation, this feature encourages co- funding. The Ave Maria Foundation offered cus on pre-medical and other pre-profes- Monaghan, after receiving nearly $1 billion operative learning and mutual assistance be- to step in on the condition that Huron Val- sional programs, as well as an increased from the sale of his business, is devoting his tween older and younger pupils. ley become a Catholic School, which it has emphasis on theology and philosophy,” says resources to building a network of primary, The Ave Maria Foundation also sup- agreed to do. Changes include a weekly Koshelnyk. “In addition, the university op- secondary, and post-secondary Catholic ports four other schools in the Ann Arbor Mass for all students and Catholic religious erates an extension campus, Ave Maria Col- educational institutions. area that use various teaching methods. Two education. Paul Roney, executive director lege of the Americas, located in San Marcos, Through the Ave Maria Foundation, of of them are Shepard Montessori Schools in of the Ave Maria Foundation, told the Ann Nicaragua.” which Monaghan is the principal benefac- Milan and Ann Arbor, which opened in 1997 Arbor News that neither the foundation nor The most recent addition to Ave Maria the local diocese will take an active role in University is the new law school, which running Huron Valley. The school, located began classes in the fall of 2000, with 75 stu- in downtown Ypsilanti, enrolls 180 students. dents. The school claims it is “unique in In addition to supporting K-8 educa- approaching legal study specifically from the tion, the Ave Maria Foundation also pur- perspective of the Catholic moral and intel- chased a large parcel of land in the Ann Ar- lectual tradition that has advanced the con- bor Domino’s Farms complex and contrib- cepts of natural law, individual rights, and uted it to the long-established Ann Arbor human dignity on which our system of jus- Gabriel Richard High School for future tice is based.” building of a new Catholic high school. The law school, located in Ann Arbor, The foundation is also active in higher spent $4 million renovating a former 84,000- education. In 1998, it underwrote the square-foot office building on 11 acres. founding of Ave Maria College, a co-ed, According to the college, the incoming stu- four-year liberal arts institution located in dents hail from 39 universities from 31 states Ypsilanti. The college offers degrees in three and Canada, with a median LSAT score in major fields of study, with nearly a dozen the top 21 percent. Tom Monaghan: The Man with the Vision The variety of social problems. He told the Chronicle of Phi- educational institu- lanthropy last October, “All of the problems we tions supported by hear about—the school system, teen pregnancy, The Ave Maria Foundation funds Spiritus Sanctus academies, K-8 Catholic schools run by an order of Ann Arbor’s Ave crime, drugs, and on and on—when people talk nuns. The Ann Arbor school pictured above captured a statewide architectural design award this year. Maria Foundation is about these things, they usually blame them on impressive. This re- the breakdown in family. But they never go to tor, eight K-8 schools are up and running and 1998, respectively. According to the flects the vision and the next step and ask why the breakdown in and accepting enrollment. According to foundation, these schools use the well personal drive of the the family. It has to be because of the lack of Dan Guernsey of the Private Catholic known “progressive Montessori pedagogy,” $260-million religion.” School Network, the schools feature strong including “child-driven progress,” which foundation’s Monaghan explains that his foundation pro- family involvement, character formation, a school officials claim is especially appropri- founder, chairman, vides the means for Catholic educators to ex- positive peer environment, and religious ate for students who struggle or excel in dif- and chief benefactor, Tom Monaghan. In plore new pedagogical directions. “The great instruction based on the catechism of the ferent subjects. They have a total enroll- 1998 Monaghan sold his worldwide Domino’s genius of Christianity has been its ability to ab- Catholic Church. ment of approximately 60 with both sites ex- Pizza operation for nearly $1 billion. He retained sorb the best of every culture it’s encountered According to Guernsey, the schools’ pecting to expand to 4th through 8th grade ownership of the huge office building and 300 throughout history,” Monaghan says. “Catholic approach to education has received such tre- classes. The Milan school was formerly a acres, which make up Domino’s Farms in Ann scholarship is the sum of that inclusiveness, and mendous support in the Ann Arbor area, the Catholic school that had been closed for Arbor. In that complex Monaghan maintains an we want to make our contribution by adding to foundation is already considering ways to some time. office where, according to the Religious News the diversity of teaching approaches and school franchise the concept throughout the Another school, called Agnus Dei, uses Service, he “wants to work for God the rest of organization at all levels. United States. “Our goal is to do whatever a non-graded structure. Students progress his life and die nearly broke.” “Catholic education is in demand more than we can to open up independent Catholic at their own rate, but within a traditional The Ave Maria Foundation has quickly ever,” he adds. “With the concern that’s been schools,” he says. “We’ll do whatever we curriculum. In this case as well the “three grown in both funding and scope of activity. In voiced about access to quality education in the can to help them.” Guernsey regularly re- room” school concept is used with pre-kin- 1983, Monaghan started the Domino’s Founda- public districts, people of all faiths are clamor- ceives inquiries from other states, he adds. dergarten, kindergarten, grades 1-3, and tion, which began with assets of roughly $8.5 ing to send their children to parochial schools. The foundation opened its first school, grades 4-8. Enrollment there is also around million. Over the years he found a variety of This puts tremendous stress on Catholic edu- Spiritus Sanctus Academy, in 1997 at the 60. Roman Catholic causes to support. When he cation facilities. We’re in a position to supple- Domino’s Farms complex in Ann Arbor The foundation’s network also includes sold his pizza business he changed the ment the Church’s resources. We’ve taken on Township, and three other schools, each also the Huron Valley school which, Principal foundation’s name to Ave Maria Foundation and the economic burden of building and support- called Spiritus Sanctus Academy, quickly fol- Tom Kotyak told the Ann Arbor News in donated another $250 million, making it one of ing schools that offer the virtues people expect lowed. By design each academy has a total March, originally opened under an affilia- the largest foundations in Michigan. of Catholic institutions, without causing more enrollment of about 100, electing to feature tion with the Word of God Church. But Monaghan firmly believes that the lack of financial and operational complications for par- small multi-grade classes, typically kinder- falling enrollment and financial difficulties religious belief and practice is at the root of many ishes and dioceses.” garten, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. According to made it necessary to find a new source of Families come to Kumon Alternative learning centers help struggling students Anna Dvorak is the bright daughter of Centers concentrated tunity to run the Kumon Center themselves. college-educated parents, but the 9-year-old in suburban Detroit It is located in a large and comfortable Sun- was struggling with math in the Alma and larger cities in mid- day school classroom at the First Methodist schools. Michigan. Church in downtown Mt. Pleasant. Then her mother heard about a pro- Six years ago, the Forty-three school children, from young gram in Mt. Pleasant that was having great Kushions’ twin daugh- elementary to late middle school, regularly success in teaching math. That led her to ters, then in third grade, visit this math teaching program. The Mt. the Kumon Center of Mt. Pleasant, oper- were having math chal- Pleasant center is open from 4 to 7 p.m. five ated by Gene and Susan Kushion, both of lenges of their own. Sue days a week. The students work a maximum whom are public school math teachers. and Gene began to tu- of 20 minutes each day on their Kumon math Gene teaches geometry, advanced algebra, tor them at home, but lessons, either at the center or at home, but and trigonometry at the Midland Bullock were frustrated with they do the lessons seven days a week. It Creek High School, while Sue teaches sev- their slow progress. Be- seems like an old-fashioned approach. There enth-grade pre-algebra at the middle school ing conscientious par- are no calculators or computers allowed. Stu- in St. Louis. ents, they looked for dents use pencil and paper to do every calcu- Kumon Centers are a radical new im- outside help; a friend lation. port from Japan and are springing up across recommended a Any newly enrolling child takes a place- the United States and Canada. According Kumon Center. The ment test to establish his or her skill level. to a recent issue of the organization’s news- Kushions were so im- School grade does not matter because the letter “Kumon New Quest,” 2.5 million stu- Anna Dvorak completes her math lesson with the help of teacher Susan pressed with the math is not taught as a class. It is all indi- dents are enrolled worldwide, including Kushion, who, with husband Gene, operates a “Kumon Center” in Mt. Pleas- progress made by their vidualized. Students start at a comfortable 75,000 in the U.S. and over 30,000 in ant. Students taught with the Kumon method advance according to indi- twins that two years later level to help achieve success right away. That Canada. Michigan already has 40 Kumon vidual ability rather than age or grade level. they accepted the oppor- KUMON continued on page 8 8 Michigan Education Report Fall 2000 Kumon continued from page 7 builds confidence, and soon they are hooked ing in math, after a year or more in a Kumon on math: young kids eagerly learning math Center, achieves mastery of math at one or as fast as they can. two grade levels above their own grade. Those Upon entering a Kumon Center class- who choose to can follow the program be- room, one finds children absolutely silent yond differential and integral calculus. Ac- and focused intently on their papers. None cording to the Kumon Institute, “decades of of them generates any distractions or con- experience with hundreds of thousands of stu- versation. They are too committed to fin- dents have shown that learning occurs most ishing their papers, because, in addition to efficiently when two criteria are met: 1) The accuracy, their speed is also counted. The level of the material to be learned corresponds children may have up to 10 pages of prob- exactly to the learner’s level of ability, and 2) Frank Webster is the recipient of the Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor Award of the Mackinac Center lems to do that day, but they are allowed only the rate of progress is controlled by the stu- for Public Policy, June 5, 1998, for pursuit of better education for Michigan children. a maximum of two minutes per page. Ap- dents, not the teacher.” proaching one minute per page is the goal The Kumon Institute has been invited of each student, for then they are demon- into hundreds of American schools to help strating “mastery,” and will be able to move thousands of students master math, and even Don’t Lose Your FREE Subscription! on. If they take too much time, they “loop reading, at their own pace. For her part, Anna We must hear from you! If we don’t, you will miss Michigan’s largest and most back,” doing a set of papers over and over Dvorak, after nine months in the program, is balanced source of education-related news and analysis. Let us know you still want until they master it. now scoring 40 out of 40 in her speed tests at Michigan Education Report by mailing, faxing, or e-mailing us today! In his book “Every Child an Achiever: public school, and she is still doing only 20 If we have already heard from you, there is no need to respond again. A Parent’s Guide to the Kumon Method,” minutes of Kumon math daily. author David W. Russell describes the phi- As for Gene Kushion, with 29 years of Name ______losophy of the Kumon system. “Because teaching math in the public schools, he says, learning is teacher-driven in the typical edu- “Nothing I can do in the school classroom Address ______cational system, children all too easily be- can give me the satisfaction I get from seeing City ______State ____ Zip ______come passive agents in the learning process,” the progress made by young students at our Russell writes. Kumon Center. There’s no comparison.” Phone ______The Kumon Method turns that process For more information on Kumon, inter- upside-down. The goal of Kumon is to make ested parties may call 1-800-ABC-MATH or E-mail ______learning a student-driven activity, to put the visit the Kumon Institute’s Web site at responsibility on the student, not on the www.kumon.com. The Kushions can be Michigan Education Report • 140 West Main Street • P.O. Box 568 • Midland, Michigan 48640 teacher. It is common that students falter- reached at (517) 773-9903. (517) 631-0900 • Fax (517) 631-0964 • www.EducationReport.org • [email protected] Remedial continued from page 1 The estimate is conservative, Greene class. How did they get through high school says, because it does not include the cost of without these skills?” college-level work that has been “watered down” but not classified as remedial, expen- Community forums ditures on technology by businesses to make up for employees’ lack of basic skills, capital Greene and the Mackinac Center went expenditures required to provide remedial on the road in September to get opinions education, and additional costs incurred about the study’s findings from educators, because of the many people who require business leaders, and citizens throughout remedial education but never receive it. Michigan at a series of six public forums, Greene says the Michigan figure can be attended by over 250 people. extrapolated to reach a national cost of $16.6 Prominent leaders from the K-12, billion per year for remedial education. But higher education, and business communi- money isn’t the only consideration, he adds. ties in Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Lansing, “The financial costs to provide remedial Ypsilanti, Traverse City, and Southfield pro- Tony deserves a chance education are high, but the human costs of vided formal responses to the problem of students failing to receive minimal skills are remedial education, which was followed by We at Lutheran Special Education Ministries believe Tony deserves a chance. incalculably higher,” he says. audience interaction and participation. That’s why—since 1873—we’ve been helping kids like Tony—kids who have spe- “The failure of our schools is not mainly Representing educators from the K-12 cial learning needs—to receive a Christian education and lead productive lives. a dollar-and-cents problem,” agrees Dr. Tom system were Dr. Patricia Newby, superin- Bertonneau, an instructor at Central Michi- tendent of Grand Rapids Public Schools; Dr. Tony is not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Education, at least 1 out of gan University. “It is, in fact, a measure of Michael Shibler, superintendent of Rock- every 10 school-age children in the U.S. today has a special learning need. In 1997-98 in our own distance from an understanding of ford Public Schools near Grand Rapids; Mr. Michigan there were more than 20,000 kids who struggle with learning because of their the nature of this tragedy that to have its Justin King, executive director of the Michi- special learning needs. (Michigan Department of Education) maximum impact upon us, it must be ex- gan Association of School Boards; Mr. Ryan pressed in terms of dollars and cents.” Donlan, superintendent of Bay-Arenac For us to help a small group of kids with special learning needs within a resource Bertonneau authored an essay, included Community High School; Mr. Michael room will cost $52,000.00 in a school year. (And next year, the cost will rise.) in the study, that explains how poor educa- Krigelski, superintendent of Airport Com- That’s why we’d like your help. Here are two recommendations: tion harms students. Dr. David W. munity Schools near Ypsilanti; and Dr. Jayne Breneman, dean of the Curry School of Mohr, assistant superintendent of Traverse 1. If you know of a kid like Tony, a kid whose parents would like him to receive a Education at the University of Virginia and City Area Public Schools. Christian education—but hasn’t because of his special learning needs—please let us know. former president of Kalamazoo College, and Higher education panelists included Dr. You can call or write us at the address below. Or fax us at (313) 368-0159. Dr. Herbert Walberg, research professor of Arend “Don” Lubbers, president of Grand education and psychology at the University Valley State University; Dr. Leonard Plachta, 2. If you want to help us with kids like Tony, please send your tax-deductible dona- of Illinois at Chicago, provided additional president emeritus of Central Michigan tion to the address below. We are a 501(c)3 organization that receives no governmental commentary for the study. University; Dr. Thomas Brennan, former support. Greene proposes three solutions to the Michigan Supreme Court justice and presi- Thank you. growing need among students for remedial dent of Thomas M. Cooley Law School; Dr. education: Competency tests required to Thomas Sullivan, president of Cleary Col- graduate high school, a full or partial lege; Dr. Laurie Chesley, dean for learning “money-back guarantee” offered by K-12 at Northwestern Michigan College; and Dr. school districts, and increased school choice. Joe Champagne, former president of Oak- “While it is difficult to get educators to land University and current dean at agree on the reasons for the problem, the Macomb Community College. focus of debate unquestionably revolves Business and industry leaders included around whether elementary and secondary Mr. Charles Stoddard, president of Grand schools are doing an adequate job of teach- Bank; Mr. Regan Wieland, CEO of ing these skills,” he says. Plyforms, Inc. of Bay City; Mr. James Leading the Way… The problem of unprepared students Barrett, president of the Michigan Cham- • In putting parents and children first in education extends even beyond math and reading, ac- ber of Commerce; Mr. Doug Bishop, • In promoting the efficient use of educational resources cording to some educators. “Most of the stu- former chairman of the Traverse Area • In encouraging innovative, responsible education initiatives dents who come to us not only lack math Chamber of Commerce; and Mr. Lloyd • In quickening the pace of educational improvement and English skills, but they lack basic aca- Reuss, former president of General Motors demic skills,” says Janet Dettloff, chair of the and current executive dean for advanced Membership is open to current or former school board members from public or Math and Sciences Division at Wayne technologies at Focus: HOPE. private Michigan schools. Associate memberships are available to others who share County Community College. “They have Copies of Greene’s study are available the MSBLA mission. no idea what is expected of them at the col- from the Mackinac Center at 517-631-0900 lege level. They don’t know how to take or on the Internet at www.mackinac.org. For online membership applications or for information on upcoming training and notes. They don’t read the assigned mate- Video clips of the forum panelists soon will events, visit www.msbla.org or call 810-658-7667. rial. And many of them don’t even come to be available online as well. Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 9 School defies its demographics Low-income students meet principal’s high expectations in urban Detroit An animated Emily Shahan leads her low-income students aren’t learning as they formula is so they can manufacture it and havoc with lesson planning at similar class of peppy students in reading aloud a should. spread it around everywhere,” says Patsy schools, is also relatively low, though the scribble of numbers, symbols and letters— But there is no worrisome “achieve- Burks, Owen’s principal for a dozen years. school keeps no statistics. funny-looking shapes that literally are ment gap” between Owen students and “I can’t tell them. I don’t know what it is. Burks accomplishes all this with the Greek. peers elsewhere. Since 1991, better than 80 There’s too many things you have to do. It’s same resources as similar Detroit schools. “Gamma to the power of alpha, times percent of Owen students have passed the not just one thing. It’s a combination.” Margaret Horner, leader of the parent gamma to the power of beta, divided by standardized tests in math, reading, writing Almost by happenstance, Burks does council, describes the experience of her gamma to the power of alpha, equals . . .” and science that Michigan requires of provide a clue about her educational phi- three children at the school as “fantastic. they read off the chalkboard before them. fourth- and fifth-graders each year. losophy – and it’s hardly a secret – when she The teachers . . . expected more from stu- Shahan shuts off the recitation before any- For two consecutive years in the late hears the name of Ronald Edmonds. dents than teachers did at the other schools one can venture an answer, then taps a stu- 1990s, every fourth-grader at Owen mas- “Oh, oh,” she exclaims. “My hero.” my children attended. Other places you dent to explain how to solve the math prob- tered the math test. In 1998-99, the latest Edmonds was a pioneering education could try hard if you wanted to. Here, they lem. year for which scores are available, 94 per- make you try hard.” “When you see multiply signs, you add cent of the fourth-graders passed the math MSU Professor Ronald Edmonds’ As she finishes lunch in the school’s tiny the exponents. When you see division signs, test, and 80 percent passed the reading test. lounge, second-grade teacher Lynda Bartak you subtract the exponents,” Adriana Reaves Ninety-four percent of the fifth-graders Seven Characteristics of Effective Schools says, “This is a nurturing school, in all the volunteers confidently—and correctly. passed the science test. good ways that word implies. But there is a Adriana is 11. She and her fifth-grade Owen outperformed students statewide firmness. We expect you to do your work classmates are studying algebra, a subject by 22 percentage points in math, 21 in read- 1. A safe and orderly and complete it and be proud of it.” usually not taught until high school, or per- ing and 56 in science. Owen students out- environment Burks says Edmonds supplied her with haps in suburban middle schools or other did peers in Grosse Pointe, an affluent 2. A climate of high what she calls “do-how,” but she has clearly advanced programs. But this is an elemen- lakeshore suburb, by 11 points in math, 3 in expectations of every improvised a bag of her own tricks. tary school, and it stands smack in the reading and 29 in science. student When Burks arrived at Owen a dozen middle of urban desolation a couple of miles Only in writing did Owen trail the state years ago, she met with teachers weekly to from downtown Detroit. (17 points) and Grosse Pointe (36 points). 3. A principal who acts as plot how to raise test scores. They devised Requiring fourth- and fifth-graders to But it was an off year for Owen: The pass- an instructional leader a strategy to rebuild the curriculum around study algebra is the most dramatic example ing rate in writing had been a stratospheric 4. A staff with a clear the content of the tests and assign the most of the high academic expectations at Owen 94 percent a year earlier, before inexplicably educational mission experienced teachers to administer them in School, whose students have shown extraor- tumbling to 42 percent. 5. A priority on classroom small groups. They send notes home to re- dinary achievement for about a decade even Owen is unusual but not unique in hav- instruction in essential mind parents to send children to bed early though 80 percent are poor and more than ing low-income students with high test skills the night before testing, then eat a good 90 percent are black. Nearly all live in a scores. Five studies published in the last year breakfast before coming to school. dreary neighborhood where, on many have identified several hundred schools 6. Parental involvement “I’m looking at all the variables that blocks, vacant lots overgrown with tall around the country that have defied statis- 7. Frequent testing to make the best testing situation,” Burks says. weeds outnumber the dilapidated wooden tical odds and beaten the achievement gap. monitor student Self-assured teachers in groups as small as a houses still standing. The number of such schools is compara- progress dozen children help calm down students so In cities across the country, and else- tively low, though: the Education Depart- they’ll do their best. And she makes no where in Detroit, similar schools that en- ment has counted about 7,000 schools that apologies for what critics might scorn as roll mostly poor, minority students have serve the poor and rate as academically low- professor at Michigan State University best teaching to the tests or what others might generally lagged far behind in the new stan- performing. known for his “effective schools” research, describe as sensibly realigning the curricu- dardized tests being used to decide who The exceptions to the pattern of low which he conducted by visiting schools that lum. moves to the next grade or gets a diploma. achievement seem to disprove the notion worked and identifying their common char- “It’s not fair to test something that’s not This persistent pattern of failure has that demographics is academic destiny. But acteristics. Whet Edmonds discovered been taught,” Burks maintains. emerged as a main point of political debate there remains a bedeviling question about wasn’t a whiz-bang curriculum or a magi- Samuel Casey Carter, author of a Heri- about education, with everyone from Presi- the schools where low-income students cal teaching technique, but education’s tage Foundation report on Owen and 20 dent Clinton and his potential successors to nonetheless reach high levels of achieve- workmanlike equivalent of football’s three similar schools, suggests Owen hasn’t congressional leaders and governors calling ment: How do they do it? yards and a cloud of dust. dumbed down its curriculum with the for tough action to fix public schools where “People want to know what my secret His research isolated seven character- changes because Michigan has “an excep- istics of effective schools: a safe and orderly tionally hard test. It’s one of the few of these environment, a climate of high expectations exams that’s actually a serious test.” of every students, a principal who acts as an Carter says he independently verified instructional leader, a staff with a clear edu- Owen’s test scores, which appear to be cor- cational mission, a priority on classroom roborated by scores in lower grades on instruction in essential skills, parental in- the Metropolitan Achievement Test-7—in volvement and frequent testing to monitor his opinion, another of the better standard- student progress. ized tests. It was 25 years ago that Edmonds com- To increase contact with parents, who pleted the first round of his research, which often won’t show for teacher conferences enjoyed a boomlet of popularity before los- or parent council meetings, Burks has also ing out to new educational fads that weren’t come up with some novel tactics. Report as difficult to implement and weren’t based cards aren’t sent home with students, but on careful study. He died in 1983. must be picked up by parents. “Some of the principles he had and be- Instead of regular council meetings, lieved in made a lot of sense to me,” recalls there is a monthly activity featuring students Burks. “I think the most important was: All to attract proud parents. Once, the distri- children can learn.” bution of family photo albums was used as Edmonds has another disciple in a lure. Michael Cohen, assistant secretary of el- Visitors must ring a doorbell to enter ementary and secondary education in the the school because the outside doors are kept Department of Education. locked. Few outsiders gain admittance. The “I started writing about this stuff in principal rejects most requests to visit. 1979, and it wasn’t exactly a secret when I “I really suspect anybody who comes to started writing,” Cohen said. “We’ve known my school and says it’s a phenomenon. It’s for a long time what it takes to make effec- not—if you’re teaching,” Burks says. “It’s tive schools. The real question is, ‘Do we just sort of dedication to the job.” have the will and the capacity to make them on a large scale?’” This article was written by Kenneth L. Owen enjoys plenty of both from a Johnson and is reprinted with permission from dedicated principal who tries to make sure The Washington Post. students get what they need from a hard- working, stable corps of well-trained teach- ers, all but one of them fully certified. Other inner-city schools suffer from a revolving door of inexperienced teachers still complet- ing their professional training. The school also benefits from small classes, so small that Burks wouldn’t disclose their exact size. A year ago, the pupil-teacher ratio was 17-1, according to the state. She believes that student turnover, which causes 10 Michigan Education Report Fall 2000 COMMENTARY Michigan Education Report asked Michigan candidates for the U.S. Senate to provide a summary of their education proposals and policies. Below are the campaign statements of Republican candidate and incumbent Sen. Spencer Abraham, Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow, and public school teacher and Libertarian candidate Michael Corliss. Flexibility and accountability are key to improving education ing resources for teacher professional devel- and, as a result of its tremendous success, Educational Opportunities Act includes the Spencer opment, teacher testing, and merit pay. We the waivers are now available across the Teacher Empowerment Act (TEA), which Abraham need to ensure that every Michigan student country. provides states and districts with close to $2 Republican Spencer has access to a college education—by pro- This year, we went one step further and billion to develop and implement innova- Abraham is Michigan’s viding financial resources through tax incen- included as part of the Educational Oppor- tive professional development and teacher junior U.S. senator. tives and scholarship programs. tunities Act a voluntary demonstration pro- quality programs. Because the states and We also need to recognize that every gram permitting up to 15 interested states districts have the control of these monies, community is different. A small district in and school districts to enter into an agree- each program will be specifically designed rural Martin, Mich., has very different needs ment with the U.S. Secretary of Education to address the needs of the individual states from a large urban district in Detroit. Local in which the states agree to specific academic and communities by the people closest to school districts need to have options regard- improvement performance standards for the schools: the teachers, administrators, and As the father of three young children, I ing how to spend federal education dollars. their lowest performing students in return parents. consider improving education to be one of Washington is finally starting to recognize for the ability to consolidate federal funds During the debate on the Educational my top priorities in the U.S. Senate. I be- this with the adoption of the Flexibility in and eliminate federal strings to better serve Opportunities Act, I introduced and passed lieve that educational power and resources Education Act, known as Ed-Flex. their neediest students. an amendment to ensure that states and dis- should be in the hands of parents, who help Ed-Flex is our attempt to free local We also need to recognize that quali- tricts would be able to use their TEA fund- their kids with homework and encourage schools from the burdens of the know-it- fied and dedicated teachers are an essential ing to implement teacher testing, merit- them to succeed, and the teachers, princi- alls and the red tape in Washington. Ed- element in our goal to improve education. based pay, and tenure reform programs. pals, and school boards who alone can make Flex gives every state a chance to waive the Teachers play a special and indispensable role These programs will help schools and teach- classrooms places of learning and growth. cumbersome rules, regulations, and red tape in our children’s education. Nothing can ers better pinpoint areas in need of additional How do we achieve the goal of im- often associated with federal education pro- replace the positive and long-lasting impact professional development and appropriately proved education for our children? We need grams. The state of Michigan participated a dedicated, knowledgeable teacher has on reward outstanding performance. I also sup- to raise the quality of teachers—by provid- in a demonstration project under Ed-Flex a child’s learning process. Accordingly, the ABRAHAM continued on page 11 Keep education dollars in local hands and out of Washington

Libertarians predicted it would. Why does this make sense to anyone? mately was never funded. Michael When this country was founded over This is just another example of politi- There are twice as many administra- Corliss 200 years ago, the architects of the Consti- cians, from both of the old parties, trying tors in the Department of Education as Michael Corliss is a tution wisely decided that Congress would to buy your vote with your own money. As there are in the average federal agency, and Michigan public school have no authority over education. They re- you read the Christmas list of presents that that is saying a lot. Several years ago, the teacher and the Libertar- alized that education can work only when my two Senate opponents promise, bear in Republicans made a series of promises to ian candidate for U.S. parents and educators—the people who ac- mind that all of this will be paid for with the American people. There were 10 of Senate. tually know and care about the children in your money, and that somewhere along the them, and they were dubbed the Contract a particular school—have the ability to way, half of the money you send them just with America. One of those promises was make the financial and educational deci- sort of disappears. to get rid of this federal bureaucracy that As a public school teacher, I see first- sions that are in those children’s best in- It’s easy to see where the rest of your maintains a stranglehold on education in hand, every day, the consequences of fed- terest. All dictates from Washington must education dollars go, if you realize that the this country, impoverishes schools, and eral intrusion in the schools. Millions of be applied equally to all people, and politi- federal Department of Education is the big- stifles real reform and improvement. Un- dollars are siphoned out of local districts, cians and bureaucrats hundreds of miles gest sinkhole of waste and cronyism in the fortunately, this was the only one of the 10 much of it wasted by endless layers of edu- away cannot possibly know better than you entire country. Whenever a friend of the planks of the Contract that was never in- cation bureaucracy, and then a fraction of do about what is best for your child. current administration, be it Republican or troduced in Congress, even though it was it, maybe, comes back home. Why does this Now, unfortunately, we have a differ- Democratic, needs a sinecure to tide him the one that would have done the most to happen? ent system from the one envisioned by or her over for a while, he or she is usually improve our schools. Both the Democrats and the Republi- Jefferson and Madison. This new system given a cushy job at the Department of I refuse to promise a basket full of cans have promised for years that if we par- works like this: You are required to send Education. Recently, a U.S. senator, who goodies (along with a bigger tax bill) if you ents and educators will keep sending our your tax dollars to Washington. For every had been removed by her own constitu- vote for me. Instead, I pledge now, that tax dollars to Washington, they will use the two dollars you send, one dollar comes back ency, was given a job there, which paid over when I go to Washington, I will fight to stop money to improve the public schools. Of to your school, along with a laundry list of $150,000 per year. Her duties? She ad- the wasteful and destructive practice of let- course, the exact opposite has occurred, as regulations limiting how you can spend it. vised Congress on a program that ulti- CORLISS continued on page 11

The three P’s of school safety: parents, prevention, and police

be spelled out with three P’s: parents, pre- curriculum to create good citizens as well • Provide resources for safety technology Debbie vention, and police. My plan to make local as good students. Character education helps and training through a matching grant pro- Stabenow schools and communities safer places to to instill values such as trustworthiness, re- gram that will help schools afford metal de- Democrat Debbie learn and work includes: spect, responsibility, caring, fairness, citizen- tectors, security cameras, and other safety Stabenow represents ship, perseverance, courage, and self-disci- devices and offer security training for school Michigan’s 8th con- Getting Parents pline in our children. personnel. gressional district. Actively Involved • Encourage students to help each other • Keep guns out of the hands of children through peer mediation and conflict reso- and criminals by passing common-sense • Involve parents in efforts both inside and lution programs that further reduce the gun safety legislation that requires child outside of the classroom to promote safe threat of school violence. safety locks, closes the loophole that allows schools. • Reduce class size so that teachers give stu- guns to be purchased at gun shows without We all know that government alone, at • Require parental involvement in the plan- dents the attention they need to succeed in background checks, and enforces existing any level, cannot hope to solve the complex ning and implementation of student pro- school. gun laws. problem of school violence. But govern- grams that are funded by federal grants. • Support after-school programs that pro- For more information about Rep. Stabenow, ment must be a part of the solution. To- • Recognize that preventing child abuse and vide supervised, constructive activities for visit www.stabenow2000.net. gether we must, with the “Michigan Mil- neglect is critical to preventing violence in latch-key students. lion Mom March,” get parents actively in- schools. Successful programs such as the • Create a National Center for School Safety volved, provide resources to prevent vio- Michigan Children’s Trust Fund, which I and Youth Violence to provide a common Michigan lence, and add more school resource offic- founded in 1982, have provided at-risk par- source of effective school safety programs ers to deter school violence. We must do all ents with the skills and support they need for schools and communities; to establish a Education we can to create classrooms where students to create loving and safe homes. These pro- toll-free number for students to seek help can learn in the safe environments they de- grams should be made a priority. and anonymously report criminal activity; Digest serve. and to provide grants to develop innovative, ...Education News In February, six-year-old Kayla Rolland Providing Resources new school safety programs in communi- Summaries... was killed by another six-year-old in her to Prevent Violence ties across the country. school outside of Flint. I have talked with Michigan Education Digest delivers parents, teachers, and students about how • Add school counselors, social workers, and Keeping Our Schools Safe FREE weekly email summaries of the to form effective partnerships with local teacher support personnel so that teachers hottest education stories from dozens schools and communities to help combat the can teach and other professionals can focus • Add school resource officers to help keep of Michigan and national newspapers, problem of violence in our schools. on students who need special attention. schools safe by deterring school violence and magazines, and reports. Sign up at www.EducationReport.orgwww.EducationReport.org! I believe the keys to school safety can • Integrate character education into school serving as positive role models for students. Fall 2000 Michigan Education Report 11 COMMENTARY Abraham Corliss continued from page 10 continued from page 10 port the establishment of teacher tax deduc- expands Education Savings Accounts, ex- ting federal politicians and bureaucrats dic- tion to help defray the cost of professional pands qualified pre-paid tuition plans, in- tate how your school will be run. I will development expenses. cludes tax relief for employer-provided edu- fight to keep your education dollars, all of To help bring quality technology to our cational assistance, and eliminates the 60- them, in your district. I will hold the Re- classrooms, last year I introduced the New month limit on the student loan interest publicans’ feet to the fire, and make them Millennium Classrooms Act, a bill designed deduction. do what they promised they would do. I to provide incentives for businesses to do- Education will determine America’s won’t do it because I want votes, or because nate high-quality computers and related future. If we want better schools, then par- some lobbyist offered me a campaign con- equipment to K-12 schools. Endorsed by ents, teachers, and local leaders must have tribution. I will do it because it is right the National Education Association, my leg- access to the resources and the flexibility to and because it will help improve education islation specifically targets economically dis- improve our schools, create greater oppor- in every school district in this country. advantaged schools, allowing poorer schools tunities for teacher professional develop- Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate to allocate more of their scarce resources to ment for teachers, and educate our children. Michael Corliss teaches English and Drama at technology training for teachers, technology If we want our children to prosper in the Livonia Stevenson High School. For more in- curriculum development, or infrastructure high-tech economy, then we must close the formation about Mr. Corliss, visit needs instead of forcing them to spend all digital divide and encourage the study of www.Corliss2000.org. of their funding on equipment shortfalls. math and science. Just this March, my bill passed the Senate I am confident that, together, we can by a vote of 96-2 as an amendment to an- make America’s schools the best in the world other bill. and provide our kids with the quality edu- I also believe we can do more to help cation they deserve. families pay for college. That’s why I sup- For more information about Sen. Abraham, port the Affordable Education Act, which visit www.Abraham2000.net. Bush, Gore continued from page 1 agree to “establish accountability systems, arships to America’s neediest children, al- Standards and accountability and math standards set for grades 4, 8, testing every student in reading and math,” lowing them to get the emergency help and 12. He also calls for states, not dis- according to the Bush campaign Web site. they should have,” Bush told an audience Over the last 10 years, every state but tricts, to set high school graduation re- “I’m going to lift the burden of bureau- in Los Angeles Sept. 9. “In any case, the Iowa has adopted standards in reading and quirements and administer a statewide cracy and give states and local folks more federal government will no longer pay math, and most states require students to high school exit exam. authority over federal education dollars than schools to cheat poor children.” Gore op- be tested every year in both subjects. This they’ve ever had before,” Bush told a Wash- poses vouchers, although before accept- movement for standards in measuring stu- Teacher quality ington conference sponsored by the Con- ing the vice presidential nomination Sena- dent progress and school accountability be- servative Political Action Committee in tor Joe Lieberman supported vouchers for gan at the federal level under President Bush Both candidates agree that teacher qual- January 2000. students in the District of Columbia. and has continued ever since. Both candi- ity is a vital element in the effort to improve Gore calls for an even larger federal role, Both candidates support charter education, but proposing a $170 billion “public education schools, but differ on details. Bush differ in ideas to investment plan” paid over 10 years out of a would leverage $3 billion in federal funds improve that trust fund and with 10 percent of the fed- to create 2,000 new charter schools. Gore quality. eral budget surplus. He also favors more would triple the number of charter Bush would federal programs to help families pay their schools by expanding existing programs. consolidate exist- education and job training costs, including ing federal pro- tax deductions for college tuition; to set up Math and science education grams for reduc- “Life-Long Learning” investment accounts; ing class size and and to establish a new “National Tuition Acknowledging that American stu- training teachers Savings Program.” The Department of dents perform particularly poorly in math into a single fund, Education will assume more state and local and science compared with students in which would re- responsibilities, including the setting of other countries, both candidates favor ceive an addi- teacher certification requirements and na- federal initiatives to address the problem. tional $400 mil- tional achievement standards and the fund- Bush proposes to offer federal Pell lion and be dis- ing of educa- tributed to states tion for early in proportion to childhood student popula- years. tion. States “Together, would spend the we must bring funds on which- revolutionary ever teacher qual- change to our Gov. George W. Bush, Republican candidate for president. ity investment public schools. was needed to fit I want to work dates intend to continue in this direction. their particular situation, such as hiring with parents, Bush would create a “reward fund” of more new teachers or improving profession- teachers, and $500 million over 5 years for states that ex- alism of the existing teachers. principals to cel and proposes to cut federal funding of Bush also calls for a $400 tax deduction create the states that fail according to federal standards. to cover out-of-pocket teacher expenses. modern class- He calls for states to give school-by-school “Teachers are not the object of education. rooms, higher report cards to the parents and the public. They are the engine of education reform. standards, and Bush also calls for failing schools to adopt They have a high calling, and we must re- similar class reforms or lose Title I funding. Reform spect it,” he told an audience in Milwaukee sizes your irre- measures would include restructuring man- in March. placeable kid agement, personnel changes, and possibly a Gore would require states to ensure all deserves,” says school of choice program. teachers obtain credentials by 2004 or lose Gore. Vice President Al Gore, Democratic candidate for president. Gore proposes more funding for fail- federal funding. He also proposes an $8 bil- ing schools to overhaul the curriculum, lion incentive program, which would give School choice grants of $1,000 to students who pass ei- provide professional development for all teachers a $5,000 pay raise if their com- ther Advanced Placement or college math teachers, and fire low-performing teach- munities adopted tougher teacher standards. School choice—reducing the political and science courses while in high school. ers. He would consider closing down a Beyond that he would give “master teach- and financial barriers that prevent parents He would set aside $1 billion over 5 years school and reopening it under a new ers” an additional $5,000. from choosing the best and safest schools to fund collaborations between colleges principal if the school does not meet per- “We should pay teachers better. Many for their children—may be the most divi- and states in math and science. He also formance standards for four years. Gore of our teachers do not get the support they sive issue in the education debate. Advo- favors having students tested in math ev- also favors allowing students in failing need, and most accomplished teachers do cates include many black parents with ery year in grades 3-8 and raising the maxi- schools to transfer to another public not get the rewards they deserve,” says the children in failing inner-city schools, re- mum student loan forgiveness from school and withdrawing a portion of Gore Web site. ligious groups, and proponents of greater $5,000 to $17,000 for those students funding from states that fail to improve For more information, visit the candi- parental freedom in education. Oppo- graduating in engineering, technology, student scores. dates’ Web sites at www.algore2000.com nents include some civil rights groups, math, and science. On standards, Bush wants all states and www.georgewbush.com. An inde- education employee unions, and other Gore calls for funding one million to use the National Assessment of Edu- pendent Web site, www.issues2000.com, public school organizations. new teachers over the next 10 years, with cational Progress Test in the 4th and 8th provides summaries of all presidential can- Bush proposes a plan to allow chil- emphasis on areas such as math and sci- grades. He calls for all states to develop didates’ policies. dren in failing schools to leave after three ence. He would forgive loans for 300,000 their own standardized tests for assess- years with a $1,500 federal voucher to help students who agree to teach math and sci- ing student achievement in math and them pay for enrollment in a new public ence in “high-need” schools and other reading in grades 3-8. or a nonpublic school, or for educational scarce subject areas. He also wants na- Gore wants national tests for fourth- aids. tional math standards to be established for grade reading and eighth-grade math to “In the worst case, we will offer schol- grades 4, 8, and 12. be voluntary, but wants national reading 12 Michigan Education Report Fall 2000 Diverse Viewpoints Will vouchers encourage the creation of radical schools? With vouchers, there is nothing to prohibit such schools from opening Parents can be trusted to make the right decisions for their children Recently I read about a 1995 federal court case that addresses It is foolish to assert that “radical” schools will result from break- one part of the question of what happens when public funds are trans- ing down the financial barriers that today prevent low-income par- lated into support for private schools through vouchers. An African- ents from choosing a better or safer school for their children. This American student attending a private high school in Milwaukee— notion, used by the opponents of education reform to scare people University School—gave a speech on black separatism in her English into opposing school choice, not only defies common sense and all class. The student criticized the school as racist and the school re- the evidence, but also begs the question of who defines what is “radi- sponded by suspending her and asking her not to return the follow- cal.” ing year. She sued the school claiming she was being punished for Lynn Lori The argument usually runs something like this: If parents are statements constitutionally protected as free speech. She lost the case. Jondahl Yaklin allowed more freedom to choose where their children go to school, In the decision, federal Judge Terrence Evans wrote, “It is an what’s to stop the Ku Klux Klan or a coven of witches from opening elementary principle of constitutional law that the protections afforded their own racist or magic schools? by the Bill of Rights do not apply to private actors such as the Uni- The answer is: The same thing that prevents them from opening versity School. Generally, restrictions on constitutional rights that their own racist or magic schools or colleges now, which is the fact would be protected at a public high school . . . need not be honored at a private high that insufficient demand exists among parents to send their children to such places. school.” How could these schools stay in business if no one wants to attend them? That’s an impressive finding from a federal court in the context of trying to deter- Both common sense and the evidence prove that this concern is meritless. First, in mine the impact of vouchers. Directly, then, the message is that even in a circumstance order to believe that poor and middle class parents would, given the same educational where private schools are funded by publicly financed vouchers—as many are under opportunities that wealthy parents now enjoy, make bad choices in number large enough Milwaukee’s voucher system—the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights do not apply to to support “radical” schools, one must believe that these parents don’t love or care the private school students. This is all the more impressive when you recognize it is about their children as much as wealthy parents care about theirs. possible for the total budget of a private school to be funded with publicly financed This elitist assumption is untrue. Poor parents care just as much for their children vouchers. as more affluent parents, which is one reason why over 70 percent of low-income There is nothing to prohibit the development of private Klu Klux Klan schools. parents support expanded school choice. Unfortunately, under the current system, in There is nothing to prohibit the development of private sectarian religious schools. which the government assigns children to schools based on where they live, these con- There is nothing to prohibit the development of private home schools with narrowly cerned parents just do not have the freedom or ability to send their children to the best exclusive agendas. And American history gives us examples of and safest schools. They are trapped in a government system in which only the well- such private schools. Would providing public funds encourage to-do can rescue their children from failing schools by ei- such developments? It certainly seems likely. ther moving or paying tuition to a private school. So, when we acknowledge that private schools are not sub- Furthermore, what parent, even one who holds “radi- ject to constitutional protections, and private schools will admit cal” views, is going to send his or her child to a “radical” and retain only those students they wish to admit and retain, school? Will that child get into college with a diploma from and private schools don’t have to meet any state achievement “Ku Klux Klan Academy?” Will that child get a job after standards, and private schools are not required to provide any listing “Militia High School” on his application? Whether particular number of hours of teaching, and private schools do by name or reputation, a “radical” school education would not have to report their work to the public, and private schools damage future prospects for success, even success as a “radi- are governed by non-elected and publicly non-accountable cal.” boards, and private schools do not have to meet in public or The claim that “radical” schools will proliferate also de- make their records available to the public—we certainly have fies common-sense economics. Because of high parent de- the makings of a system in which voucher dollars can be used mand, Michigan has 1,056 nonpublic schools that serve fami- to support “radical or fraudulent” schools. Is that a problem? lies from every ethnic group and socioeconomic background, Don’t we want diversity? and not one is a “radical” school. Such schools can survive It is a problem. Diversity which includes unconstitu- only by satisfying enough parents to make the schools finan- tional behavior—whether created for that purpose or not— cially viable with much tighter budgets than public schools. is a problem in a democratic society. Unaccountability is a Private schools in Michigan receive on average $3,100 in tu- problem in a democratic society. If an institution is neither ition to educate a child, whereas public schools receive a mini- accountable to the Constitution nor to the public respon- mum of $6,600. Therefore any private school that was grossly sible for its funding, that institution easily can pursue an un- out of the mainstream simply could not attract enough stu- representative agenda, even one with values contrary to the dents to keep its doors open. general public and our Constitution. Evidence from real-life experience also demonstrates that It would be foolish to argue that most private schools the “radical” school claim is false. Many states, including Ver- are likely to pursue “radical” agendas. It would be foolish mont, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, Minnesota, and Il- to argue that private schools generally are likely to deprive linois have tuition voucher or tuition tax credit plans in place, their students of constitutional rights. It would be equally and there is no known case of a school of the type the alarmists foolish to ignore the fact that such possibilities would be have predicted. The same is true in higher education. For enhanced through enactment of a voucher program such years, college students have been using vouchers in the form as the one offered to voters under November’s Proposal 1. of Pell Grants and the G.I. Bill to attend private and public Our commitment to public education is based on the democratic notion that kids colleges—even religious seminaries—and we have yet to see have the greatest opportunity for development if they grow with and learn with chil- the University of the KKK or the College of Magic and Witchcraft. dren from different backgrounds. Deborah Meier makes a compelling statement about Supporters of school choice should turn this argument around and ask what par- our common educational agenda in The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a ents should do when they believe that their public schools have become radical. There Small School in Harlem: have been incidents reported in other states of witches making presentations to el- ementary school children. In fact, in one situation parents were shocked to learn that The task of creating environments where all kids can experience the power of their children had participated in an actual pagan ceremony in which they danced and their ideas . . . means accepting public responsibility for the shared future of the chanted incantations. In our own state, many parents were concerned to learn that, next generation. It’s a task for all of us, not just the school people or policymakers without their permission or foreknowledge, homosexual activists had been brought in or even parents alone. The stakes are enormous, and the answers within reach. to explain to their children that people (e.g., parents) whose religious beliefs clash with . . . We’re not accustomed to recognizing the power of each other’s ideas; it’s the activists’ agenda are bigots. In Massachusetts, education officials issued a public easier to take flight. If we abandon a system of common schools through apa- apology to parents, after parents learned that public schools and state employees had thy and privatization—we deprive everyone, not just the least advantaged, of given graphic instruction in homosexual sex acts to children as young as 12. Under- the kind of clash of ideas that will make us all more powerful. More impor- standably, many parents find the idea of government employees providing “how to” tantly, reinventing our public schools could provide an exciting opportunity to advice on homosexual acts to be radical. use our often forgotten power to create imaginary worlds, share theories, and The answer to the dilemma of defining “radical” is to trust the parents to decide act out possibilities. Schools embody the dreams we have for our children. All the proper schooling for their children, just as we trust them to decide proper medical of them. These dreams must remain public property. treatment and proper nutrition. No one loves or cares for the children as much as their parents, and it is insulting to imply that anyone else should make these decisions. Meier is an outspoken advocate for choice within public education. Her insight Once parents have the freedom to match their children’s educational interests and into the power of common schools underscores the stake all of us have in the debate needs to the offerings of a particular school of their choosing, we will begin to see over the effort to underwrite private education with public dollars. A strong public lower dropout rates, higher academic achievement, satisfied parents, and happier chil- education system is the basis of our democracy. dren. And that’s the real magic—the magic of school choice.

Former state representative Lynn Jondahl is executive director of the Michigan Prospect for Lori Yaklin is executive director of the Michigan School Board Leaders Association. Renewed Citizenship.

Diverse Viewpoints are the opinions of the authors and not those of Michigan Education Report. Tell us what you think: “Will vouchers encourage the creation of radical schools?” Send your comments to Michigan Education Report • Letters to the Editor • c/o Mackinac Center for Public Policy 140 West Main Street • P.O. Box 568 • Midland, Michigan 48640 • (517) 631-0900 • Fax (517) 631-0964 www.EducationReport.org • [email protected]