Leadership changes at MI department of education
State Superintendent, Mike Flanagan, Retires
Today, Mike Flanagan will leave the Michigan Department of Education one last time as Superintendent of Public Instruction. After ten years in the position, he is retiring.
During his tenure, Michigan adopted the Michigan Merit Curriculum for high school students, began providing all 11th graders the opportunity to take a college entrance exam and adopted career- and college-ready academic standards in reading, writing and math.
Flanagan led the state’s education system during one of the toughest and longest economic recessions of the last century. Through this period, Michigan’s academic rankings dramatically declined. In reflecting on his decades as State Superintendent, Flanagan says that doing too little for Michigan’s poor students is his greatest failure.
Brian Whiston of Dearborn Public Schools will become State Superintendent tomorrow, July 1.
Meet Brian Whiston
This week, Brian Whiston will become Michigan’s top education official, following the retirement of Mike Flanagan, who has held the post for the last decade.
For the past seven years, Whiston has served as Superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools – a district of about 19,000 students. During his tenure, student proficiency scores rose but still trail the state averages.
Before joining Dearborn Public Schools, Whiston spent a decade at Oakland Intermediate School District as Director of Government and Community Services. He has also served on the Waterford Board of Education and as the president of the Michigan Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
Graphic: Overcoming the Summer Slide
We have all heard about the summer slide – learning losses that occur for many students when they are not engaged in learning over the summer. Here’s one teacher’s take on ways to avoid a summer slide for your student.
