Mich. Ed. Roundup – Feb. 13
Ensuring Honesty and Transparency in School Ratings
A new system for reporting, transparency and accountability for schools was proposed in the Michigan House of Representatives last week.
The bill, House Bill 5526 (Kelly, R), would provide letter grades to schools based on student achievement and improvement, graduation rates and chronic absenteeism, among other factors. It would also look at how the school compares to other schools with similar student populations.
“This good proposal can be made even better through two improvements,” said Brian Gutman, director of external relations at The Education Trust-Midwest. “We should strengthen this proposal by summarizing the metrics into a single letter grade and improve how groups of students are incorporated into the proposed system, ensuring that a school’s ratings truly reflect the educational quality offered to every group of students within the school.”
Click here to read our testimony on HB 5526.
Adjusting, Overcoming & Soaring
As a part of on our ongoing celebration of Black History Month, Michigan high school student Tori Love contributed her thoughts on overcoming obstacles and succeeding. The excerpt below is from her full post.
For young adults, high school is a time where they begin to learn who they truly are. At the beginning, it feels like just another promotion into the next grade level, but it is among the first steps into adulthood…My previous school district was filled with mostly black and white students, however, at this new school I was surrounded by a sea of many different ethnicities. It was very foreign to me, but I know change is good.
Although high school can be very fun and sometimes stressful, it is a very important time for young adults because you can learn valuable life lessons you will need to have when you become an adult and enter the workforce.
College Remediation
Capital Update
On February 7, 2018, the Governor announced the Fiscal Year 2019 Executive Budget Recommendation, including school funding. The 2019 Executive Budget and Projected Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Budget can be viewed here.
The House School Aid and Education Committee, will meet today at 10:30am in Room 352 of the State Capital Building. The agenda will include an overview of the FY 2018-19 Executive Budget including recommendations for School Aid and the MDE.
The Senate Appropriations: K-12, School Aid, Education Committee will meet on February 14, 2018 at 8:30am in the Harry T. Gast Appropriations Room on the 3rd Floor of the Capitol Building. The agenda will include an overview of the FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 Budget Recommendations for School/Aid/K-12 and the MDE.
Noteworthy News
- A-F school grading plan a ‘middle of the road’ approach to accountability, lawmaker says – Brian McVicar, M-Live
- School ‘report card’ bill renews A-F grade debate – Johnathan Oosting, Detroit News, Lansing Bureau
- Special Education Chiefs to DeVos: Don’t Roll Back Minority Disparity Rule – Christina Samuels, Education Week
- Adjusting, Overcoming and Soaring – Tori Love, The Education Trust-Midwest
Event Spotlight
Join the Education Trust-Midwest on Thursday, March 22, 2018 in Detroit or Friday, March 23, 2018 in Grand Rapids for a Solutions Summit. At each event, Ed Trust-Midwest’s executive director, Amber Arellano, will join other notable education experts in a discussion on what’s being done to address Michigan’s education crisis. The Detroit event will be held at the College for Creative Studies – Taubman Center from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM. Click here for more information and to reserve your seat. The Grand Rapids event will be held at the New Vintage Place from 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM. Click here for more information and to reserve your seat.
Tweet of the Week
