Ensuring Civil Rights & Liberties Education, News & More – Mich. Ed. Update for Sept. 25

Setting high expectations for all students is critical for ensuring equity in education. And once set, students and teachers need support and time to grow and achieve at higher levels.

For more than a year, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has worked with partners to revise and seek input on Michigan’s social studies standards. Last week, The Education Trust-Midwest provided formal feedback to the MDE on revisions that we believe should be reversed. Among our concerns:

• Students are best served through a full education on the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties;
• Segregation and discrimination were not accidental. Governmental actions, reactions and laws that suppressed the rights of African Americans and others must be included in a civil rights education; and
• Preparing our next generation of leaders requires transparency of our shared history – both points of national pride as well as lessons from the darkest moments of our collective past;

The MDE is accepting online public comment on the final draft social studies standards through Sunday, September 30. The Education Trust-Midwest’s full comment is available here.

The Education Trust-Midwest’s Amber Arellano will join a panel of experts for a discussion on the state of Michigan education, moderated by Chastity Pratt Dawsey, education reporter for Bridge Magazine.

The discussion will take place as a part of Metro Parent’s 23^rd Annual Education Expo at Cranbrook Institute of Science. The event is free to the community, but pre-registration is requested.

• Metro Parent’s Educational Expo
• When: Sunday, September 30 from noon – 3:30 p.m.
• Where: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills
• Registration and information available here.

The Senate Education Committee will meet on Wednesday, September 26 at noon in room 1200 of the Binsfeld Building. Agenda:

• House Bill 4421 (Hughes, R) regarding eligibility for substitute teaching
• HB 5907 (Frederick, R), regarding notice of college-level courses and exams
• Senate Bill 1098 (Jones, R) modifying the definition of “membership” for a school or district

The State Board of Education Legislative Committee will meet on Thursday, September 27 at 3:30 p.m. in the Runkel Room on the 4^th floor of the John A. Hannah Building.

• Muskegon kids struggle to read. Their superintendent had the same problem – Ron French, Bridge Magazine
• Jeb Bush pushes A-F grades for Michigan schools – Jonathan Oosting, The Detroit News
• Michigan’s ‘band-aid’ for filling teaching jobs is expanding. Here’s what you need to know – Koby Levin, Chalkbeat Detroit
• Grand Rapids schools Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal is retiring – Monica Scott, MLIVE
• 33 more Detroit schools have high lead, copper in drinking water – Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press