Press Release

ROYAL OAK, MICH. (June, 13 2014) — The following statement was released by The Education Trust-Midwest in reaction to the passage of the Fiscal Year 2015 state budget. The statement may be attributed to Ed Trust-Midwest Executive Director, Amber Arellano.

“Yesterday, the Legislature took important steps toward investing in Michigan’s students and teachers in the FY15 budget.

“There’s very good news in this budget. Michigan leaders are making major investments in raising the quality of teaching and learning. These new investments will help build a foundation for student learning improvement in Michigan in the coming years.

“After more than year years of working toward a statewide educator evaluation and support system, Michigan leaders committed to investing more than $14 million in the system. This is the type of system that has been credited by Tennessee’s education leaders for making their state the nation’s leading state for student growth in key subjects.

This investment, which is contingent on the passage of HB 5223 and 5224, will help ensure that educators get the training, feedback, and data they need to improve student learning. It is the first of multiple investments that Governor Snyder has recommended over three years.

“Ed Trust-Midwest applauds state lawmakers’ bi-partisan work on this issue, and the many months of work that went into making sure there was appropriate feedback and support from teachers, principals, civil rights organizations, student groups and others the education community. We urge the Senate to pass the bills this year.

“Lawmakers also approved $41.4 million for the state assessment system, including funding to align the state’s assessments with our rigorous Common Core college- and career-ready standards. While the Legislature delayed implementation of a 21st Century assessment system for one year, we’re glad to see college- and career-ready standards continue to move forward in Michigan. In a state with a long history of low standards for teaching and learning, higher standards are essential to improving our level of student achievement for our children.”

www.edtrustmidwest.org

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