Interim Education Achievement Authority Chancellor Veronica Conforme is off to a banging start. Just two and a half months after taking over from disgraced John Covington, Conforme oversaw the EAA’s sending out of deceptive letters recruiting students into the state’s district for poor-performing schools. The letters, masquerading as official student assignment notices, went to parents (and some non-parents!) in at […]

NOTE: This story has been updated HERE. On Saturday, I wrote about an apparent effort by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown to take over a lawsuit filed by the New York City Parents Union challenging some aspects of how teachers are either fired or laid off. Parents of the NYCPU told me that Brown appeared to be more interested in […]

As part of the passage of a new law that did an end-run around citizen efforts to raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $10.10/hour over time, today Michigan’s minimum wage rises to $8.15/hour for non-tipped workers. The minimum wage for tipped workers will be 38% of that starting today, as well. Still, a new report by the United Way shows that […]

After John Covington quit (or was forced out) as Chancellor of Gov. Snyder’s failed experiment with Detroit students — the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) — he was replaced by Veronica Conforme, the former chief operating officer of the New York City Department of Education. However, the ethically questionable behavior of the EAA is continuing under her watch. This past week, […]

NOTE: This story has been updated HERE and HERE. In early June, a decision in the California court case Vergara v. California deemed the state’s teacher tenure laws to be unconstitutional because they deny children access to a quality education. The decision has sparked similar cases around the country. In New York, the parents group New York City Parents Union […]

Yesterday, nearly 300 teachers and advocates gathered in Ann Arbor for a rally to support public education, sponsored by Michigan Teachers and Allies for Change (M-TAC). Attendees listened to speakers like State Representative Jeff Irwin, Ann Arbor Education Association President Linda Carter, Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift, and Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher Quinn Strassel. The headliner for […]

At the Michigan Democratic Party’s Nominating Convention this past weekend, Democrats passed an important resolution condemning the unethical and damaging foreclosure practices of Republican Congressional candidate David Trott and demanding a repeal of a law that allows vulture foreclosure firms like Trott & Trott, P.C. to immediately foreclose on homeowners. The resolution outlines a loophole that was passed by the […]

Gotta love a headline like this: “Schauer edges ahead of Snyder, 45% to 43%, in new governor race poll”. Mark Schauer is one of the most patient, methodical politicians I’ve ever seen. In my interview with him last fall, we had this exchange: Eclectablog: One of the things that I’m hearing from folks on my blog and elsewhere online is […]

NRDC Action Fund, the 401(c)(4) arm of one of the largest environmental organizations in the country, has selected the Top 20 #DirtyDenier$ and are rolling them out over Congress’s summer break. The #DirtyDenier$ are chosen because of they “allow polluters to foul our air by casting dirty votes and accept dirty money.” In the Top 20 are two Michigan Congressmen: […]

Democracy, deschmocracy First it was citizens overturning the majority vote of Michigan citizens to overturn our state’s anti-democratic Emergency Manager law. Then it was rape insurance. Then it was a drive to ban wolf hunting. Then it was the effort to raise Michigan’s minimum wage. In each instance, Republicans in the Michigan legislature decided that it wasn’t appropriate for us […]

I am reposting this as a reminder that there is a rally to support public education TODAY in Ann Arbor from 5:30-6:30 at Liberty Plaza. Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor Lisa Brown will be the headliner. Michigan Teachers and Allies for Change (M-TAC), a grassroots group of teachers and allies working on behalf of public education, is hosting a rally […]