Major issues facing public education range from the policy level to classroom practice. Achievement disparities, graduation rates, poverty, standardized education reform, changes in public school funding, online education, teacher evaluations, equal access to quality schools, teacher quality and retention all impact the profession. Of these issues, teacher retention most impacts public education, because teachers are the greatest in-school influence on […]

Methinks thou dost protest too much Yesterday, I broke the news that Eastern Michigan University (EMU) College of Education Dean Jann Joseph had resigned her position on the board of the Education Achievement Authority (EAA), the state-run school district comprised of Michigan’s lowest-performing schools. The EAA is in the spotlight of late because they have given state legislators on the […]

Even top educators are walking away The “school district for wayward schools”, Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority, has been under increasing scrutiny over the past year. Questions have been raised about the veracity of their testing and test scores. State legislators on the Education Committee have raised red flags only to be told they have to file Freedom of Information Act […]

There has been a growing demand over the past decade for accountability in public education. Policy makers, students, families, and taxpayers all want teachers to be “held accountable.” Conventional accountability in teaching is based on student achievement on standardized tests and graduation rates. A current bill, HB 4625, is being considered in the Michigan House of Representatives and proposes that […]

A great evening’s entertainment for a great cause. In May, I wrote about a terrific independent after-school program in Pontiac called Bound Together. The program provides tutoring in math, reading and reading comprehension three days a week, followed by a nutritious meal. Every other week, there’s also a one-day art group, filling a void left when the Pontiac schools cut […]

Michigan teachers are among the finest in the nation, but the media attention given to public education recently has been far from flattering. The public does not view our teachers in a positive light. From Proposal 2 last fall to failing school districts and emergency managers, it is easy for people to believe that teachers are not living up to […]

Who better to discuss education issues than the Teacher of the Year?! I am honored and exceedingly pleased to announce Eclectablog’s newest contributor, Michigan 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year Gary Abud, Jr. I normally introduce new contributors with an interview but Gary and I have already done an extensive interview (which you can read HERE.) Gary and I first connected […]

Live or work near Washtenaw County? Drop by for a coffee chat about healthcare in Michigan. Michigan State Representative Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) will host a coffee hour about healthcare in Michigan on Monday, Oct. 7, from 3-5 p.m. at the Manchester Community Resource Center, 410 City Road in Manchester. The discussion will include the federal Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion […]

“Why have to work through all of the messiness of this thing called ‘democracy’?” I have written extensively about Michigan’s “Education Achievement Authority”. It as formed in September of 2012 as an interlocal agreement with Eastern Michigan University as a school district comprised of Michigan’s most failing schools. Originally it had 15 of Detroit’s worst schools. New legislation, House Bill […]

The Republicans’ goal is to “try to find a way to educate students on the cheap” Photo credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Michigan Republicans have made their education “reform” plan quite clear: slash funding to traditional public schools, privatize schools to for-profit corporations, and knee-cap teachers to prevent them from collectively bargain for decent wages and benefits. This […]

Is it now too expensive to teach disabled children? [CC image credit: ~kawaii-bubble-wrap | deviantART] In April of this year, former Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts announced that Oakman Elementary/Orthopedic, a school specializing in serving disabled Detroit students, was slated to be closed. After doing a cost-benefit analysis, the school was found to be too expensive to keep […]