Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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Education news in brief
The Detroit News education team keeps you up to date on issues impacting students in Michigan, from elementary through college.
Latest topics:
Shannon Lazovski: If any of you mommies out there are like me, then you probably enjoyed watching the Oscars in your jammies on the couch with a bowl of ice cream. … 
Rob Currie: My friend, Mary, faced a common parenting problem. Her 5-year-old daughter, Sue, was frequently disobedient. Sue routinely refused simple requests to … 
Tom Markowski: Heading into tonight's regional semifinals I have all four of my Final Four teams still playing in Class B and Class D. In Class A I have three, with … Viewpoints
Right now in School Talk
WHAT, IS THIS MAN REALLY CRAZY??? Where is all the money going to come from to pay back these … Read more
-- TDiddy51, Warren, MI
Right now in High School Sports Talk
your lucky you didn't hook up with Mr NCAA, you would have got an elbow to the throat. … Read more
-- Big_Dee_V_Eye, Macomb, MI
Right now in Mom Talk
I share your thoughts about the library. But the bottom line is its NOT ABOUT THE LIBRARY. Its … Read more
-- couflinks, Franklin, MI
CyberSurvey
DPS graduation goal
Do you think Robert Bobb's DPS graduation rate goal is reasonable?
Sweeping school plan
A new, ambitious education plan for Detroit Public Schools, proposed by a coalition of education leaders and foundations, calls for closing failing schools and opening up 70 new ones, and includes eliminating the Detroit Board of Education and making the mayor accountable for the schools. Do you support the plan?
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Michigan
- Toyota dismisses Calif. man's runaway Prius report - 04:32 AM
- Michigan lawmakers ready to resume budget debates - 05:21 AM
- Saab may locate North American HQ in Royal Oak - 05:22 AM
- Man held in assault on Wayne Co. sheriff's officer - 05:22 AM
- DPS financial manager unveils $540M academic plan - 11:51 PM
Bobb plans to close 45 Detroit schools
Detroit -- Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb revealed his vision for a leaner Detroit Public Schools on Monday night by closing 45 schools this year and building new athletic facilities, a new campus for special needs students and reviving a closed high school site. This rebuilding, he said, will require another bond measure beyond the $500 million voters approved in November to remodel and build 18 schools. - 03/16/2010
U.S. Education Secretary: Troubled schools could lose funding
Washington -- The nation's top education official called Monday for broad changes to accountability in troubled systems like Detroit's public schools, and warned the lowest-performing districts unable to improve would face losing district-level control over Title I funding. - 03/16/2010
Avondale High weapons search comes up empty
A security sweep at Avondale High School following the discovery of a threatening note did not turn up any weapons, police said Monday. - 03/16/2010
Under fed plan schools must improve or lose control of critical funds
Underperforming school districts that fail to show improvement would have to cede control of critical Title I funds to state-level officials under a reauthorization plan for the "No Child Left Behind" outlined by Department of Education officials today. - 03/15/2010
Bobb's goal for DPS: 98% will graduate
The $540M academic plan Robert Bobb will unveil tonight calls for rigorous achievement standards, offering college-level courses within all high schools and boosting graduation and attendance rates beyond the state average. - 03/15/2010
Obama promise: Brighter education futures for kids
Atlanta -- President Barack Obama is promising parents and their kids that with his administration's help they will have better teachers in improved schools so U.S. students can make up for academic ground lost against youngsters in other countries. - 03/14/2010
Today's Focus
State MEAP scores improve
The disparity in academic achievement between white and non-white elementary students on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program is narrowing, results released Friday show. - 03/13/2010
'Blessings in a Backpack'
Students help fight hunger among peers
Rochester Hills -- Matt Benedettini considers himself lucky. There's enough food in his refrigerator. But some of his classmates are not as fortunate. So Matt, 12, spent a recent afternoon helping pack bags of peanut butter, tuna and other nonperishables for youngsters who face hunger on weekends, when they don't get free or reduced-fee school lunches. - 03/13/2010
Teen has sweet victory at Pi-Off
Sterling Heights -- Stephanie Godden knows her Pi -- and not the apple or cherry kind. The 17-year-old senior at the Utica Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology in Sterling Heights on Friday recited the first 2,300 digits of Pi, the never-ending number used to figure out the size of circles. In doing so, she broke her own record of 2,000 from last year. - 03/13/2010
Control of Detroit Public Schools splits community
The battle for control of Detroit Public Schools spilled into the open Thursday as opponents of a mayoral takeover expressed outrage at a key provision of an overhaul plan. - 03/12/2010
Michigan schools to get $430M in federal stimulus money
Washington -- Michigan is due to get nearly $430 million in stimulus money for schools, the Department of Education announced Thursday. - 03/12/2010
Group proposes Utica district close 4 elementary schools
Sterling Heights -- Parents and teachers, upset over a recommendation to close four elementary schools in Utica Community Schools, packed a special meeting Thursday to learn more about why their schools were chosen. - 03/12/2010
Detroit plan targets failing schools
A coalition of education leaders and foundations will unveil today a sweeping academic reform agenda that targets failing schools, calls for 70 new programs and launches a national effort to recruit principals. - 03/11/2010
Voters may decide school aid
East Lansing -- Reform school spending first, then ask voters this summer to pay more for public education, if necessary, a leading House Democrat proposed Wednesday. - 03/11/2010
Lincoln High in Warren to reopen
Addition at Lincoln High School in Warren suffers fire damage
Warren -- Lincoln High School reopens today, one day after a blaze forced an evacuation and resulted in about $50,000 in damage to an addition being built on the campus. - 03/11/2010
Plan would bring fed standard to academics
A panel of educators convened by the nation's governors and state school superintendents proposed a uniform set of academic standards on Wednesday, laying out their vision for what all the nation's public school children should learn in math and English, year by year, from kindergarten to high school graduation. - 03/11/2010
Kids use Web to learn a foreign language
Lake City, Mich. -- Learning Spanish has hit the 21st century in Lake City. In the past, learning a foreign language meant textbooks, workbooks, listening exercises and sometimes videos. At Lake City Upper Elementary, however, learning a foreign language is now more like a game. - 03/11/2010
DPS deficit grows under Bobb
Nearly a year after Robert Bobb pledged overspending in the Detroit Public Schools would end, the district has added nearly $100M to its debt. - 03/10/2010
Lawmakers may take school spending reforms to voters
East Lansing -- Lawmakers are working on a plan to ask voters in August whether they are on board with school reforms and are willing to spend more money to keep from having to make deeper cuts in school aid, a legislative leader on education issues said today. - 03/10/2010
SUV hits school; 6 children injured
Franklin -- A scary scene ended with only minor injuries Tuesday when a teacher accidentally reversed her vehicle through a wall and into a preschool learning area, sending four youngsters to the hospital, police said. - 03/10/2010
Detroit Schools board sues Robert Bobb over private compensation
The Detroit Public School Board unanimously voted Monday night to file a second lawsuit against Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, saying $145,000 in private foundation support he receives under his new contract is unlawful. - 03/09/2010
Survey: Woes growing for local school districts
Lansing -- A growing number of local school districts will face bankruptcy, layoffs and program cuts in the coming year due to budget woes, a survey revealed Monday. - 03/09/2010
Electronic clickers let college students ask and answer questions
Boulder, Colo. -- The students in Michael Dubson's physics class at the University of Colorado fell silent as a multiple choice question flashed on a screen, sending them scrambling for small white devices on their desks. - 03/09/2010
Survey shows state schools need 'transformational change,' leader says
More than one in five Michigan school districts faces a deficit in the coming year, a survey of schools revealed today. - 03/08/2010
DPS initiative to get parents involved, offer training
Detroit -- More than 200 parent leaders from across the district gathered Saturday at Renaissance High School to learn how they can help encourage other parents to become more involved in city schools. - 03/06/2010
Granholm 'disappointed' over shut out for federal education funding
East Lansing -- Michigan intends to "go swinging" for the second round of federal education reform money, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Friday, but first will see if new reforms are needed to possibly strengthen the state's bid. - 03/06/2010
The business of making movies
Students getting their props
Royal Oak -- Michael Jackson of Pontiac has had zombies on the brain lately. Jackson, 18, was one of nine students who participated in a pilot program at Oakland Schools Technical Campuses Northeast and Southeast to develop skills in prop building and stage construction -- skills that could come in handy with Michigan's burgeoning film industry. - 03/06/2010
DPS gets $41.7M in upgrades
Detroit -- Students next year will use new ID cards to get into Detroit schools that will be monitored by dozens of cameras. Looking to bolster safety and accountability, Detroit Public Schools will spend $41.7 million on the upgrades as well as build a Public Safety headquarters. - 03/05/2010
Michigan schools fail to win federal money
Recent school reforms failed to win Michigan a shot at millions in federal funding Thursday, and officials must wait a month to see if more changes are needed to increase its chances. - 03/05/2010
Bobb's pay stirs ethics controversy
Community and union activists Wednesday raised questions about influence that foundations that are paying more than a third of Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb's salary may have on his decisions. - 03/04/2010
