Free Republic

Bishar Hassan spends his days navigating the halls and classrooms of Talahi Elementary School, working to embrace and empower the dozens of Somali students who have arrived since the start of the year. Across town, his brother, Ahmed Hassan, fills a similar role at Discovery Community School, another campus that has experienced a recent surge in enrollment of Somali students. The Hassan brothers are part of a growing community of Somali residents in this central Minnesota city of 65,000. The recent influx of immigrant students is nothing new in the St. Cloud school district, where English-language-learner enrollment has spiked by...

A new national report further undercuts the case for creating a politically appointed commission to dictate school enrollment decisions across the Motor City. The Detroit Education Commission has been touted as part of the solution to rescue a failing education system. Proponents want to give the commission jurisdiction over all public schools within the city, including the ability to close charters it deems unsuccessful. In effect, the new governmental body would be empowered to take away options parents believe to be safer or otherwise better for their children. On March 7, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan pitched the idea of a...

The current school year marks only the second time that there has been no increase in the number of charter schools in Michigan since the state enacted its law governing charter schools 22 years ago. The Legislature removed an artificial cap on the number of charters in 2011. A brief surge in charter schools followed, with 298 operating by the 2013-14 school year. But since then, there has only been a net gain of four charter schools, bringing the total to the current figure of 302. The growth process has been more dynamic than the raw numbers suggest, however, because...

Last year, no fifth-graders at Detroit’s Gardner Elementary School scored proficient on a statewide math test. No fifth-graders scored proficient in social studies, and no fourth-grade student was proficient in science. Those dismal testing results were nothing new for the troubled elementary school. Since 2010, Gardner, a conventional district school, has been ranked by the state in the bottom five percent of all Michigan public schools. This record of ongoing failure is not unique, but it does put a spotlight on one disconnect in the current critique of charter schools in this state. The public school establishment and the media...

On a Sunday news show in 2010, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan caused a minor controversy by calling Hurricane Katrina the “best thing” to happen to New Orleans public schools. "This is a tough thing to say, but let me be really honest,” Duncan said. ”I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. That education system was a disaster, and it took Hurricane Katrina to wake up the community to say that 'We have to do better.' " After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans transformed its public education into an all-charter school...

Central Park School for Children in Durham, North Carolina has enrolled grade-school students in a “Black Lives March and Rally” scheduled for March 17, 2016. The teachers can opt-in or opt-out their classes, but parents have not been given a choice.Stef Bernal-Martinez, a teacher of 6-year-old children, signed up all the children in her class for a “Black Lives March and Rally” to take place during the school day, at the city’s downtown Central Park and Farmer’s Market. Ms. Bernal-Martinez describes herself as a “Radical Queer Progressive Educator” and “white-passing Xicana.” The event, like the Black Lives Matter movement itself,...

A gay Central Michigan University professor has pleaded guilty for falsely claiming that a random guy at a Toby Keith concert called her a “cross-dressing fag,” punched her in the face and spat on her. Advertisement The professor, Mari Poindexter, had alleged that the man approached her at the Aug. 19 concert at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich., reports The Morning Sun, a local newspaper. Advertisement The man began hurling a rich tapestry of obscene slurs at Poindexter, she told police. Advertisement Later that night, the professor said, the same man ambushed her in the...

The National Cherry Festival in Traverse City is more than four months away, but when it comes to the record of charter schools, Education Trust-Midwest has started picking early. Ed Trust tried to stake a claim in the debate about Michigan's lackluster educational performance by aiming squarely at a small sector of public education: charter schools. It's appropriate to have a discussion about what more charter schools could do to help drive improvements. And reasonable observers can express frustration that charters haven't raised the bar high enough. But to argue that Michigan charters are doing worse than other public schools...

Chcago Public Schools officials told principals on Wednesday that the district is "short of the necessary cash for the remainder of the school year" partly because of a pension payment of nearly $700 million due this summer. ... Last month, principals had to absorb $26 million in midyear budget cuts to district-operated schools. Principals tapped internal accounts, cut planned technology and textbook purchases and didn't fill vacant positions to avert layoffs. On Wednesday, principals were told to hold off on $45 million budgeted for "non-personnel" expenses. The district said it wants to save another $10 million through a limit on...

Teachers in Farmington Public Schools are paid more than $83,000 per year on average, giving the metro Detroit district the state’s highest paid educators, according to an annual report from the Michigan Department of Education. The top 10 districts with the highest teacher salaries are: Farmington: $83,903 Walled Lake: $80,058 Warren Consolidated: $78,866 Livonia: $78,183 Wyandotte: $78,044 Utica: $77,435 Centerline: $77,118 Allen Park: $76,531 Birmingham: $75,846 Grosse Pointe: $74,824 The list comes with a footnote, however: In analyzing this state's compilation of school district pay in recent years, Michigan Capitol Confidential has found a number of errors. For example, Flint...

(CNSNews.com) - Under the banner of civil rights enforcement, the U.S. Justice Department plans to "promote religious freedom" in the nation's public schools by cracking down on discrimination and bullying, especially as it may affect Muslims. The new enforcement effort announced on Tuesday will "expand" DOJ's ability to investigate and prosecute complaints; lead community outreach; and develop guidance for federal prosecutors. Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said one goal of the new initiative is to promote religious pluralism and create safe, supportive and inclusive schools for all children.

The Michigan Legislature will soon begin debating in full the future of Detroit schools. The governor and the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren have introduced new strategies to address the vicious cycle of poor academics and spiraling debt. Unfortunately, both plans carry significant tabs and cling to the notion that a unified school district central office needs to govern all schools. In Detroit, large governing entities have little to show in terms of results, with histories of pay to play and excessive compensation for top executives. A conservative governor and a conservative-majority Legislature should actually consider taking a...

Michigan’s K-12 public schools received more dollars per student last year than any time during the previous 18 years, according to a report recently released by the Michigan Department of Education. The figures refer to funding for day-to-day operations, not revenue from property taxes dedicated to repaying debt on buildings and capital improvements. The information is compiled in an annual report, "Bulletin 1014," that shows the average school district received $9,457 for operations in the 2014-15 school year. That's the highest level since the state began posting this information in the 1997-98 school year. The MDE report tracks local, state...

Rick Joseph, the 2016 Michigan Teacher of the Year from Birmingham Public Schools, wrote a column for Bridge Magazine in which he cited funding as one of the big problems facing Detroit Public Schools. Joseph cited poverty as another factor that has an impact on school performance. The Michigan Department of Education doesn't factor in a student's economic background when evaluating student achievement. School rankings published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy do adjust for student backgrounds, however, as do similar ones from the Center for Michigan, which publishes Bridge Magazine. The Birmingham teacher also wrote about the important...

Finding solutions to help Detroit students not only requires recognizing the problem. It also requires a clear picture of the facts and understanding how the current system works. In a recent MLive column, Ann Arbor attorney Eli Savit offers a well-intentioned but misdiagnosed policy proposal to address the genuinely disturbing images of mold and vermin found in some Detroit Public Schools buildings. He calls on Lansing leaders to fix the state’s “regressive school-finance system and earmark state funds for school building projects in poorer districts.” One can make a case that funds designated for building construction and major maintenance projects...

PITTSBURGH — Police reponded to reports of a large fight at University Prep High School in Pittsburgh’s Hill District Monday morning. Officers were dispatched to the school at about 9:45 a.m. Ebony Pugh, a spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, said 30 female students were involved in the brawl that began with an argument over a boy. Pugh said they were sent home and will face charges from a magistrate.

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing announced the launch of Salaam Reads, the first imprint at a major publisher focused on Muslim characters and stories. The imprint, which takes its name from the Arabic word for "peace," plans to publish books for readers of all ages, including picture books, as well as middle grade and YA titles. Salaam Reads will reside within the larger Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers imprint, led by publisher Justin Chanda and executive editor Zareen Jaffery, and aims to publish a minimum of nine titles per year for all ages.

KISD Suspends Student For Leaving Class To Carry Asthmatic Student To Nurse's Office Posted: Jan 20, 2016 9:26 PM PST Updated: Feb 19, 2016 9:40 PM PST By Rissa ShawCONNECT Suspended KISD Student Receives Praises, Congressional Internship KILLEEN -- A Killeen mother is defending her son who was suspended after helping a fellow student having an asthma attack. Anthony Ruelas, 15, said his eighth grade classmate was wheezing and gagging for three minutes Tuesday morning while no one did anything. But when Ruelas did do something, he apparently broke the rules. “He may not follow instructions all the time, but...

Last fall, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley took the helm of a group to recommend reforms to Michigan’s special education system. For affected Michigan families looking for something better, one particular solution, unfortunately, lies out of immediate reach. The special education task force, primarily comprised of educators and policymakers, is working to address problems Calley identified after a 2015 town hall listening tour throughout the state. The desire to improve services reflects in part the scale of the challenge. More than one in eight students served in Michigan public schools received special education services during the 2014-15 school year, according to...

Washington, D.C., public schools consistently underperform relative to the rest of the country, while having the highest per-pupil revenue in the nation. D.C. revenue exceeds $29,000 per pupil every year, while graduation rates hover at about 64 percent and only one-third of its fourth-graders read at a proficient level. Clearly the "spend more" model has not been working for the families of Washington, D.C.