Friday, November 20, 2009
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:
Stacey DuFord: My husband brought home the Golden Ticket and then confessed it had been sitting on his desk at work for nearly a week. I gasped. A week! We could … 
Larry Herren: I'm forever amazed at how despite the money we spend in an effort to create lasting memories for our children, it's the actual interactions they have … 
Tom Markowski: That happens to be me. On Saturday afternoon I'll have a chance to watch Devin Gardner of Inkster, one of the best quarterbacks I've seen in the last … Viewpoints
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Three kids in college. So how important do you think it is to us? This is the first time in … Read more
-- Farmer Jim, Livonia, mi
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Hi posters- some bits and pieces of eight....I dont know about you guys but I am sick to death of … Read more
-- tomwinslow, st. clair shores, mi
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keep in mind that eventhough you are benefitting from the help of the village, it's the village who … Read more
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Education
- Chicago police: No homicide in schools chief death - 09:03 PM
- Judge tells Chicago to let students transfer - 06:15 PM
- NY officer hurt when 2 buses, patrol car collide - 05:40 PM
- Fire damages Portland elementary school - 10:55 PM
- Police: NY school gunman upset over GI treatment - 10:21 PM
Michigan
- Calif. launches probe into scam targeting churches - 04:36 PM
- Big chill: Man accused of illegal refrigerant sale - 04:13 PM
- Economists: Mich. will keep losing jobs in 2010 - 01:21 PM
- Asian carp may have breached electronic barrier - 11:35 AM
- Eminem says 'Relapse 2' now will come out in 2010 - 03:51 PM
Students stung by Promise cuts
With just weeks before the end of the fall semester many college students are unsure if Promise Scholarship money will be available for next term or how they might replace the funding. - 11/20/2009
DPS will ask court to make witnesses testify
While some key witnesses have agreed to testify before a hearing into questionable Detroit Public Schools real estate deals, others could face a court order to compel them to appear. - 11/20/2009
MSU gets federal funding to help study wind speeds
Lansing -- Michigan State University will receive $83,806 to measure wind speeds in five areas around the state. - 11/20/2009
DPS to file lawsuit for witness testimony in real estate probe
Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb said today he'll file a suit in Wayne County Circuit Court to force testimony from four witnesses who have refused to participate in hearings targeting questionable real estate deals. - 11/19/2009
Tough job for Detroit's academic czar
While Detroit Public Schools' Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb is the school district's showman who woos the public with his no-nonsense message and anti-corruption results, Barbara Byrd-Bennett is the behind-the-scenes policy strategist charged with the arguably tougher job: dramatically improving student achievement in the country's most troubled urban school district. - 11/19/2009
Gov. Granholm urges students to fight for Promise Grants
East Lansing -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm took her case to restore funding for Promise Grants to college campuses Wednesday, scolding lawmakers for taking time off without resolving the issue. - 11/19/2009
WSU provost Nancy Barrett to step down
Detroit -- Nancy Barrett will step down as provost of Wayne State University at the end of the school year, and will join the economics faculty, Wayne State University President Jay Noren announced Wednesday. - 11/19/2009
OU profs call for vote against president
Just months after going on strike, some Oakland University professors are calling for a vote of no confidence in the school's president. - 11/19/2009
DPS hearings provide little information
Just about everyone who has been called as witnesses -- from former school board members to real estate brokers -- during four hearings on why Detroit Public Schools overspent millions in taxpayer money has blamed everyone else or has claimed critical decisions were not their responsibility. - 11/19/2009
DPS, teachers' union agree to try to turn around failing schools
Detroit Public Schools' Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb and his academic czar, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, are trying to do what no leadership team has done in Detroit in decades: Make failing schools work again. - 11/19/2009
Dearborn students take fight against school cuts to Lansing
Hundreds of students from Dearborn's Fordson High School on Tuesday boarded four buses for a trip to the state Capitol to protest school cuts passed by the state Legislature. - 11/18/2009
WSU provost Nancy Barrett to step down
Detroit -- Nancy Barrett will step down as provost of Wayne State University at the end of the school year, and will join the economics faculty, Wayne State University President Jay Noren announced Wednesday. - 11/18/2009
DPS lawsuit against Detroit catches some off guard
Detroit Public Schools filed a lawsuit against the city of Detroit on Friday over property taxes, but by Monday district leaders wanted to take the words back. - 11/17/2009
Fire closes Augusta Twp. high school
Augusta Township -- Lincoln High School is closed today following an early morning fire in a science room storage area. - 11/17/2009
Superintendent takes over Romeo schools amid school board recall
Romeo -- The superintendent of Romeo Community Schools is taking the reins amid multiple challenges, including a potential $127-per-pupil statewide funding cut and a recall campaign against three school board members. - 11/16/2009
U-M, MSU among U.S. leaders in international studies
Ann Arbor -- A new report says the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are among the national leaders in international educational exchange. - 11/16/2009
Public school district audits to be released today
The Michigan Department of Education is expected today to release audits of public school districts, which include a financial analysis and overall recommendations. - 11/16/2009
Metro Detroit school districts among dozens yet to file audits
Hazel Park --Nearly 70 of Michigan's 840 school districts have not yet turned in their financial audit reports to the Michigan Department of Education as of 4 p.m. Monday. Audits are due every Nov. 15, but since that day fell on a Sunday, the deadline was extended a day. If they wait too much longer, they risk losing state aid. - 11/16/2009
Conference encourages Detroit students to graduate
Detroit -- Community leaders came together today for a day-long conference aimed at keeping city students in school. - 11/14/2009
Thinking ahead
Southfield school starts kids on adult principles of success
Southfield -- Some are still missing front teeth but these 6- to-9-year-old students are already learning skills to become successful adults. - 11/14/2009
State schools head urges compromise on reforms
State school Superintendent Mike Flanagan on Thursday urged lawmakers and the state's largest teachers union to compromise on education reforms required within 60 days to qualify Michigan for up to $400M through President Barack Obama's Race to the Top education initiative. - 11/13/2009
An outdoor challenge
In search of the 'ugliest schoolyard'
Detroit -- It's not that the schoolyard at the Nsoroma Institute is awful, but there's always room for improvement. - 11/13/2009
EMU professor, other experts to begin cataloging language
Salt Lake City -- Some of the world's experts on endangered languages are meeting at the University of Utah to get started on a huge catalog and comprehensive database project on endangered and dying languages. - 11/13/2009
Spring Arbor University starts degree programs in Ionia, Howell
Ionia -- Spring Arbor University says it will start offering degree programs in Ionia and Howell. - 11/13/2009
U-M's Coleman honored in Time magazine
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman was named one of the best college leaders in the country by TIME Magazine. - 11/12/2009
Getting DPS students books no easy task
Despite all the efforts of Robert Bobb and his team, the most basic issues still plague some city schools. Kids are missing books and teachers don't have the supplies to teach. - 11/12/2009
School board to seek tax probe
Detroit -- The Detroit Public Schools Board is poised to put a plan in motion today to reclaim millions of dollars in back property taxes DPS officials say the city has owed the school district for years. - 11/12/2009
DPS board seeks millions in taxes from city
Detroit -- The Detroit Public Schools Board requested a state investigation Thursday to reclaim millions of dollars in property taxes board members say the city has owed the school district for years. - 11/12/2009
DPS' budget deficit decreased by $87M
Detroit Public Schools has whittled its deficit down and resolved the majority of financial reporting issues that have historically plagued the district. - 11/11/2009
Michigan debuts college savings plan
Saving to put the kids through college will get a little easier -- but a little more expensive -- starting Monday, when Michigan rolls out a new savings plan available only through licensed investment brokers. - 11/11/2009
Each year students in fifth through eighth grades compete in The Detroit News Regional Spelling Bee for the chance to represent their school and community in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Read more information about the bee in our special report.
