I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
In a commentary published by the Grand Rapids Press today, state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, lays out his vision for how Michigan should go about qualifying for a potential $400 million pot of federal education funds.
Invoking the Obama administration’s new Race to the Top initiative — $4.35 billion in discretionary funds the U.S. Department of Education can dole out to innovative states and programs — Bishop ticks off the local initiatives he thinks fellow lawmakers in Lansing should approve to give the state the best possible chance at the federal bonanza.
Bishop says he’s working to schedule votes on reforms that would make it easier for professionals to be certified as public school teachers, as well as pave the way for more charter schools. He notes that the deadline for the state’s application is Jan. 19.
From his commentary:
Senate Bill 965 allows for alternative paths to teacher certification. This would meet one of the requirements for improvement in teacher quality by bringing more professionals into the classroom. In recent years, many talented people have fallen victim to a tumultuous economy and a rising unemployment rate. Let’ s make it easier for schools to tap their knowledge — especially in the critical areas of math and science.
The bipartisan reforms include Senate Bills 925 and 926, sponsored by Sen. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit, which would meet the Race to the Top program’s goal of increasing student choice by allowing more high-performing charter schools.
Bishop argues that the state already has the “rigorous standards and assessments” and student tracking that should make the feds smile.
He even says he’s looking forward to working with Democrats to get these reforms enacted. But this should be done, he insists, outside the normal give-and-take of politics.
“We must put politics aside and work together” and “put our kids first,” Bishop writes without any hint of irony, even as he references recent education cuts.
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