Education

Part-time instructors at Eastern Michigan University are voting on whether to approve a tentative contract agreement between the union and the university. The agreement would raise the minimum salary and provide more job security and protections.

Zachary Jones is a lecturer in geography and geology at EMU. He says part-time instructors end up teaching at many different schools, and do not earn a decent living wage. Jones says this contract represents a change in attitude of how the university treats its part-time instructors, and he says it boils down to an issue of respect.

Broward County Public Schools selected Robert Runcie, not Bernard Taylor, as their next superintendent.

Parents and students in Detroit say problems with city buses and school bus passes are keeping some kids out of school.

The school district gives out free bus passes to many students. But some students say they never received application forms, and the schools don’t have enough passes.

District policy says all Detroit students can ride for free in September with last year’s bus passes. But many students lost those over the summer.

Attendance rates for Detroit Public Schools have jumped dramatically since last week – when only about two-thirds of kids expected for the first day of classes actually showed up.

Close to 56,000 students were in school on Monday. That’s about 12,000 more than the week before.

School district spokesman Steve Wasko says over the past week teams of attendance agents and volunteers have been going door-to-door to find out why students are missing. He says in many cases there’s some obstacle.

"Whether that’s a transportation concern, something we’re frankly finding more and more, and it’s an unfortunate thing, and in some cases parents saying I’m planning on sending my child to school but I have to be honest with you I can’t afford the school uniform, so we’re trying to make ends meet and grab a few dollars for that."

The school district needs to hit 75 percent of its enrollment target in order to avoid financial penalties from the state. Wasko says Monday’s attendance was a solid 85 percent.

According to Michigan State University researchers, many educators in the state are not using some of the most effective teaching methods  when working with the more than 15,000 Michigan students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Summer Ferreri, an MSU assistant professor of special education, and Sara Bolt, an MSU associate professor of school psychology conducted the study.

Using data from more than 200 school professionals, 34 parents of students with ASD, and classroom observations, the researchers found that more than 40 percent of the educators were not using techniques known as "Applied Behavior Analysis", and "Social Stories" (a method for teaching social skills to children with autism).

They also found it difficult to "access statewide data on students with ASD" and "concluded that better access is crucial to determine whether the services schools provide are actually helping students succeed."

From the MSU press release:

Suzanne Wilson, a University Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education at MSU, said autism education is one of the most pressing issues facing educators today.

“While autism rates have rapidly increased, many new and experienced teachers have little to no experience working with children with autism,” Wilson said.  "Without the appropriate education, new teachers could, at worst, marginalize these students and, at best, be supportive but not effective.”

The researchers also found that 26% ASD students in Michigan "never or rarely had learning opportunities that reflected the general education curriculum."

And "one-third of the 194 Michigan teaching professionals responding said their students with ASD wouldn’t meet any grade-level achievement standards."

The findings of the research will be presented to the State Board of Education tomorrow (September 13). The study was conducted with funding from the Weiser family, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Skillman Foundation.

Bernard Taylor agreed to resign from Grand Rapids schools at the end of this school year. That agreement came after he was a finalist for other jobs beginning last spring. He didn’t get any of those jobs.

Now he’s looking to head Broward County Public Schools – the sixth biggest district in the U.S.

Taylor will attend a public forum in Broward County Tuesday evening. The school board is likely to make its choice Wednesday morning. He’s one of five finalists for the position.

A job training center for people with disabilities starts its fall session on Monday. The Michigan Career and Technical Institute is in Plainwell, about 20 miles north of Kalamazoo.  It's the second largest program of its kind in the country.

Up to 350 students live on campus while taking classes. The institute offers 14 training programs to people with various disabilities.

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Detroit last week, he brought up the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program. He called it the “best economic development tool” for a city, and urged Detroit to develop something similar.