Education

One Detroit school that’s shut down because of building problems will be housed in another school building for the rest of this year.

Palmer Park Preparatory Academy was shut down because of a leaky roof and mold problems. The Detroit Public Schools Community District closed the building for the rest of the year to replace the roof.

This past week, Lansing’s Catholic bishop introduced a special panel that will examine issues of race in the diocese.  

Faculty at Eastern Michigan University are protesting budget cuts that they say unfairly target support staff. 

Faculty union president Judith Kullberg says some departments now have no secretary.  She says EMU should instead cut administrators, or a proposed 20 million dollar athletic training center.

“For this administration, athletics is a sacred cow,” says Kullberg.

EMU spokesman Geoff Larcum says declining enrollment and stagnant state funding make cuts necessary.

He says they've been transparent about the situation.

Michigan State University interim President John Engler scolded lawmakers today over bills that would make it easier for sexual abuse victims to file lawsuits.

He says the debate is affecting settlement negotiations with victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar.

Engler appeared before a Senate universities budget subcommittee. He told the committee chair the bills could also drive up tuition. 

“Your legislation would certainly probably do that," he said. "I don’t know if it would force bankruptcy or not. I hope not.”

“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” a woman wearing a foppish hat with a large feather sang to a group of distracted toddlers and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette this morning in Livonia.

Schuette was there to be a guest reader during the library’s story time. The Republican candidate for governor also shook hands with a few parents and talked about the dismal state of Michigan’s third grade reading scores.

The Flint school board has picked a former emergency manager to be the district’s interim superintendent.

Gregory Weatherspoon says he’s learned things that can help Flint schools from his stints as EM in Muskegon Heights and Highland Park schools, and recently was Benton Harbor interim school superintendent.

State schools superintendent Brian Whiston is stepping down and taking long-term disability leave so he can focus on fighting cancer.

Whiston made the announcement today at a meeting of the Michigan State Board of Education.

Whiston set a goal of making Michigan one of the nation’s top 10 states when it comes to the quality of schools. He says plans that have been put in place to turn around struggling schools make that possible.

“They’re just now in progress, and it’s just very sad to me that I won’t be part of seeing whether they all worked or not,” Whiston said.

A bill on its way to the state Senate floor would prevent school union reps from getting paid release time when they're on union business.   SB 796 passed the state Senate Education committee on a four to one vote Tuesday.

State Sen. Marty Knollenberg [R-Troy) insists his bill is not infringing on local school boards' authority when negotiating contracts.

“We’re not taking away collective bargaining.  We’re not taking away leave time,” says Knollenberg. “We’re just saying…taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for work being done by a private organization.”

The Flint public school district is beginning the search for a new superintendent.

Bilal Tawwab became Flint schools superintendent in 2015. His tenure has been dominated by the city’s tainted tap water crisis. Recent tests have shown lead levels remain high in several Flint schools.

White supremacist Richard Spencer might not be visiting the University of Michigan anytime soon.

He announced an indefinite halt to his national college tour Sunday in a video posted on YouTube.

Spencer blames violence between his supporters and protestors at his Michigan State University event last week, where more than a dozen arrests were made.

Classes are set to resume at Central Michigan University tomorrow.

It will be the first time back on campus for many students since a deadly shooting 10 days ago.

Professional counselors and therapy dogs will be available for students as they return to campus.

Michigan lawmakers this week will consider a bill that would make it easier for high school students to learn about careers they may want to pursue.

State Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, says his bill would give high school credit to students who complete an internship during their junior or senior years.

LaFave says his bill will cut through existing red tape that discourages high school students from exploring careers while still in school. 

“This is going to help I think with retention and graduation completion,” says LaFave.

Some faculty members at the University of Michigan are demanding better pay, and say they’re willing to go on strike to get it.

The Lecturers' Employee Organization represents over 1500 non-tenure-track teaching faculty across the university’s three campuses in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint. A group of LEO members met Friday on the UM-Dearborn campus to talk strategy about ongoing contract negotiations.

Some college administrators don't like some of the proposed new standards for Michigan student teachers.

New bills would require student teachers to be better prepared before they enter the classroom. 

But officials at some Michigan universities that train student teachers are concerned about aspects of the bills.  

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has proposed a city-wide education commission, but lots of key details are still in the works.

The commission would be “convened” by the mayor’s office, and include teachers, parents, and other representatives from both traditional public and charter schools. It would mainly serve in an “advisory” role, and would lack the power to do things like open or close schools, according to Duggan’s office.

A special statewide hotline saw a significant jump in tips of possible school attacks in Michigan last month.

The OK2SAY hotline was started several years ago to give Michigan students a place to call to complain about bullies or warn of a student considering suicide.

This week, state lawmakers will consider a package of bills that would affect how colleges prepare student teachers.

Suzanne Gibbs is an elementary school teachers in Spring Arbor. During her 20 years, she’s had a lot of student teachers in her classroom. She admits it hasn’t always been a good experience.

“It’s scary to let those candidates in sometimes.  Because you don’t know what you’re going to get,” says Gibbs.

The only Michigan school district left under emergency management will transition back to local control.

A multi-million dollar deficit prompted a state takeover of Highland Park Public Schools in 2012.

Now the district and the Michigan Department of Treasury are reviewing options to transition to a form of local governance.

Emergency Manager Kevin Smith was appointed in January of 2014. His term ends in April.

Smith has drafted a District Educational Strategic Plan 2018-2023, which he expects to share with stakeholders early this month.

UPDATE: 4:00 p.m.

While it has not been confirmed by officials at Central Michigan University, the Bellwood, Illinois police department says the victims of today's shootings were the parents of suspect James Eric Davis Jr.
 

A state House committee has approved a bill creating an “A thru F” grading system for Michigan schools.

The bill approved by the House Education Reform committee would use existing criteria to create a letter grade system for evaluating schools. HB 5526 now moves to the full state House.

A southeastern Michigan middle school student is in custody after authorities say he took an inactive grenade to school and made threatening statements to other students.

 The Monroe Police Department and the Monroe Public Schools say the student was lodged in a detention center Wednesday after a school resource officer found the grenade in the student's locker. The device had been modified and was incapable of detonating. Police say the student showed the device to other students and made the threatening statements. A student reported the incident to a teacher.

Grand Rapids Public Schools will not remove its head of special education, despite possible legal action.

Six local unions and some parents and faculty claim Laura LaMore has done a poor job running the district’s special ed program.

They complain of poor placement of students and not enough staff. The petition even says, “Staff  fear bullying. So many great, experienced professionals have been pushed out or left because of poor working conditions, excessive caseloads and intimidation.”