PARENTS have POWER

05/27/2022

Quote "Opponents say it would effectively transfer taxpayer dollars, including school funds, to private schools. Unlike public schools, private schools are not legally bound to educate all children, meaning they can turn away children with disabilities."

Circulators said that the issue would go to a vote, even though it will likely be approved by the legislature without ever appearing on a ballot.

04/18/2022

07/14/2021

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed into law the state’s $17.1 billion K-12 budget, touting the “historic milestone” of eliminating the per-pupil funding gap.

03/27/2021

"Michigan teachers are leaving the profession at alarmingly high rates this school year. Retirements are up 35 percent, and that figure doesn’t include young teachers who leave the profession in less than 10 years, when they typically would qualify for retirement benefits. (The state tracks retirement data, but not overall departures from the education field.)

So far this school year — from August through February — 35 percent more teachers retired than the average of those who retired over those same months since 2016."

The number of Michigan teachers who are leaving classrooms is up 35 percent this school year compared to typical years, as the stress of pandemic teaching drives some to retire or resign.

02/12/2021

Kalamazoo Public Schools has decided against bringing students back in to the classroom in person for the rest of the school year.

02/02/2021

"Most important, it’s time for America to let go of her longing to go back to a normalcy that supports injustice continuing to go unchecked, a normalcy that requires cutting costs and corners while making profits at the expense of the lives of our BIPOC brothers and sisters. America’s existence, a life after the pandemic, the success of the Biden plan, and children simply returning to school buildings, all depends on whether her people will finally answer the urgent call to uproot the systems that continue to bare the bitter fruits of racial inequities."

While COVID-19 has been an inconvenience for some, as noted by a Yale University epidemiologist, it has been more of a genocide by default for...

02/01/2021

.... “teach Black history from Black perspectives."... seven(7) guiding principles for educators to explore when teaching Black history:
1. Power, oppression and racism
2. Black agency, perseverance and resistance
3. Africa and the African diaspora
4. Black joy and Black love
5. Black identities – other than heterosexual, Christian, middle-class Black men
6. Black historical contention and the problematic aspects of Black history
7. Black excellence
One area to focus on is getting “an accurate understanding of Reconstruction,” the period after the Civil War, to help Americans better understand “contemporary forms of racialized violence like mass incarceration,” ....... it’s important to recognize the many ways racism is baked into America’s foundational systems."1.

Here's what you need to know about the history of Black History Month including how to celebrate appropriately.

07/06/2020

“Even in schools that have unused classrooms that could be utilized for social distancing, districts don’t have the funds to hire more teachers. In fact, they’ll be lucky to keep the number of teachers they had last school year. The School Aid Fund is facing a shortfall of $1.1 billion for the coming school year because of plummeting tax revenue caused by the pandemic lockdown and skyrocketing unemployment."

Desks won’t be six feet apart at your child’s elementary school in September, even if that’s the rule in restaurants. School officials say bringing students back full time would make social distancing nearly impossible.