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STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Michigan Merit Curriculum Visual, Performing, and Applied Arts Credit Guideline
The visual, performing, and applied arts minimum one credit requirement for graduation was established to ensure that all students have a foundation and experience in the complete artistic/creative process, and that they achieve competence in this process by the time they graduate from high school.

Two sample alignment tools are now available. 

Sample I provides an opportunity for course objectives to be aligned to the appropriate content standards, benchmarks and credit guidelines.

Sample II is designed to be used for courses which need to be aligned to the credit guidelines but have already been aligned to content standards and benchmarks.

Both sample tools were developed to assist intermediate and local school districts in identifying curricular offerings that prepare students to meet all of the credit guidelines. These tools are meant to be samples only, as intermediate and local school districts can develop their own tools or adapt these to meet their local needs.

The guidelines for the one credit graduation requirement in the visual, performing, and applied arts describe three strands within the artistic/creative process: Create, Perform/Present, and Respond.

The credit guidelines are aligned to Michigan Content Standards and Benchmarks, Career Cluster Mastery Grids and Program Guidelines for each of the visual, performing, and applied arts. Each student must satisfactorily master all guidelines specified in the Visual, Performing, and Applied Arts Credit Guidelines document through one or more courses to meet the one credit graduation requirement in the visual, performing, and applied arts.

These materials are now available at: www.michigan.gov/highschool. Please select the Visual, Performing, and Applied Arts Guidelines link, then select the new sample alignment tools, available as PDF files, under "Resources."

Special Education
The latest edition of Reaching Agreement is now available and can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF. 
 
It contains information about how IEP facilitation and mediation can help parents and educators avoid or resolve special education disputes quickly and at no charge. It covers:

Homeless Education Team
The Department has created a Homeless Education Team:  Sam Sinicropi, Education Consultant; Trudy Schutte, Secretary; and Linda Forward, Academic Support Unit Supervisor. For questions regarding Homeless Education or the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, call 517.241.1162.

For questions regarding Homeless Education grants, call Cynthia Theusch at 517.373.0454.

AYP Proficiency Targets
The following tables are the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) proficiency targets for English Language Arts and Mathematics, by year, for Michigan. The proficiency targets for 2007-08 increase by 8-12% from 2006-07 in both subjects.

 
Michigan ASCD has developed a toolkit to help explain scores to the public, which is available in PDF file format at the following link:Communicating About Adequate Yearly Progress: An AYP Toolkit or at http://michigan.ascd.org

Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth
A website has been developed by the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Community Health to help school districts collect, interpret, and utilize building and district-level information to improve programming funded under the Title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth (MiPHY) is an online, anonymous student survey to assess risk behaviors and risk protective factors in grades 7, 9, and 11, and will be reported in aggregate form for local district use. The MiPHY is a biennial survey.

Michigan Department of Education Quick Links
The Michigan Department of Education’s Communications Office has developed a
one-page document of “Michigan Department of Education Quick Links”. It includes
links to popular online resources in categories such as “High School Reform” and
“Student Assessment/Achievement”. The list of Quick Links can also be found at http://michigan.ascd.org

Flanagan Raises The Bar On Teacher Preparation Institutions
The State Board of Education gave its endorsement today to State Superintendent Mike Flanagan’s plan, “Improving Teacher Preparation in Michigan,” to require all state teacher preparation institutions, both public and private, to obtain national accreditation by 2013. The two national accreditation organizations are the National Association for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).  Currently, 6 out of the fifteen public universities are nationally accredited.
 
Although the teacher prep institutions would be required to gain national accreditation, those colleges and universities would first have to be approved by the State and their programs would require State approval. In fact, the board did approve having the board-appointed Professional Standards Commission for Teachers (PSCT) develop a process for creating the Framework for Excellence in Teacher Preparation as well as a process to create new standards for alternate routes to teacher certification that would fulfill the board's goal of developing multiple pathways for entry into teaching.

 K-7 Science Content Standards Ready For Approval
The State Board of Education is expected to give final approval to the K-7 grade level science content expectations at its Dec. 11 meeting. At its November meeting, the Board received an update from the Science Academic Work Group whose task it was to revise the current science standards after receiving the input of a national review and public comment.

The expectations are divided into four disciplines: Science processes, physical science, life science and earth science. They outline what students should know and be able to do in preparation for high school science requirements. Presenters stressed that there will be a huge need for professional development in this area.

High Priority Schools
The State Board of Education received a report on a Statewide System for Support for High Priority Schools that includes partnerships with the Intermediate School Districts (hire and work with mentor and leadership coaches for high priority schools), Michigan State University (professional development for coaches and a principal fellowship), the School Improvement Facilitators Network along with  the Michigan Association of State and Federal Program Specialists (training mentors), and Advance Ed/NCA (training and academic audits).  Individual Title I schools identified for improvement in phases 3 or higher will continue to receive school improvement funding to impact the academic area that they are working on.

Funding Losses
Monies to develop End-of-Course Assessments for high schools ($4.4 million) were cut from the Department budget by the Michigan Legislature.  Also cut was $100,000 from the funds for Information Technology.

SB 482 requires that students participate in the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) social studies test to be eligible for the Michigan Promise scholarship program and to pass social studies to qualify for early payments (as entering freshmen and sophomores).  This bill is awaiting Senate floor action.  The Michigan Department of Education supports it.

SB 842 requires school districts and public school academies to measure each student’s literacy skills using the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile or an assessment developed by the Department of Education. The assessments would be used to measure grade level content expectations in English language arts of third graders by the end of grades two and three.  Students who fail shall not be promoted.  If the student is enrolled in a school that is required to provide supplemental services, these services must be made available to the parents.  The Senate Education Committee will soon schedule meetings on this bill.

HB 4042 raises the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18 years of age.  A hearing on this bill is expected soon in the House Education Committee.

School Aid Budget
 The School Aid Budget reflects about a 1% increase in funding (other State programs saw about 2.5% in cuts).  It was passed 131 days after the start of the academic year which impacted the school districts’ ability to begin new programs and expand current services. 

Executive Veto
President Bush vetoed the Education Spending Bill on November 13, 2007 which was passed by both the U.S. House and the Senate.  The bill reflected a 5 % increase in education funding and 8 percent more than Bush had sought.  Included in the budget bill was $271 million in funding for educational technology (Bush had sought kill this funding) and $1.2 billion for career and technical education (Bush had proposed $600,000)

Professional Development Opportunities