Category Archives: Education

The “What in the Hell is Going on with Ypsi’s New Unified School District?” post

By Mark | February 21, 2013

Tonight’s the night that I’d set aside to figure out what in the hell is going on with Ypsi public schools. Judging by the increasingly insane comments being left elsewhere on the web, and the epic emails that are being forwarded to me, it sounds as though the great experiment – of combining the Willow [...]

Also posted in Michigan, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Chapelle Elementary, charter schools, David Bates, Dedrick Martin, dismantling of public education, for-profit charter schools, Krista Boyer, Laura Lisiscki, Michigan Leadership Institute, public education, restorative justice, Sharon Irvine, social justice, The Leona Group, threats to public education | 34 Comments

Michigan’s first for-profit charter school goes union in Detroit… Will others follow?

By Mark | February 12, 2013

A few days ago, something positive happened on the Michigan education landscape. The teachers of the Cesar Chavez Academy, a charter school in southwest Detroit, voted to unionize. What follows is my admittedly too short interview with Daniel Kukuk, one of the American Federation of Teachers organizers who helped make it happen. MARK: So, what [...]

Also posted in Detroit, Michigan | Tagged American Federation of Teachers, Arts Academy in the Woods, Cesar Chavez Academy, charter schools, Daniel Kukuk, Detroit, Education Achievement Authority, education reform, for-profit charter schools, Fraser, Michigan Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, National Labor Relations Board, right-to-work, Southwest Detroit, teachers unions, The Leona Group, union organizing, unions | 13 Comments

Exploring Michelle Rhee’s destructive influence over Michigan education reform

By Mark | January 10, 2013

I’m spending my evening getting acquainted with Michelle Rhee, the controversial former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, who’s gone on to a lucrative career as a hired gun in the fight to destroy teachers unions and privatize American public education. While I’d heard about her in the past, and I’d known that she’d [...]

Also posted in Michigan, Politics | Tagged Catherine Ferguson Academy, charter schools, collective bargaining, D.C., David Tepper, dismantling of public education, District of Columbia, education reform, for-profit charter schools, Jeff Clark, Kevin Johnson, Michelle Rhee, Michigan Education Association, no child left behind, Norm Donohoe, Oregon, PACs, Paul Scott, Philip Anschutz, privatization, Proposition 2, public education, Rupert Murdoch, StudentsFirst, tenure, threats to public education, Tim King, Waiting for Superman | 31 Comments

Public Education Finance Act of 2013… a bold gambit to dismantle public education in Michigan once and for all

By Mark | November 29, 2012

Saying “I’ve never considered myself a conspiracy theorist—until now,” Rob Glass, the Superintendent of the Bloomfield Hills School District, sent a letter out to parents in his district yesterday, outlining the education reform plans unveiled last week by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. “This package of bills,” said Glass, “is the latest in a yearlong barrage [...]

Also posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Bloomfield Hills, charter schools, dismantling of public education, Education Achievement Authority of Michigan, education reform, expanding the school year, failing schools, for profit schools, for-profit charter schools, Gretchen Whitmer, John Engler, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan 2020, Michigan Public Education Finance Act of 2013, Michigan State House Bill 5923, Michigan State House Bill 6004, Michigan State Senate Bill 1358, Michigan State Senate Bill 620, Mike Huckabee, Oxford Foundation, Parent Trigger, public education, Richard McLellan, Rick Snyder, Rob Glass, school, School Aid Act, school vouchers, taking back our schools, Vickie L. Markavitch, ] | 43 Comments

Announcing that five Ypsi schools share one librarian, 826 Michigan asks for volunteers to staff libraries so that our children can once again check out books

By Mark | October 24, 2012

When I received the above message earlier this afternoon, I didn’t think there was any way that it could possibly be true… I knew, of course, that Ypsi’s schools had suffered severe cuts. Just a few weeks ago, I’d watched Linette design a poster for Fly Children’s Art Center, drawing attention to the fact that [...]