Tag Archives: school consolidation

Washtenaw Intermediate School District leadership weighs in on the battle over Ypsi’s International Baccalaureate middle school

By Mark | October 30, 2017

On the evening of Tuesday, October 17, members of the Ypsilanti Community Schools Board of Education, without any public debate, voted 4-2 in favor of a plan to hand over control of Ypsi’s Washtenaw International Middle Acadey (WIMA) to the Washtenaw Educational Options Consotrium (WEOC), the organization that currently operates the regionally-funded, and Ypsilanti-based Washtenaw […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Education, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Bert Okma, debt, diversity, East Middle School, economic segregation, extractive colonialism, International Baccalaureate, Maria Sheler-Edwards, Naomi Norman, opportunity index, public education, schools of choice, Scott Menzel, segregation, threats to public education, Washtenaw Educational Options Consotrium, Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Washtenaw International High School, WEOC, West Middle School, WIHI, WIMA, WISD, YCS, YIES, YPS, Ypsilanti Board of Education, Ypsilanti Community Schools, Ypsilanti International Elementary School, Ypsilanti Public Schools | 23 Comments

If Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Public Schools could be joined with no additional cost to Ann Arbor taxpayers, bringing additional resources to Ypsi schools, might voters back it?

By Mark | February 26, 2015

A few few weeks ago, I posted something here about the findings of a study on affordable housing commissioned by Washtenaw County. The published report, as you may recall, didn’t paint a very pretty picture. Our communities, according to the study’s authors, are rapidly becoming segregated, with less-well-off people, especially people of color, quickly consolidating […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Education, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged affordable housing, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor's economic refugees, annexation, economic segregation, Economic Segregation Index, Jcp2, poverty, public education, public school, school funding, segregation, Steve Norton, Washtenaw County's Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, Whitmore Lake, Willow Run, Ypsilanti Community Schools | 64 Comments

Ann Arbor found to be much better than Ypsi at educating students in poverty?

By Mark | February 3, 2015

Given that the Washtenaw International Baccalaureate High School in Ypsilanti recently finished second in statewide ACT rankings, beating out all of the awesome schools in Ann Arbor, I wasn’t really surprised to see today’s headline in the Ann Arbor News reaffirming their academic superiority. People need to feel awesome about themselves, and that’s OK. And […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Education, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged dismantling of public education, mergers, poverty, public education, race and poverty, Ypsi Public School District | 53 Comments

Ypsi School Board’s Dr. Celeste Hawkins on race, class, segregation, and the prospect of a merger with Ann Arbor Public Schools

By Mark | January 22, 2015

A few days ago, I posted something here about the findings of a study on affordable housing commissioned by Washtenaw County. The published report, as you may recall, didn’t paint a very pretty picture. Our communities, according to the authors of the study, are rapidly becoming segregated, with less-well-off people, especially people of color, quickly […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Education, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged affordable housing, Celeste Hawkins, equity, poverty, public education, race and poverty, racism, regional cooperation, segregation, social justice, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County's Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, Whitmore Lake, Ypsilanti Community Schools, Ypsilanti School Board | 18 Comments

The annexation of Whitmore Lake schools… Who wins? Who loses?

By Mark | October 30, 2014

The Whitmore Lake School District, which presently serves approximately 1,000 K-12 students, is reported to be $60 million is debt. And word on the street is that Lansing might dissolve the entire thing in favor of an all-charter system, unless a way can be found to put the district back on a path toward solvency. […]