Michigan's NCLB Waiver Request Fails the Test

By DFER Michigan State Director, Harrison Blackmond As reported by the Detroit Free Press, a coalition of education reform groups including DFER Michigan, Education Trust – Midwest, and StudentsFirst – among others – recently came together to respond to the Michigan Department of Education’s request submitted to the US Department of Education to waive certain provisions

Feds lay out hurdles for Michigan to relax No Child Left Behind rules

By Lori Higgins (From Detroit Free Press, May 4th, 2012) Michigan has to jump through a few more hoops if it wants to get out from under some of the strict rules of the federal No Child Left Behind law. That law, now widely panned by many as being too unrealistic because it requires all

REPUBLICAN FY 2013 BUDGET PROPOSAL

REPUBLICAN FY 2013 BUDGET PROPOSAL DRAMATIC AND RECKLESS CUTS TO EDUCATION SPENDING   Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on its budget proposal for FY 2013, the upcoming fiscal year that begins October 1st. The debate resumes on the House floor today. In Washington: • Almost 3,500 children will be eliminated from the

It's The Teacher!

By Harrison Blackmond, DFER Michigan State Director My views about education are, like many others, informed by my own experiences. Born the son of a black sharecropper in rural Alabama near the end of WWII, I attended segregated schools for most of my early years of education, including the first three. And, my teachers in

Charter school expansion must include quality requirements

(From The Grand Rapids Press, December 10th, 2011) By Harrison Blackmond and Amber Arellano As the Michigan Legislature prepares to vote on sweeping education legislation that will remake public education in Michigan — especially in its poor neighborhoods — we call on our state leaders to make one central question their guiding light in their

With Our Kids' Futures at Stake, ALL Michigan Public Schools Should be Held to High Standards

By Harrison Blackmond, DFER Michigan State Director You’ve heard me say this before – all schools should be held to high standards, regardless of whether the school is a charter or traditional public school. Unfortunately, there is a bill up for vote in Michigan that, in its current form, fails to ensure every child has

Better charter school oversight needed

By Harrison Blackmond (From Detroit News, Oct. 19th 2011) Michigan desperately needs to expand high quality educational opportunities for our children. Too many of our public schools are broken, and far too many young people graduate unprepared for college and a career — if they make it to graduation. Our inability to effectively educate all

Senate panel backs lifting cap on Michigan charter schools

By Lori Higgins (From Detroit Free Press, September 28th, 2011) A bill that would lift the cap on opening charter schools in Michigan – allowing for an unlimited number of charters to open – was approved this afternoon by the Senate Education Committee. The bill is part of a seven-bill package – dubbed the Parent

DFER Michigan State Director, Harrison Blackmond, weighs in on charter school legislation in Michigan

Yesterday, Harrison Blackmond (DFER MI State Director) testified in front of the Michigan State Senate Education Committee regarding a bill that would impact Michigan’s charter schools.    The bill, which is part of a seven-bill package known as the “Parent Empowerment Education Reform legislation,” includes the following provisions that would impact Michigan’s current charter school

Parental Involvement in Education: Fact and Fiction

By Harrison Blackmond, DFER Michigan State Director   I have attended dozens of legislative hearings, community meetings, and board meetings where the problems related to public education are discussed. Not to mention the numerous one-on-one conversations I’ve had with adults who are usually middle or upper class, where the subject of parental involvement in children’s