Why Michigan Is Going 'Schools Of Choice'

Here is a link to a piece I did on a cycberschool in Michigan.  It contains links to all the information for the program.  

In the light of the Governor's push for schools of choice, the underlying purposes of this initiative are targeted under cost benefit analysis.  Schools of choice allow free market principles to be put in place.  If a school cannot compete, it will be purged.  

How can a school compete when property values and millages allow for greater resources?  Refer back to the link I did.  Cybershcools do not have to maintain physical buildings to warehouse its students allowing for infinite number of students to enroll in its district.  Westwood public schools changed its name to  "Community Schools" inclusive of its cybercommunity.

If a school district can traditionally house 10,000 students, expansions of its online and cyber programs can increase enrollment to 100,000.  If each student generates federal funding of approximately $7,000, that now becomes a significant increase in the funding of the school district, allow for the creation of more jobs and provide better quality and delivery of services to the children.

Then, with this model, there is to be opportunity with the development of programs uniquely designed to cater to each students need which allows for tapping of Medicaid Targeted Case Management funding which is uncapped.

The entire concept of education must evolve in the same right as humans evolve.  An entire generation of children have been raised in heavy metal fallout environments of manufacturing in lead housing.  Comported with the ills of poverty and a chemically dependent economy which has replaced nurturing with drugging children for pharmaceutical profit, and you have the makings of a new form of human who will not function in the factory school model.

The day of the agrarian school model is over as well as the silencing of creativity and innovation of self-expression.  Learning is 24/7, from cradle to grave.  

I would be remiss not to acknowledge the downfalls of the new vision of education.  There is another organization called http://www.k12.com/.  Think of this as an educational brokerage firm.  Schools sign up and K12 recruits and assigns students to school districts.  Pontiac and Grand Rapids Schools participate.  Concerns fall under the area of fraud. Some will say that there is no oversight of the system.  Some will say the process does not guarantee.  There are even concerns with false claims as seen with universities getting into the game of education with elementary and high school education for the money.

My position on this is that every system possesses an acceptable error rating.  Unfortunately it taxpayer dollars.  I am in support of the new model of education.  Not everyone learns the same and we must stop forcing conformity in thinking.  The only way to stimulate the economy is to empower each child to be the best at what they enjoy.  

AP PhotoMichigan Gov. Rick Snyder addresses the Governor's Education Summit at MSU's Kellogg Center in East Lansing Monday, April 25, 2011.

Snyder pushes choice, but says strong Detroit Public Schools should be 'option' for students

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he remains committed to a strong Detroit Public Schools but wants to make it easier for students around the state to enroll in other districts.

Snyder on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to overhaul the state's education system, calling for the likes of teacher tenure reform, more charter schools, virtual classrooms and a longer academic year. 

He also proposed allowing students to attend schools in any district that has room, taking their state-based per-pupil funding with them. The suggestion is sure to face opposition in Detroit, where the cash-strapped public school system is reeling from years of declining enrollment resulting from a continuous exodus of families to the suburbs.

The plan could also be a tough sell in more affluent Metro Detroit districts, such as Bloomfield Hills, which charges outside students $10,000 a year to attend. District Superintendent Rob Glasstold The Detroit News he believes that allowing outside enrollment should be a local decision.

Listen: Gov. Rick Snyder

Snyder, speaking this morning on WJR-AM 760, said he welcomes debate and discussion on the proposal, and noted the plan would still give priority to local students while allowing outsiders to fill open slots.

"I think fundamentally, it's something that should happened and be available," he said. "Because in the end, it's about educating our children, and we have a failing system."

The Detroit Public Schools, in particular, is failing. Students in the district posted historically-low scores on a national standardized test in 2009, and state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb has been unable to cap the growing deficit despite numerous school closures.

To save money, Bobb is working on a plan to sell dozens of school buildings to charter operators, which complements Snyder's plan to lift the charter school cap in districts with failing schools.

Snyder said he supports increased school choice -- which he characterized as putting students before the system -- but reiterated that a solid DPS should be one of those choices.

"There's been a continuing decline for a very long time in Detroit, and that's one of the things we're going to focus on, is turning it around," he said. 

"I want a strong Detroit Public Schools in terms of providing a public school option for kids in the city of Detroit. so as we continue  is process, I think we're going to look at new ways to innovate and take many of these reforms and apply them in Detroit."