One D Dropout Prevention Summit and Retreat in review from United Way on Vimeo.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, One D

By Amy Lane - Crain's Detroit Business

MACKINAC ISLAND -- The Detroit region is making progress towards the collaborative goals of One D but has much work to do, said Edsel Ford II, speaking at the opening session of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.

Ford, who champions the One D effort to align private, public and non-profit sectors towards the achievement of common, regional priorities, said “he is pleased to report…that the needle is moving.”

He released a One D scorecard that he said represented “a snapshot of a given moment in time,” adding that the goals and priorities of the effort are long-term. The previously established priorities are:

• Economic prosperity – a regional economy that outperforms peer regions in attracting and retaining talent, builds and entrepreneurial culture and provides opportunity for all segments of the population.


• Educational preparedness – a region recognized for high-quality K-12 and secondary education programs that successfully align to current and future workforce needs.


• Quality of life – A region that meets the basic needs of all its residents and provides them with resources for quality health care, recreation, education, arts and culture.


• Race relations – A region of racial diversity where inclusion and equal opportunity are pervasive in public and private institutions, housing, community involvement and economic achievement.


• Regional transit – A coordinated safe and cost-effective transit system that provides for the flow of people and commerce to major population centers, social services, entertainment venues and transportation hubs.

The priorities to receive the lowest grades, categorized as missing their targets, are race relations and educational preparedness. In race relations, progress includes work underway to gather data that can be used towards the goals of improving individuals’ socio-economic and educational status, and funding obtained to measure the perceptions of race relations, discrimination and equal opportunity in the region.

In terms of educational preparedness, progress includes programs that have been or are being launched to increase the number of children and adults reading at grade level, and increasing numbers of schools are participating in efforts to increase the graduation rate of high school students and reduce dropout rates.

Receiving medium grades, categorized as further action required, are the priorities of economic prosperity, quality of life and regional transit.

In economic prosperity, progress includes some $4 billion in new investment in regional Detroit in 2007, raising $46 million towards a $100 million regional growth capital fund, developing a plan for a “creative corridor,” and moving forward an internship/apprentice program.

Quality of life progress includes a clearinghouse for arts and cultural institutions to collaborate, a “museum adventure pass” that brought 32,000 new visitors to 25 museums over a four-month period, the Kresge Foundation award of three-year general operating grants to 53 organizations, and the launch of the One D brand.

So far, 64 companies have adopted the D brand and backers will press forward this year for more businesses to do the same, Ford said.

Finally, in the area of regional transit, progress includes the identification of priority corridors for improved transit service, discussion of legislation to establish a regional transit authority in Southeast Michigan, efforts to increase Michigan transportation funding, and work toward light rail and commuter rail options.

“We are picking up momentum in the work we are doing under our five priorities,” Ford said. “We are now in the process of pulling away from baselines. Now we have to continue the work.”

One D is a group of six regional civic organizations working collaboratively. The organizations are: The Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit, and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Earlier in May, One D announced that it had received $810,000 in grants from the area’s leading foundations, toward its efforts. The grants from the Hudson Webber Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, the McGregor Fund and the Skillman Foundation, bring the effort’s total budget to $1.5 million.

The scorecard is available on the One D Web site.

Labels: One D

Posted by Karl D. Gregory to the Mackinac Policy Conference blog

Early discussions of ONE D focused on transparency, accountability, focus, regionalism and a transition to a better Detroit metropolitan economy. This was said to have been in response to the wishes of thousands of persons who were surveyed, approached in focus groups or accessed otherwise about their hopes for the future in the Detroit area.

One wonders if Edsel Ford's Report Card scheduled for May 28 would engender added interest and understanding had two short preliminary sets of reports been issued to the public ahead of the Chamber's Regional Conference. Each of the six major agencies with the responsibility for implementation of ONE D could have issued a short report on the goals set last year, the efforts and accomplishments to date and the objectives for next year. Further, the agency in the lead for each of the five ONE D priorities could have distributed a short overview on the nature and baseline data for that priority, the plans, hoped for timeline and expected accomplishments in the future, together with indications on how progress would be measured for that priority. Should such a report not be possible, the report could have been explicit about why and the alternatives.

Perhaps next year, such an approach might be taken to promote understanding, transparency and to accelerate interest in the presentation of the scorecard to be given at the Policy Conference. When businessmen are serious, they plan against anticipated performance guidelines and monitor closely the results.

I look forward eagerly to Edsel Ford's presentation and applaud him for taking on this major leadership responsibility which is greatly important to the region.

Labels: One D

Leadership Next wants to increase home ownership rates across our region.

We are committed to helping United Way for Southeastern Michigan make progress in the financial stability focus area of its Agenda for Change, and one of the ways we will do this is to provide key resources to potential homeowners.

We know that buying a starter home (or even a dream home) can be overwhelming. That is why Leadership Next is teaming up with City Living Detroit, Preservation Wayne and Detroit Young Professionals to assist consumers who are interested in taking this major step through MI City Home Toolkit.

MI City Home Toolkit is a six-part series that launches June 14 and runs through October. Each month, organizers stage a tour of three homes in one of six featured Detroit neighborhoods, and includes an opportunity for participants to meet the homeowners in those neighborhoods. Other event highlights include opportunities to:

• Meet homeowners and hear firsthand what it's like to own or rehab a historic Detroit home
• Talk one-on-one with Realtors, contractors and mortgage brokers to learn more about making smart purchasing and renovation decisions
• Learn how to take advantage of home buying incentives like NEZ property tax discounts, historic tax credits and more

The events are free, but space is limited, so go to www.micityhome.com to reserve your spot today.

Labels: leadership_next, monthly enewsletter

As volunteers with United Way's Leadership Next program, we partner with residents and community organizations interested in improving the physical and social qualities of their respective neighborhoods. And while impacting the region is our primary goal, Leadership Next also provides us a number of opportunities to grow personally and professionally, and to learn about other organizations, communities and initiatives.

We had a chance to experience all of this and more when we helped the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation in April with a community revitalization project. About 25 volunteers put shovels, rakes and others tools to use while rejuvenating Stoepel Park, on Detroit's west side. We helped ensure that 600 area kids have adequate ball fields for their summer little league season.

Tom Goddeeris, executive director at GRDC, thanked the group for its contribution to the project, and also provided an overview of his group's work in the community.

Leadership Next would like to thank all of the volunteers who worked through the dreary, drizzling morning at Stoepel Park. The fields looked great after you were done. For those who missed the event, don't worry, more opportunities to make a difference are on the horizon.

We will continue to increase our involvement and seek to engage in similar projects across the region regularly, so stay tuned. Through these efforts we are confident that Leadership Next will make communities stronger and enhance the vibrancy of our region.

Check out videos and pictures from the morning!

Labels: civic engagement, leadership_next

By Professor Jerry Lindman, J.D.

Serving on a board of directors of a nonprofit is a unique opportunity for young business professionals to give back to their community while advancing their careers.

Nonprofits are required by law to have a volunteer board of directors. The board of directors has the ultimate responsibility for the proper management, strategic direction and overall well being of the organization. Boards hire and oversee the chief executive. Research clearly demonstrates that nonprofits with talented and engaged board members are more successful in achieving their mission.

Business professionals are highly sought after to serve as board members because of their workplace experience and management skills. Marketing, public relations, finance, project management and strategic planning (to name a few), are skills nonprofits sorely need. Most professionals take these skills for granted, but they are valuable to nonprofits. Also, the board experience offers young professionals opportunities to grow or diversify their skill sets.

Serving on a nonprofit board allows you to give back to a cause you value, while developing leadership and team building skills, providing management oversight and, most importantly, networking with many other business professionals volunteering in the same capacity.

Nonprofits, faced with increasing accountability standards and performance expectations, actively seek skilled, committed professionals to serve on their boards.

Here are some tips on joining a nonprofit board:

• Start by studying the roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit board of directors
• Look for opportunities on the board of a nonprofit whose mission you are passionate about
• Identify a management role on the board that matches your professional skills and experience
• Remember that nonprofits are uniquely different from businesses largely because of their mission (rather than profit) focus

In order to promote board service, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and Lawrence Technological University have joined forces to offer a series of low-cost workshops to help people become effective board members. The program is called BoardWALK, and includes a series of seven workshops, each covering a key area of board management.

Sessions are offered monthly on Lawrence Tech's Southfield campus. Topics range from legal accountability to strategic planning to financial oversight. For more information on the BoardWALK workshop series, visit www.uwsem.org/boardwalk.

Consider this your invitation to join us.

Professor Lindman is director of the Center for Nonprofit Management at Lawrence Technological University, a program of the Graduate College of Management, offering graduate education and community outreach programming focused on advancing professional leadership at charitable, nonprofit organizations. For more information, email lindman@ltu.edu

Leadership Next welcomes editorial submissions and other contributions from its members. If you are interested in sharing your talent, please e-mail Julie.Updyke@uwsem.org.

Labels: leadership_next, monthly enewsletter

Membership in United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Women's Initiative continues to grow thanks to the group's dedication to addressing issues affecting women, children and families across the region.

Three new members recently joined the group. We are pleased to welcome:

• Deborah Thompson - Miller Canfield
• Sharon Field Hoffman - Wayne State University
• Blaire Miller - Virchow Krause & Company

The latest additions to the Women's Initiative raise total membership to 46 -- a 50 percent increase over 2007, and three times larger than the group in 2006.

The Women's Initiative is a Leadership Giving program, which means members contribute at least $1,000 annually to United Way.

Labels: monthly enewsletter, Womens_Initiative

I know we complain a great deal about the lack of regional focus and collaboration in addressing the challenges in transforming our region, but it’s time to celebrate some of our progress. As Michigan -- and more specifically, Southeastern Michigan -- competes for economic development opportunities, a prepared workforce is always mentioned as a necessary component.

As we review what has to take place to strengthen our employment opportunities, education, and talent attraction and retention always end up among the proposed solutions. At the same time, it will come as no surprise that one of the issues we struggle with both regionally and statewide is unacceptable graduation rates from our K-12 school systems, especially in our urban and economically challenged districts.

Through extensive community outreach and substantial resident input, our region identified educational preparedness as a significant priority. It is one of three focus areas of United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Agenda for Change, along with financial stability and basic needs. One D, the consortium of organizations dedicated to addressing the most pressing issues in our region, also established educational preparedness as one of its five major priorities and decided to tackle the issue during a two day Dropout Prevention Summit to explore solutions.

I am proud to say that United Way took the lead in organizing the conference, and partnered with our One D colleagues, New Detroit and the Detroit Regional Chamber, as well as the Skillman Foundation, the Detroit Parent Network and our hosts, Lawrence Technological University. The mission was to advance the turnaround effort in 35 high schools in the region that have a drop out rate of 40 percent or higher. Edsel Ford II, One D's lead champion, kicked off the conference, and other leaders participated during the event, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Mike Flanagan, the state Department of Education's superintendent of public instruction, Connie Calloway, general superintendent of Detroit Public Schools and David Hecker, president of AFT Michigan.

The conference convened several experts from across the country with experience in successfully working with districts to improve student achievement and graduation rates. The experts presented their ideas to approximately 150 officials from DPS, suburban school districts and students, as well as representatives from foundations, businesses and organized labor. The conference format allowed participants significant time to discuss the approaches that had been successful elsewhere and begin the planning for our region’s turnaround.

There was lots of discussion about the importance of early childhood development to success later in school, which is something the Women’s Initiative of United Way identified as a critical success factor -- and we chose to focus our energy on this area. No doubt, our work will be a part of the multi-faceted solution and will ultimately contribute to this effort's success.

The excitement and enthusiasm throughout the event was unbelievable, as over 300 interested parties began to imagine our success and envision our future progress. Even during session breaks, the hallways were buzzing as attendees chatted about ideas to help each student in our region succeed in school.

It’s a new day in Southeastern Michigan and high-time we approach issues of importance as a team. This will take hard work and long-term commitment. But with the type of collaborative leadership this conference showcased, I am betting on the success of the home team.

Leslie Murphy
President & CEO, Murphy Consulting
and Member, United Way Women's Initiative

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, monthly enewsletter, Womens_Initiative

Economic stimulus checks began hitting bank accounts this month and many families are deciding how to best use the added bump to their incomes. We’ve come up with 10 options for spending your rebate check.

The options that follow could help you and your family move closer to financial independence by getting rid of debt, paying for an education or meeting vital basic needs.

1. Pay down debt. Debt is one of the biggest obstacles to financial independence. Give serious consideration to paying down credit card or student loan debt. Americans have doubled their debt over the past decade to $2.5 trillion (this excludes mortgage-related debt). The sooner you eradicate your debt, the sooner you can build assets, which will put you on the road to financial stability.
2. Apply toward mortgage principal. Consider making an extra payment to your principal. Although the short-term benefit may seem small the impact over 30 years could result in noticeable mortgage interest savings.
3. Avoid fees and get your whole check. If you don’t have a bank account, avoid cashing your rebate check at check cashing outlets that aren’t affiliated with a financial institution because they will charge high fees that eat into your rebate. Wal-Mart is offering the opportunity to cash your check for free at their stores and no purchase is necessary. Once you do this, you should also consider our next option...
4. Get banked. More than 28 million Americans do not have a bank account and an additional 44.7 million are under-banked, hindering them from becoming financially stable. If you are one of millions without a bank account, consider starting a savings account with your rebate. If you have a bank account, consider directing some or all of your rebate toward beefing up your rainy day fund.
5. Start (or add to) your child’s college fund. Individuals who are college educated are likely to make $1 million more in their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma. Help your child attain a full education and be better prepared to succeed in life.
6. Build you retirement nest egg. If you plan to stop working at some point you need to put money away. The money you invest in your retirement today is going to carry you even further down the road when the interest in your investment grows. Consider a Roth IRA or other investment vehicle.
7. Further your education. Have you been thinking about finishing a degree or receiving training in a different career field? Use your rebate toward that goal and in turn you can increase your employability.
8. Support others in need. If you have all you need, consider helping others thrive by donating some of your rebate to United Way.
9. Update your home. A home is a person’s greatest financial asset, so it’s important to keep it in good condition. Many home improvement stores are offering discounts if you use your rebate check toward merchandise.
10. Take advantage of retail savings. Once you have carefully covered all of your savings, investing and charitable giving bases consider taking advantage of discounts retailers are currently offering to consumers in hopes of getting some of their stimulus cash. National and local retailers are offering discounts, gift cards and other incentives to get you to shop. Now may not be a bad time to take advantage of the extra buying power to get clothes for the children or an item you really need.

Labels: Financial Stability, monthly enewsletter

The issue of dropout prevention has moved to the forefront of the educational component of United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Agenda for Change. This is not a signal that we value early childhood education any less or that our grade-level reading initiative, Operation ABC has taken a back seat. In fact, graduation rates are clearly tied to the availability and quality of early childhood education opportunities and Operation ABC is alive and well as grade-level reading is a predictor of high school completion and post-secondary education success.

Click here to continue reading.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, Employee Voices, monthly enewsletter, Research

For most families, a home is the largest investment they have. But too many families are struggling in these tough times to make mortgage payments.

As part of our financial stability work, United Way is teaming up with a group of community partners to help local homeowners get some relief. We are hosting two seminars that deal with navigating credit and foreclosure issues in order to avoid falling into the trap of foreclosure.

Home owners will learn money management strategies to protect their home and gain financial independence, including smart budgeting, credit and debt management and steps needed to avoid mortgage delinquency and foreclosure. If you are struggling to make payments each month, the experts on hand will also help you locate options to make it more manageable for you.

You will not be required to share personal financial information at these seminars. At the conclusion of the seminar you will have the opportunity to discuss your individual situation with mortgage and money management professionals.

Both seminars are free and open to the public, but reservations are advised because space is limited. Please call Stephanie at 248.370.9440 to reserve your spot today.

Join us:

Thursday, May 22, 6 p.m.
Oakland County Credit Union
1375 N. Oakland Blvd.
Waterford, MI

This seminar is hosted by T&C Federal Credit Union, GreenPath Debt Solutions, Oakland County Housing Counseling and United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Wednesday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.
Auburn Hills Community Center
1827 N. Squirrel Rd.
Auburn Hills, MI

This seminar is hosted by Cornerstone Community Financial, GreenPath Debt Solutions, Oakland County Housing Counseling, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the City of Auburn Hills.

Labels: Financial Stability, monthly enewsletter

Six individuals and two groups were honored with awards during United Way’s annual Volunteer Recognition Program May 20. The awards recognize volunteers from organized labor, youth, young adults, groups and companies who have made a difference in southeast Michigan.

The winners are:

• Bernie Firestone Labor Award
  Theresa Hawley-Pace and Terry Harden of UAW Local 594, for creation of the Caring and Sharing Program, which collects bicycles for children in need to enjoy
• Exemplary Group Service Award
  Chrysler Women’s Forum, for its work helping children get their basic needs met and preparing them to succeed in school
• Heart of Gold Award
  Terry Grahl, for helping women in transitional housing facilities enjoy a better living environment
• Heart of Gold Award
  Bob York, for helping families get their basic needs met after a devastating house fire
• Outstanding Business Award
  UPS, for numerous services provided to St. Francis Family Center in Southfield
• Outstanding Youth Award
  Lauren King, for helping individuals and families prepare their tax returns, and claim important refunds and credits in the process
• Young Adult Award of Excellence
  Adam Harris, for volunteer leadership during United Way’s Alternative Spring Break projects in both Louisiana and southeast Michigan

For the first time, all nominees had to submit a short video, in which they discuss their volunteer service and explain why they should be considered for an award. The nominations were narrowed down to two semi-finalists in each category and then featured on United Way’s Web site. The community was invited to view the videos and to help select winners. During National Volunteer Week, more than 3,500 votes were cast.

Labels: civic engagement, monthly enewsletter

Several dozen people got together at the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago recently to learn more about a partnership aimed at helping under-served populations in our region become financially stable.

The event was the first CEO Breakfast held by the Alliance for Economic Inclusion, of which United Way for Southeastern Michigan is a partner, and it was intended to encourage more executives of area banks and credit unions to get involved in a coordinated effort to bring the un-banked and under-banked back into the financial mainstream. Representatives from 11 institutions attended, and they heard discussions on potential products and services for low- and moderate-income households. UWSEM President and CEO Michael Brennan opened the session by stressing that reaching out to these populations is the right thing to do. These consumers too frequently turn to payday lenders and check cashing outlets that charge high fees. In fact, the Center for Financial Services Innovation reports that Americans spend at least $10.9 billion on more than 324 million alternative financial transactions a year.

Click here to continue reading.

Labels: Financial Stability, monthly enewsletter

The failure of high schools has taken a huge toll on our state. A recent Johns Hopkins University study revealed that 73 high schools in Michigan have graduated less than 60 percent of their freshmen class for three straight years.

The problem is serious and it's not just an "urban" issue. Only half of the schools identified as troubled are located in larger cities, including 22 in Detroit. Another 12 schools are in Detroit suburbs, and 40 others are scattered around the state in small towns, including districts with strong financial support.

Listen to the standard line and you would believe money is a central barrier to school transformation. The real issue is one of public will.

Click here to continue reading.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, One D

In the national disaster of failing urban schools, Alecia McWilliams is at Ground Zero.
And she is amazing. More than a survivor, she is a remarkable success in circumstances that breed failure. She did not disappear from the school system, as so many children like her do. She persevered as she was shuttled between relatives and foster homes and more than 10 schools in 12 years.

And now, a month from graduating as valedictorian of an east-side charter school, Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences High School, she must be heard. Her experience, her commitment, can be building blocks for others.

"I remember specifically a friend of the family telling me: I don't know how you're going to make it without your mother," Alecia told me. "You're going to be pregnant at 16, you're going to drop out of school, you ain't going to do nothing with yourself."

What a message to give a child. But Alecia didn't crumble. "I could hear that in my ear the whole time. It matured me, and it motivated me to say, 'OK, I'm going to show you different. One day I'm going to have you speechless.' "

Alecia was 9 when her mother died from drugs and complications of HIV. Her father remains in her life but has struggled with his own demons.

So Alecia, now 18, found her self shuttled between temporary foster homes and a parade of aunts, uncles and grandparents. In fact, she tracks her life less in years than by the schools she has attended.

How easily Alecia's name could have been added to vast rolls of dropouts in Detroit, as her three older sisters were. But she kept going, pushed by her faith, her teachers and an aunt named Gwen.

"Life has not broken her," said Jill Thomas-Bowens, Alecia's English teacher. "A student like Alecia, all she needs is a chance and a few champions."

Her struggle will not end on graduation day, June 16. While Alecia carries a 3.95 GPA, her ACT score was just 17, and Thomas-Bowens worries about her needing to seek extra help in college and finding mentors.

She also needs enough of a financial aid package to cover tuition at Michigan State University, Wayne State University or Olivet College. She has been accepted at all three, but counselors have had to scramble to resolve a glitch in her assistance forms.

Faith will not let Alecia fret.

"I know I'm going to college," she said.

"Before my grandmother died, she taught me to believe in goals, God and the 91st Psalm," she said, referring to a Bible passage about faith. "It's not that I'm the smartest; I just have a goal, and I have God on my side."

There's a word for young people like Alecia: resilient.

They are the girls and boys who come to school already skilled at survival. Imagine the fortitude it takes for a child from a struggling environment to keep showing up, despite family histories of failure and friends who find it acceptable to quit.

Too bad most schools aren't equipped to leverage that raw skill set or to recognize how a hard home life doesn't steal or twist all the strengths of a child.

"If you just have somebody to listen to you, it makes you keep going," Alecia said.

Teachers have the desire to reach out, but few have the flexibility to take their eye off the demands of the classroom long enough to go deep with one child. But there are more Alecias out there, more building blocks for the younger children behind them.

They should be honored -- and they could be trained as citywide, on-site school leaders and mentors. They can be enlisted to help people who care retake a failing school system.

Sounds big, maybe even impossible. But don't tell Alecia McWilliams about daunting odds. Let her tell you how to beat them.

NICHOLE M. CHRISTIAN is an editorial writer. Contact her at 313-222-6456 or nchristian@freepress.com.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness

The real question is why are students leaving school before graduation? Although
I believe that as a community it is our responsibility to compel children to
attend school until graduation or at least to the age of 18, forcing attendance
without supporting the students' education and growth by attending to individual
challenges is a waste of time and educational dollars, and fosters frustration
in the student as well as the teachers. Knowing why a student needs to leave or
wants to leave gives us the groundwork to serve that student properly and
encourage success after high school.

Kathryn Bedikian, 44, Wyandotte, nurse-midwife, U-M Women's Hospital, and Wyandotte school board member

I agree that we should value education so much in Michigan that the dropout age should be raised to 18. However, before I would vote for this change, I would want to see how the state would pay for this. School districts are already pinching every penny. Trying to keep a 16-year-old in traditional school is futile and costly. There would need to be an alternative setting for these students so they could continue their education.

Patricia Kolodziejski Kilby, 55, Rochester Hills, teacher

Schools must offer different curriculums for different students. Some brilliant
kids quit at 16 because they are bored and others could stay until they are 25
and never get it. Readin', writin' and 'rithmatic are the basics needed to
function in our society; however, all kids need to get training to get a job.
Schools must offer something for all kids.

Bill Belcher, 67, Farmington Hills, mortgage loan officer

Keeping kids in school is a valiant goal, but if it means tolerating the
atrocious behavior of a virtual prisoner, it just isn't worth it. Every defiant
student poisons a classroom. Let them go their own way, and they'll often come
back to school anyway, more cooperative this time.

Daniel Propson, 29, Detroit, high school English teacher

JOIN "FIX IT FAST": The Free Press sends a "Fix It Fast" question each week to a group of readers. If you'd like to be on a panel, send an e-mail to fixitfast@freepress.com with your name, age, hometown and any background or expertise that might make you well suited for certain issues.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, InTheNews

Changes aim to improve each classroom
BY CONNIE K. CALLOWAY • May 4, 2008

This is an exciting time for Detroit Public Schools.

Over the next weeks and months, educators, community leaders, teachers, staff and parents will review data to work on new educational designs to enhance rigor, relevance and relationships for our students. With the strong support of foundations and agencies, including the Skillman Foundation and United Way, we plan to have one campus ready to go for the upcoming school year.

There is a growing discussion across Detroit surrounding community-wide awareness and ownership of the need to create data-driven educational models that assure that our children will succeed academically and graduate with skills that will support the future growth and vitality of our city and region.

All of our principals now have complete reports on their schools' academic, demographic, student conduct, enrollment and graduation data. We've also created a glossary of terms to assure that all participants can use the Language of Achievement.

As an example, the data report for one of the schools we are reviewing indicates it is a high school that did not make annual yearly progress in English/Language Arts or mathematics. Its AYP history from 2004-05 to present shows that it has moved from Phase 2 to Phase 4, and its Michigan School Report Card history shows that this school has received a "D-Alert" grade in each of the three past years.

A more rigorous curriculum means increasing the level of challenge in our academic standards. Academic rigor incorporates competitive proficiency levels in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts and technology required for success beyond high school. Relevance is to better address the need of the employment market, to better prepare DPS graduates to enter the workforce at skill levels needed to move our city and state forward. Building sustained positive relationships between students and educators is key to increasing the graduation rate, maintaining student engagement, and course completion.

Our actions will significantly move Detroit Public Schools toward the AAA Schools model, where everyone is held accountable, is expected to add value, which will result in increased academic achievement for our students, thus positively impacting the communities we serve. This paradigm shift filters every school function through the lens of effective instruction, what is best for each child.

Models in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Providence and elsewhere are working and give hope for this initiative. Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposal for smaller high schools, which aims to reduce the dropout rate and requires partners in the process, creates an opportunity for Detroit to step forward to submit multiple proposals for this funding.

Remember, the heart of instruction is what takes place in the classrooms of this district.

Teaching and learning are the most important business of DPS. Please take care of the children; they are our investment in our future.

CONNIE CALLOWAY is superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools. Write to her in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, InTheNews

Stop treating dismal graduation rates like a hot potato; all involved need to bite into the challenge
The children deserve better. The taxpayers are entitled to more. Society needs dramatically improved results. Everybody agrees this situation cannot continue.

And so the problem of staggering high school dropout rates, acute in Detroit but not exclusive to the city, can no longer be passed around like a game of hot potato. It's time for all the stakeholders -- and who isn't? -- to take a bite. Otherwise, we will continue to spend money without solving problems that just cost more money, because kids who quit school are the most likely to have children they can't afford and to end up in prison.

Think of Detroit Public Schools as a $1.3-billion enterprise and ask yourself: What enterprise would tolerate the utter failure of 22 of its 27 divisions, and for how long, without an urgent overhaul? Yet students in 22 of Detroit's 27 high schools are failing to meet minimum state benchmarks for progress. Three-quarters of the students who start high school don't finish.
And it has been going on for a long time. The social costs are beyond computing. There's no point anymore in trying to figure out who's responsible for DPS sliding into this mess. What's needed are urgent resolve and engagement. Michigan cannot afford thousands of undereducated, unskilled people in its largest city. The children entering the DPS system deserve to be on a track to productive citizenship.

The sound of change can be heard, at least, in DPS Superintendent Connie Calloway's candor about the district's failings and her call for smaller, themed high schools to replace the chronic failures.

But Calloway needs parental involvement, staff support and community allies.

Many potential allies met late last month at a two-day dropout-prevention summit cosponsored by the America's Promise Alliance, the organization founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, which chose Detroit to kick off a series of 50 summits nationwide on dropout prevention.
Summits aren't a solution, but they can explore policy initiatives for schools and community groups to push forward together.

Four that would help in Detroit and other high-dropout districts:

• Managing teacher morale: Calloway could blaze a trail if she agreed to bring the Detroit Federation of Teachers to the table now, at the outset of change. Teachers are the foot soldiers in this struggle. Surely they would all rather be working in successful schools. They have legitimate issues to raise, just as Calloway has legitimate concerns about losing certified and nationally recognized teachers to other districts or states.

• Put a spotlight on attendance: Starting in middle school, it's possible to spot a likely dropout just by tracking attendance patterns. Eighth-graders who miss more than five weeks of school have a 75% chance of dropping out of high school, but too many absences go unnoticed. Computerized attendance gives schools the technology to do better at tracking students, and more resources must also be invested in tracking them down when they are missing. Education officials need to devise a coordinated way to use attendance data to identify students headed for trouble before they hit high school. The data also will show which of the middle schools feeding Detroit's high schools are failing students, too.

• Personalizing freshman year: Ninth grade is critical. Students who start high school having failed math or English in middle school are especially at risk of dropping out. High school principals should be empowered to customize ninth-grade academics, providing early remedial intervention as part of a protective support ring. Ideally, a mentor -- a student, graduate, parent or staff member -- would be assigned, on the promise to help the student complete that critical first year. Sound outlandishly costly? Remember the cost of losing the kid to the streets.

One D, the umbrella group for six leading civic organizations in the region, will unveil an action plan at the Detroit Regional Chamber conference later this month on Mackinac Island based on findings from the dropout summit. It should include nontraditional engagement with students. What if, for example, local companies chose a ninth-grade class to adopt at one troubled school for a year? The relationship could be as simple as pairing students with adult mentors or committing to help educate students for future job opportunities.

• Expanded early college enrollment: According to a study by the Bill Gates Foundation, 75% of ninth- and tenth-grade dropouts blamed a lack of motivation and boredom for quitting school. What better incentives to offer than a chance to jump-start their earnings potential? Dropouts, on average, earn, $9,200 less per year than high school graduates.

Michigan has a number of early-college high schools up and running. They allow students either to take a college level course or simultaneously to earn a diploma and an associate's degree.
Increasing partnership between school districts and community colleges should be a legislative priority.

None of these ideas alone can move the needle. They are starting points. But nothing gets started at all without a broad-based commitment to end one of Michigan's greatest and most costly failings.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, InTheNews

BY MICHAEL F. TENBUSCH • May 4, 2008

For the past 40 years, public high schools in urban America have been easy to understand.

To paraphrase Jack Nicholson, "Just think of any other business, and then take away accountability and reason."

The failure of urban high schools has taken a huge toll here in Michigan and in Detroit. One study revealed that there are 73 high schools in Michigan that have graduated less than 60% of their freshmen class for three straight years.

Twenty-two are in Detroit, 12 are in its suburbs, and another 40 are spread around the state. High school dropouts are eight times more likely than high school graduates to end up in jail, and 75% of all prison inmates are dropouts. Clearly, our failure to build high schools that work has forced us to build prisons.

It doesn't need to be this way.

Thanks in part to No Child Left Behind, in part to hundreds of millions of dollars invested by the Gates Foundation, and in large part to the pioneering spirit of those who rightly view this as the civil rights issue of our time, high-performing high schools have popped up in high-poverty areas of America in the last five years -- graduating 80% or more of their freshman classes, in stark contrast to the schools they replaced that had graduation rates ranging from 20%-40%.

We know what works. According to Mass Insight, which analyzed successful strategies in districts like Boston and New York that turned student achievement around, principals must be given control over the people, budget and programs in their buildings -- and in turn they must be held accountable for ensuring that their students meet high but realistic expectations.
Schools have been run on the "Friends, Family and Neighborhood Plan" for too long, and this arbitrary hiring and contracting process has led to an entrenched view of the inviolability of seniority rights. Both must change.

This is not to say unions are the problem. Instead, unions must be invited to the table at every turn, and they must embrace their role as agents of social change. In New York, the teachers union played a leadership role in creating the conditions necessary for success, and high school graduation rates across the city shot up 10% in just three years.

Schools must also partner with an educational intermediary -- that is, a nonprofit organization with a proven record of improving student achievement.

Finally, this work cannot be done one school at a time. Clusters of schools must work together in a collaborative and competitive manner to lift up best practices until excellence becomes the norm.

The end result is smaller, more personalized schools and classes with a safer and more effective environment for teachers and students.

Thus, the question is not how to turn schools around, but whether we have the will. Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in proposing legislation for the Schools of the 21st Century Fund, has answered the call. Dr. Connie Calloway, Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, demonstrates daily that she is in her position to lead that turnaround. She talks candidly and consistently about the dismal student achievement rates in Detroit's general admissions high schools, and she is putting the people and resources in place to launch and execute a comprehensive turnaround plan.

The unions must play a leading role in that plan, and Virginia Cantrell, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, has the vision and fortitude to do this. Her members must support her, and research consistently shows teachers overwhelmingly have more job satisfaction working in high-performing schools than in the dysfunctional ones.

There is too much to gain, and too much to lose, to tinker around the edges any longer. We must get this done. We can get it done.

MICHAEL F. TENBUSCH is vice president for education preparedness at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and a former board member of the Detroit Public Schools. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.

Labels: Educational_Preparedness, Employee Voices, InTheNews

As the economic stimulus checks start going out and the IRS continues their efforts to reach individuals who may still be eligible for these payments, be aware that scam artists are actively making the rounds using the proposed rebates as bait. The most recent scams brought to IRS attention are described below.

Rebate Phone Call
At least one scheme using the word “rebate” as part of the lure has been identified. In that scam, consumers receive a phone call from someone identifying himself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller then states that he needs the target’s bank account information for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told that he cannot receive the rebate.

Refund e-mail
The IRS has seen several variations of a refund-related bogus e-mail which falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information that the scamsters can then use to access the e-mail recipient’s bank or credit card account.

Audit e-mail
Using a technique calculated to get almost anyone’s attention, the e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond. This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

Changes to Tax Law e-Mail
This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants and “Treasury” managers. It instructs them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links to publications on businesses, estate taxes, excise taxes, exempt organizations and IRAs and other retirement plans.

Paper Check Phone Call
In a current telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check to the individual being called. The caller states that because the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual’s bank account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

What to Do
Those who have received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS may forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to receive such e-mails, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions contained in an article titled How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes. Following the instructions will help the IRS track the suspicious e-mail to its origins and shut down the scam.

Those who have received a questionable telephone call that claims to come from the IRS may also use the phishing@irs.gov mailbox to notify the IRS of the scam.

Labels: Financial Stability