“He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts” — Samuel Johnson, 18th century English essayist. * City officials in Birmingham want lawmakers to change Michigan’s open-carry law to bar weapons in council chambers: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120814/NEWS02/120814008/Birmingham-seeks-ban-guns-public-buildings?odyssey=nav%7Chead * Disease is taking its […]
charter schools
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“You can’t know too much, but you can say too much” — Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States, 1923-1929. * The operator of a charter school for Muskegon Heights promises a public meeting a bunch of big changes. Among them: “school days will be longer – 7 ½ hours”; the school year “will include […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“They used to say that knowledge is power. I used to think so, but I now know that they mean money” — Lord Byron, 19th century English poet. * The first charter-school program got legislative authorization in Minnesota 20 years ago. Its author writes in Education Week to dispel myths about the formative years of […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Report: Charters spend less in classrooms
Michigan charter schools spend $1,141 less per student on instruction than traditional public schools, and $774 more per pupil on administration, according to a newly released study by professors at Michigan State Universityand the University of Utah. The study examines spending data for all charter schools and public school districts in the state, and attempts […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Arizona offers balmy climes to charter schools
If charter schools are poised to grow in Michigan, they’ve already exploded in Arizona. Neighboring California leads the nation in sheer numbers of charter schools, but Arizona has everyone beat on percentages – a quarter of Arizona’s public schools are charters, growth that accelerated after the state lifted its charter cap in 1999. “We had […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Charter schools: Different road, but still bumpy
Nearly 20 years into the experiment, public-school academies — charter schools, as they are more popularly known — would appear a rousing success. An enthusiastic Michigan Legislature, as part of a comprehensive reform package, lifted the state cap on charters late last year. The charter ranks, now at 255 schools, can start growing next year […]
Posted inTalent & Education
School virtual; learning real
When high school senior Makenzi Leinhert had a schedule conflict last year, she didn’t have to make the choice between core classes or electives. Instead, her counselor suggested she take an online algebra course to fulfill a requirement and open up her schedule for other face-to-face courses. “When I took Algebra 2 online, my mom […]
Posted inTalent & Education
A school with one foot in the old country
Most of the Michigan charter schools you’re reading about in Bridge this week are relative newcomers to the field, with all but one founded in or after the mid-1990s, when charters, or public school academies, were established by the state legislature. The exception is the AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School in Southfield, which was […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Charter math winners make it count
At the International Academy of Saginaw, math is taught through a proprietary curriculum of the school’s management company, SABIS. Called “Teach-Practice-Check,” it’s “really just good teaching,” said Justin Doughty, director. Material is taught, practiced as a group, practiced individually and checked for mastery. Advanced students are christened “prefects” and enlisted to help slower peers. Doughty said […]
Posted inTalent & Education
The champs in charters
Twenty-three Michigan charter school campuses claimed at least a tie for a championship in one of eight academic categories in Bridge Magazine’s Academic Charter State Championships for the 2010-11 school year. Champion districts are listed in alphabetical order. Below the winners, you will find a searchable database of all charter school results in the eight […]