"Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace!" (Digital Learning Model)

Schools of Choice bill coming

Legislature likely to get proposal this week as foes from Detroit, suburbs gear for fight

By CECIL ANGEL FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

   An education reform package that includes mandatory Schools of Choice and cyber schools could be introduced in the state Legislature as early as Wednesday, the chairman of the state Senate Education Committee said.

   “It’s a good possibility on Wednesday, the 24th, we’ll have part of the package ready for introduction,” said state Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township.

   The education package also addresses charter school caps and school aid. The package is part of Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed “Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace” public school learning model.

   Education Committee hearings on the package will begin Sept. 7, Pavlov said.

   Mandatory Schools of Choice is emerging as the most controversial part of the education package.

   Opposition is strong in the heavily Republican Grosse Pointes. In heavily Democratic Detroit, three legislators have said they are opposed to state-mandated Schools of Choice because, they said, it will negatively impact Detroit Public Schools.

   “I don’t want the state to help usher children from one community to another at the expense of the community where they are,” said state Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, whose district includes the Grosse Pointes and part of Detroit.

   State Sen. Coleman A. Young II, D-Detroit, said every proposal out of Lansing that was supposed to help DPS has hurt it. He cited the 1999 state takeover that was supposed to improve the district academically.

   At the time, the district had 180,000 students, a $93-million fund balance and a $1.5-billion bond project. Under state control, DPS wound up with a $200-million deficit, he said.

   “I don’t think the state should be imposing another mandate on the city or any other city,” Young said.

   State Rep. Lisa Howze, D-Detroit, said mandatory Schools of Choice “would further impact DPS’s ability to stabilize.”

   Last week, the Grosse Pointe Woods City Council passed a resolution against mandated Schools of Choice.

   The Grosse Pointe Woods-based Michigan Communities For Local Control has set up a Web site at www.miclc.com   and is contacting other school districts to build opposition.

   Peter Spadafore, assistant director of government relations for the Michigan Association of School Boards, said the MASB has been talking with the Snyder administration and legislators about the bill.

   Based on the ongoing discussion, the bill likely will include “universal choice K-12 up to capacity. The problem is how to define capacity,” he said.

   Spadafore said the MASB is opposed to mandatory Schools of Choice. “We feel that decision should be made by the local school district,” he said. “By mandating Schools of Choice, it’s just a solution looking for a problem.”

21st Century Digital Learning Environments & Studios (2)

2nd Annual Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival (A BIG Hit!)

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Models our Practice (Real-World Learning by Doing!)

Sunday: August 14, 2011 12:00PM to 2:00PM (Channel #4 MSNBC A Stronger America: "Making the Grade")

Clickondetroit.com
http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/28851709/index.html

2nd Annual Harsen's Island Bluegrass Festival TODAY!

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21st Century Digital Learning Environments & Studios

Mark YOUR Calendars (Can't Miss!)

FOR IMMEDITATE RELEASE
Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival Returns    Festival Fast Facts...  ~ Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival  ~ Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 Noon - 9 p.m.   ~ Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, 2669 Columbine Road, Harsens Island, Mich. 48028 ~ Featuring Outstanding Regional Bluegrass Bands  & a Bluegrass Jam ~ Local vendors and food celebrating a back-to-basics lifestyle  ~ Admision is $20, Kids under 12 FREE - proceeds to Harsens Island Lions Club with proceeds going to to the Harsens Island Lions Club Family Emergency Fund, Readers Cove Island library and the Schoolhouse Grille Scholarship Fund for Island residents ~ Tickets are on sale online and at select local businesses  ~ Online Tickets@ http://2011harsensislandbluegrassfestival.eventbrite.com/ ~ Parking is FREE ~ Producer: Kate Hart, 810-748-3204, katehart@speakeasy.net ~ Media Contact: Peggy Blue 586-291-2018, bluehorizonmedia@gmail.com   Bluegrass Festival has something for everyone  (HARSENS ISLAND, MICH - JULY 22) -- You don't have to look like George Clooney in the movie Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? - long, fuzzy beard and tweed cap - or dress like Jed Clampett from "The Beverly Hillbillies" to enjoy a little old-time Bluegrass music. If you love a lively tune, enjoy a bit of dancing or just like tapping your foot to the beat, you're qualified to become a bona fide Bluegrass fan. So grab your kinfolk and come on out, 'cause the Second Annual Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival is almost upon us! The Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival will play out on the playground of the former two-room schoolhouse Saturday, Aug. 13 from noon until 9 p.m. The old school, now home of Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, is located at 2669 Columbine.Tickets are $20, with proceeds going to island charities.  A ferry ride away from Algonac and just across the river from Canada, the festival offers close-to-home fun for families with a full day of music by great regional bluegrass bands, slow-roasted barbecue beef and veggies, plus organic, natural and handcrafted goods from vendors in a beautiful island setting. Festival producer Kate Hart was drawn to the island for its natural beauty and historic charm. After more than 40 years on the road traveling with the best in blues, Hart - a Grammy-nominated blues singer and songwriter - settled on Harsens Island three years ago with her husband Joe Veler. "This island instantly makes you feel connected to nature," explained Hart. "It is absolutely breathtaking here. We love it and wanted to share the experience with others. For us, music is a way of connecting. That's how this festival came about." Kristin and Tony Bane, the owners of the Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, quickly adopted Hart's vision and began work to transform the playground into the perfect festival grounds and plan a mouth-watering menu. Festival goers seemed to love the result. Nearly a thousand Islanders and visitors came out last August and had a foot-tapping, thigh-slapping good time. Families spent the day listening to the music while enjoying ice cream cones and kettle corn. Others stopped in after church and strolled the old schoolyard, catching up with old friends. Still others shopped at the vendor show, picking up paintings, handcrafted flutes, pottery and jewelry. And island resident John Horvath worked with the Banes, slow-roasting beef on an open flame filling the air with an aroma that made the mouth water in anticipation. And now they're ready to do it all again! 	GET TICKETS: Online @ Eventbrite.com Just click the image above. Or visit one of these convenient locations... Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille 2669 Columbine Road, Harsens Island, MI 48028  Delta Hardware 3062 S. Channel Dr. Harsens Island, MI 48028 The Spiritwear Shop 5297 Pointe Tremble Rd Algonac, MI 48001  Sue's Coffee House 201 N Riverside Ave St Clair, MI 48079  Holistic Voice Institute 2769 Coolidge Berkley, MI 48072 An arial view of the island.    An Island Paradise  For those who've never beenthere, Harsens Island is a real surprise. Only about an hour from Detroit or Port Huron, the Lake St. Clair island feels like a secluded rural island teeming with wildlife -swans, ducks, foxes, deer, raccoons, even an American Bald Eagle has a nest there. Its crystal waterways and canals are dotted with quaint wood-framed cottages and elegant Victorian homes. The only way to access the island is a  ferry ride (in your car!) or traveling by boat. The ferry ride across is $7.
It's About the Music! Organizers have worked hard to find the best regional bluegrass bands around. So count on the air sizzling with lively traditional bluegrass and a bit of gritty newgrass. At the end of the day, festival goers will be invited to join in a jam session entitled Jammin' With Jerry's Kids, which is a tribute to Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead.   Hart said the jam session was added as a way to draw the crowds further into the music. Each of the bands is expected to play a tribute to Garcia or the Dead. If crowds choose to jam too, Hart said she'll be pleased. "We'd love it if people brought their instruments and joined in," Hart said. "Bluegrass really lends itself to improvisation. From the music to the food to the vendors, this festival will be organic - growing naturally into whatever it is supposed to be."   Goldmine Pickers Goldmine Pickers is a young, passionate, four-piece band weaving together roots and inspiration in bluegrass, jazz, folk and Irish traditions to create an energetic new space in Americana music. With memorable acoustic performances, the group has mesmorized audiences in intimate clubs and expansive concert halls; at festivals and on live radio shows with inspiring interplay between guitar, mandolin,upright bass, a fiery fiddler and soaring, heartfelt vocal harmonies. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN Bill Bynum & Co. With songs both traditional and original, and a sound that's at once as comfortable as old jeans and as fresh as a new blade of grass, Bill Bynum & Co. is a band that's easy to love and hard to quit. The band's core of guitar, pedal steel, fiddle, bass and harmony vocals can lean into country, veer toward bluegrass, or take listeners on a unique journey through Bill's original songs. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN   Lonesome County Back by popular demand, Lonesome County, has long been known as Michigan's finest bluegrass band and one of the finest anywhere. They have been garnering loads of attention since their 2002 inception. From concert halls to many large bluegrass festivals throughout the U.S., they can be found playing their distinctive style of bluegrass - a lively mixture of traditional Bill Monroe style music to energetic originals. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN    New County Grass This quartet out of the Flint area -yes Flint -bangs out hard-driving traditional bluegrass music with a  Nine Pound Hammer and still has plenty of energy left to create cutting edge originals. One festival critic says New County Grass is a band with "one of the most eclectic blends of modern and traditional bluegrass to take the stage" in years. Since their inception three years ago, the band has been playing festivals around the Midwest and has released its first CD - Start the Whole Thing Over. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN    VENDOR VILLAGE Hart made a concerted effort to attract vendors and artists who celebrate a back-to-nature, hand-crafted or organic lifestyle. The result has been pretty impressive. Below is a sampling of some of our vendors.   Photography by Island resident Brenda Thomas focuses on natural beauty. Award-winning collectible - or usable - handmade fishing lures by Ron Cracchiolo. And yes, the ones meant for fishing catch some impressive fish! Check out www.bluewaterbait.com to see more lures and the fish they helped catch.   Distinctive, custom-made jewelry and crystal writing instruments by Debbie Irvine and gorgeous pieces made by another talented artisan - Michelle Yinger - will be available at the festival.   Watercolor paintings, photographs and notecards by Mary Jo Beranek and pottery by Sondra Maryon focus on natural beauty and whimsy. Be sure to bring some extra spending money because not every vendor accepts credit cards and you don't want to miss an opportunity!	OUR SPONSORS         Sunset Harbor Marina 1784 N. Channel Drive    Harsens Island, MI 48028 810-748-3082 Planning on coming to the festival by boat? Call Sunset for information on a slip for the day. Trolley service will take you from Sunset to the HarsensIsland Schoolhouse Grille.   Preferred Charters  3233 Dove Road Port Huron, MI 48060 (810) 982-7433    This year, in addition to theTrolley transportation from the Ferry, Preferred Charters is offering Festival Packages with rides from Port Huron, St. Clair and MarineCity for $30, including festival ticket. Call today to make your reservations.     Spiritwear Shop  5297 Pointe Tremble Rd  Algonac,  MI 48001  810-956-9032    Holistic Voice Institute  2769 Coolidge  Berkley, MI 48072  248-460-356  UPDATES We'll be posting regular updates about the festival on Facebook. So won't you 'Like' our page?

Just one example of an universally organic pedagogical learning environment

The GELT-ART of the LINCHPIN!

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LINCHPIN by Seth Godin





A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced—her role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide. 

No surprises there—that’s exactly what one would expect Seth to say. But here’s where it gets interesting. 

In his best-known book, Purple Cow, Seth’s message was, “Everyone’s a marketer now.” In All Marketers Are Liars, his message was, “Everyone’s a storyteller now.” InTribes, his message was, “Everyone’s a leader now.” 

And from Linchpin? 

"Everyone’s an artist now." 

By Seth’s definition, an artist is not just some person who messes around with paint and brushes, an artist is somebody who does (and I LOVE this term) “emotional work.” 

Work that you put your heart and soul into. Work that matters. Work that you gladly sacrifice all other alternatives for. As a working artist and cartoonist myself, I know exactly what he means. It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it. 

The only people who have a hope of becoming linchpins in any organization, who have any hope of changing anything for the better in real terms, are those who have the capacity to do “emotional work” at a high level—to be true artists at whatever they set their minds on doing. The guys who just plod around the office corridors, just turning up for their paycheck.... Well, those guys don’t have a prayer, poor things. The world is just too interesting and competitive now. 

And Seth then challenges us, the readers, to become linchpins ourselves. To make the leap. To become artists. To do emotional work, whatever the sacrifice may be. It’s our choice, and it’s our burden. Seth won’t be there to catch us if we fall, but to become the people we need to be eventually, well, we probably wouldn’t want him to, anyway. 

Congratulations, Seth. You have penned a real gem of a book here. Rock on. 

--Hugh MacLeod

Student-Centric, Entrepreneurial, Innovative Empowerment (That's WHAT We're Talking About)

Snyder builds DPS a new model and hope

   
MACKINAC ISLAND — So, is DPS dead?

   Gov. Rick Snyder had an answer Thursday to the simple but daunting question posed in a Free Press story earlier this week.

   It was yes. And no.

   And despite the inherent tension in that reply, I think Snyder — who just appointed a second emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools — might be pushing the city toward its best possible hope for having sustainable, high-performing options in public education.

   Yes, DPS is dead in the sense that the current system is insolvent and unsustainable. The system is still hemorrhaging students and, as a result, millions of dollars. And no one could effect the kind of dramatic cuts to match falling revenues without destroying the district’s ability to deliver fundamental services to children .

   But no, Snyder also said, public education is not dead in Detroit. Far from it.

   What he hopes former GM executive Roy Roberts will do as EFM is redefine and, as a result, revitalize it outside the restrictive framework of the old-style school district.

   Encouraging innovation

   In Snyder’s ideal, all schools in Detroit would be created around sets of individual principles and ideas, by committed groups of educators, parents, community groups and whoever else wants to get involved. They’d all be “charter schools,” in the sense of being constituted around the models they chose.

   Some might be existing public schools. Some could be charters.

   They’d have remarkable freedom to implement their models, try new things, pursue innovation. But the key is that they’d be held accountable for student performance — either locally under a new school governance structure or by the state, if that’s where they were chartered.

   Snyder says the education reform plans that he announced last month will be tough on schools that operate under the state’s charter law, and if they don’t deliver, “they can lose their charters.”

   Focus on results

   This is what Snyder means when he talks about creating a “system of schools” to replace Detroit’s school system. He’s describing something that’s focused much more on results than on governance. It’s a system that would not look much like what the city has now.

   There are already some promising examples — the schools that were taken over by the United Way in 2008; the new public charters announced by DPS last week. But growing such models to serve all the city’s children is more than a difference of scale; it’s also a question of substance.

   There is still very little market incentive for anyone to take on responsibility for educating the city’s poorest and most isolated children.

   This plan also depends heavily on Snyder being successful in changing how the state evaluates, rewards and metes out consequences for schools. Michigan does an awful job of that right now.

   If he can work through the kinks, Snyder’s vision could offer real hope for public education in Detroit.

   And at this point, it’s the only hope I see on the horizon.

   • STEPHEN HENDERSON IS EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR FOR THE FREE PRESS. CONTACT HIM ATSHENDERSON600@FREEPRESS.COM  , OR AT 313-222-6659.

Snyder: DPS may need to split

Empower schools, he says

By CHRIS CHRISTOFF and KATHLEEN GRAY FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

   MACKINAC ISLAND — Detroit Public Schools might be better off as “a system of schools” rather than a single, large entity run by top-down management, Gov. Rick Snyder told the Free Press on Thursday.

   Snyder, who appointed retired GM executive Roy Roberts as the emergency manager for DPS, said the district needs a radical overhaul — but, he said, it’s up to Roberts to enact changes.

   “The nature of the district needs to change,” Snyder said. “Structurally, it’s a failing format.”

   Snyder spoke to Free Press reporters and editors during the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference. His comments were among several at the conference that focused on how to better educate Michigan students.

   Snyder said a new format would not necessarily convert Detroit schools to charter schools, but rather have them be managed like charter schools, with more autonomy. He said the school board could focus on measuring academic results instead of dictating curriculums and school-by-school management.

   “You need to empower the schools more, rather than having a command-and-control structure of the district,” he said. “How do you give the administrator in that school and the teachers a team? You make it more entrepreneurial and innovative.

   “It’s like they’re a business unit, and they’re there to help their kids grow. Give them the resources to succeed, and then, how do you hold them accountable?”

   Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, spoke at the conference and said public schools’ success rests solely with teachers, who should be fired if their students don’t go on to college.

   “If you get paid to educate a child and you cannot do it, then you should probably go into a different business,” he said.

   Harlem Children’s Zone takes a holistic approach to education, helping families in a 100-block area of Harlem so that children are prepared to succeed in school. More communities, like Detroit, need to adopt the model, Canada said.

   Canada said business owners should have a vested interest in helping produce better schools because eventually, they’re going to have to pick from the talent pool educated in public schools.

   In another forum Thursday, the Excellent Schools Detroit group talked about creating excellent schools and recruiting great employees. Their goal for 2020 is to graduate 90% of their students, with 90% of those students enrolling in college without remedial classes.

   The Michigan Future Schools Accelerator soon will open three high schools in Detroit: the Carson School of Science and Medicine, which is affiliated with the Detroit Medical Center; Detroit College Preparatory, and the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy.

   The schools, funded with $800,000 each in foundation and grant dollars, will operate with no more than 500 students per school. Teachers will be hired from an open pool, instead of from a seniority list, and each school must have a counselor and a college coach who can help students after they graduate.

   “And if the kids are off-track, it’s the educators who will have to change,” said Lou Glazer, president of the program.