From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 4:05 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Monday, January 4, 2010
 
Governor Signs Education Reform Legislation; State Readying Application for Race to the Top Funds
 
Today the governor signed a five-bill legislative package that reforms Michigan’s education system and allows the state to compete for up to $400 million in federal Recovery Act funds through President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative.  The state is finalizing its Race to the Top application which is due to the U.S. Department of Education by January 19.
 
The education reforms:
 
•  Allow the state to intervene in the lowest-performing schools
•  Permit new high-quality charter schools to open if they meet certain standards, and permit the closure of low-performing charter schools
•  Require administrators to be certified
•  Require an annual evaluation of teachers and administrators using data on student growth
•  Create alternative routes to teacher certification to help bring the best and brightest into our classrooms
•  Raise the dropout age from 16 to 18, effective for the high school class of 2016
 
The bills signed by the governor today are House Bill 4787, sponsored by State Representative Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills); House Bill 4788, sponsored by State Representative Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park); House Bill 5596, sponsored by State Representative Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township); Senate Bill 926, sponsored by State Senator Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit); and Senate Bill 981, sponsored by State Senator Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland).
 
Key messages:
 
•  These reforms make it clear that improving student achievement will be the driving force in Michigan’s education system.  We will make student academic growth a key part of how we evaluate teachers, principals and schools, and in the process, enable Michigan to successfully compete for federal Race to the Top funds.
 
•  Every single person in our education system now will be focused on whether children are growing academically, and will be held accountable for children’s progress.  Also, we now have a system to measure academic growth.
 
•  These education reforms will help Michigan attain one of the governor’s goals which is doubling the number of college graduates in the state.
 
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