Expert: Bobb’s plan not good for DPS (Detroit)

[Starry Messenger]

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DETROIT — “If implemented, it would have a negative impact on education,” Dr. Pauline Lipman said of Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb’s Excellent Schools for Every Child Academic Plan.


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Lipman called the specialized schools Bobb proposes in his plan “superficial” and “pure branding.”

“Mr. Bobb’s plan is grounded in the assumption that it is academically wise to create series of specialized schools. Students need the opportunity to have a rich range ” said Lipman.

Dr. Lipman said comprehensive education is what most public schools have adopted.

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She pointed out the similarities between the Renaissance 2010 and Bobb’s plans. Both include mass school closings and opening of schools in a “market place of choice;” the mention of parents as shoppers; mayoral control; competition throughout the education system (by teacher evaluation from student performance); alternate forms of education for teachers such as Teach for America; a standard bureau to support standards and accountability; mechanism to rate schools; and a rigid system of top down accountability.

“To run an experiment in one city with problematic outcomes and repeat it in another city would be irresponsible,” Lipman says.

[Hannah Bell]

1. all these "plans" are the same plan, & they all suck.

they're all downloaded from the same think tank, Zillionaires R us, inc.

[Starry Messenger]

2. Yes.

I just keep an eye on Bobb since I used to live in Oakland, where he was the City Manager when I lived there, and where so many of these "school reforms" were guinea pigged on the residents. I appreciate that Detroit is fighting back. :)

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100612/SCHOOLS/6120331/1026/LOCAL/Bobb-defends-control-at-DPS

Bobb defends control at DPS
He says he believed he had power, admits not consulting board
Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Taking the stand before a packed courtroom, Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb defended his decisions to not consult with the school board on everything from buying books to issuing tests, saying he had the power to decide academics.

Though he acknowledged the state law outlining his responsibilities does not mention academics, Bobb said Friday in Wayne Circuit Court that financial decisions and academic ones are intertwined for Detroit Public Schools' 87,000 students.

Bobb said he withheld feedback to the school board on their academic plan and wrote his own: "I believe I had the power to do that."


His 2 1/2 -hour testimony was the latest chapter in the civil lawsuit over the division of responsibilities in the district. The school board sued Bobb in August, claiming he is violating state law by not consulting with them and by making academic calls that are theirs to decide.

Judge Wendy Baxter issued a preliminary injunction earlier this year to block his academic decisions, but a three-justice state appeals court panel overturned the ruling. The case for control is back before Baxter, and Friday's testimony was the latest hearing she's held to decide the suit.

George Washington, attorney for the school board, peppered Bobb on the stand with questions, ranging from which foundations are paying him to why enrollment is dropping in the schools.

A more contentious portion focused on a citywide education plan released earlier this year at the Skillman Foundation with the support of Bobb, several charter school operators, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and community foundations. Backers met in "boot camp" sessions to map the plan.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I'm watching Detroit AFT local for the same kind of revolution they had in Chicago

In fact I'll be surprised if those union leaders don't get thrown out.

[mzteris]

3. Renaissance : 90% of Graduates Accepted to College

Chicago Charter High Schools Graduating their First Classes this Weekendwith More than 90% of Graduates Accepted to College

Chicago (6/24/10) - More than 90% of the 577 graduating students at six Chicago charter high schools have been accepted to a 2 or 4 year college, a rate nearly double the district college enrollment average of just more than 50%. These six charter public high schools are graduating their first senior classes this year and were launched through the city's Renaissance 2010 initiative in 2006.

Andrea Rodriguez, a senior at Pritzker College Prep, is the first in her immediate family to go to college and will study engineering at the University of Illinois next fall: "When I started Noble in freshmen year," she says, "I thought that maybe I would go to college, but if I didn't get to college, that would be OK too. It wasn't until I attended Pritzker that I realized I needed to take my education beyond high school."

While each school model is unique, all six offer students a strong college-going culture, including interim assessments aligned to the ACT, early exposure to college options, and regular advisories guiding progress toward college. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/district-299/2010/06/charter-school-graduation-extravaganza.html



Anyone have graduation /college statistics on Chicago's other highschools?