Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Locked Topic
Brighton Schools Getting new Super; Kenneth Watson?
Topic Started: Jan 2 2006, 12:36 PM (1,895 Views)
bmom
Principal
loyaltolivonia
Jan 2 2006, 08:24 PM
DENISE05
Jan 2 2006, 07:55 PM
My friend moved from Livonia ( Taylor school ) to Howell just last year. They have K-5 approx 950 kids, 6,7,8 over 1,100 kids , 9th grade is alone and 10,11,12 again over 1,100 kids. She says it works out well in her community. I think that is a great thing....a little bit of hope

Sounds interesting but.........what is 9th grade alone? Do ALL the 9th graders in Howell go to the same school together? Do they have their own building? How many students (approx.)?

Also, that is still 3 transitions on average. My 5th grader will experience 4 because of the LI. Does your friend say anything about the transitions?

I too have a friend in Howell. The schools are fairly new in design. The 6th graders are kept separated from 7/8 except during passing time,lunch etc. Her personal experience with the 5 to 6 transition for her son has been difficult to say the least. He was considered in the top of his class in k-5 and now is getting D's in some subjects. He is not adjusting well at all. The communication in the Howell district is excellent though. She has been notified on several occasions about his difficulties. She is able to go online and verify all his homework every day. The teachers post assignments on a website every day. After hearing about her difficulties, it really got me concerned about the whole transition issues with LPS. I wonder how much communication we are going to receive????? Howell provides progress reports etc. It is impressive. (communication) I can only hope we will get the same communication.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
DENISE05
6th Grade
Sorry I was wrong with my Howell info.....Seven- K-5 approx. 600 kids, only two middle schools approx. 950 in one and 1025 in the other. only one 9th grade school in Howell (old high school) with 900 kids. One high school 2500 kids. Building another high school to be done in 2007. Still high numbers but doing well.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
fyi
Principal
Maybe somewhere (down the line), when the "bugs" are worked out, they will
begin to communicate. Until then, they will probably be too busy trying to figure out how they are going to supervise 900 5th and 6th graders on the playground.
That's probably why they took the 2nd recess away.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
f11
Member Avatar
LPS, transportation for all
I work in Howell...that city has experienced tremendous growth..

school stats
http://www.howellschools.com/enrollmenttotals.htm
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
bmom
Principal
FYI--I tend to agree with you on that one. The "guinea pig" experiment probably does not want to advertise too many transition issues the first year. We will just have to be extremely observant with our children and figure out for ourselves if they are having any. I hate to be this negative but with the recent past history.....
Leaves alot of ??????????
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
grantmom
Principal
DENISE05
Jan 2 2006, 08:23 PM
About cooper ... well what can I say....full bodysuits with a attached breathing device????
I need to know more about the Cooper site.

Gosh I never thought about that, you might be on to something. :blink:
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Cindi
Member Avatar
Principal
Thanks Mr. Teacher----It helps me understand some of the unknowns. I can only hope that the BOE and Administrators keep looking at different angles to cut costs. Perhaps "Outsourcing"....I know, a lot of people hate that word.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
loyaltolivonia
Member Avatar
Principal
DENISE05
Jan 2 2006, 08:23 PM
Grantmom, I will be right next to you in Grant to help out our kids. About cooper ... well what can I say....full bodysuits with a attached breathing device????
I need to know more about the Cooper site.

There is a lot about Cooper in earlier posts. Possibly under Cooper-Emerson-Franklin title???? Gosh, I just can't remember where all the info is. If you wait, though, someone will come up with it.

I need to sign off for now-Time to pack lunches!!!!!
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
fyi
Principal
bmom
Jan 2 2006, 09:00 PM
FYI--I tend to agree with you on that one.  The "guinea pig" experiment probably does not want to advertise too many transition issues the first year.  We will just have to be extremely observant with our children and figure out for ourselves if they are having any.  I hate to be this negative but with the recent past history.....
Leaves alot of ??????????

Bmom,

You're probably right too. I'm sure we will be hearing in "Dialog" just how wonderful the children are adjusting to the plan. If they say it's so,
it must be true, right?
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
rooseveltmom
Principal
MrTeacher
Jan 2 2006, 08:19 PM
.....As I've said before....Money makes the world go round and this is all about the "MONEY". When someone figures out how the district can save some cash...then and only then will they forget about the LI. I wonder why the LEA hasn't come up with a plan to help..interesting..
MrTeacher

I agree Mr.Teacher. It is unfortunate that we were not given an opportunity to assist with this. There is much money budgeted (by Lisa Levesque and Leipa?), with a savings of less than 1% of the annual budget, and a 15% of the budget being spent on descresionary "other" items, it is hard to swallow this plan. It does not make financial sense. At least not to me. I would love to take a peak at the books. I bet I could cut 1% without making so many so dicontented. The money issue still makes my stomach turn.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
one_observer
Principal
Remember Liepa was groomed under Watson. That's how and why Liepa got in. Larry Nasar even wrote to his fellow school board members to vote to hire Liepa as Watson's replacement. Nasars' letter was in Freeman's website.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
c3hull
Member Avatar
Principal
There were more details posted along time ago in this subject. I think the BOE had hired a company to find a new "Super", paid them $17k or so. Then somehow decided to promote Dr. L w/out interviewing anyone else for the job. Then a lawsuit followed...not sure on the details, but I will try to look back and find the posts if nobody posts with more information. Something just didn't seem right the way all of that happened...
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
c3hull
Member Avatar
Principal
Anyone remember this post from long ago?


http://phkhome.northstarnet.org/ikepto/GradeCenterReport.htm

Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Achievement Equity, and Cost Efficiency

The term "grade span" refers to the number of grade levels in a school building. "Grade configuration" identifies which grades are taught in a school building. The belief of many policymakers and educators that grade configuration simply didn't matter educationally was unchallenged until recent research.

Today, however, a substantial body of new research demonstrates that decreasing grade spans, thereby increasing the number of students per grade, and multiplying students' transitions from school to school negatively impacts student achievement.

This new research suggests that the most equitable and cost efficient means of delivering high student achievement is through smaller schools with broader grade spans. District policymakers should analyze and consider the findings of this new body of research before moving in an opposite direction.

Transitioning Negatively Effects Student Outcomes

Transitioning refers to the movement of students from school building to school building. For example, if a configuration requiring students to attend four schools, students will experience four transitions by the time they reach high school. University of Missouri's School of Education and Counseling Psychology, conducted research that correlated poor educational outcomes with students' learning instability resulting from school transitions:

The achievement loss in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies occurred when the transition was at grade 5, 6, 7, or 8. We can expect reconfiguring would cause transitional achievement loss as students move from each of the four transitions. In fact, a plan requiring students to attend every school in the District would require that every year the students would either be suffering transitional achievement loss or be making up for it. Additionally, students do not appear to "get used to" transitioning over time.

Given these findings, it would appear obvious that a district requiring four transitions from kindergarten to high school would cause a higher dropout rate than a district requiring only one or two transitions. Alspaugh’s study demonstrates that students placed in relatively small groups for long spans of time tend to experience better educational outcomes, these better outcomes overlap into the students' high school education. Multiple transitions cause other negative outcomes. School transitions impose stress on students and negatively influence schools' identity and sense of community. Thomas Moffitt's 1996 dissertation presented to Miami University at Ohio studied the impact of a district's elementary grade span structure on family-school partnerships. He stressed the importance of family-school relationships on educational outcomes: The studies added tremendously to our knowledge about the contributions families made to their children's success, and the support families need from educators to guide their children successfully through their schooling. When parents are involved, children do better in school and go to better schools.

However, research concluded that schools with narrow grade configurations have a negative impact on family-school partnerships. Professor of Ohio University suggests that each transition from one narrowly configured school to another seems to disrupt the social structure in which learning takes place. That disruption includes the decrease in time families have to contribute to the education of their children when their children attend multiple schools within a district. They also cause a host of problems associated with larger school size.

Smalls Schools Increase Achievement Level

In prior years, only a few studies had been conducted on school size and grade spans, and the findings had been inconclusive. Today's research and initiatives are more numerous, and researchers are more comfortable with making strong claims and assertions, these and other findings suggest that small schools are universally better".

Renewed interest in small school size is growing nationwide. In fact, adding one elementary school transition before high school have the best results. The studies showed that smaller schools outperformed larger schools on a level playing field, and they were more cost-effective than larger schools and districts in producing achievement.

Additionally, research asserts that at smaller schools, regardless of economic affluence, achievement is more equitable than in larger schools. The strongest influence of school size on achievement equity was realized in the small size category of 300 or fewer students “This effect was so strong that smaller schools, with higher levels of poverty, actually outperformed its larger schools." Two studies suggest that smaller size may improve odds for collaboration, communication, and common purpose. Wasley makes similar claims based on personal experience and professional research:

Over the years, I have taught students at nearly every level, from 3rd grade through graduate school. As a researcher, I have spent time gathering data on students at every level from preschool through 12th grade. My teaching and research experiences have provided me with data that convince me that both small classes and small schools are crucial to a teacher's ability to succeed with students.

Students reported feeling safer and more connected with adults in these schools. Teachers reported a greater sense of efficacy, job satisfaction, and connection with parents, as well as more opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, build a coherent educational program, and use a variety of instructional approaches. Parents and community members reported increased confidence in the schools. We could conclude students may benefit if they were to be reconfigured as smaller schools with larger grade spans.

Making an Educated Choice

Only recently have scholars begun to feel confident that enough research has been done to make strong claims about grade spans, grade level configurations and school size. Unfortunately, most of today's educators and policymakers are products of large schools and large school districts, and that bigger is better. Now, cognitive scientists, neurological biologists and educators have determined that all students have the capacity to learn. This evidence is what lead the charge of "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001".
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Administrator
Administrator
Howell isn't growing........it's exploding. From what I hear from friends that have moved their, new schools will be built soon. http://hpsnews.howellschools.com/index.pl/hpsnews
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Grant1
Member Avatar
We have just begun to fight!
Jimid
Jan 3 2006, 11:28 AM
Howell isn't growing........it's exploding. From what I hear from friends that have moved their, new schools will be built soon. http://hpsnews.howellschools.com/index.pl/hpsnews

Howell, like many other areas north, west, and south of the metro area are exploding for the very reason that Livonia is not...the availabilty of land. Talk to any developer or realtor and they will explain it in simple terms - urban sprawl. At one time Livonia was considered to be urban sprawl, now its out to Howell. Some communities are passing local laws and ordinances to avoid what has happened to the "inner ring" suburbs, overgrowth and stagnation.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Livonia Neighbors Archive · Next Topic »
Locked Topic