In tribute to Mary Laredo Herbeck

Mary Laredo Herbeck

Jan. 21, 1955-Oct.1, 2010

Mary was signed onto this blogsite and I thought it good to give her honorable mention here. I was honored to co-create projects if only in the design phase in Southwest Detroit with Mary Laredo  and Vito Valdez.
I know all of you would have enjoyed walking in Mary's garden where she lived near the old Michigan Central Railroad terminal.
Excerpt from Metro Times


She taught others how to heal. She shared a tremendous wisdom for life and love of the natural world. Her many public art projects include a garden park where her steel sculpture "Cocoon" trumpet vine annually blossoms and reaches out to the sky. Projects like this in southwest Detroit continue to be a testament of her strength and courage to believe in the true spirit of community for the common good. We share this vision. Look for her next project of four mosaic columns over Vernor Highway to be completed spring 2011 in southwest Detroit. She will always be the shining star in my heart * we love you, Mary —Vito Valdez, partner, artist, educator



The Earth is our mother. We have a great many stems linking us to our Mother Earth. There is a stem linking us with the cloud. If there is no cloud, there is no water for us to drink. We are made of at least 70 percent water, and the stem between the cloud and us is really there. This is also the case with the river, the forest, the logger and the farmer. There are hundreds of thousands of stems linking us to everything in the cosmos, and therefore we can be. Do you see the link between you and me? If you are not there, I am not here. That is certain. —Excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings selected by Mira Burack, artist, Kresge Arts in Detroit



She was a beautiful, inspiring, creative woman who fought the battle of cancer with dignity and grace, too young to leave us. I wish she would have been able to live out her dreams and experience the light she truly had inside. She will be missed by many. The loss of Mary Herbeck, Ron Allen, Marty Quiroz and Mick Vranich leaves a huge hole in our Creative Community. These people were unique individuals, who, by being themselves, were able to enrich and understand all who knew them. —Diana Alva, sculptor, painter

Wild Fermentation

The website  http://www.wildfermentation.com/ is in support of a book called Wild Fermentation. I recently picked it up and am having a difficult time staying away from it. The way in which the story is told about fermentation for foods and beverages take's one on a holistic discovery of how cultures were and are formed. This topic alone leads to a widely diverse exploration of how and why we as a people have arrived where we find ourselves to date.
 It is on target and well written to engage the reader into wanting to study all aspects needed for a well rounded education of science, math, history, sociology .... Ad Infinitum. The balance of hunger for the good food for the body and the need to nourish the mind and spirit leads one to explore the pursuit of knowledge from a vantage point rarely achieved in contemporary learning environments/

 Here is an excerpt-


 Wild Fermentation                                                              



Microscopic organisms - our ancestors and allies - transform food and extend its usefulness. Fermentation is found throughout human cultures.Hundreds of medical and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people stay healthy.
Many of your favorite foods and drinks are probably fermented. For instance: Bread, Cheese, Wine, Beer, Mead, Cider, Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Pickles, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Miso, Tempeh, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Yogurt, Kefir, Kombucha.
Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation.

"Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production."
  The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home.
  The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentation's from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making. With nearly 100 recipes, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fermentation cookbook ever

Susana: What dates, times, etc. would work for our Rescheduled meeting?

We will attempt to bend our schedules to accommodate yours.

Our Meeting Today: Ice is nice in my martini......but not on the roads, suggest we reschedule?

Meeting: Thursday, December 30, 2010 9:30AM (Tentative Agenda)

A little something to keep us on track.  Looking forward to seeing everyone.  Happy New Years!

Vertical Farming - is it the way of the future?

http://www.123-greenhouse-gardening.com/vertical-farming.html

Go Feedem for a lifetime.

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

Two small things that should always Inform our Understanding (21st Century Endgame Foundations)

Digital Media and Literacy: A Plan of Action

http://www.knightcomm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Digital_and_Media_Literacy_A_Plan_of_Action.pdf

Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age

http://www.knightcomm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Informing_Communities_Sustaining_Democracy_in_the_Digital_Age.pdf

Something for the AGENDA for our next meeting

PUTTING MICHIGAN FIRST

Buying local gives boost to businesses

A grassroots campaign offers hope to state economy

By KATHERINE YUNG FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

   In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a growing number of Michigan business owners and consumers are fighting back, one Michigan purchase at a time.

   They’re part of an expanding buy local movement, a grassroots campaign that advocates purchasing products and services that are made, grown or performed in Michigan.

   Buy local groups have sprung up in cities including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Entrepreneurs and large retailers also are getting in on the action, selling more Michigan-made products and services.

   One Michigander has even launched a school fund-raising program that sells Michigan-produced foods and other goods.

   “This is something every one of us can do,” said Lisa Diggs, founder of the Buy Michigan Now campaign, which has seen more than 5,500 residents pledge their commitment to buying local products and services from local businesses. “That’s really empowering to people in our state, especially now.”

   She and other supporters say funneling more money to local businesses helps Michigan’s economy in a number of ways, from building stronger communities to increasing jobs. Evidence that the movement generates a positive effect is mostly anecdotal.

   For example, when Hudsonville Ice Cream in Holland expanded into metro Detroit in May 2009, it discovered that several supermarkets were enthusiastic about offering a Michigan-made ice cream. Since then, sales have taken off and the company is planning to increase its work force.

   “We wouldn’t have had the opportunity that presented itself without buy local,” said Bruce Kratt, Hudsonville’s director of sales.

RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press

   Kelly Martin, owner of Kelly’s Karamels, watches Noah Dreyer, 8, of Bloomfield Township taste treats Thursday at Plum Market in Bloomfield Township. "It’s awesome. Everyone should try them," he said.

ADAM BIRD/Special to the Free Press

   Hudsonville Ice Cream in Holland expanded into metro Detroit in 2009. Sales took off. Now the company plans to add jobs.

Buy local movement is gaining traction

Made in Michigan has an allure that is proving good for shoppers, workers

By KATHERINE YUNG FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

   Kelly Martin has experienced firsthand the benefits that can result when Michigan businesses and consumers support each other.

   In July 2009, she launched Kelly’s Karamels in Troy, making and selling caramel candies based on a recipe from her 90-year-old grandmother. Today, the start-up business is profitable, employs seven workers and plans to operate out of its own facility by year’s end.

   Martin, 47, credits the buy local movement in Michigan for helping her business grow.

   The former pharmaceutical executive began selling her candy at a Buy Michigan Festival in Northville. She now lists her business in the Buy Michigan Now directory and holiday gift guide, and several local supermarkets that offer Michigan-made products sell her caramels.

   “This has really opened up a lot of doors for people like me,” Martin said. “People here are very, very conscious about supporting their own state.”

   What happened to Martin illustrates the power of Michigan’s buy local movement. Advocates say the grassroots campaign has gained momentum during the state’s deep recession because many business owners and consumers view buying local as a way to support their communities during tough times.

   But whether buy local is just a fad or something that will endure after the economy rebounds remains to be seen.

   A wake-up call

   The movement reached a turning point in December 2008 when top executives of General Motors, Chrysler and the UAW went to Capitol Hill to plead for government help, according to Lisa Diggs, founder of the Buy Michigan Now campaign.

   The criticism caused many Michiganders to realize that the only people that could help their state are themselves, Diggs said.

   Buy Michigan Now has attracted more than 2,500 businesses to its company directory.

   Although no one knows how large the buy local movement in Michigan is, more than 960 dues-paying members have joined groups promoting the cause that have sprung up in recent years in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo andJackson.

   “You do have the power to affect how your community looks and feels by how you spend your money,” said Ingrid Ault, executive director of Think Local First of Washtenaw County, which has 224 members.

   How much of a boost?

   Supporters say the movement is helping Michigan’s economy, but no studies have been done to prove this.

   Civic Economics, an economic consulting firm, has estimated that $68 of every $100 spent at a locally-owned business stays in the local economy in the form of wages, taxes, community donations and spending on local business services and supplies.

   In contrast, only $43 stays in the local economy when $100 is spent at a nonlocal business.

   In 2008, Civic Economics examined the Grand Rapids area and predicted that a 10% shift in market share from chain stores to local businesses across the retail spectrum would result in 1,600 new jobs in Kent County and $137 million in additional economic activity.

   Although statistics like these have aided the movement, its growth has been hampered by consumers who feel it’s too expensive and inconvenient to buy local products and services.

   Consumer convenience

   A March 2009 survey by the consumer and product research firm Mintel found that only 1 in 6 adults, or 17% of respondents, buy local as often as possible. That contrasts with 27% who don’t care where their food and services come from and 30% who say they would purchase local goods and services but don’t know where to find them.

   “We are a society of convenience and price,” said Kriss Giannetti, president of JXN Local First in Jackson, which has struggled to increase interest in buy local efforts.

   To overcome these perceptions, several entrepreneurs in Michigan have established businesses to help consumers buy local. In September, James and Patti Travioli of Mt. Pleasant officially launched MadeInMichigan.com  , an online marketplace where vendors can sell their local products directly to consumers and businesses.

   “People are seeing all the jobs lost. They are getting kind of fed up and trying to do whatever little thing they can,” said James Travioli.

   Another company, Argent Tape & Label in Plymouth, sells “Grown in Michigan” and “Made in Michigan” stickers to help businesses identify their Michigan-made products. So far, despite very little advertising, Argent has seen a steady demand for the stickers, said Melissa Toth, the company’s marketing specialist.

   School fund-raisers

   In Waterford, former teacher Neil Yaremchuk recently formed the Made in Michigan Marketplace, a fund-raising program for schools, churches and other groups that feature 19 of the state’s products, all under $15. He is in talks with several schools interested in the program.

   “We don’t just make things here. We make really good things here,” said Yaremchuk, who drove 16,000 miles around the state this year looking for Michigan products and meeting with business owners.

   Many of the state’s supermarkets also are playing a key role in the movement by featuring more Michigan produce, baked goods and other foods.

   This year, Meijer is increasing its spending on locally grown fruits and vegetables to $60 million, up 20% from 2009 levels. At Wal-Mart, 4.5% of the total produce it sells in the U.S. comes from local farmers, a number it plans to double by the end of 2015.

   Last year, Kroger spent more than $400 million on Michigan agricultural products, in addition to selling hundreds of Michigan-made food items.

   State advantage

   “I view the buy local movement as building a big lifeboat for us,” said Jim Hiller, CEO of Hiller’s Markets, whose seven stores sell more than 5,000 products made or grown in Michigan. Though he admits that the effort has probably decreased his company’s bottom line, Hiller said he wants to help the state be successful.

   Michigan has an advantage over many states when it comes to buying local. It is blessed with a large and diverse agricultural industry, with 1,588 licensed food processors, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The state produces more than 200 commodities on a commercial basis.

   How hard is it to buy local in Michigan? Earlier this year, Jennifer Berkemeier, special events director at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit, set out to buy only local products and services for six months, blogging about her experience onbuymichigannow.com  .

   To her surprise, the 44-year-old Farmington Hills resident discovered that despite her busy schedule and full-time job, it only took a little bit of extra time and effort to shop at independent stores and purchase Michigan products and services. And contrary to perception, buying local didn’t cost her more money.

   Berkemeier estimates that she could find Michigan vendors for 80% of her purchases.

   “It wasn’t hard at all,” she said. “The biggest eye-opener was realizing how many locally based stores there are.”

   • CONTACT KATHERINE YUNG: 313-222-8763 OR KYUNG@FREEPRESS.COM  

RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press Cherry caramels from Kelly’s Karamels make a mouth-watering display.

RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press

   Kelly Martin, creator and owner Kelly’s Karamels, credits the buy local movement for helping her business grow. The former pharmaceutical executive began selling her candy at a Buy Michigan Festival in Northville.

ADAM BIRD/Special to the Free Press

   Employees keep every work surface spotless as 3-gallon containers sit waiting to be filled at Hudsonville Ice Cream in Holland.

KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press

   Michigan’s agricultural bounty includes blueberries.

In Their Own Words

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: A 21st Century Gap-Analysis (Fast Forward: The Urgency of the True Emergency)

While the abject failure conversation/debate of our U.S. 20th Century Education Model rages on, a real-world 21st Century Global Competitiveness conundrum emerges. Conclusion: Find the Sweet-Spot!

Spoken like a Gentleman Farmer!

Now for the Rest of the Story

Conservancy helps finance 186 acre Upper Bushman preservation project in Independence Township



With help from NOHLC, Independence Oaks County Park near Clarkston will expand by 186 acres when a purchase agreement for what is called the Upper Bushman Lake property is signed. The parcel is one of the most significant high quality green spaces in Oakland County. "NOHLC has longed viewed Upper Bushman Lake as Independence Township's #1 priority for natural resource protection. More than 700 acres of Independence Oaks habitat are directly influenced by water quality from the Upper Bushman Lake property which is the headwaters area of the Clinton River," said Sue Julian, NOHLC president.

The property's $2.836 million purchase price will be paid for with $1.74 million from Oakland County Parks, $945,000 from a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant, a contribution of $16,000 from NOHLC as well as other sources to be finalized soon.

The NOHLC donation will come from a fund created primarily from multiple small donations from residents within Independence Township.

The pristine property features a 31-acre lake within it's boundaries. It is situated northeast of Independece Oaks County Park and bordered by Sashabaw and Oak Hill Roads.

NOHLC P.O. Box 285, Clarkston, MI 48347 Tel
248.846.6547 Fax
248.846.6548

General information email: mail@nohlc.org

Katie Anderson, Executive Director: mail@nohlc.org

Learning Center Catch

A PRIZED CATCH IN OAKLAND COUNTY

By BILL LAITNER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

   A coveted private fishing hole in northeast Oakland County — so good, anglers have been sneaking onto the property — is to open for public fishing in spring 2011.

   Upper Bushman Lake is on 186 acres of unspoiled land newly acquired by Oakland County Parks and Recreation and adjoining Independence Oaks County Park, three miles north of DTE Energy Music Theatre.

   Officials who led tours around the lake Friday called the parcel a prized catch.

   “You really feel like you’re Up North here,” county parks Executive Officer Dan Stencil said after strolling through the mixed conifer and hardwood forest, said to be a rarity in southeastern Michigan.

   “We saw migrating ducks going through, some mute swans and a few deer. There’s evidence of beaver activity,” Stencil said. Not to mention, swimming in 31-acre Upper Bushman Lake are bass, pike, bluegill, perch, sunfish and more.

   “We’ve heard there’s some real lunkers. This hasn’t been fished much in a long time,” he said.

   Park officials have put up gates and “No access” signs. However, they’ll roll out the welcome mat next year not only to anglers, with a new fishing dock, but to bird watchers and hikers. By October 2011, “We hope to open it to archery deer hunting,” but only on this new parcel, not on the other 1,098 acres of Independence Oaks park, natural resources planner Brittany Bird said.

   The Arnold family, which sold the property for $2.8 million, is moving from the 4,000-square-foot manor house and 2,000-square-foot guest cottage to Bloomfield Hills, parks officials said.

   “Ultimately, we’re looking to turn this into an outdoor recreation learning center. We’d provide learning opportunities for archery, fishing, trapping, kayaking, birdwatching — things related to Michigan’s heritage,” Bird said.

   • CONTACT BILL LAITNER: 586-826-7264 OR BLAITNER@FREEPRESS.COM  

SARAH RICE/Special to the Free Press

   Dan Stencil, Oakland County Parks and Recreation executive officer, conducts a tour of the land surrounding Upper Bushman Lake, adjoining Independence Oaks County Park in Independence Township on Friday.

Peter Senge of the Society of Organizational Learning on Imagination, Creativity and LEARNING by DOING!

http://www.clomedia.com/media/Peter_Senge_0910.mp4

CONTRAST: U.S. Education Conversation and Michigan Gubernatorial Understandings (Relevance Factor?)

Thursday, Oct. 07, 2010

Waiting for 'Superman': Education Reform Isn't Easy

By Andrew J. Rotherham

In the midst of a panel discussion following the Washington premiere of the education documentary Waiting for "Superman" on Sept. 15, CNN's Roland Martin breathlessly told his followers on Twitter that Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, "says they are going to look at making change to teachers tenure in their contracts. THIS IS HUGE."

Martin isn't the only one caught up in the moment. Today, the enthusiasm among education reformers is palpable. And why not? This seems like an amazing time, with NBC hosting a big education summit across its various networks to kick off the school year, a president seemingly committed to bold reform, and a feature film, Waiting for "Superman," from a major studio — made by none other than the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth! (See "Fenty's Loss in D.C.: A Blow to Education Reform?")

Although the momentum seems unstoppable, don't pop the champagne or, worse, declare 'mission accomplished' just yet. Waiting for "Superman" is a hard-hitting documentary that lays bare many of America's education problems. But despite all the attention it's bringing to education, there are still more reasons to bet against reform than for it.

For starters, history doesn't offer much cause for optimism. This isn't the first time substantial reforms have seemed imminent. Education history is littered with big promises, national commissions and task forces, summits, and surprisingly little change. Two decades ago, when then-governor Clinton and the first President Bush gathered the nation's governors in Charlottesville, Va., reform seemed unstoppable. Some progress came out of it — it helped with the development of better state education standards — but it did not herald the revolution many were predicting at the time.

One reason for the slow pace of reform is because American public schools are fundamentally conservative — and because Americans are fundamentally conservative about their schools. In other words, the bias is strongly against change rather than for it, which explains why among parents, change is popular in theory but controversial in practice. (Affluent parents, for instance, support higher standards until those measures show that their public schools are not as good as they should be given the high property taxes these families are paying.) Although opposition to reform is often laid exclusively at the feet of the teachers' unions, it is actually a broader issue. (See pictures of a prestigious public boarding school in Washington.)

Of course, the unions obviously have a hand in today's debate, too. Although we like to think of teachers as a breed apart, their special interest groups — the two large national teachers' unions — are basically the same as any other special interest, and the politics just as brutal. In fact, combined, the two national teachers' unions spent more on federal campaign contributions than any other interest group from 1989 to 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that is just the national teachers unions, not the thousands of state and local ones. That adds up to a lot of money to keep various reforms at bay. And to keep various reformers at bay too. In Washington, for example, Politico reported that the American Federation of Teachers spent about $1 million in the run-up to last month's Democratic primary to help defeat Mayor Adrian Fenty, who had ushered in sweeping changes to the city's school district.

All this helps explain why John Wilson, executive director of the biggest teachers' union, the National Education Association, is nonplussed by Waiting for "Superman" and the slew of other education documentaries that have come out in recent months. "I think the films are a blip," he told the Sacramento Bee. "They will come and go, but the union will still be there, our members will still be in these schools." Sure, this may sound a little thuggish, but it's a political reality education reformers had better understand.

In American politics, concentrated special interests can do a lot to slow or thwart reform. Think about policy battles on issues as wide-ranging as energy, guns, tobacco, health care, the environment, or telecommunications and cable television. When it's the general interest pitted against an organized special interest, bet on the latter. (Comment on this story.)

In addition to the cultural and political entrenchment, the process of how funding gets allocated as well as how the various federal, state, and local rules constrain schools leaves surprisingly little room for innovation in education. Coupled with American education's anemic research and development infrastructure, the reality today is that we know a lot more about what does not work than about what does. For example, it's clear from abundant research that paying teachers only on the basis of their degrees and years of experience is not in the best interest of students or teachers. As the National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and policy organization whose board of directors I chaired for several years, put it, "the evidence is conclusive that master's degrees do not make teachers more effective." Such clarity does not mean, however, that the reforms to fix these problems are obvious. The education field still has a lot to learn about how to effectively differentiate salary and incorporate elements like performance into compensation. (Watch TIME's video "Can Michelle Rhee Save Our Schools?")

Consequently, there will be a lot of trial and error along the way. Each failure provides critics with plenty of fodder and complicates the politics that much more. For example, when researchers at Vanderbilt University released a study in September showing no large improvements in student performance from a teacher merit pay pilot program, these findings were widely cited as definitive evidence of the folly of performance-based pay. But it was just one study of one program, hardly the last word. Meanwhile, the political debate about charter schools remains largely focused on the low-performing ones rather than what we can learn from those that are delivering transformative results.

So what's the takeaway? Certainly not that reformers should take their cue from Dante and call it quits. But they should realize the enormous work and time genuine reform will take. Building the capacity to deliver substantially improved education while simultaneously addressing the politics is an incredible two-front effort. Despite its promise and impressive accomplishments to date, the reform community is not yet prepared to do so at scale. Genuinely bold reformers are still more likely to lose elections than win them, and truly aggressive reform activity is still concentrated in relatively few places.

That's a problem because if there is a lesson from the last two years of education activity, it is that nothing happens absent tenacity and intense pressure for reform. Despite the rhetoric about changing teacher tenure, for example, Weingarten is still struggling to find a middle ground that satisfies her members and actually alters the reality in schools. Don't tell Roland Martin, but this past weekend there she was on CBS Sunday Morning, explaining why tenure isn't a problem anyway.

Andrew J. Rotherham, who writes the blog Eduwonk, is a co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education, a nonprofit working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. School of Thought, his education column for TIME.com, appears every Thursday.

See TIME's special report on paying for college.

See pictures of the evolution of the college dorm.

Snyder’s plan

It’s time to get finances in order

School funding must stabilize, he says

By PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

   Businessman Rick Snyder says it’s time to stop making schools guess at how much money they’ll have each year.

   The Republican candidate for governor would stabilize school funding by cutting costs. He would have teachers pay more for health insurance and replace pensions with traditional 401(k)s for new teachers. He would require competitive bidding in school districts and look at more consolidation and sharing of services.

   “We need to be more cost-efficient,” Snyder said. “I’m not sure we can afford the system we have today.”

   He also would push for school districts to pool all their insurance needs into one pot, in order to get better rates.

   Snyder said he knows it could be tough to force changes to teachers’ benefits without cooperation from unions, in particular the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

   Many Michigan districts have health insurance through the MEA’s insurance arm, and the union has typically fought to keep it that way.

   But, “it’s a subject we need to have on the table,” Snyder said.

   Snyder said he believes his plan can save between $743 million and $1.11 billion: $87 million through pension reform; $156 million to $223 million through insurance reform; $200 million to $500 million through more competitive bidding, and $300 million through more consolidation and service sharing.

   Competitive bidding is already happening in many districts, but Snyder said he’d like to see it expanded. That doesn’t necessarily mean privatizing, he said.

   Instead, school districts could bid on contracts from other districts — to provide busing, for example.

   Snyder said he’d also push for consolidating across districts more services such as business functions, payroll orcurriculum planning.

   He said he’d also hold schools accountable for the quality of the education they are producing, while rewarding teachers for their success.

   “Shouldn’t we be able to do an analysis of what are the successful schools, the successful teachers?” Snyder asked.

   He said he wants to use data to find out what successful districts are doing, and how it can be replicated in others. Student test scores would be part of that data, but he said teachers should not be measured by scores alone.

   “Too often, we view measurement systems as a way to penalize people. I happen to see it as a way to reward success,” Snyder said.

   Snyder said he believes successful educators should be rewarded for success with some sort of pay for performance, or merit pay. He is not specific about how this would work, but he said merit pay, often a red flag to the unions, should go to the entire school instead of individual teachers. School-wide merit pay is much more palatable to union officials.

   “These are tough questions that we need to address, in terms of getting them on the table,” Snyder said.

   • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI: 313-222-8851 OR MMWALSH@FREEPRESS.COM  

Republican Rick Snyder says he’d push for more consolidation for school districts. “We need to be more cost-efficient,” he said. “I’m not sure we can afford the system we have today.”

CARLOS OSORIO/Associated Press

Bernero’s plan

It’s all about student success

Communities part of the solution, he says

By PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

   Students convicted of crimes may need to finish high school to get out of jail if Virg Bernero becomes governor. That’s just one of the ideas he has for improving education for Michigan children, outlined in his plan, Education is Economic Development.

   Making sure those kids have a diploma is not only better for the economy, but it’s also one of the best ways to avoid repeat offenders, Bernero said. A criminal record makes it hard to get a job, and a diploma could put them one step closer to getting hired.

   And Bernero said there are steps that can be taken now to keep those students out of jail — changing suspension policies, for instance. The solution right now is often kicking kids out of school, but that doesn’t solve the problem, it just encourages kids to drop out, Bernero said.

   Education would be better served if all schools used in-school suspensions. If in-school suspension doesn’t work, he would then send the student to what he calls right-track academies to turn the kids around.

   “If you do two things, if you discipline in a serious way and do an all-out assault on the dropout rate, that alone would bring a sea change to schools,” Bernero said. “I intend to lead the assault for the dropout rate and an extension of that, I very likely will lead community involvement in the schools.”

   While his plan is filled with his own ideas for fixing schools — including universal preschool and all-day kindergarten — Bernero said he also wants to make the community a part of the solution.

   “I want to build a system that allows for creativity and local ingenuity, that empowers the district so we let them know that failure is not an option,” Bernero said.

   His school reform would begin with “getting into these schools and talking to the teachers, doing some interviews, talking to parents, to see what’s going on.”

   Bernero’s interest in addressing education issues is spurred in part by his wife, Teri Bernero, principal of Lewton Elementary School in Lansing. The Democratic candidate also said it’s time to stop pummeling schools with costly, unfunded government mandates, such as annual reports on test scores and documentation for how government funding is spent — work that takes time that could better be focused on education.

   Let educators have a say in what’s needed to fix schools because they’re the ones who really know what’s going on inside the classroom, he said.

   He also would expand vocational education and career training. All students do not graduate from college, he said, but all Michigan students need to be able to get a decent job.

   Like his opponent, Rick Snyder, he also wants to fix school funding and, if elected, plans to create a statewide task force to address the issue.

   One area that would help save money, he said, is in consolidating duplicative services throughout each county, such as busing or payroll. Many services could be streamlined and run by county intermediate school districts.

   “Let’s get real about education funding,” Bernero said.

   • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI: 313-222-8851 OR MMWALSH@FREEPRESS   .COM  

Democrat Virg Bernero says his reform would start with talking to teachers and parents. “I want to build a system that … empowers the district so we let them know that failure is not an option,” he said.

CARLOS OSORIO/Associated Press