Sunday, May 20, 2012
Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse and New Haven school districts have board seats up for election on Nov. 6. Prospective candidates have until Aug. 14 to file with the county clerk.
With new state law in effect this year, the customary May school board elections have moved to November, giving prospective candidates until Aug. 14 to file their nominating petitions. This November, Macomb Township voters will be asked to elect six individuals to three area school boards. In Chippewa Valley Schools, it’s Euel Kinsey’s seat that is up for election. Kinsey, who was appointed to take over the late Henry Chiodini’s seat in April 2011, was scheduled to serve until June 30, 2013, when he would have then been required to run in the general election to retain that seat until its term ended in 2015. However, under newly amended Michigan Election Law, school board elections must coincide with general November elections of even-…
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Michigan's move toward a national curriculum will also bring a new set of tests to replace the MEAP and MME.
New cut scores are only the beginning of what promises to be a complete overhaul of the standardized tests students know as the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Exam (MME). With districts throughout the state on deadline to implement the common core curriculum in the next two years, Chippewa Valley Schools Executive Director of Elementary Education Sue Grenier said schools can expect entirely new tests by 2014-15. These common core exams are set to replace the present-day MEAP and MME with tests better aligned to the college- and career-readiness standards taught through the common core curriculum. While the 2014-15 exams will cover English-language arts and mathematics, Grenier said some form of the …
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Mid-winter break starts this week for Macomb Township's public and private schools.
Chippewa Valley Schools L'Anse Creuse Public Schools Utica Community Schools New Haven Community Schools Immanuel Lutheran School St. Peter Lutheran Lutheran High School North Oxford Academy
42.64389
-82.93647
Immanuel Lutheran Church and School
47120 Romeo Plank Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/mid-winter-break-closings-for-macomb-township-schools
1652722
/locations/6394640
42.671992
-82.938638
Oxford Academy
18600 23 Mile Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/mid-winter-break-closings-for-macomb-township-schools
1653013
/locations/6394641
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse and Utica saw their students stay on par with state averages in almost all 2011 MEAP subjects. New Haven's scores were below the state average in most areas.
At first glance, the 2011 MEAP scores released today for Macomb Township schools appear to have taken a nosedive from those of previous years. However, this apparent decline is actually a reflection of the state’s newly adopted cut scores. In September 2011, the State Board of Education adopted new cut scores, or performance measures, for the MEAP test that would better reflect how well schools are preparing students for each grade level and whether all Michigan students are progressing at the rate necessary for them to be career- and college-ready by high school graduation. These more rigorous cut scores were applied for the first time to the 2011 MEAP results released today, and retroactively applied to previous year’s results for …
The Michigan Department of Education will release 2011 MEAP results–which feature the state’s new cut scores–late Wednesday morning.
Macomb Township parents could be in for a bit of a shock today when the Michigan Department of Education releases local schools’ 2011 MEAP results reflecting the state's new cut scores. In September 2011, the State Board of Education changed MEAP cut scores in an effort to better measure “career-and college-ready achievement standards.” Cut scores refer to the results used by schools to determine whether a student is advanced, proficient, partially proficient or not proficient in certain subjects. When the MDE released a “retrospective look” in November 2011 at how students would have fared on past MEAP exams if the new scoring standards had been in place, none of Macomb Township’s public school districts escaped the statewide decline in …
Friday, December 2, 2011
School districts will no longer have a choice on when to hold board elections.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill this week that amends the Michigan Election Law to require school board elections to coincide with general November elections. Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, election of all school board candidates must take place in November of even-numbered years to coincide with local, state and federal general elections. "Utilizing a standard election cycle will cut administrative costs and help schools maintain focus on educating students," Snyder said in a press release Tuesday. "This change also allows for more consolidated elections so voters have the best opportunity to make their voices heard." In May, Utica Community Schools spent more than $90,000 when it held school board elections for three open positions on the odd …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
New standards, adopted by the State Board of Education in September, changed state cut scores on the MEAP and MME to make the test more rigorous.
In reviewing the results of the Michigan Department of Education’s “retrospective look” at 2010 MEAP and MME scores, local school administrators said they were not surprised to find Macomb districts showing a decline in proficiency levels. “We weren’t surprised, but when you look at (the scores), regardless of what you know is coming, and you look at them in black and white, it’s shocking,” said Ron Roberts, Chippewa Valley Schools superintendent. With state scoring standards for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) slated to change in 2012, school districts were given a retrospective look at how their students would fare had these new scoring standards been in place. Students now need to get …
Monday, November 7, 2011
Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse, Utica and New Haven school districts do not have classes Nov. 8.
With almost all of Macomb Township's public schools doubling as election precincts Tuesday, students in Chippewa Valley Schools, Utica Community Schools, New Haven Community Schools and L'Anse Creuse Public Schools will not have classes Nov. 8. School will resume for all students Nov. 9. Polls open in Macomb Township at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Read more about the proposed special education millage on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
We've compiled a map of the precincts in use in Macomb Township for the Nov. 8 election. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Come election day, voters will have only one issue to contend with, but that issue promises to directly affect the wallet of each and every property owner in Macomb Township. On Nov. 8, voters will be asked to pass or reject a special education millage, the proceeds of which will be used to offset recent state and federal funding losses in Macomb County's 21 school districts and the Macomb Intermediate School District. The 1.2-mill property tax proposal is expected to raise $27.5 million, or $206 per pupil across the county when first levied in 2011. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Find the location of your precinct using the interactive map above. If you do not know your precinct, visit the Michigan Votes website. Michigan voters…
Friday, November 4, 2011
A look at recent MEAP and MME scores by Macomb Township students under the state's new cut scores show a drop in the percentage deemed "proficient."
The Michigan Department of Education on Thursday released what it calls a “retrospective look” at how students would have fared on past MEAP and MME exams if new scoring standards had been in place–and none of Macomb Township’s public school districts escaped the statewide decline in proficiency levels. The new standards, adopted by the State Board of Education in September, changed state cut scores—the scores used by schools to determine whether a student is advanced, proficient, partially proficient or not proficient in certain subjects. Overall, the results released Thursday show a major decline in student test scores on the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) and the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) in math, reading, science and …
Jenny Whalen
10:05 am on Sunday, May 20, 2012
Financially, it makes more sense to not have separate elections (May and November) but one argument has been that those who really care about the schools turn out for the May election and November is a much larger number of voters who may or may not have any insight to the schools. So ... your thoughts? more ›