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K-12
300 Michigan Science Faculty, Collectively Paid $45M/Year, Sign Letter Protesting Union For Their Grad Assistants
by P.D. Lesko
The bumper sticker is a classic one: If you're against abortion, don't have one. Limiting the rights of others is often mistaken for standing on principle. The University of Michigan graduate student research assistants…
Ann Arbor School Board Members Take Big Money From Unions To Campaign But Vote Against Contracting With Unionized Company For HVAC
By Chris Savage
On December 14, the Ann Arbor Board of Education members approved a new HVAC Journeyman contract with Flint-based D.M. Burr, Inc. D.M. Burr's bid was $66,727 less than the bid of Johnson Controls, the next lowest bidder…
Ann Arbor School Officials First Deny Having Actual Enrollment Numbers—After Multiple FOIAs & 72 Days Officials Relinquish Numbers
by P.D. Lesko
On December 13, 2011, A2Politico posted a piece titled, "30? 40? 50? Ann Arbor Officials Have No Idea Exactly How Many Kids Are In District Classrooms." For several days, it was among the top 5 most clicked headlines in the…
30? 40? 50? — Ann Arbor School Officials Have No Idea Exactly How Many Kids Are In District Classrooms
by P.D. Lesko
Class size: one time when size does matter. Research on the success of K-12 students has concluded definitively that class sizes impact the performance of all students. Kids learn better in small classes. According to…
A Descent Into The Maelström: Teachers, Politics & The Classroom
A2PNotes: Ann Arbor is home to some 16,000 public school students. Those students are parented by tens of thousands of women and men who haven't a clue about what their kids really do at school all day, not because they don't want to know.…
The Parent Trap: An Interview With Annie Zipser—Mother to Hundreds
by Betsy McMillin
Eleven and eight years ago, my two oldest kids had the great fortune of attending Stone School Co-op Preschool. The teacher of the 4s class was Annie Zipser. I knew I liked Annie the first time I met her. She was honest,…
The Parent Trap: The Talented and Gifted Child—Frequently A Product of Parent Imagination and Ego
by Betsy McMillin
It is September. That means school is back in session and it is time, across the country, for Curriculum Night. Working hand-in-hand with our kids' teachers and principals is one of the most important things we, as…
The Sleeping Giant Awakens: Michigan Education Association To Back Snyder Recall Efforts
A2P Notes: This is filed under "Scoops & Scores" because you read it here first!
Michigan Education Association spokesman Doug Pratt told A2Politico recently via email that the MEA was not endorsing the citizen-led efforts to recall…
Legislature Reforms Teacher Tenure: Education Experts Recommend Michigan Residents (1) Rejoice or (2) Mourn
As you might imagine, A2Politico gets lots of press releases. We never simply reprint press releases as "news." That would be cheating, as any fourth grade teacher knows. Yesterday, A2P got several press releases concerning the same news…
House Calls: Michigan State Representative Jeff Irwin Talks About Tenure Reform
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a…
