LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — It appears that the Governor’s office has abandoned the idea of forcing the closure of 38 schools this spring for low state test scores, including the Washington and Woodward Magnet Schools in Kalamazoo.
It appears they have taken the School Reform Office nearly out of the picture and created a whole new strategy to improve the schools targeted by the closure list.
Snyder spokesman Ari Adler says they are pushing back any decisions for 18-months if the districts agree to create partnerships with other institutions to help them improve scores.
Gone is the reliance on State Achievement tests as the only gauge on improvement. Four other evaluation methods can be included under the partnership agreement.
State Schools Superintendent Brian Whiston and The State Board of Education will be managing the agreements and not the SRO, which will participate in the initial meetings with schools, but the local districts will maintain total control over their buildings and curriculum.
Districts have 60-days to come up with those initial agreements and line up partners to work with them. After 18-months, they will once again review progress and if the schools have failed to meet goals, they could reconsider more intense interventions.
The targeted schools will be allowed to partner with local Intermediate School Districts, statewide organizations, local universities, business leaders, foundations and community organizations to help improve results. Much of that is already going on in Kalamazoo Schools because of “The Promise”, and the community partnerships that have grown from that scholarship program.
For the first time the state is spelling out and elaborating on what goals need to be set, deadlines and requirements need to be met and it offers a pathway for success.
It would also appear to specifically target and address most of the specific concerns challenged by the Lawsuit filed by Kalamazoo and Saginaw Schools last week.
It also appears that the Woodward Writers Academy and the Washington School for Research and Technology should be able to provide what the state is now requiring to show progress.
No comment from Kalamazoo Schools yet on the new arrangement, and what effect it will have on the Lawsuit they have filed challenging the authority of the SRO.
