No one-size-fits-all solution to dropout crisis
Testimony continues in Lansing, Flint; MEA-led hearings to resume in September
On the day Flint teacher Jim Ananich attended a dropout hearing in Flint to talk about the reasons students don’t stay in school, a student came to him to plead for a passing grade.
Teacher Will LeCorn (standing, right of sign) brought students from the Hill Center for Academic and Technology, which houses the Lansing School District's vocational and alternative high school programs, to the Lansing dropout hearing. The students testified that high schools need passionate teachers, flexible course and schedule options, and after-school programs to help at-risk students. "There's no one-size-fits-all," LeCorn said.
If she didn’t pass his class, Ananich said, the student was going to lose custody of her own young child.
“But she can’t be in school because she doesn’t have good day care,” said Ananich, who teaches ninth grade.
Ananich shared the story to help lawmakers and the public better understand the dropout crisis in Michigan. He attended a public dropout hearing in Flint on June 12, the most recent in a series of 10 hearings across the state sponsored by MEA and other partners.
Five hearings have already taken place. After a summer hiatus, the hearings resume in September. Testimony may also be provided online at www.mea.org/dropouts.
All of the testimony collected will be shared with lawmakers, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the public at the Michigan Dropout Prevention Leadership Summit Oct. 20 in Lansing.
The Lansing dropout hearing attracted more than 50 people, including students, teachers, parents and others. One of the panelists taking testimony was Stan Kogut, superintendent of the Ingham Intermediate School District, who testified about his family's personal connection to the dropout crisis. Kogut's son dropped out of high school. "There are a lot of challenges out there," Kogut told attendees. "We have to provide a continuum of services."
Lansing teacher Will LeCorn, who attended a hearing in Lansing on June 5, brought several of his students with him. The students, all at risk of dropping out and attending an alternative program, said they needed flexible scheduling, passionate teachers, and after-school programs with field trips and other experiences they can’t get on their own.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all,” LeCorn summarized.
The dropout crisis must be addressed as soon as possible, many said. One reason is because employers urgently need skilled workers, said Jim Sandy, executive director of the Michigan Business Leaders for Education Excellence.
“We can go anywhere (to find workers),” Sandy said at the Flint hearing. “We want to raise workers in Michigan.”
After listening to more than three hours of comments from teachers, parents and others in Flint, MEA Vice President Steve Cook said: “Something out there is broken and we need to fix it.”
Doug Pratt, MEA's director of communications, told those attending a June 12 public hearing on the dropout crisis in Flint that their comments would be shared with lawmakers, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and the public at a statewide dropout summit in the fall.
For more information, including the fall hearing dates, go to www.mea.org/dropouts.