LANSING – The State Board of Education will review over the next few weeks the nearly 30 applications for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction position and may narrow the field down to a list of finalists at a Special Meeting on May 9.
The State Board of Education office will publicly release later this week the names of those applicants who have not asked for confidentiality in the search process. Confidentiality will be honored for those applicants wishing to remain anonymous until a group of finalists is named. Once selected by the State Board, any finalists requesting confidentiality will be notified prior to their names being release publicly. All interviews will be held at public meetings.
“We are committed to a fair and open process,” said State Board of Education President Kathleen N. Straus.
The State Board will develop a list of initial questions that will be sent to every candidate for their written response. Those questions will be sent out by the State Board office on or before April 19 and candidates must return their responses on or before May 3. The written responses will assist the State Board in their narrowing down of the field of candidates. A separate set of questions will be developed by the State Board for the public interviews of the finalists.
In other Action by the State Board: Michigan Lieutenant Governor John Cherry formally presented the report of the Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth to the State Board. Cherry, who chaired the Commission, touched on all 19 recommendations included in the report, but focused his comments on the need to develop rigorous standards for all high school students.
"The State Board of Education has put in place some of the highest standards in the nation for our students in grades K-8," said Cherry. "But we learned through the Commission that today, the skills and competencies needed for college and good jobs in the workplace are high-end communications, math, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills mastered in high school. States that have put in place rigorous standards for all high school students have seen big jumps in the number of students enrolling in and being well-prepared for postsecondary education.
"The era of a being able to get a good job at a factory in Michigan with just a K-12 education is over, but the era of a getting a good job by applying the talents and creativity through advanced education and training is just beginning,” the Lieutenant Governor added. "The states that have the highest education achievement levels are experiencing the greatest economic growth. Michigan must be one of those states."
The State Board also approved model policies for Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) to consider in complying with new state law requiring ISDs to adopt policies to avoid conflicts of interest by their officials and employees, and to prohibit the use of ISD funds to make certain purchases. The model policies include conflict of interest disclosures by ISD board members, administrators, or employees; and prohibition on using ISD funds or other public funds under control of the ISD to purchase gifts, jewelry, alcoholic beverages, golf fees, and any item the purchase or possession of which is illegal.
The State Board also adopted separate Resolutions recognizing May 1-7, 2005 as National Teacher Appreciation Week; and honoring Elizabeth Coke Haller, supervisor of the Michigan Department of Education’s Coordinated School Health and Safety Programs Unit. After serving the Department for six years, Haller will be leaving to become School Health Team Leader within the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga.
The State Board announced that future monthly meetings will be held outside of Lansing. The May 10, 2005 meeting will be held at the Michigan School for the Deaf and Blind in Flint; and the June 14, 2005 meeting will be held at the Holt Public School Administrative Offices.
Michigan Department of Education
www.michigan.gov/mde
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