September 27, 2005
September 27, 2005
Cites Detroit Digital Learning Community as Example
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today applauded the Detroit Public Schools for partnering with Apple, Inc. to establish a small “digital learning community.” Granholm said she is working to encourage school districts across Michigan to create small high schools as a way to help more students earn high school diplomas and ultimately college degrees.
“Every child in Michigan should be able to attend a high school that prepares them for success in college and in life” Granholm said. “Across the country, small high schools are making a big difference in the lives of children, helping them set and reach high goals. The children of Michigan deserve no less.”
According to Granholm, the small high school initiative will help school districts respond to her call for high standards in the state’s high schools as she seeks to increase the number of Michigan students who earn college degrees. Earlier this year, the Cherry Commission on Higher Education recommended that in order to compete economically, the state must double the number of college graduates.
The Granholm Administration is working with the Skillman Foundation to expand and develop small high schools. The Skillman Foundation is playing a leadership role in encouraging and organizing foundation support for small high schools in Southeast Michigan. Among the school districts being targeted for small high school development are those that have fallen short of federal student achievement goals under the No Child Left Behind Act, including districts with a high dropout rate.
Earlier this year, Granholm called on state lawmakers to pass legislation to make it easier for school districts to borrow up to $180 million over the next three years to refurbish existing buildings or construct new ones to house the schools of 400-500 students. This borrowing, on special advantageous terms, is part of the Governor’s Jobs Today initiative that is speeding up work on some $800 million in needed public improvement projects.
“There is no more important challenge we face today in Michigan than helping all students get on and stay on the path that leads to a degree and a good life,” Granholm said. “That path includes an education that is rigorous, relevant and that allows students to have a relationship with teachers.”
In addition to promoting small high schools to help students succeed in the classroom, Granholm has:
• announced that all high school students – beginning with the class of 2008 – will be required to take the ACT, a nationally recognized college entrance exam that will pave the way for more students to attend college. The requirement fulfills a recommendation of the Cherry Commission;
• called for a mandatory statewide curriculum, that will include coursework to ensure students are prepared to continue their education after high school; and,
• proposed a New Merit Scholarship that will ensure that more kids in Michigan can go to college and have the skills they need to be successful in the workplace by guaranteeing every student who successfully completes two years of college a minimum of $4,000 in scholarship support from state and federal sources – an amount roughly equal to two years of community college tuition.
