NSFGRANT2004
Folks:
Reseach says..........an apple a day.......
December 1, 2004
Blogging in the Big Apple
By Jeffrey Piontek
As an educator in the NYC Department of Education and a lifelong learner, technology has and always will be an integral part of my instructional life. But the idea of keeping an online journal was foreign to my vernacular and way of being. I kept thinking: "All of your innermost thoughts and feelings for all to see and read in the online log! Are they crazy?"
Although this is becoming more and more commonplace across the country, to me as an educator it seemed frightening. These Weblogs, or Blogs, have been described as the hierarchy of texts, images, media objects and data, archived chronologically and viewable in an HTML format. They are the newest way for students to voice their opinions and feelings online. While a few educators have already started using Blogs, many ask the potential for teaching and learning with students. What could this new technology be used for and how does current research measure up to it?
I will pose a few questions that draw on the social interaction of teaching and learning by using Vygotsky's theories (1978). Educators highlight the "knowledge construction" processes of the learners and suggest that "meaning making" develops through the social process of language use over time. As such, knowledge construction is discursive, relational and conversational in nature.
Therefore, as students appropriate and develop language, they must have authentic opportunities for publication of their knowledge and understanding.
Through publication teachers can infer the process by which students transfer meaning and strategies appropriated within the social domain, making those strategies their own (Gavelach & Raphael, 1996). It makes materials accessible for subsequent reflection and analysis, allowing students to revisit and revise their artifacts; thus enriching their internal learning experience. Publication will offer feedback which, in turn, scaffolds learning in his/her quest for knowledge construction.
Blogs are, or can be, a useful tool for teaching and learning because they provide a space for students to reflect and construct their thoughts and understandings. Because they can be reflected and commented upon, they provide potential for feedback and thus allow the author to scaffold learning. Students can, after reading the Blogs, begin to construct meaning or ascertain knowledge about the subject or ideas in which they are interested.
Research has also shown that asynchronous chat such as on the Blackboard site (used in many schools across the country for online content delivery) allows the students to voice their concerns. The problem here is two-fold: asynchronous chat can be seen as a similar tool to the Blog.
They both represent the student's ability to promote understanding, opportunity, higher-order thinking skills and the feasibility thereof to promote learning. On the other hand Blogs are so much more than a single form of exchange of ideas. Blogs are a way for students to establish their personal and/or intellectual ownership of new concepts while they visualize and attempt to group abstract ideas. Blogs can become a student's online soapbox.
Unlike a discussion forum that can be shared by many, a Blog is personal with the students being in full control of their online content. It can be a place for all students to figure out who they are in a risk free environment.
Folks:
Follow-up to Sol Phone Conference.
Hi Gang,
Thanks for your time yesterday. The call was definitely quite productive and I look so forward to our follow up work ! I am in the process of reviewing the minutes with Carol and I am hoping to get to it tonight, though I can not promise that. If I can not get to it this evening my promise is that I will have the minutes to you by at least by Jan. 10 I am leaving the country for an 8 day vacation and will not have access to email. I hope you all have a happy and safe new year.
Also, please do let me know when dates and times would work for you for us to have the next meeting !
All the best,
Renee
Folks:
Great phone conference on Monday, Demeber 27, 2004 with the Sol Summer Camp Organizational committee. Will wonderment never cease! Pictures and video available for review.
Thanks to everyone who could find the time in their busy HOLIDAY schedules! I think this is the continuation of something great.
Best,
Jim
Folks:
ALL is not lost.....just hidden from plain view.
Detroit Free Press Article (with particular emphasis on the last paragraph)
http://www.freep.com/money/business/genxy27e_20041227.htm
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Sunday, December 26, 2004 "Breakfast Club" meeting was quite inspirational. THANKS for the insights, etc. I will be looking forward to our phone conference this morning to futher continue our efforts to shape the vision for the Sol Leadership Summer Camp Adademy 2005.
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Friday, December 24, 2004
Hey there !! Hoping you all are getting ready for a good holiday !
Due to the season we will have a sparse group on the phone. However, in the interest of moving this project forward we are going to stick with the date and have a prompt follow-up call in early January.
For those that can't make it, don't worry - I will get minutes out quickly.
If you all could let me know some good dates in January for a follow that would be helpful. Once the holidays are over we will need to have the call after school hours to accommodate the youth represented on the team.
Can't wait to speak with you all.
Safe and Happy Travels !!!!
All the best,
Renee
Folks:
If you missed the Urgency Insurgency message at
http://www.cherry.commission.org try the follow-on piece from the Tom Watkins, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The report is titled Structural Issues Surrounding Michigan School Funding in the 21st Century at
http://www.michigan.gov/mde
In summary, I found this compelling "How would 12 billion be invested to assure that children obtain the education necessary to thrive in a 21st Century knowledge economy?" In this case the end is the beginning.
What was that quote by Einstein regarding "you will not find the solution from those who were responsible for the problem," (sic) or something along those lines.
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Thrid Installment of our Emergent & Changing Economic Landscape
Detroit Free Press Article
NEW Meaning to Chineese Fortune Cookies
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/webgmx22e_20041222.htm
Emergent Sector / Managers not Engineers
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm-china-bar522e_20041222.htm
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Oh! Oh!
Is nothing sacred, or does the "global bull" know no bounds and gore with impunity.
New Your Times Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/national/21global.html?oref=login&th
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Latest update on our Sol Summer Camp Academy 2005 project at the observatory.
Hi there - let's try this again !
I know it has been a crazy time of year, but we do need to get the scope defined to make this camp happen by summer. What's so exciting is that everyone on ths list seems interested in participating and driving this idea to execution.
Carol Gorelick and I are thinking 12:00 est on Dec. 27 for our first 1.5 hour conference call.
Once confirmed by all that can attend I will shoot over a conference call number we can
use. I do hope you can make it.
As for the Detroit team, what would work best is if you have a sub-committee meeeting prior to the call to discuss some issues for the scope (which you will find in the next step portion of the proposal) and then to have one person from the youth team represent the group on the call.
Below is a copy of the initial email I sent to you last month as well as the proposal! I suggest
that if you have the time to look at the following websitehttp
www.campcoca-cola.com prior to the call that would be good.
I have made contact with the director of the program and they are interested in helping us get this off the ground. They have been in the youth development business for several years !
I do hope all of you are enjoying the season and the spirit and I can't wait to speak with you all again !
Renee
As you know at the SoL Sustainability Forum this past October, the Sustainability Corsortium reached out to begin a Youth Leadership Program.
The excitment to create more and to help develop a memorable experience for Youth Leaders continues within the group. Carol Gorelick and I have been called to action to see if we can make a richer and deeper youth oriented program happen. Since we returned home we've been working on a proposal for a summer camp - our goal is to make this happen for the summer 2005 whichwe believe is aggressive but doable. Based on my respect of you I am hoping
you can join us at least in the beginning to help sculpt and mold the program.
The beginning strawman mission is as follows:
PURPOSE:
To establish a Youth and Education Sustainability summer camp within the
SoL Sustainability Consortium so that we can bring selected Youth Leaders
from around the world to build an active youth community that applies
organizational learning principles to the next generation in a way that
leverages the experience and research developed over the 5 years of the
Sustainability Consortium existence and builds on the current momentum to
address social issues related to sustainability.
Will we bring Youth Leaders from around the globe to engage in
collaborative projects with supporting Consortium Organizations in a way
that raises awareness and increases action so that we transform the
environmental footprint of today.
Renee M. Kaspar
Folks:
CHANGE is the only constant! You have two choices, take advantage of it or it will take advantage of you.
Detroit Free Presss Article
21st Century Work for 21st Century Schools?
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/webgmindia21e_20041221.htm
WHAT did we know and when did we know it? Or don't shoot the messenger!
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/main21e_20041221.htm
The Prophet / Insightful?
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm-india-bar521e_20041221.htm
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Here is a little piece of the puzzle compliments of Paul Briercheck.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5416
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Jim
Folks:
Somewhere between the Cherry Commission report and the previous GM "posts" comes a little bit of creativity, innovation, imagination, entrepreneurship, a dash of courage and a large dollop of URGENCY!
Detroit News Editorial
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0412/20/A10-37037.htm
Best,
Jim
Folks:
A Different Perspective on Jobs & EducationDetroit Free Press Article
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm20e_20041220.htm
Detroit Free Press Article / WHAT 21st Century Classroooms Might Look Like
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm20e_20041220.htm
Best,
Jim
Well now! This just in.
Sweden, Ireland and Britain Leaders in IT
Mon Dec 13, 5:07 PM ET
By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Businesses in Sweden, Ireland and Britain top the list when it comes to the use of information technology to improve their operations, according to a country-by-country survey. The United States, which was in the top three last year, slipped four places.
The study by U.S. consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, uses its own "Sophistication Index" to determine how eagerly, and capably, countries have embraced information technology, including wireless access and Internet access.
Commissioned by Britain's Department of Trade and Industry, the survey by the New York-based consulting firm was based on telephone interviews from April-July of nearly 8,000 businesses in Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland, South Korea (
news -
web sites), Sweden and the United States.
Sweden rose from fifth place to first from 2003 to 2004 because of the Scandinavian country's use of technology by businesses, large and small. Ireland was ranked second because of the knowledge workers there have in using information technology, while Britain finished third, four spots higher than in 2003.
British businesses were quick to adopt new technologies early, including voice over IP, or VoIP calling, which replaces a telephone line by making calls through the Internet, as well as desktop video conferencing, the report found.
Germany was ranked fourth, followed by South Korea, Canada, the United States and Australia. Italy, Japan and France rounded out the survey, which covered companies in sectors including manufacturing, construction, retail and wholesale, transport, communications, finance and services, and government agencies.
On a global basis, the survey — released last week — found that more businesses are measuring the benefits of technology instead of its costs on the bottom-line. It also found that instead of touting their ability to provide access to the Internet, companies are using the speed and reliability as benchmarks of success.
"Overall, businesses are taking a more thoughtful and selective approach to deploying technology," said Frederick Knops, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. "We see a tighter focus on value-added applications, and greater emphasis on measurement to assess the benefits of new technology."
And someone told me recently that U.S K-12 educations customer was U.S. business (not that I agree with that). Theat bodes the question should we follow the leader or some also ran. Perhaps this is something to think about.
Best,
Jim
Hi, Sherry!
Jim said that you might allow me to contribute to your efforts on"the grant".
I'm a little out of the loop (a lot), but I must have picked up something along the way in my forty years in the saddle.
Let me know how I can help!
Paul
psbcmp@flash.net
Folks:
Wired Magazine Article may present more questions then answers. However, it certainly frames our NSF Grant initiative. Enjoy!
http://www.wired.com/wired/
Best,
Jim
Friends:
We have been contacted by some old colleagues regarding our previous discussions with NASA Glenn Research Center and their AEL development program taking place locally. This will be a great addition to our NSF Grant proposal. More to come on these discussions which will result in an NASA Laboratory Development Room being created here in Michigan.
Next steps will be meeting with the principles to discuss the opportunities and possibilities next week December 20, 2004.
Stay tuned! More to come.
Best,
Jim
Folks:
Visit to the observatory by Joel Milinsky to preview a new DVD which chronicled some of our research regarding the transformational issues facing K-12 education during the past several years. Joel has become a reasonably good student. David Oliver, Dan Pesserl and Paul Briercheck also joined the review and subsequent discussion, etc.
Next step will be to have Joel visit the various sites to witness some of the results of these researched implementations.
Great stuff to add to our NSF Grant package.
Best,
Jim
Great meeting with Oakland Schools Sherry Kuchon and Tammy Evans. It would appear that the project may electronically unfold before the end of the year.
Progress will not wait for those who hesitate. JBB
December 7, 2004
Meeting: Tammy Evans, Oakland Schools, Director of Technology
Sherry Kuchon
John Iras
Ed Hendry
AGENDA
Introductions
NSF Grant / Informal Science Education
Review of MSTA and NSTA Conference 1998 / 1999
Tests: 4 Technology Centers
OSMTech
Agriscience
3-D AutoCad Instruction
Synergy Grant
Walton Park Manor
48th District Court
Sol Summer Camp 2005 / Observatory
Fiber Optic Connection
Connectivity
Internet 2 (HDTV Delivery)
Things we can do prior to grant
Connectivity to OSTC/NW (Joe Hoover & Ed Hendry)
Content creation & development / Curriculum & Benchmarks alignment / Professional Staff Development
Observatory Digital Upgrades
Other:
OSMtech
Agri-Science Program
International Academy
Walton Park Manor / Computer Learning Center
U.S. Sea Cadets / Great Lakes / Submersible
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Sol Leadership Academy Summer Camp 2005
Electronic Arts Videoconference / Digital Studio Concept
Summary: SUPERB! And a real meeting of the minds. Stay tuned.
Best,
Jim
Folks: (Additional Urgency)
Sunday Detroit News & Free Press
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/05/A01-24450.htm
Sunday, December 5, 2004
India wants to lure U.S. auto supply jobs
Its bid to become a major global player in parts manufacturing poses a challenge to Michigan companies.
By Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
After nabbing scores of software engineering and call-center jobs from America, India now wants to become a powerhouse in the $1.1 trillion automotive supply industry.
The Indian government recently served notice it plans to compete globally in the auto industry, beginning with the design and production of automotive components. The country's goal is to grow its fledgling $7 billion auto parts sector by $5 billion a year over the next decade.
Such an expansion could create as many as 3 million jobs and attract nearly $50 billion in investment, according to a study by the consulting group McKinsey & Co. for India's Automotive Component Manufacturers Association.
It would also establish India as a serious competitor to Michigan, which remains the nerve center of the automotive parts industry despite losing 53,000 jobs in the sector since 1999.
For now, India is attracting auto parts jobs on a small scale. In April, for example, Livonia-based Acro Service Corp. helped build a small facility in Pune, India, where a small group of Indian engineers handle design work for a Michigan auto parts supplier.
The Indian engineers perform basic computer-aided design testing and send the results back to their Michigan counterparts, who make 60 percent higher salaries.
Similar work is performed by 25 Indian engineers at
General Motors Corp.'s India Science Laboratory in Bangalore, which opened three years ago. They corroborate electronically with GM engineers and designers based in Warren and Europe. Troy-based auto parts maker
Delphi Corp. opened a similar facility in Bangalore two years ago.
The Indian government, which successfully targeted information technology and computer programming in the 1990s, now believes auto parts could be its next big opportunity.
Other countries -- including China, Brazil, Slovakia and Vietnam -- have similar ambitions to tap into the emerging Asian and Eastern European auto markets, as well as making headway in North America.
More than half of the $5 billion-a-year projected growth in India's auto parts industry will come at the expense of global competitors, including Michigan-based firms, according to the McKinsey & Co. study.
"You should get used to this because you are going to hear these kinds of goals from China to Eastern Europe," said Sean McAlinden, chief economist and vice president of research for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
Michigan and Midwest auto suppliers are still reeling from the first wave of foreign rivals that began to nab jobs and investment two decades ago. Last year, Mexico, Canada, Japan and Germany accounted for 55 percent of auto parts imported into the United States.
Because of the shift, Michigan has lost 21 percent of its auto supply jobs since 1999, according to the Center for Automotive Research. About 172,000 auto supply jobs remain in Michigan.
About 1 in 5 U.S. auto supply jobs, around 127,000, will vanish by the end of the decade as North American firms close plants and move production to lower-cost regions, according to a study this year by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Troy.
India, like many countries, wants to cash in on Eastern European and Far East countries opening their gates to foreign investment. India's auto parts industry currently isn't much of a player in Asia or the United States.
But buoyed by its success in attracting American information technology jobs such as call centers and software design, as well as its proximity to China and other growing auto markets, India believes it's ready to tackle manufacturing.
India also is signaling it will aggressively seek high-skill jobs in the auto industry -- the kinds of jobs Michigan government officials have said they need to retain. India has a population of more than 1 billion people.
Every year, Indian universities produce more than 350,000 engineers and nearly 5,000 doctorates.
Analysts remain skeptical that India can become a major player in the global auto industry in just a few years.
"No question, India will be a formidable opponent, but the question is, to who and what market?" said Antonio Benecchi, an auto analyst for Roland Berger Strategy consulting firm.
"The initial expansion will eventually serve the expanding market in India and Asia, which may not mean much job dislocation for American workers. But they can cause more immediate problems for Latin America and other Asian competitors," Benecchi said.
When RV Rao recently heard of India's ambitions, the Indian-American shook his head and smiled as he sat in the Livonia offices of Acro.
"The Indian industry can be quite boastful in their predictions," Rao said. "But there is no question there is going to be significant growth.
Will there be dislocation of American workers? Unfortunately, yes. How much dislocation? No one can accurately say."
Rao is head of a new Acro subsidiary that is setting up Indian engineering facilities for automakers and suppliers. He helped establish the Puneshop that opened in April and plans to hire another dozen Indian engineers soon. Next month, Acro plans to open another engineering center in Chennai, India, for a Michigan supplier. All of the work once was performed by American workers.
For more than two decades, Acro concentrated on providing automakers and their suppliers with IT staffing and engineers in the United States. About five years ago, automakers and suppliers began to approach the firm about setting up facilities in India.
Acro intends to serve smaller firms that perform contract work for larger auto supply firms.
It hopes that 25 percent of its business will come from low-level design and engineer work currently done by companies and employees of automakers based in the United States and Europe.
"We are not the trendsetters here," Rao said. "But that is the direction the auto industry and the supply industry have taken, and we are responding."
Acro isn't the only one setting up engineering and design outposts in India.
Major companies such as Sundram Fasteners, Bharat Forge, Sona Koyo Steering and Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts have either secured contracts or are already supplying to vehicle manufacturers abroad.
DaimlerChrysler AG's Detroit Diesel Corp. subsidiary recently announced it would build an Indian plant to manufacture valves for engines.
Amtek Auto Ltd., an Indian auto supplier that builds connecting rods for GM and
Ford Motor Co., raised $69 million selling shares to fund acquisitions and expansion plans.
Amtek Auto last year bought U.K.-based GWK Group, which supplies parts to GM and Ford.
In September, a 30-member delegation from India's Automotive Component Manufacturers Association traveled to Detroit to hold talks with Ford, GM, and Delphi officials. Similar talks are now being held with European automakers and suppliers.
Analysts say India's grandiose ambitions are typical of emerging countries that are rushing to take advantage of globalization.
"The biggest threat may be that India steals so much work from Mexico and China that those countries retool and go after other segments of the American market," McAlinden said.
Analysts contend India and other new competitors have many obstacles to overcome. They must significantly upgrade roads and infrastructure, and guarantee top-notch quality and delivery. And they must liberalize trade policies.
"And there is no small amount of bureaucracy and corruption to deal with in the Indian government," McAlinden said.
Still, no one doubts that Michigan must adapt to new competition from India.
"The 21st-century manufacturing economy in Michigan will be far different than the last century," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a recent interview. "I am aware that many analysts say that we will lose more jobs to India and other emerging countries. But we can and will continue to remain essential in the global economy."
Folks:
A little tid-bit of information that goes directly to our political grant rationale thanks to Paul Briercheck.
December 5, 2004OP-ED COLUMNIST
Fly Me to the Moon
By
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Of all the irresponsible aspects of the 2005 budget bill that the Republican-led Congress just passed, nothing could be more irresponsible than the fact that funding for the National Science Foundation was cut by nearly 2 percent, or $105 million.
Think about this. We are facing a mounting crisis in science and engineering education. The generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians who were spurred to get advanced degrees by the 1957 Soviet launch of Sputnik and the challenge by President John Kennedy to put a man on the moon is slowly retiring.
But because of the steady erosion of science, math and engineering education in U.S. high schools, our cold war generation of American scientists is not being fully replenished. We traditionally filled the gap with Indian, Chinese and other immigrant brainpower. But post-9/11, many of these foreign engineers are not coming here anymore, and, because the world is now flat and wired, many others can stay home and innovate without having to emigrate.
If we don't do something soon and dramatic to reverse this "erosion," Shirley Ann Jackson, the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, told me, we are not going to have the scientific foundation to sustain our high standard of living in 15 or 20 years.
Instead of doubling the N.S.F. budget - to support more science education and research at every level - this Congress decided to cut it! Could anything be more idiotic?
If President Bush is looking for a legacy, I have just the one for him - a national science project that would be our generation's moon shot: a crash science initiative for alternative energy and conservation to make America energy-independent in 10 years. Imagine if every American kid, in every school, were galvanized around such a vision. Ah, you say, nice idea, Friedman, but what does it have to do with your subject - foreign policy?
Everything! You give me an America that is energy-independent and I will give you sharply reduced oil revenues for the worst governments in the world. I will give you political reform from Moscow to Riyadh to Tehran. Yes, deprive these regimes of the huge oil windfalls on which they depend and you will force them to reform by having to tap their people instead of oil wells. These regimes won't change when we tell them they should. They will change only when they tell themselves they must.
When did the Soviet Union collapse? When did reform take off in Iran? When did the Oslo peace process begin? When did economic reform become a hot topic in the Arab world? In the late 1980's and early 1990's. And what was also happening then? Oil prices were collapsing.
In November 1985, oil was $30 a barrel, recalled the noted oil economist Philip Verleger. By July of 1986, oil had fallen to $10 a barrel, and it did not climb back to $20 until April 1989.
"Everyone thinks Ronald Reagan brought down the Soviets," said Mr. Verleger. "That is wrong. It was the collapse of their oil rents." It's no accident that the 1990's was the decade of falling oil prices and falling walls.
If President Bush made energy independence his moon shot, he would dry up revenue for terrorism; force Iran, Russia, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to take the path of reform - which they will never do with $45-a-barrel oil - strengthen the dollar; and improve his own standing in Europe, by doing something huge to reduce global warming. He would also create a magnet to inspire young people to contribute to the war on terrorism and America's future by becoming scientists, engineers and mathematicians. "This is not just a win-win," said the Johns Hopkins foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum. "This is a win-win-win-win-win."
Or, Mr. Bush can ignore this challenge and spend the next four years in an utterly futile effort to persuade Russia to be restrained, Saudi Arabia to be moderate, Iran to be cautious and Europe to be nice.
Sure, it would require some sacrifice. But remember J.F.K.'s words when he summoned us to go to the moon on Sept. 12, 1962: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."
Summoning all our energies and skills to produce a 21st-century fuel is George W. Bush's opportunity to be both Nixon to China and J.F.K. to the moon - in one move.
Best,
Jim
Folks: (It's Official)
'Blog' is dictionary's top word for 2004: A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 words of the year. Merriam-Webster Inc. said on Tuesday that blog, defined as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks," was one of the most looked-up words on its Internet sites this year. Eight entries on the publisher's top-10 list related to major news events, from the presidential election -- represented by words such as incumbent and partisan -- to natural phenomena such as hurricane and cicada. Springfield, Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster compiles the list each year by taking the most researched words on its Web sites and then excluding perennials such as affect/effect and profanity.
Best,
Jim
Folks: (FYI)
Good first step for the ISD
Web-posted Nov 27, 2004
Kudos to the Oakland Intermediate School District - and that's something we haven't said on this page in a long time.
The ISD board voted 4-0 this week to again pay about $35,000 in student subsidies to the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills.
The academy is the crown jewel of Oakland County's public school system. It is a tuition-free, high school of choice for about 540 students.
Those students come from 11 Oakland districts located primarily in the eastern portion of the county. At the International Academy, area business and university partners offer their expertise in providing a challenging and respected academic curriculum that's aimed at a practical, career-related learning experience.
This specialized learning environment resulted in Newsweek magazine naming the International Academy the nation's best high school in 2003.
When students select the International Academy, the school receives those students' state per-pupil funding allowances to pay its $7,950 annual tuition. When a student comes from a district that receives less than that figure, additional money is needed.
The ISD subsidy approved this week, along with other subsidies, helps ensure equal enrollment opportunities at the International Academy. The ISD's annual budget is about $120 million.
But this week's vote is only a stop-gap measure.
Oakland ISD is currently working with officials in each of the county's 28 public school districts to prioritize and ensure such future funding in the face of increasingly limited education money coming from the state.
And to further complicate matters - but something that definitely needs to be explored - is a proposal to add a second International Academy campus to serve the western portion of the county and handle the current growing enrollment. That idea is coming from the districts not currently involved with the academy, but who would like to gain enrollment access. Huron Valley Schools Superintendent Robert O'Brien has proposed using his Lakeland High School campus for that expansion.
While the ISD still has not shaken the stigma of the James Redmond superintendency and his infamous Sept. 25, 2001, stealth election, its ongoing assistance with academy funding is where Oakland Schools can do some of its best work.
Now, the next step is for the ISD to help figure out a mechanism to ensure future funding for our existing International Academy, as well as the planned expansion.
