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 On Monday January 4, the beginning of 2010’s  first week, Governor Granholm signed a package of legislation commonly referred to as Race To The Top, or RTTT, as its acronym is known.  While all the details certainly still need to be worked out, this legislation has the potential to have an enormously positive impact in our schools.  If you wish to see a summary of the RTTT click here:

Much of it is modeled after sweeping reforms that U. S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, used in "reimagining" schools in Chicago while he was that city's chief executive officer.

     School District personnel will anxiously await the full meaning of the legislation.  Undoubtedly, there will be major adjustments in the way we educate kids.  Certainly, there is some trepidation in the ranks.  Change is hard.  Many of us, including myself, who have been in education for decades, will have to move out of our comfort zones.  But this is the way it needs to be. We know more about how students learn and how to effectively instruct than ever before.  Hopefully, this legislation will spur innovation and move schools in Michigan to, once again, regain our place as world leaders.

     I must give the legislature, the Governor, and the State Superintendent credit.  These reforms were the result of bipartisan effort and had to be done immediately in order to position the State to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant money.-Money we sorely need.

     I believe this legislation will mark the beginning of significant, important changes in Michigan education.  There, undoubtedly, will be bumps along the way -and learning to embrace a new way of operating will not be easy.  However, I think it necessary for us, not only to economically survive, but to educate and enable our children to be competitive, 21st Century citizens .   

Sincerely,

Mark R. Dobias, Superintendent                                             

The Allegan Area Educational Service Agency is pleased to announce Lake Michigan College will be offering the following credit and non-credit courses at the Allegan Tech Center  for the Winter 2010 Semester.

With a variety of names this year’s flu still has the same old effects upon the human body: fever, sore throats, coughs and body aches. That much has not changed as the virus assaults our bodies and health. What is new is the strain of the virus. It has the dubious distinction of being a new flu.

The H1N1 virus is a new strain of influenza that has its roots in viruses endemic in birds and pigs (swine).  Luckily for us humans the sickness tends to be mild except for high risk people. The disease should not be taken lightly and can cause serious secondary illnesses in those weakened by flu. Everyone should be aware of preventative measures to both isolate and prevent this disease.

Allegan County Health Dept. has a web site with pertinent information about the H1N1 Flu and how to mitigate its spread this flu season.

Click on the following link for more information: 

http://www.allegancounty.org/Government/HD/PH/H1n1.asp

ALLEGAN COUNTY – The question often is asked about how wisely the “Stimulus” money is being spent and if it is really making a difference. Well, on Thursday, August 20, 2009, the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency (AAESA) Board of Education learned that it did make a difference this summer in Allegan County!

Through the Allegan County Michigan Works! Service Center’s Summer WIA Youth  Program, low-income youth 18-24 years of age were given a chance to develop work readiness skills and college readiness skills while earning college credit or obtaining their GED.

Served by Allegan County Area Technical and Education Center (ACATEC) instructors, who are also accredited as Adjunct Lake Michigan College Instructors, the students improved their work readiness skills through combining project work and class work in Computer Aided Drafting, Electrical, Business, Graphics Arts, and Natural Resources.  And they earned college credits at the same time, along with getting a paycheck.

“The return on your investment was significant”, stated Nora Balgoyen-Williams, Michigan Works! Service Center Supervisor at the AAESA Board of Education meeting. The AAESA is the fiscal agent for the Allegan County Michigan Works! Service Center.

Door to the Future

  *   78% of the participants earned 1 college credit

 *   52% of the participants earned 3-4 college credits

 *   50% of the participants earned 4 credits

 *   27% of participants in the non college group earned their GED

 *   63% of the non college group are near and will finish their GED in the next few weeks

In all, 16 people earned 8-9 college credits; 17 earned 4-5 college credits; and 24 earned 1 college credit. All of the participants are continuing to work with their MiWorks! counselor to finish their credits or their GED and/or register for college this fall.

 Pet Care Day has become so successful that Mrs. Walker has opened it to the public and now offers a Pet Care Day the last Friday of each month.

Anyone interested in bringing their pet in for this service is asked to call the Tech Center at 673-3121 and make a reservation. The next Pet Care Day will be held on November 20th. There is no charge but donations are appreciated and will go to the Wishbone Pet Rescue, a west Michigan pet care organization.

The Allegan AESA is underwriting an exciting initiative in all the area districts we serve. The initiative began this winter in Plainwell and Otsego school districts. The 5 x 5 program was the brainchild of Plainwell Community Schools Superintendent Sue Wakefield. “We wanted to encourage parents to help their children get ready for kindergarten by having these 5 important skills,” Superintendent Wakefield said.

“These skills can all be learned by playing games, singing songs, and working with their children with crayons, pencils, and paper.  The most critical part is that the parents and children are doing activities together,” explained Denny Patzer, Superintendent of the Otsego Public Schools.

The five skills identified for parents to help children acquire by the time they are five years old are:

1. How to say the alphabet
2. How to count objects up to 10
3. How to identify rhyming words
4. How to print their first name
5. Memorize their first and last name, their parents’ names, their address and phone number.

Information about the Five by Five Initiative will be available in all the school districts. Click here to download the flyer. 

To view the flyer you will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If you do not have one you can download it for free at Adobe's website.