Education

COVID-19, flood disrupt curriculum for Midland Public Schools

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In the city of Midland, Midland Public Schools is the only public school option for students within city limits. K-12 schools converted to online learning due to COVID-19, and the district devised a plan to move forward into the possibility of returning to in person classes. 

MPS Curriculum Specialist Steve Poole said that this change was sudden for the school, and they only were informed just when Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer announced that schools were closed on March 12th.  Poole said they were talking about the possibility of going online, but did not have any concrete plans when the governor began this shutdown. This school systems, in midland, and nationwide, to have to adapt to what is being described as the new normal. 

“The first week of shutdown really allowed us to be prepared,” said Poole.  “There was a lot of communication at all levels at MPS. The principals worked with the curriculum office to establish the Continuity of Learning Plan. Teachers had to concentrate on essential standards that were needed for the rest of the semester.” 

Source: Midland Public Schools

The Continuity of Learning Plan released by MPS directly stated what was required of teachers to do for students to replace a normal class, and the policies MPS would use to finish out the year.  

According to the section of the document pertaining to high school classes, students had two classes a day, for around an hour each.  Teachers were able to schedule office hours at some point in the week to have meetings with students to discuss progress, and help them continue learning, according to the document.  Finally, the document states that final grading for the semester would be credit/no credit, instead of traditional grading. 

Source: Midland Public Schools

Students like Midland Dow High senior Aiden Moneypenny said students in the district faced a massive challenge when it came to finishing out the year.  Moneypenny said students really had to stay on top of new info relayed out by the administration in the week between classes being cancelled and online work beginning, so they could not miss out on work and risk not graduating. 

“The senior project is the biggest thing we do in second semester senior English,” said Moneypenny.  “For my class at least we were expected to still do some of it but the majority was canceled, which made our total assignments for English be very small.”

Moneypenny said MPS was eventually able to establish a system resembling some sense of normality.  While not perfect, they were able to get assignments out to all students, something that Poole was quite proud of.

Government

Can rescue bill rescue bipartisanship?

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By BECKY McKENDRY
Capital News Service
LANSING – During a spring flood this year in West Michigan, some people took to kayaks and jet skis – despite clear emergency warnings – and some ended up needing rescue. That sparked legislators to draft a bill calling for “grossly negligent” thrill seekers to repay their rescue costs. “The general response from the public and lawmakers was very positive,” said Rep. Brandon Dillon, D– Grand Rapids, the chief sponsor. “A lot of people support the common sense of it and we expect it to pass easily.”
But the bill may serve a higher purpose beyond punishing people who ignore safety warnings. “Clearly, perception of elected officials is not in high regard,” Dillon said.