Education

Calley calls for improved special ed programs

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By YUEHAN LIU
Capital News Service
LANSING—Schools should provide what children need and not expect children to conform to old structures, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said in a report to the state Board of Education, asking it to increase access, scope and quality of special education. Calley wrote, “I have been traveling the state, holding informal town halls with parents and educators who face the challenges and triumphs of working every day with students in need of special education services. ”
Calley said several hundred people were at some of these events. He also hosted an online survey that had around 2,000 responses. Based on the feedback he received, Calley presented the most often cited issues and concerns in five categories.

Education

New teachers leave state but some return to teach

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By STEPHEN INGBER
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan is having trouble keeping its teachers, Steven Cook, the president of the state’s largest educators’ union, said. “There is a large demand for science and special education teachers,” Cook said. “Teachers are going to New York, Pennsylvania, and California.”
The Michigan Education Association (MEA) represents 157,000 teachers and school employees. After teachers leave the state, however, some eventually return to take on teaching positions in the state. “I have hired many Michigan-educated teachers from out of state,” said Joseph Powers, superintendent of Crawford AuSable Public Schools, based in Grayling.