CHICAGO – As part of a key strategic initiative, the Public Library Association (PLA) has released a free promotional toolkit designed to help libraries raise awareness of family engagement through libraries. This new resource can be used to supplement libraries’ marketing, fundraising, community relations and political advocacy work.
The term “family engagement” describes a shared responsibility among families, educators and communities to support children’s learning and development. Building upon the early-childhood literacy success of Every Child Ready to Read@ your library® (ECRR), PLA established a Family Engagement Initiative in 2015 to help libraries serve families of all types with children of all ages.
Public libraries are critical to family engagement, given their ability to develop strong and lasting relationships with families, engage all members of the family no matter their ages or interests, and offer access to afterschool, weekend and summer programming, particularly in communities lacking many resources.
“Family engagement is all about nurturing the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviors that enable motivated, enthusiastic, and successful learners,” explains Clara N. Bohrer, co-chair of the task force and director of the West Bloomfield Township (Michigan) Public Library. “In libraries, that means forming respectful partnerships with parents and caregivers, and providing them with information, guidance, and opportunities to be active in their children’s learning and development.”
The Family Engagement Toolkit was developed in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA), as part of ALA’s Libraries Transform public awareness campaign. Best known for its signature “Because” statements, Libraries Transform was created to help libraries of all kinds communicate in one clear, energetic voice.
The Toolkit offers both strategy and tactics for family engagement advocates, including message points, customizable graphics, promotional ideas, and program examples from IDEABOOK: Libraries for Families, a family engagement publication released in 2017 by PLA and the Global Family Research Project. This is the second toolkit PLA has developed through the Libraries Transform campaign; a toolkit on Health Literacy was released last year.
Accessing the Toolkit
Registration on the Libraries Transform website is required to download the materials. To access the new Family Engagement Toolkit, please begin by clicking here. The link will bring you to a password-protected landing page where you must enter your existing credentials, or create a new registration, to proceed. Once the login/registration process is complete, reopen the URL http://ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform/family-engagement-toolkit to access the full toolkit.
For more information on PLA and family engagement, or to share examples of what your library is doing to engage parents in the education of children and youth, please contact Scott Allen at sallen@ala.org. Libraries are also encouraged to add their program information to the Living IDEABOOK, an online repository of family engagement ideas and success stories.
FLINT, Mich.— More than 75 educators and business leaders gathered today in Flint for a Marshall Plan for Talent workshop where they discussed upcoming opportunities to revolutionize Michigan’s education and talent development system.
“We are extremely grateful for all of the partners that showed up today to take part in the continued momentum as we gear up for the implementation phase of the Marshall Plan for Talent,” said Roger Curtis, Talent and Economic Development Department of Michigan Director. “Everyone has a stake in Michigan’s education and talent development systems and these partnerships critical to help connect the dots between business needs and how we can best address the gap in the talent pipeline.”
Business, K-12 and higher education participants discussed needs, potential barriers and partnerships necessary to help form consortia that will allow them to apply for Marshall Plan funds.
The plan, which passed through the Legislature yesterday and is on its way to the Governor to be signed into law, calls for investing $100 million in innovative programs to revolutionize Michigan’s talent and education system. It will support schools that want to transform education through programs like competency-based certification, world-class curricula and classroom equipment, scholarships and stipends, and support for career navigators and teachers. The funding complements the more than $225 million in existing talent development efforts in Michigan.
Michigan will have more than 811,000 career openings to fill through 2024 in fields that are facing a critical talent shortage. As the state considers talent preparation changes for these fields, the greatest demand for talent will be in increasingly high-skill, high-tech fields such as in information technology and computer science, manufacturing, health care, and other business and professional trades careers.
On April 26-28, the Detroit – For Inspiration Recognition of Science & Technology (FIRST) World Championships were held, hosting over 15,000 students and 40,000 spectators from all around the world, including of 111 Michigan teams. It is with great excitement that the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) share two Michigan teams, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo and Team RUSH, Clarkston were part of the winning alliance for this year’s game, FIRST POWER UPSM.
The State Board of Education (SBE) celebrated the success of the Stryke Force, Kalamazoo and Team RUSH, Clarkston FIRST Robotics teams by honoring them at the June 12 board meeting. Their presentation demonstrated the level of technical capacity, educational excellence, and 21st Century competencies achieved by these students and the students participating in the 1400 teams across the state.
Stryke Force had students Sierra Staunton and Kjersten Lindbloom, present. Sierra shared, “We work to inspire others, because FIRST inspires us. Through FIRST, STEM is accessible.”
Team RUSH had students Valentina Vargas, Jessica Ray, and Jason Richards present. Valentina shared that Team RUSH, “aims to create self-confident leaders who inspire others to celebrate STEM.” The students from Team RUSH shared that they work to fail faster in order to learn more to ensure they are focused and execute their mission.
Both teams shared that the FIRST Digital Badges allow them to demonstrate to colleges and industry their mastery of high valued 21st Century skills. SBE member, Lupe Ramos-Montigny stated, “I’m encouraged and inspired by you. You are on to great success.”
All State Board members and Interim State Superintendent Sheila Alles congratulated the teams for their success at the 2018FIRST World Championship and thanked them for their attendance and presentation.
Many other Michigan teams were awarded with high honors at the Detroit-FIRST Robotics World Championship. Team 2834, Bionic Black Hawks, Bloomfield Hills, won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship. This award recognizes the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. Michigan teams were represented in every subdivision winners, as well.
The FIRST Robotics Program empower students to demonstrate their competency in learning in a variety of ways. They have opportunities to solve problems that leverages the power of technology by developing and testing solutions in creative and imaginative ways. They are able to construct knowledge and make meaning of their learning experience for themselves. Students become global collaborators by utilizing technology to make connections with others to broaden perspective and learning through the creation of original products.
This program supports Michigan’s Top 10 in 10 strategic plan by supporting Goal Two, strategy 2.6 and 2.7 by engaging students in well-rounded learning experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), language, business, culture, and creativity, as well as providing access to personalized learning technologies that support and enhance those learning experiences.
The MDE is looking forward to supporting the FIRST Robotics grant program in the 2018-19 school year through continued commitment of grant funding. The 2018-19 and 2019-20 FIRST Robotics World Championships once again will be hosted in Michigan.
LANSING – Updates to the State of Michigan phone system have required the change of phone numbers for some offices and staff members at the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).
The new toll-free number for the main line at MDE is 833-633-5788.
If you know the name of the MDE staff person who wants to contact, you can search for their contact information at this convenient website: http://www.state.mi.us/dit/default.aspx.
All media inquiries should begin by contacting the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs, with the contact information noted at the top of this press release.
Although an overwhelming majority of Michigan parents view a college education as an investment in their child’s future, only about half are currently saving for higher education expenses, a first-of-its-kind survey by the Michigan Education Trust (MET) found.
The study also discovered significant differences in savings rates and knowledge about college savings vehicles among the various regions of the state, with parents in Michigan’s southern half more likely to have a college savings plan than those in the northern portions.
MET – the 529 prepaid tuition plan managed by the Michigan Department of Treasury – undertook the survey to gain deeper understanding into Michigan families’ needs and possible roadblocks to saving for college.
The survey results were released today during a news conference at the state Capitol in Lansing. Also during the event, MET announced a partnership with the Michigan Association of State Universities, in which the association will help promote the importance of saving for college among the alumni of its members – Michigan’s 15 public universities.
The news conference – which also featured state Treasurer Nick Khouri and House Minority Leader Sam Singh, D-East Lansing – was staged in conjunction with 529 Day, observed annually on May 29 to raise awareness of 529 plans, tax-advantaged college savings vehicles named after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that allowed for their creation. Also, Gov. Rick Snyder issued a proclamation recognizing May 29 as Michigan’s 529 Day to encourage saving for college and show appreciation for MET’s 30th anniversary as a 529 prepaid tuition plan.
“There’s a lot of research on saving for college on a national level, but detailed information specific to Michigan families – the people we serve – isn’t readily available,” MET Executive Director Robin Lott said of the reasoning behind undertaking the polling. “While we had anecdotal and other evidence about residents’ saving habits, knowledge and concerns, we were surprised by some of the findings in our statistically valid sampling of Michigan parents.
“The results from this first-of-its-kind survey will help us determine how we can better meet Michigan families’ college savings needs.”
The online survey, based on 742 responses from Michigan residents age 18 or older who have children under 18 living at home, has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.
It aimed to gauge awareness of 529 college savings plans, such as MET and the Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP); perceptions related to saving for college; the value placed on saving for college; barriers parents face in accumulating college savings; and strategies parents use to reduce college costs.
The survey found that 91 percent of Michigan parents view college as an investment in their children’s future and that 77 percent are willing to stretch themselves financially to ensure they can attend college.
But it also discovered that only 54 percent of the state’s parents are saving for college, which is less than the 57 percent nationwide average as determined by Sallie Mae’s “How America Saves for College 2016” report.
The highest percentage of savers – 56 percent – is found in Southeast Michigan. Both South-central and West Michigan have college savings rates of 53 percent. The Saginaw Bay region and Northern Michigan – including the Upper Peninsula – have the lowest rates of college savings, each at 47 percent.
But even parents who are savers expect their savings to cover only 30 percent of their child’s total college education costs, the survey found. Other primary sources of paying for college expenses, in the order most cited, were scholarships, parent income at the time the child is enrolled in college, federal or state financial aid or grants, and children’s student loans.
Furthermore, awareness of 529 college savings plans such as MET also varies by region, with South-central and Southeast Michigan having greatest familiarity with them at around 50 percent, followed by the Saginaw Bay region at 41 percent, West Michigan at 36 percent and Northern Michigan at 25 percent.
Additional findings from the MET survey include:
Of those who are saving, half started when their oldest child was between 0 and 3 years old, and 8 in 10 had started saving by the time their oldest child was 10.
Also among savers, 55 percent are using a traditional bank savings account to accumulate college savings.
The leading reason for not saving for college is not having enough money, which was cited by 6 in 10 of nonsavers.
Among nonsavers, 57 percent say they feel “overwhelmed” about saving for college, compared with 37 percent of savers.
Relatively few parents believe they will not need college savings (5 percent) or that financial aid or scholarships will be enough to cover costs (11 percent).
“MET’s survey findings track those from a recent Michigan Association of State Universities poll showing Michigan parents place a high value on obtaining a college degree that can lead to a better-paying job and more rewarding career,” said Bob Murphy, director of university relations and policy for the Michigan Association of State Universities. “But the results also make clear that government, at both the federal and state levels, needs to encourage savings and assisting parents, grandparents, friends and businesses in helping students meet their higher education goals.”
Beyond teaming with the Michigan Association of State Universities, MET is staging several events throughout its 30th anniversary year to highlight the importance of saving for college. For example, its “How We MET” campaign features the stories of families whom MET over the years has helped achieve their college dreams. Also, MET this year will award a total of $30,000 worth of prepaid tuition to 10 Michigan families through its How We MET Sweepstakes drawings.
“Trying to set money aside for a student’s college fund is an important concern for every busy parent,” said Rep. Singh, who was joined during the news conference by his wife, Kerry Ebersole, and infant son, Remy, to promote the new MESP account they opened after his birth last year.
“One of the best aspects of Michigan’s 529 plans, aside from their affordability and tax advantages, is the fact that anyone can contribute money to them – including other family members and friends,” said Rep. Singh, who added the couple is now exploring the option of opening a MET account that combines the benefits of both programs.
MET, MESP and MI 529 Advisor Plan (MAP), Michigan’s three Section 529 college savings programs, offer Michigan taxpayers a state income tax deduction on contributions and potential tax-free growth on earnings if account proceeds are used to pay for qualified higher education expenses. More information about MET is available at SETwithMET.com or 800-MET-4-KID (800-638-4543).
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has had difficulty selling her school choice agenda in Washington, railed against state constitutional prohibitions on public funds going to faith-based institutions, in a recent speech to a Roman Catholic organization.
The target of DeVos’ wrath: so-called “Blaine” amendments to state constitutions that prohibit public funds from being used for religious purposes. DeVos said those amendments, many of which originated in the late 1800s, began as “bigoted” against Catholics.
“These Blaine provisions prohibit taxpayer funding of ‘sectarian’—a euphemism at that time for ‘Catholic’—activities, even when they serve the public good,” DeVos said, according to prepared remarks of the speech to the Alfred E. Smith Foundation, which is affiliated with the Archdiocese of New York. “Activities like addiction recovery, hospice care, or—the amendments’ primary target—parochial education.”
In honor of April as National Financial Literacy Month, the Michigan Department of Treasury is reminding Michiganders about the importance of saving for college and using a 529 plan as a way to save.
A 529 plan is an education savings plan designed to help families set aside money for future education expenses. Contributions provide state income tax deductions and earnings in a plan grow tax free and are exempt at the federal and state level.
These plans get their name from Section 529 of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
“Financial Literacy Month is a great time for parents, grandparents and others to begin thinking about how they can reduce potential student loan debt based on the overall cost of higher education,” said Robin Lott, executive director of the state of Michigan’s 529 plans. “Each of our plans provide an excellent avenue for savings, depending upon each student’s goals.”
The state of Michigan offers three Section 529 college saving plans that potentially provide state and federal tax benefits: Michigan Education Trust (MET), Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) and MI 529 Advisor Plan (MAP). These plans can be broken up into two categories:
Prepaid Tuition Plan (MET) allows for the pre-purchase of tuition based on today’s rates and then paid out at the future cost when the beneficiary is in college. Performance is often based upon tuition inflation. Prepaid plans may be administered by states or higher education institutions.
Investment-Based Savings Plans (MESP and MAP) are different in that your account earnings are based upon the market performance of the underlying investments, which typically consist of mutual funds. Investment-based savings plans may only be administered by states.
To learn more about 529 plans, go to SavewithMI529.com. For more information about saving for college, contact MI Student Aid at mistudentaid@michigan.gov, 1-888-4-GRANTS or @mistudentaid on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
Upper Peninsula parents are less likely than those in other regions of the state to have begun saving for their children’s college education, a first-of-its-kind survey by the Michigan Education Trust (MET) found.
The study by the state’s 529 prepaid tuition program discovered that 47 percent of U.P. families are saving for college, compared with 56 percent in Southeast Michigan and 53 percent in both South-central and West Michigan. The Saginaw Bay region, also at 47 percent, is the only part of the state with an average savings rate as low as the U.P.’s.
Furthermore, the state’s overall 54 percent college savings rate is less than the 57 percent nationwide average as determined by the Sallie Mae student loan company’s “How America Saves for College 2016” report.
MET’s U.P. survey results were released today in conjunction with a college savings informational session hosted by State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, State Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, and MET Executive Director Robin Lott at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.
MET – which is managed by the Michigan Department of Treasury – undertook the survey to gain deeper understanding into Michigan families’ needs and possible roadblocks to saving for college.
“There’s a lot of research on saving for college on a national level, but detailed information specific to Upper Peninsula and Michigan families – the people we serve – isn’t readily available,” Lott said. “The statistically valid survey results will help us determine how we can better meet Michigan families’ college savings needs and increase awareness that 529 college savings can be used for trade and technical schools.”
Cambensy noted that the survey also discovered that U.P. parents are less aware of Section 529 college savings plans such as MET compared with those in other regions of the state.
Section 529 plans, named after a section of the Internal Revenue Code, are tax-advantaged savings and investment vehicles designed to encourage saving for college.
“I would strongly urge Upper Peninsula families who are looking for safe and convenient ways to save for their children’s higher education to look into what MET and the Michigan Education Savings Program – or MESP – have to offer,” Cambensy said. “Both plans are consistently among the highest rated of their kind in national rankings.”
MET’s online survey, which drew 742 responses from Michigan residents age 18 or older who have children under 18 living at home, has a margin of error of 3.6 percent. It aimed to gauge awareness of 529 college savings plans, perceptions related to saving for college, the value placed on saving for college, and strategies parents use to reduce college costs.
“It’s clear that Upper Peninsula parents value a college education,” Casperson said. “Survey results show that 91 percent view college as an investment in their children’s future and that 77 percent are willing to stretch themselves financially to ensure they can attend college.”
In fact, 33 percent of U.P. parents would use a portion of their retirement savings for their child’s college costs, the second-highest rate in the state behind 39 percent in the South-central region, the survey found. Other primary sources of paying for college expenses, in the order most cited, were scholarships, parent income at the time the child is enrolled in college, federal or state financial aid, or grants and student loans.
Additional findings from the MET survey include:
Only 40 percent of U.P. parents are highly confident they will meet the costs of college education, by far the lowest level in the state. West Michigan, at 49 percent, was next lowest.
Among parents statewide, the leading reason for not saving for college is not having enough money, which was cited by six in 10 respondents. U.P. parents, however, were most likely to say they lack the money to save, with 79 percent giving that reason.
Of those who are saving, half started when their oldest child was between 0 and 3 years old, and eight in 10 had started saving by the time their oldest child was 10.
Also among savers, 55 percent are using a traditional bank savings account to accumulate college savings.
Among nonsavers, 57 percent say they feel “overwhelmed” about saving for college, compared with 37 percent of savers.
Relatively few parents believe they will not need college savings (5 percent) or that financial aid or scholarships will be enough to cover costs (11 percent).
MET, which allows for the purchase of future college tuition credits based on today’s rates, is celebrating its 30th anniversary as the nation’s first prepaid tuition program. MET, MESP and MI 529 Advisor Plan (MAP), Michigan’s three Section 529 college savings programs, offer Michigan taxpayers a state income tax deduction on contributions and potential tax-free growth on earnings if account proceeds are used to pay for qualified higher education expenses. More information about MET is available at SETwithMET.com or 800-MET-4-KID (800-638-4543).
LANSING – Ten Michigan educators have been named as 2018-19 Regional Teachers of the Year and will comprise the 2018-19 Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, a group of teachers dedicated to sharing a teacher’s voice in education discussions throughout the state.
These teachers were selected following a multi-level process that began with more than 430 different teachers being nominated by students, staff, and community members.
On April 18-19, they will interview with a panel of statewide education stakeholders to determine the 2018-19 statewide Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY).
“We have outstanding teachers across this great state and we want to recognize their regional impact and benefit from their experiences,” said State Superintendent Brian Whiston. “This brings a broad perspective to improving teaching and learning in all Michigan classrooms.”
As Regional Teachers of the Year, these 10 educators have been helping make Michigan a Top 10 education state in 10 years by providing strong leadership in their buildings and districts, and now will have opportunities to expand their leadership role by having opportunities to bring a teacher’s voice to a wider audience in their regions.
The 10 teachers are:
Region 1: Gina Pepin, a reading specialist and literacy coach for the Escanaba Area Public Schools
Region 2: Kymberli Wregglesworth, who teaches history at Onaway High School in Onaway Area Community Schools
Region 3: Wendy Tenney, a music teacher at Lowell High School in Lowell Area Schools
Region 4: James Goodspeed, who teaches English and history at Fulton High School in Fulton Public Schools
Region 5: Karen Nicol, an elementary teacher at Marlette Elementary Schools in Marlette Community Schools
Region 6: Robyne Muray, who teaches English, language arts, and history at Lansing Eastern High School in the Lansing School District
Region 7: Laura Chang, an elementary teacher at Sunset Lake Elementary in the Vicksburg Community Schools
Region 8: Bobbiesue Adams, who teaches mathematics and physical science at Fowlerville Junior High School in Fowlerville Community Schools
Region 9: Thomas Torrento, director of bands for Van Dyke Public Schools
Region 10: Courtney Valentine, who teaches mathematics at the Detroit International Academy of Young Women in Detroit Public Schools Community District
The statewide MTOY attends State Board of Education meetings as a non-voting member, sharing a teacher’s voice with State Board members.
The MTOY also is eligible to apply for National Teacher of the Year and participates in several national conferences with their fellow state teachers of the year.
Program expenses are covered through a generous sponsorship from Meemic.
“As the program sponsor, Meemic Insurance Company is proud to partner with the Michigan Department of Education to honor educators throughout the state for their outstanding achievements,” said Pam Harlin, director of the Meemic Foundation. “We are especially excited about the new regional Teacher of the Year format. Recognizing teacher-leaders at the regional level elevates the diverse voices of educators across the 10 regions of our state, allowing a better showcase of the quality and excellence of Michigan teachers.”
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson reads “A Fish Out of Water” to kindergarten/Pre-5 students at Thomson Elementary School in Davison on March 23.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson visited two elementary schools in Davison today in observance of National Reading Month to talk about the importance of having strong reading skills.
Johnson was a special guest for three kindergarten/pre-5 classes at Thomson Elementary School in the morning. She read “A Fish Out of Water” by Helen Palmer—her own favorite book from childhood—to the youngsters.
In the afternoon, she met with five classes of third graders at Gates Elementary School and read “Little Michigan” by Denise Brennan-Nelson with them. Johnson’s presentations also included trivia, questions and answers and a photo session.
During March, schools stress the importance of reading for future success in academics and in the workplace, and welcome guests to read to children
“Reading gives us a foundation for learning and success in life,” Johnson said. “It is also an activity that sparks our imagination and, as the humor columnist Dave Barry has described it, ‘a vacation for the mind.’
“I hope you’ll help celebrate National Reading Month by picking up a good book – or downloading a good e-book – and encouraging others to read as well.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has had difficulty selling her school choice agenda in Washington, railed against state constitutional prohibitions on public funds going to faith-based institutions, in a recent speech to a Roman Catholic organization.
