Issue No: 474
August 20, 2001
We impact the way America learns.
Previous issues of Monday Report are available at http://www.emich.edu/coe/monday. Send items and comments to jerry.robbins@emich.edu.
The College of Education Fall Conference will be held on September 4 at Eagle Crest.
ACHILLES NAMED “LIVING LEGEND” BY NCPEA
At the recent convention of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration, Charles M. "Chuck" Achilles was named a “Living Legend” by the organization. Achilles is only the third person honored with this title by NCPEA. The award honors those who have made extraordinary contributions not only to the organization but to the field of educational administration.
Achilles joined the EMU faculty in Leadership and Counseling in 1994 after previous positions at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and K-12 experience. All three of his degrees are from the University of Rochester--in classics, education, and educational administration. He has been substantially involved in EMU's doctoral program in educational leadership for the past seven years.
A highly prolific researcher and author, as well as outstanding teacher, Achilles has substantially more than 400 professional publications. In recent times, his scholarship has focused heavily on class-size studies and his research has been widely cited and used as the basis for a number of policy determinations. Achilles was a speaker at the NCPEA convention in connection with the award.
Other EMU presentations at the convention included:
Jim Berry, "Site-Based Management: Expanding the Definition to Structured Collaboration."
Helen Ditzhazy, "Accountability: The Impact of a Distinct Promotion Policy on a Diverse Student Population."
Ron Williamson: "“Democracy at Work: The Struggle to Renorm One Middle Level Program” and “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Internships in Principal Preparation."
THREE EMU ALUMS NAMED “DETROIT AREA’S BEST” TEACHERS
Three of the twelve “Outstanding Teacher Awards” in the 2001 Newsweek-WDIV recognition of “The Detroit Area's Best” teachers are EMU alums. Those recognized include:
Linda J. Beaton '71, '73, a first-grade teacher in Memorial Elementary School, Riverview district, Wayne County.
Anne W. Grucz '67, '74, a special educator who is a general education resource teacher at Eastover Elementary School, Bloomfield Hills district, Oakland County.
Sharon Moats '76, '77, a seventh-grade mathematics and science teacher at Seneca Middle School, Chippewa Valley schools, Macomb County.
The awards are made to recognize educators who have shown initiative, creativity, and an exceptional degree of professionalism in their work. The prize comes from a fund established by Newsweek and WDIV at the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan. Ford Motor Company recognized the recipients in a recent full-page ad in Newsweek.
WILLIAMS-BOYD AND SKAGGS HELP EAST MS TO NATIONAL PROMINENCE
For the past several years, Pat Williams-Boyd and Kaia Skaggs have worked with Ypsilanti’s East Middle School, first with support from a Kellogg planning grant and, more recently, with support from the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program for implementation of the Michigan Middle Start program.
The Michigan Middle Start model is a comprehensive approach to excellence in middle level education with a foundation in the three principles of academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, and social equity. It also involves a close and long-term relationship with technical assistance partners who help the school implement the model.
Through the efforts of Williams-Boyd and Skaggs, inservice activities have been provided, weekly meetings with teams have been held, a close working relationship with Jan Sturdivant (the principal) has been established, CURR 305 students have been involved, other EMU students preparing at the middle level have been involved, on-site classes have been held, and many other school improvement activities have been undertaken. Williams-Boyd’s new book (Educational Leadership in a New Era, ABC-CLIO Press) features East Middle School (EMS) and its principal and staff.
As a result of progress made at EMS by all parties involved, EMS is one of five national finalists for the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration “Promising Site” Award, made by the U.S. Department of Education.
FACULTY/STAFF NOTES
Michael J. Paciorek and Jeff A. Jones recently published the third edition of Disability Sport and Recreation (Cooper Publishing Group).
Gary Banks presented "Legal Aspects in Athletic Coaching: Recent Case Law"” to a group of 60 high school athletic coaches recently in a session sponsored by the MHSAA at Crestwood High School in Dearborn Heights.
Jerry Robbins conducted a performance of the Ypsilanti Community/Barnhill Concert Band last Saturday in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park, as part of the Heritage Festival.
Recent EMU service anniversaries by COE faculty and staff include Irene Allen (33 years), Nancy Dahl (31 years), and Judy Williston (30 years).
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
Ellen Hoffman recently returned from Italy, where she presented "Building a National Science Digital Library: Challenges and Progress" at the SSGR 2001 International Conference on Advances in Infrastructure for Electronic Business, Science, and Education on the Internet. The conference was sponsored by the Scuola Superiore G. Reiss Romoli in L'Aquila. The presentation was funded by the NSF as part of EMU's TeacherLIB project that is contributing to the development of a National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library for the U.S.
Beverley Geltner leaves later this week on a trip to Thailand, at the invitation of a Thai institution, and on behalf of the Department of Leadership and Counseling, to explore possible cooperative relationships between Leadership and Counseling and the programming of the Thai institution.
Leah Adams has been invited to serve as the delegation leader for a People to People trip to South Africa next fall.
STUDENT NOTES
The College of Education's Urban Teacher Certification Program, in operation in Detroit for several years, will expand its operation to Flint beginning next month. The initial courses in Flint will be taught by Sylvia Jones and Joe Coyner. Three courses will be offered in Detroit this fall as well.
Jennifer L. Camfferman has received a Graduate Student Research Support Fund award of $275 to assist in her research on “Speech and Swallowing Difficulties Related to Multiple Sclerosis.”
Doctoral student Billie Rohl has been promoted to program coordinator at the Labor Studies Center of the UM Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations. Rohl (with Roland Zullo) presented a paper at the National AFL-CIO/United Association of Labor Education conference in Boston.
The three EMU student teachers who were in the top five in the state for the 2001 “Outstanding Student Teacher/Intern of the Year” award were featured in a recent issue of "Focus EMU." The three students were Melissa Bergstrom, Cathy Hanson, and William Renner. Bergstrom will teach 5th grade this fall in Troy, Ohio.
ALUMNI NOTES
Nancy Elizabeth Erickson '64, '71, aged 59, died recently. She taught English for many years, including at Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne and in Chelsea and Manchester.
Barbara Saxton '71, '75 has been named the interim Superintendent of the Saline schools. She replaces Ellen Ewing '82, who is retiring after eight years.
Nancy Berkompas '72 is the new superintendent of the Rudyard school district in Chippewa County.
James Goebel '75 is the new superintendent for the Bedford schools in Monroe County.
Shannon Griffin '98, aged 28, died recently in an auto accident. She was a special education teacher at Kaiser Elementary School in Willow Run.
CREDIT HOURS
As of the most recent report, COE credit hours for the Summer term were within 147 (2.26%) of final figures for last Summer term. The Department of Teacher Education was almost 11% ahead of final figures for last Summer.
We are within 7% of final figures for last Fall term, with Teacher Education already 8.56% ahead of final figures for last Fall. HPERD is within 7% of matching final figures for last Fall. Total COE credit hours for Fall are running ahead of the same time last year.
STUDENT STATS
The undergraduate student body in the College of Education in the Fall of 2000 consisted of 3,602 students. Of these, 2,658 (73.8%) were classified as full-time students. The total included 2,361 students affiliated with Teacher Education, 681 affiliated with Special Education, and 560 affiliated with HPERD.
The largest number of students was classified as "elementary education-intent" —926 (25.7%). Other large groups included "three minors–elementary" (590, 16.4%), "elementary science"' (280, 7.8%), "language arts-elementary" (265, 7.4%), "sports medicine intent" (227, 6.3%), "physical education" (215, 6.0%), "mentally impaired" (213, 5.9%), and "emotionally impaired" (208, 5.8%).
The COE undergraduate student body in Fall 2000 consisted of 1,484 seniors, 743 juniors, 721 sophomores, 640 freshmen, 13 second bachelors’ students, and one special student.
Of the 3,602 undergraduates in Fall 2000, 1,888 (52.4%) were "non-transfer" students. However, "non-transfer" students were more frequently found in HPERD (57.5%) and less frequently found in Special Education (45.9%)
OPPORTUNITIES AND EVENTS
(For a complete list, see http://www.emich.edu/coe/newhome/opportunities.html)
August 29-30–EMU New Faculty Orientation, 201 Welch (Aug. 29), Halle 300 (Aug. 30).
August 31–Orientation for all personnel involved in Freshman Interest Groups (FIG) (including two sections on “Exploring Elementary Education” and a section on “Emerging Scholars for Elementary Education Majors”). For information, 487.5624.
September 1–Beginning of drive for new children’s books for United Way Day of Caring. Book collection boxes in McKenny Union.
September 4–College of Education Fall Conference, Eagle Crest.
September 7–Department of Teacher Education All-Day Retreat.
September 7–Governor’s Education Summit, Lansing, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information, www.masb.org and follow the links to Foundation.
September 13–Basic Programs Committee, 3:30-5:00 p.m., place to be announced.
September 13–United Way Day of Caring, Pam (Mrs. Sam) Kirkpatrick, general chair. Volunteer to work for the day (to Cathy Hill, University Marketing) in a local community service agency, or, if that is not possible, contribute a new children’s book to the Washtenaw Literacy Coalition. Book collection boxes will be available in McKenny Union after September 1. For information, contact Cathy Hill or Melinda Ostrander (Physical Plant).
CALLS FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS
(For a complete list, see http://www.emich.edu/coe/newhome/proposals.html)
September 1–deadline for chapters for Educators, Therapists and Artists on Reflective Practice. For information, jgranqui@mail.lesley.edu.
September 1–deadline for proposals for the EMU “Integrity & Inclusion: Diversity in the Academic Curriculum and Beyond.” For information, www.emich.edu/aaccd/conference.
September 14–Articles due on theme of “the state of school reform” for Principal Leadership. For information, plmag@principals.org.