Proposed State Education Overhauls ‘Radical and Dangerous,' Superintendent Says

The Oakland Schools superintendent told a forum Tuesday that bills in Lansing would put students at risk with untested, untried forms of schooling.

Area superintendents, including Rob Glass of the Bloomfield Hills Schools, collectively expressed grave concerns Tuesday regarding a 300-page bill drafted for Gov. Rick Snyder that would overhaul how public education is administered in the state of Michigan. Calling Senate Bill 1358, House Bill 6004, and House Bill 5923 “radical and dangerous,” Oakland Schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch told attendees at the Royal Oak Middle School gathering place “unbelievable things are happening in Lansing.” Superintendents from Royal Oak, Lamphere, Clawson and Southfield joined Glass and more than 350 people during the afternoon and evening sessions of what was billed as a “call to action.” “There is really important work that has to be …

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BHS Urges for Local Presence in Education Reform Debate

A series of meetings across the county is planned to educate and mobilize public school supporters, starting Tuesday in Bloomfield Hills.

  Officials with the Bloomfield Hills Schools are urging residents concerned about potentially sweeping education reform in Michigan to attend a series of informational meetings starting Tuesday across Oakland County. The series begins with Dave Randels, Assistant Director of the Office of Government Relations and Pupil Services for Oakland Schools, who will speak about Gov. Rick Snyder's Education Funding Proposal from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Doyle Center. "Michigan is embarking on a very radical experiment with our children - one that is untested and untried," the alert on the district's website said. "We need to come together to learn about this movement and what we can do about it." This proposals, if adopted, will have a…

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Neal Charness

1:14 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Linda: I took the time to reread your post asking whether myself or any member of my family was involved in school administration, a school district partner, a union activist, etc. None of my activities or associations are within the ambit of your questions. Can we speak to your motives now: Have you or any members of your immediate family attended a K-12 school other than a public school? Have …   more ›

High School Transition Forums for BHS Parents Scheduled

The school district will host two sessions for each current grade level affected by next year's merger of Andover and Lahser high schools.

  Though the 2012-13 school year is barely underway, there’s understandably a significant amount of focus on the fall of 2013 and the official start of the new Bloomfield Hills High School. The current Lahser High School will house students in 10th through 12th grade in what will become known as the 'main' Bloomfield Hills High School campus. Ninth grade students will be at Hickory Grove. To help parents navigate the transition to the new high school facility, which won’t be completed on the current Andover site until 2015, the Bloomfield Hills Schools scheduled a series of forums beginning next month that will stretch into February. The forums will be broken up by student grade level to make each more manageable and effective in …

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UPDATED: For Andover Football, No More Friday Night Lights

The 2012 varsity football season ends early, leaving administrators scrambling to restore the homecoming experience for the final time in school history.

  The corner of Andover and Long Lake roads was unusually quiet Friday night. No bright lights to drown out the moonlight, no thumping drum beats from the marching band, and no rattle of the aluminum stands shaking from the enthusiasm of a raucous crowd. There simply was no football Friday night at Andover High School. And despite the best efforts of school officials, coaches, parents and players, there will never be again. The Barons forfeited to Ferndale in the midst of a three-game homestand during the school's final varsity football season with the pending merger to Bloomfield Hills High School in 2013. A roster of injured and frustrated students quickly began to lose interest following a few winless performances on the field. R.J. …

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Graduation: The Andover High School Class of 2012

Students celebrate resolve, sense of community during commencement ceremony Sunday at the O'rena.

ROCHESTER—The journey that members of the Andover High School class of 2012 are about to embark on is full of unpredictible unknowns, but they are ready for it, according to Bloomfield Hills Schools Superintendent Rob Glass. "The world needs what you have to offer," Glass urged at the tail end of his remarks before hundreds of students and several hundred more of their most ardent supporters at the O'rena Sunday. He wasn't just saying it. Among the staggering numbers attached to the roughly 300-member senior class is a school-record 12 National Merit Scholarship finalists; 18,517 hours of collective community service performed; and a combined $6 million in collegiate scholarships. Despite their measurable achievements, the students' focus …

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J Arch

6:42 am on Monday, June 18, 2012

No Linda, that was not your point. You took the opportunity with a positive article about student accomplishment and used it to disparage those kids on their special day. It was mean-spirited and inappropriate. If you truly wanted to bring up a serious discussion about accountability for trash on the school grounds, you could have done so as a fresh topic. Then we could have talked about the fact…   more ›

Whiz Kid: Andover Student Talks About Acing the ACT

Sanjay Reddy is just 16 but already has jump-started his academic career, punctuated by a perfect score on the college preparatory exam.

Each week, West Bloomfield Patch features students doing amazing things in their schools and in their communities.  School: Andover High School Age: 16 Hometown: West Bloomfield Achievement: Reddy was one of just about 700 students around the country to ace the ACT this year. He also claimed a regional title in men's tennis and is currently doing research in the endocrinology department at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in bones and minerals. Key to Awesomeness: Reddy said he was always a fan of math and read books habitually as a child. He said he attacked the ACT in sections, practicing and preparing answers for each part separately so that he could become comfortable with the entire test when it counted. "When I saw my score online…

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Third Time a Charm for BHS High School Consolidation Millage

Now the focus moves toward implementing the two-year transition plan for a unified Bloomfield Hills High School under one roof.

  The Bloomfield Hills Schools and Superintendent Rob Glass asked voters for one last shot to resolve a decade-long community dispute over the future of the district's high schools, and they got it Tuesday. The proposal approving use of $59 million in public bonds passed by a 61 percent margin, according to election results from the Oakland County Elections Office. Now, the focus will be on implementing a two-year, multifaceted transition plan to use the bonds to house both Andover and Lahser high schools under one roof on the current Andover campus. "Now we have to execute," Glass acknowledged amid the fervor of district supporters and volunteers celebrating the victory Tuesday evening at the Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac. "We've heard …

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Critical Questions About the BHS High School Vote

Nearly a decade of often heated debate will culminate today in what the Bloomfield Hills Schools says will be the final vote on the high school dilemma.

  Pass or fail, today's vote will mark the beginning of a new era in Bloomfield Hills Schools history. Here's a last-minute primer for those heading to the polls. For previous coverage, visit the Bloomfield Hills Schools High School Consolidation Millage Topic Page. The district plan calls for roughly $79 million to merge the high schools under one roof. Voters are being asked to approve $58.6 million in bonds (1.16 mills) to make it happen. The owner of a home with a taxable value of $250,000 is expected to pay $290 annually; and the owner of a home with a taxable value of $150,000 is expected to pay $174 annually. The district's existing bond debt, however, is set to decrease in 2014 due to a reduction in Sinking Fund millages approved …

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Letter to the Editor

OPINION: One Building on One Campus is the Right Thing to Do

The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come.

  I just spent more on stationary and stamps to send my neighborhood a letter about the school bond than what it will cost more a year in taxes to appropriately right-size our high schools. Bloomfield Hills High School, home of the Black Hawks, opens in the Fall of 2013 regardless of the bond's passing. The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come. Voters will decide if all students will be on one campus in one renovated building OR if the student body is divided into two old and out-dated buildings (with 9th graders permanently alone in one of those buildings). The one building on one campus solution saves the district $2.4 million in operating costs annually. …

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