Talk Sup't. April 30, 2010

QUALITY ASSURANCE REVIEW EARNS DISTRICT ACCREDITATION
A team of eight educators from AdvancED’s North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, the organization that accredits schools in Michigan and other states visited West Bloomfield School District this week to conduct a Quality Assurance Review. The QAR Team is chaired by Dr. Olivine Roberts of North Carolina. Every five years, schools must go through an accreditation process. West Bloomfield School District elected to be evaluated as a district-wide system. Currently, all of our individual schools are accredited.
The culmination of their visit results in an accreditation recommendation and report which is designed to serve as a valuable tool to help school systems continue to improve.

The Quality Assurance Review (QAR) committee arrived in the district on Sunday, April 25 and spent three days meeting with and interviewing Board of Education members, central office administrators, directors, principals, teachers, parents, community members and myself. The QAR team visited four schools: Green and Scotch Elementaries, Abbott Middle School and West Bloomfield High School allowing team members to observe classes in session to assess student/teacher interactions and teaching practices. All other schools had an opportunity to share information about their school with the committee through a series of interviews.

This important process of evaluation is designed to ensure that our schools are competing with those around the nation. This is a very professional team of experts and we appreciated that they volunteered their time and expertise to visit our district. We value their assessment as we strive to continually strengthen the quality of education in the West Bloomfield School District.
Dr. Roberts reported that what she most enjoyed was being in the buildings to see the awesome work being done by West Bloomfield staff, and noted that the students’ passion for learning is evident. She cited West Bloomfield as “a school district to watch!”
Dr. Roberts noted that the staff takes ownership of every SINGLE student, and the QAR Team commends West Bloomfield School District for that.

On behalf of the West Bloomfield School District’s Board of Education and Administration, and speaking for the thousands of students who we prepare to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, I would like to also personally acknowledge the community’s efforts in what I believe was a successful Quality Assurance Review visit.

Our district has accomplished in just two years what other districts have been given five years to do. I was extremely proud of our displays and the information we shared with the Quality Assurance Review team during this visit. This experience was only made possible through school and community involvement. Perhaps the greatest measure of our success is the feedback from the team that acknowledged the efforts and great work of the school district at large.

DIVERSITY CHAMPION HONOR ROLL
This week I was pleased to attend the Diversity Champion Honor Roll celebration sponsored by the Race Relations & Diversity Task Force. The mission of the Task Force is to come together to support each other in our desire to welcome diversity and to build and maintain an open community which will not tolerate racism or prejudice. The goal is to improve race relations within our own communities and throughout the metropolitan Detroit area and to develop a climate that promotes inclusivity and values diversity.
We are proud to have had two honorees from our West Bloomfield School District recognized as 2010 Diversity Champions: Eleanor Squaire and Joshua Zhang.

Eleanor Squaire, has taught at Green School for the past 24 years, and has served on the district’s diversity committee, the DREAM Team. She chairs the team’s Parent & Community Outreach committee which under her leadership has orchestrated activities and events to promote inclusivity among our parents and families. Ms. Squaire has also faithfully served since 1996, on United We Walk, which plans our annual community-wide celebration of MLK’s birthday. Her contributions toward the ideals of an inclusive community are far-reaching and have impacted her own students as well as many others.

Joshua Zhang, a senior at West Bloomfield High School, helped co-found the Asian Community Engagement student group that encourages community service and awareness of Asian-American concerns’ As President of A.C.E. Joshua has welcomed and encourages all students, regardless of ethnicity, to be a part of A.C.E. As a result , we have a diverse group of members and Executive Board, Members. Joshua has organized various community service opportunities for WBHS students that help give them a better awareness of Asian American culture and concerns. Joshua was recently accepted to Harvard University and also received a $40,000 scholarship to the University of Michigan.


A NOTE OF CAUTION
There is an emerging trend that is occurring around the country and is loosely based on a Japanese Manga and Anime series. There are notebooks sometimes associated with this trend that include drawings, names of people and violent acts. The drawings are often graphic in nature and sometimes have specific student names attached to them. One of these games has been referred to as Death Note.
We are addressing this issue in hopes of being proactive, and asking that parents be aware that this is out there. The consequences are severe. If this type of material is brought to school from home, students can be suspended or expelled from school. Participation in this type of inappropriate activity while in school cannot be tolerated.
We encourage parents to talk with their children about this trend and continue to be mindful and alert of the websites they are exploring and the writings and drawings they are creating.
To learn more about this trend, go to your favorite search engine and insert the bolded terms.


PASTA FOR PENNIES
Abbott Student Council sponsored a Children’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fundraiser raising so much money in 3 weeks that, as of this writing, Abbott is the #1 Fundraising School in the state for the society. The Olive Garden’s Pasta for Pennies program raises vital dollars needed to find a cure for these diseases. We are very proud of our school and their humanitarian efforts.

WBHS ALUM PRODUCES AWARD WINNING FILM
AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
A former student from Kevin Walsh’s Video classes, Jason Potash ('04) produced a short film last summer for the American Film Institute that was screened at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival which is going on right now. It has just been announced that Jason’s film has won in the Short Film Competition Category.

This is a 16 minute short narrative film, directed and written for the screen by Maggie Kiley. Jason’s company is What a World Productions. You may recognize the film's star, Jesse Eisenberg, from "Zombieland" or "Adventureland."
A link to the film, "Some Boys Don't Leave," will allow you to see the trailer. http://someboysfilm.com/

After Sundance, Tribeca is the most prestigious film festival in the U.S. and its winners are seriously considered for Academy Award nomination next March. One of the bonuses of the festival for Jason is that he will have the opportunity to meet Robert Deniro!
Short Film Competition Category
2010 Best Documentary and Student Short Competition• Student Visionary Award – "Some Boys Don’t Leave", directed by Maggie Kiley, written by Matthew Mullen, Maggie Kiley, Producer Jason Potash. (USA).
• Best Documentary Short – White Lines & The Fever: The Death of DJ Junebug, directed and written by Travis Senger. (USA).

After Sundance, Tribeca is the most prestigious film festival in the U.S. and its winners are seriously considered for Academy Award nomination next March. One of the bonuses of the festival for Jason is that he will have the opportunity to meet Robert Deniro!
We congratulate Jason and will watch for him in future works. I’m not surprised that the high caliber of training Jason got through Kevin Walsh has led him to this kind of recognition.

NEGOTIATIONS:
At this time the Board and Union are still in mediation. If this should change, I’ll let you know in the next update.


Again, I thank all of you for your dedication and true commitment to the West Bloomfield School District.