‘Failing schools’ resist closure from state

Western Herald - news









Two Kalamazoo-area schools are fighting to remain open after having been on the Michigan Department of Education’s School Reform Office’s list of lowest-achieving institutions for three years.  











Woodward School for Technology and Research, 606 Stuart Ave., and Washington Writers’ Academy, 1919 Portage St., are among 38 public schools in Michigan facing closure by the end of the 2016-2017 school year for having consistently low standardized test scores since 2013, according to the SRO’s rankings.






Seven hundred fifty students could potentially be affected if both Woodward and Washington Writers were to close by the end of the year.  





It is required by state law that any schools residing in the bottom five percent of score rankings write plans for improvement and receive support services that include extra resources from the U.S. Department of Education, Michigan Department of Education and Local Intermediate School District, according to the SRO.  





However, any schools remaining in the bottom five percent for a minimum of three years are subject to closure by the SRO for insufficient achievements.





“Over the next 30 to 45 days the SRO will examine the geographic, academic, and enrollment capacity of other public school options for children attending one of the 38 failing schools. It is possible that closing a school is not feasible due to unreasonable hardship for the children attending that school because no better options are available. If that is determined, the SRO will rescind the closure notice for that school and implement a different turnaround option. The other options include naming a CEO, changing the redesign plan, or placement into the State School Reform District,” according to a revised press-release conference published by the SRO on Jan. 20.





If any feasible options for school transfers are found within proximity to Woodward and Washington Writers, then each school must officially shut down by June 1.





“Many times the additional resources from the MDE and ...


Read more