How about a Virtual YOUTHVILLE Pontiac?

Folks:

Kresge Foundation shares $21.9 million among 6 community projects
January 27, 2005
By DeAnna Belger

The Kresge Foundation has awarded grants totaling $21.9 million to support six community projects of Detroit organizations.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit received $2.5 million for the construction of a new exhibit.

The Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan in Detroit received $12 million to support its "Community Capital Compact," an initiative designed to double the assets of the foundation by 2009.

The Detroit Youth Foundation in Detroit received $2 million for the renovation of a building to serve as YouthVille Detroit, a multitenant, multiservice center for young people.

The Greater Downtown Partnership Inc. in Detroit received $2 million for the renovation of three sheds as part of its Eastern Market reinvestment strategy.

The Local Initiatives Support Corp. in Detroit received $2 million for its "Neighborhoods Now" campaign.

The University Cultural Center Association in Detroit received $1.4 million for phase four of the Woodward Avenue streetscape improvement plan.

The Troy-based Kresge Foundation is an independent, private foundation created by Sebastian Kresge, who founded what has become Kmart Holding Corp. More information on the foundation can be found at www.kresge.org.

DDA Shows WASHINGTON Pontiac Progress

Folks: (Submitted by Marcia Battles)

City's revitalization efforts honored

Web-posted Jan 25, 2005
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Daily Oakland Press

The city's efforts toward revitalization have earned national recognition and were featured at a national symposium in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Pontiac is being touted as a model city at the National Trust Preservation Development Symposium, which will run through today at Jurys Washington Hotel.

Mayor Willie Payne, who is also a member of the Downtown Development Authority, gave the opening remarks to preservationists and community revitalization leaders from across the nation.

Then Payne and DDA Executive Director Sandy-Michael McDonald presented a case study of Pontiac's communitywide effort to revitalize the city as a model for other communities.
"We want to put ourselves in a position to receive some of the (Preservation Development Initiative) dollars," said McDonald, explaining why so much effort went into Pontiac's presentation and why so many people involved in the revitalization process went to Washington.
Besides Payne and McDonald, others scheduled to participate were council President Everett Seay; Councilwoman Susan Shoemaker; Councilman Charlie Harrison, who is also a DDA board member; and Kathie Henk, a DDA board member and vice president of the Downtown Business Association. Members of each Main Street committee, members of the Historical Commission and the planning director were also planning to attend.

Pontiac was one of only three cities scheduled to give a presentation out of the eight cited for their progress, and is the smallest city of the group, which includes Chicago, Philadelphia, Duluth, St. Paul, Miami, Santa Barbara and Macon, McDonald said.

In bringing together government, commercial interests and neighborhoods, Pontiac has created a $2.7 million facade improvement fund, conducted a report to create a vision for a long-vacant urban-renewal lot in the heart of downtown next to the Phoenix Center and embarked on a residential neighborhood improvement initiative, a PDI press release noted.

The Preservation Development Initiative is funded through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The initiative provides more than $1.8 million in technical assistance, grants and loan funds.

McDonald said before he left for Washington many residents and officials involved in the revitalization were being featured in the 45-minute high-tech presentation.

The city's presentation also included a 7-foot by 8-foot model of the downtown that is on the main display floor at the hotel, McDonald said.

The city of 66,400 is part of the Oakland County Main Street program, which is part of the National Trust.

In December, Pontiac's Main Street program and its progress were evaluated by national and county officials and given high marks.

The Preservation Development Initiative provides expertise and grants to cities to help with preservation of downtowns and adjacent neighborhoods.

A Virtual "Blank Canvas"

Folks:

Published: January 26, 2005

Panel to View Detroit Schools as ‘Blank Canvas’
Michigan Governor Names Group to Help Troubled District on Governance, Finances
By Catherine Gewertz

Michigan’s governor has named a panel of 120 citizens to help the Detroit school district improve its governance, but some skeptics worry that the group’s size and broad mission might hamper its effectiveness.

The task force’s mission is to help the district make the transition from an appointed school board to an elected one late this year, and to monitor its deficit-elimination plans. But in remarks to the news media on Jan. 11, Gov. Jennifer Granholm suggested the panel could take on much more than that.

The Democratic governor said the group would view the 140,000-student district as a "blank canvas," coming up with educational, financial, and even structural improvements, including possibly breaking the system into subdistricts and creating smaller, specialized high schools.
Three days later, Ms. Granholm formally named the transition task force members, who are leaders from education, business, government, civic groups, and the clergy.

They were nominated by the Rev. Wendell Anthony, a Detroit minister who will serve as the panel’s leader.

The governor believes that the size of the panel reflects a much-needed dedication to help the Detroit schools get on track, spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.

"We had so many people express an interest in wanting to serve on this team," said Ms. Boyd. "It’s a beautiful thing. And we are an administration that values inclusiveness."

Two Teams

A separate team of state leaders—including Michigan’s state treasurer, budget director, and superintendent of public instruction—has been examining the Detroit district’s financial situation since November, and is working with district leaders to make sure its deficit-elimination plan is workable, she said.

Detroit faces a two-year, accumulated deficit of $198 million in its $1.5 billion fiscal 2005 budget. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Burnley is to submit his deficit-elimination plan to the state by Feb. 4, outlining several measures by which the debt can be reduced, said district spokesman Kenneth Coleman.

The district, which has been suffering in recent years from plummeting enrollment, sent layoff notices to more than 300 teachers two days before Christmas. The new plan likely will call for program cuts, union concessions, closings of as many as 40 of 255 district schools, and elimination of 5,400 more of its 23,000 staff positions, either through retirement or layoffs, Mr. Coleman said.

The district is hoping that Gov. Granholm will allow the district to repay its debt over a 12- to 15-year period, he said. Mr. Burnley also hopes to "negotiate significant concessions" from Detroit’s teachers and other labor unions in the district, Mr. Coleman said.

Janna K. Garrison, the president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, who was named to the transition task force, said the district on Jan. 5 proposed a 10 percent cut in wages and benefits, a request the American Federation of Teachers affiliate rejected.

She said the task force has yet to set a meeting schedule. But she hopes the 120,000-member union’s presence on the panel can help the district focus on putting more dollars into the classroom and fewer into administration and ineffective programs. A higher priority must be set on smaller classes, each headed by a certified teacher, she said.

The fact that Gov. Granholm made the task force so large and gave it such a broad charge is causing concern in some quarters.

Ari Adler, the spokesman for Republican Sen. Ken R. Sikkema, the majority leader of the state Senate, said he feared the group would be unable to keep attention where the district most needs it: on how to get itself out of debt.

"What they need is immediate action, and the governor sent in a debate team," Mr. Adler said. "You get together such a large group, with no deadline, no clear-cut direction, and it makes us wonder how effective they are going to be."

But Ms. Boyd, the governor’s spokeswoman, said the state-appointed finance team, not the transition task force, would have primary responsibility for overseeing Detroit’s deficit-reduction plan. The 120-member panel wishes to focus more on helping shape the district for the long term, she said.

"They will certainly be monitoring [the deficit-elimination plan]. But they won’t be hands-on in terms of resolving it," she said. She dismissed concerns that the group is too large or has too broad a task to be effective.

"We have every confidence that team will come together and structure itself and accomplish a great deal," Ms. Boyd said.

Mayoral Candidacy Announced

Harrison says he'll run for mayor, give up chance at third council term
Web-posted Jan 26, 2005
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Daily Oakland Press

City Councilman Charlie Harrison III has officially announced his candidacy for mayor.
The son of former state Rep. and Mayor Charlie Harrison Jr., who died in office, Harrison is completing his second four-year term as District 6 representative. He is giving up a run for a third council term to try for the mayoral job, which pays more than $98,000 annually plus the use of a car and benefits.

The chief executive officer of Sunesis Financial Services, a licensed stockbroker and a registered investment adviser, Harrison is also a member of the Downtown Development Authority.

He will compete with several other candidates in the August primary to oust Mayor Willie Payne.

Others who have announced or are expected to vie for the top city position are former police Chief Larry Miracle; former Deputy Mayor Leon Jukowski, an attorney; and former Mayor Walter Moore. Also possible candidates are City Council President Everett Seay, state Rep. Clarence Phillips, Downtown Development Director Sandy-Michael McDonald and former county commissioner and school board trustee Brenda Causey-Mitchell.

The two top vote-getters in the August primary will face off in November.

Harrison was in Washington, D.C., with a Pontiac contingent Monday and Tuesday, including Payne and other DDA members, to vie for a grant to help preserve and revitalize the city's historic downtown.

His campaign manager and spokeswoman Irma Hayes said in a news release, "We need a mayor who can run this city like a business, who has a financial background, who knows politics not just in theory but in practice, with old-fashioned family values.

"This city is ready for a seasoned candidate who has been trained in theory and in practice and that candidate is Charlie J. Harrison III."

Harrison received his undergraduate degree in political science and public administration at Oakland University. He was an intern for then-U.S. Rep. Bob Carr in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the Michigan Municipal League's Elected Officials Academy - levels 1 and 2 - and is working on level 3, the highest ranking.

He a member of the Department of Public Works and Public Utilities, Growth Group and Finance subcommittees and he is also a member of the Michigan Municipal League.

"Fiscal soundness, qualified employees and everyone held accountable," are Harrison's goals. "We must also keep in mind the citizens whom we represent, they are the reason we are here," Harrison said in the release.

Harrison and his wife, Shantay, have been married nine years and have four children, Crystal, twins Amber and Charlie IV and Shayla. His mother is Marquita Harrison.

Major issues for the city, according to Harrison, are a budget deficit, declining state revenue, revitalization of downtown, the redevelopment of the Silverdome and improving the city's housing stock.

A Virtual SMART Idea

Folks:

Salavation Army gets tentative OK for $50 million for Detroit Community Center (Pontiac)

http://www.michigannonprofit.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=3772&a=a&bt=salvation%20army


Best,

Jim

Learning and the VIRTUAL DISCOVERY Process

Folks:

Just a snipet on learning on the honorable Martin Luther King's Day!


How We Learn
January 16, 2005
By ALISON GOPNIK


So here's the big question: if children who don't even go
to school learn so easily, why do children who go to school
seem to have such a hard time? Why can children solve
problems that challenge computers but stumble on a
third-grade reading test?

When we talk about learning, we really mean two quite
different things, the process of discovery and of mastering
what one discovers. All children are naturally driven to
create an accurate picture of the world and, with the help
of adults to use that picture to make predictions,
formulate explanations, imagine alternatives and design
plans. Call it ''guided discovery.''

If this kind of learning is what we have in mind then one
answer to the big question is that schools don't teach the
same way children learn. As in the gear-and-switch
experiments, children seem to learn best when they can
explore the world and interact with expert adults.

For example, Barbara Rogoff, professor of psychology at the
University of California at Santa Cruz, studied children
growing up in poor Guatemalan Indian villages. The
youngsters gradually mastered complex skills like preparing
tortillas from scratch, beginning with the 2-year-old
mimicking the flattening of dough to the 10-year-old
entrusted with the entire task. They learned by watching
adults, trying themselves and receiving detailed corrective
feedback about their efforts. Mothers did a careful
analysis of what the child was capable of before
encouraging the next step.

This may sound like a touchy-feely progressive
prescription. But a good example of such teaching in our
culture is the stern but beloved baseball coach. How many
school teachers are as good at essay writing, science or
mathematics as the average coach is at baseball? And even
when teachers are expert, how many children ever get to
watch them work through writing an essay or designing a
scientific experiment or solving an unfamiliar math
problem?

Imagine if baseball were taught the way science is taught
in most inner-city schools. Schoolchildren would get
lectures about the history of the World Series. High school
students would occasionally reproduce famous plays of the
past. Nobody would get in the game themselves until
graduate school.

But there is another side to the question.

In guided discovery -- figuring out how the world works or unraveling
the structure of making tortillas -- children learn to
solve new problems. But what is expected in school, at
least in part, involves a very different process: call it
''routinized learning.'' Something already learned is made
to be second nature, so as to perform a skill effortlessly
and quickly.

The two modes of learning seem to involve different
underlying mechanisms and even different brain regions, and
the ability to do them develops at different stages.

Babies are as good at discovery as the smartest adult -- or
better. But routinized learning evolves later. There may
even be brain changes that help. There are also tradeoffs:
Children seem to learn new things more easily than adults.
But especially through the school-age years, knowledge
becomes more and more engrained and automatic. For that
reason, it also becomes harder to change. In a sense,
routinized learning is less about getting smarter than
getting stupider: it's about perfecting mindless
procedures. This frees attention and thought for new
discoveries.

The activities that promote mastery may be different from
the activities that promote discovery. What makes knowledge
automatic is what gets you to Carnegie Hall -- practice,
practice, practice. In some settings, like the Guatemalan
village, this happens naturally: make tortillas every day
and you'll get good at it. In our culture, children rich
and poor grow highly skilled at video games they play for
hours.

But in school we need to acquire unnatural skills like
reading and writing. These are meaningless in themselves.
There is no intrinsic discovery in learning artificial
mapping between visual symbols and sounds, and in the
natural environment no one would ever think of looking for
that sort of mapping. On the other hand, mastering these
skills is absolutely necessary, allowing us to exercise our
abilities for discovery in a wider world.

The problem for many children in elementary school may not
be that they're not smart enough but that they're not
stupid enough. They haven't yet been able to make reading
and writing transparent and automatic. This is particularly
true for children who don't have natural opportunities to
practice these skills, learning in chaotic and impoverished
schools and leading chaotic and impoverished lives.

But routinized learning is not an end in itself. A good
coach may well make his players throw the ball to first
base 50 times or swing again and again in the batting cage.

That will help, but by itself it won't make a strong
player. The game itself -- reacting to different pitches,
strategizing about base running -- requires thought,
flexibility and inventiveness.

Children would never tolerate baseball if all they did was
practice. No coach would evaluate a child, and no society
would evaluate a coach, based on performance in the batting
cage. What makes for learning is the right balance of both
learning processes, allowing children to retain their
native brilliance as they grow up.


Alison Gopnik is co-author of ''The Scientist in the Crib''
and professor of psychology at the University of California
at Berkeley.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/education/edlife/EDSCIENCE.html?ex=1106973113&ei=1&en=5e14c718e2b159eb

Model the behavior (Walk the Walk) on this day of celebration as MLK would have us all do.

Best,

Jim

The new SYNERGY Works Plan

Folks:

Innovation & Biology
http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/innovation/watson/080904.html

National Education Technology Plan 2005
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/01/01072005.html

VoIP / Video over Internet Protocol
http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=10406

SMART MONSTER
http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=10412

UPDATE on the VIRTUAL UUGENCY in K-12 Education

Folks:

A confirming review is in regarding the need for the "urgent reinvention" of education in the State of Michigan. Now all we need to determine is what would it look like (begin with the end in mind)? Perhaps this may become the signal that the "tipping point" has begun.


LOCAL COMMENT: Michigan's call for more degrees is impressive -- and imperative

BY THOMAS BAILEY and JAMES JACOBS
January 3, 2005

With the recent release of the report of the Lieutenant Governor's Commission on Higher Education, Michigan attempts to define an important new standard for the level of education that states will regard as their responsibility to provide. This report calls for all Michigan citizens to strive for the completion of a post-secondary degree or credential "coupled with a guarantee from the state of financial support linked to the achievement of that goal."

No state has gone this far to make post-secondary education a commitment to its citizens. The report was developed as the result of deliberations of a 41-member task force of educators, business and labor organizations assembled by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has set a goal of doubling over the next decade the number of Michigan residents who have completed a post-secondary degree or another credential of value such as an apprenticeship.

Today only 37 percent of Michigan's 18- to 24-year-olds are enrolled in post-secondary education. That's more than 10 percent below the levels of the leading states in this critical area. Twenty-five percent of Michigan adults have "some college," but no credential past a high school degree.

In dealing with this goal, the commission was well aware that any response needed a bold move, which would put the state in a position of guarantying economic support for all Michiganders who want a credential beyond high school. This step is particularly extraordinary because few states face such a pressing need as Michigan does to alter its fundamental economy. Over the past four years, Michigan has lost more jobs than any other state, as the huge auto-manufacturing base continues to shrink.

While in the past, getting hired in a unionized auto industry job could guarantee decent pay with substantial fringe benefits for those with even less than a high school education, those jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate. To shift to the new economy, the state needs to rapidly enhance the educational levels of its citizens. The commission report argues that increasing the educational credentials of Michigan's citizens is the only way in which the state can be assured of a promising future.

The commission's specific recommendations focus on three important areas. First, the demand that credentials are the desired outcome -- not simply more citizens attending college. Access to higher education still remains an issue for many low-income Michigan families, but the focus of the commission's efforts is on completion. These credentials of value could be college degrees, but they also can be apprenticeships, industry-validated certificates and other forms of non-degree achievements that give economic return in the market place. What the state will measure and support are educational credentials that matter in today's marketplace.

Second, for high school students, the commission demanded the elimination of various multiple high school tracks in favor of making college prep courses the norm. In addition, the commission called for a dramatic increase in the number of school districts using credit-based transition strategies from high school to college. Not only will students in high school prepare for college, but a large number will attend college classes while they are in high school. They will gain not just credits to be used to further their college education, but also familiarity with college level work. That is particularly important for students who are the first in their families to attend college.

Third is the critically important role that community colleges will play. Community colleges will remain institutions to earn a two-year degree, but the commission is also calling for them, in specific circumstances, to offer vocational or applied baccalaureate degrees in many growing economic sectors such as information technology and technical training.
These recommendations and more are a statewide response to the lack of a college-educated workforce, and its implication for the future of Michigan. Throughout the report, there was an emphasis on how the higher educational system must actively recruit students from low-income urban and rural high schools so that Michigan remains a leader in economic development.

This is a tall order in a state where the government budget has been slashed for the past four years and total state spending is no larger today than it was in the mid-1970s. Moreover, the state's largest school district, Detroit, is faced with an enormous fiscal deficit that threatens its viability.

Yet the leadership of the state is committed to moving ahead with this bold vision. One of the most frequent words in the report is "must." This is an imperative for the economic prospects of Michigan and its citizens.

This is a gamble, but it will make Michigan the leading state in providing post-secondary credentials for all of its citizens. In that way, the mitten could become the model for a new merger of workforce and economic development for the rest of the country.

THOMAS R. BAILEY is director and JAMES JACOBS is associate director of the Community College Research Center, an organization dedicated to carrying out and promoting research on major issues affecting the development, growth, and changing roles of community colleges in the United States. CCRC is housed within the Institute on Education and the Economy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Write to them in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48226.

VIRTUALLY 2005

FAST COMPANY

Celebrating the Extraordinary
This month's letter from the editor.

From: Issue 90 January 2005, Page 14 By: John A. Byrne Photographs by: Dennis KleimanURL: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/90/open_edlet.html

In his 80th year of life, the famous English sculptor Henry Moore was asked a fascinating question by literary critic Donald Hall.

"Now that you are 80, you must know the secret of life. What is it?"
Moore paused ever so slightly, with just enough time to smile before answering.
"The secret of life," he mused, "is to have a task, something you do your entire life, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is: It must be something you cannot possibly do."

The sculptor's remarks represent a nicely packaged theory of a productive life: Throw yourself into something big that you believe in. Dedicate your life's work to it. And make damn sure it's ambitious enough to stretch you to the limits.

It's a philosophy that guides the 25 social entrepreneurs honored in this issue with our second annual Social Capitalist Awards. Turn to "The Change Masters," starting on page 47. Each of these extraordinary individuals has tackled a seemingly impossible task: "something you cannot possibly do." And each of them has triumphed in bringing creativity, passion, and smarts to that task to make a meaningful difference.

The Social Capitalists package, produced in partnership with the consulting firm Monitor Group, not only recognizes the accomplishments of these remarkable entrepreneurs. It also explains the how behind what they have achieved, describing creative ideas and lessons helpful to all of us, no matter what we do or how we do it. And behind every initiative -- from helping underprivileged children go to college or exporting entrepreneurship to solve Latin America's most daunting social problems -- is a tale that truly inspires.

Consider the story of Jonathan Schnur, who leads New York-based organization New Leaders for New Schools. The group helps to recruit and train entrepreneurs to become principals in inner-city schools. It was while working on education policy in the Clinton administration that Schnur became unsettled by the shockingly low reading and math scores among low-income and black children. He came to believe those low scores were the result of a dearth of quality teachers and principals in inner-city schools. Schnur went to Harvard Business School to learn how to do something about the problem, and with four fellow grads founded NLNS in 2000.

So far, his "leadership factory" has turned out 152 principals serving 75,000 children. "The proudest moment for me will be when we can say we've got 2,000 schools serving a million kids," he says.

New Leaders for New Schools is an extraordinary enterprise -- but then, so is the Social Capitalist Awards project itself. Our team began work on this year's awards almost as soon as last year's package was complete, rethinking the methodology that guides our selection of the best social entrepreneurs and gathering the top experts who help make our analysis smarter and more rigorous. The standards we apply are high. After all, we're essentially trying to create a new system of accounting for the not-for-profit sector. So we measure organizations by their social impact, aspiration and growth, entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability.

This year, we began accepting nominations in June, and our assessment lasted most of the summer and into October. In all, it took nine Monitor consultants and an equal number of Fast Company editors and writers, led by deputy editor Keith H. Hammonds and contributing writer Cheryl Dahle, to make this package happen. No fewer than 48 experts from education, community development, health care, and other fields worked with us to identify promising organizations, refine our criteria and metrics, and assess the performance of our finalists. And the participating organizations themselves invested countless hours in preparing and defending their applications.

Why would a business magazine invest so much time and energy in a project that isn't, in the end, about traditional business? Because these Social Capitalists bring commitment and innovation to their work. Because increasingly, they are engaging with for-profit companies to realize their goals. And because ultimately, they may be a bit closer to Henry Moore's secret of life than the rest of us.

The Makings of a Social Innovator
In its selection of Fellows, Ashoka measures social entrepreneurs against five essential criteria.
From: Issue 90 January 2005, Page 63 By: Keith H. Hammonds URL: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/90/open_ashoka-fasttake.html

1. Is there a new idea?
If there isn't, the rest doesn't matter. If it's new, is the idea going to fly? And will it be big enough to truly change society?

2. Is this person creative?
What is the quality of thinking? What is the history of her creativity? Experiences early in life are the best indicators.

3. Is this person an entrepreneur?
True social innovators need to change a pattern across society. They are drawn to problems, constantly searching for the next advance.

4. What's the impact? Will it spread?
Most entrepreneurs can easily seed their idea in one place. It's another thing to come up with a solution that will get traction elsewhere.

5. Is there ethical fiber?
To be effective, leaders have to be on the up and up. They must change relationships -- and that won't happen if there's no trust.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best,

Jim