Saline Schools to Host Meeting on Upcoming Educational Changes

The is planning to host a meeting to help bring the community up-to-date on a series of changes to the curriculum designed to challenge students and provide more rigor in lesson plans.

The meeting will be held in Saline Middle School’s Media Center at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 and will focus on a nationwide initiative called  Common Core State Standards. The goal is to create standards that cleary define what student should know at each grade level. Officials from the Michigan Department of Education said they hope the changes, adopted in June 2010, will mean fewer students will need remediation and that their knowledge will be on par with their peers across the country.

Michigan PTA President Shaton Berry and Detroit Public Schools Teacher David Musselwhite will be in attendance to explain the changes and discuss where Michigan schools fall in comparison to other countries in subjects like English and Mathematics. Saline Superintendent Scot Graden also will be available to answer questions.

According to Steve Laatsch, the assistant superintendent of instructional services for Saline Area Schools, officials are currently working to make sure the curriculum matches the state goals.

“With a lot of changes coming in the next year to our education system and how/what our kids are going to be taught, Saline Schools feels that the earlier these changes are communicated, the better the transition.  Saline Schools are committed to providing a world-class education that will help our children continue on in their pursuit of higher education,” said Dawn Ducca, President of Pleasant Ridge’s PTA in a statement to Patch.

The core standards are expected to raise the bar for students everywhere in Michigan; school board members said they hope that the improved requirements will help students prepare for the rigors of college and beyond.