With poll: Willow Run considers changing 50% of its high school staff to qualify for grant funds

The Michigan Department of Education ranked the building among the lowest 5 percent of schools statewide in achievement. That ranking qualifies it for funds made available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act via the U.S. Department of Education.

The Willow Run school board must decide what changes to make to qualify for grant funds.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

Willow Run Education Association President Kathleen Miller said no staff will lose their jobs or not be rehired. Instead, the staff changes will come through retirements and transfers. She said she has worked closely with the administration to develop the plan, and so far has no issues.

"We're working through the plan right now and we've been in constant, good communication with the administration," she said. "There are a lot of new things coming to Willow Run, and we’re hoping they will drive up enrollment. We want to do what is right for this community and those kids because they come first."

Board President Sheri Washington said details were not immediately available, but the district will submit a plan to the state by July 14.

Several board members expressed support for the idea, and Washington said the turnaround model best suits Willow Run’s needs. She said the school has changed leadership several times and brought in new teachers with little results.

“We’ve done a lot of things to help improve this environment, but, at the end of the day, we are still a failing school, and categorically speaking we’ve got to do not just better, we’ve got to do much better. We are failing kids,” she said.

Other options the district has to choose from to qualify for the grant money include:

• Closing the school.
• Restart model, which would place the high school under a “charter-like” arrangement with an outside educational entity.
• Transformation model, in which the district would replace the principal, take steps to increase staff effectiveness, provide operational flexibility, increase the school day, institute comprehensive instructional reforms and create community-oriented schools.

Funds would only be allocated for items directly related to student improvement in the classroom - money could not be used for maintenance.

A monitor from the state DOE would visit the school once weekly to chart its progress, returning less frequently as the school saw improvements.

The district will receive between $50,000 and $2 million over three years. No figure has been made available to the district on how much it will receive, but Washington said the district is "planning to implement sustainable initiatives.”

“Once the money goes away can you continue to do these things without additional costs?’” she said. “It’s a little tricky.”

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.