CHRISTINE MATOIAN, M.D.
and LANA POWELL, M.D.
e
are pleased to announce the opening of
their newly established practice
PREMIER
WOMEN'S
HEALTH
Wake-Up Call
Obstetrics & Gynecology
31350 Telegraph Rd. • Suite 201
Bingham Farms • Michigan 48025
(248) 723-6200
Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Quality, compassionate care for women from
adolescence to adulthood.
Extended hours available for your convenience.
Find out who we are and what makes us different.
pip
0111
dl
We are an elementary and middle day school (Early K through 8) with a full academic and enrichment
curriculum dedicated to addressing the unique and individual needs facing many gifted children.
Learn more about the Steppingstone approach to teaching and developing gifted children.
OPEN HOUSE DATES
January 25, March 1, March 29, April 26 and May 24 • Hours: 9 am to 12 noon
RSVP by phone or e-mail: 1-248-324-0692 • Ijohnson@steppingstoneschool.org
Personal tours and consultations available by appointment.
STEPPINGSTONE SCHOOL Fel GIFTED EDUCATION
35700 W. 12 Mile Road • Farmington Hills, MI 48331 • 248-324-0692 • www.steppingstoneschool.org
Acce,a4,ce iieependeni a./race cabal sex creed, / - 947th, /78/7,,,,/ 0,7gth.
1065310
Budget Generators
Home & Commercial Generator Systems
Back Up Sump Pump Systems
power problems - Outages?
ever Lose PiPwer
gin!
Call For
Your FREE
Estimate
Mike Hovey 248.722.5090
'3995
Repairs
Oil Changes
Installed I Permits Additional
1074380
PEKING DUCK
COMBO FOR TWO!
33,95
Includes:
Peking Duck {1/2},
Chicken with
mixed vegetables,
6-47 Shrimp with lobster sauce
A Soup, Spring Rolls,
Duck Fried Rice
Chivy
LOBSTER COMBO
FOR TWO!
33,95
Includes:
Whole Lobster,
Shrimp with
mixed vegetables,
General Tao Chicken 1 1/4 pound
Soup, Spring Rolls,
tk13 .95
Chicken Fried Rice
each
Lobster
20% OFF
".**Lipotf
c/
I
everything
With coupon only. Excludes Lobster and Peking Duck Specials.
Open 7 Days a Week From 11 am to 12midnight
Lunch Specials
served from 11-3pm,
248.615.8866 • 248.615.8877
Mon-Sun
38259 West Ten Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48335
Bar Available
28
February 2 •2006
(Between Haggerty Road & Halsted Road)
State superintendent wants higher
high school requirements.
his might sound a little ambi-
tious, but I think it's
going to save this
state,' Michael Flanagan, state
superintendent of public
instruction, told the Jewish
Coalition for Public Education
(JCPE) at its Jan. 24 meeting.
Flanagan was talking
about the effort to establish
Michael
state high school gradua-
tion requirements. The only one now
is a required civics credit.
The JCPE works to educate and
engage the Jewish community in
efforts to support public schools, with
particular concern regarding issues of
separation of religion and state. The
JCPE is an independent group headed
by Linda Finkel of Bloomfield Hills
and Florence Herman of Beverly Hills
and staffed by the Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
"We've got to wake up; we have a
perfect storm right now," Flanagan
said — referring to lax standards, the
state's economy and "a-global economy
that's killing us."
The state board of education is rec-
ommending 18 credits in specified
areas for graduation. The legislature
must sign this recommendation into
law; legislators in both houses are dis-
cussing it now.
Attitudes are another problem,
Flanagan said, citing a Detroit News
poll that showed less than a quarter of
Michigan parents believe their kids
need more than a high-school educa-
tion. This might help explain why only
20 percent of Michigan students grad-
uate college, and why a survey of 50
states and an in-depth study of five,
shows that we lag behind in what is
expected and what is produced in
many of our schools.
Flanagan hopes to increase the num-
ber of Michigan students who graduate
from college, though he said, "If we
double it, we're still only at 40 percent."
Methods of instruction also must be
a ddressed, said Flanagan, because
instruction is "more of a 'sit and git'
than anyone intends?' He met with the
heads of the 32 schools around the state
that train teachers to tell them "we're
going to rebuild this together," while
also telling them that the days of auto-
matic renewal of their certification as
education schools is going to end.
Flanagan is glad the issue of
education has been raised to a
high level statewide. "This is
one time you can thank the
media," he said. "There is large
agreement from around the
state" for tackling graduation
requirements and other issues,
he says, though he admits
Flanagan working with the state House
and Senate to craft and pass legislation
will be more difficult.
Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, executive direc-
tor of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah in
Southfield and Oak Park, praised the
working relationship between his
school and the Southfield and Berkley
public schools, while identifying partic-
ular problems that the state might help
resolve regarding special education.
JCPE member Howard Wallach of
Farmington Hills explained the budget
challenges faced by the Farmington
Public Schools, where he serves on the
board of education:He explained that
the challenges are enormous even
though the district is well ahead of
many others. He called for "tweaking"
Proposal A, which both funds schools
and limits school funding, and active-
ly engaging with legislators.
In response to a question from
JCCouncil board member Linda
Stulberg of Farmington Hills, Flanagan
said he was "embarrassed about our
mistakes this past year',' which allowed
for MEAP (Michigan Educational
Assessment Program) testing during
the Jewish High Holidays. He explained
that next year the window for testing is
from Oct. 2-20, which only overlaps
one day, Oct. 2, with a Jewish holiday.
He also said he doesn't see the state
mandating Holocaust education as is
done in 22 other states, though he says
"the social studies content expectation
should include Holocaust education?'
Flanagan also clarified statements
made early in his tenure last year that
seemed to support creationism by say-
ing it could be discussed somewhere
in the curriculum.
"I am not supportive of creation-
ism," he told his audience. "It is clearly
not science." 7-T