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Education Achievement Authority Slammed at Community Forum in Ann Arbor

Critics of the Education Achievement Authority want to not only stop the spread of the reform effort but also want it out of Detroit, that was the message Tuesday night at a community forum on the issue hosted by the Ann Arbor Education Authority.  

Kamilah Harbin is an Eastern Michigan University graduate student and was a substitute teacher at an EAA school.  She had 45 kids in a classroom and the computers the program relied on were frequently not working.  Harbin says this isn't a good environment for learning, and too many of the teachers had no experience.

 
State Representative Jeff Irwin says he hopes some Republican lawmakers will continue to at least work against further expansion.  He says there actions are based on concerns raised by superintendents in their districts.  Irwin believes real education reform takes a lot of hard work, adequate resources, and tested education strategies, not quick fixes.

 
Eastern Michigan University professor Steve Camron thinks the regents need to sever the agreement that created the authority and support Eastern grads over Teach for America teachers.  He urges EMU alumni and others to contact the regents with their concerns.

 

 Supporters of the EAA opted not to attend the forum.
 
Click here to find more WEMU coverage on debate over the EAA.

— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.

Like many, I first came to this area when I started school at the University of Michigan, then fell in love with the community and haven’t left. After graduating from U of M in the mid 1990’s I interned at WDET for several years, while also working a variety of jobs in Ann Arbor. Then in 1999 I joined the WEMU news team.
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