Equity in Discipline

Yesterday, took the day off of work to attend the all-day team building exercise of our Equity in Discipline Committee. The ETC is a district wide comprehensive effort to re-vamp our disciplinary policies, actions and enforcement to more appropriately and particularly address the issues that face our district. The aim is to bring a stronger sense of equity to our disciplinary approach with the hope that it will solve some of the chronically complained of problems. It was time well spent. We engaged in dialogue and debate, team-building exercises, and discussion of race issues. The turnout was very good for a workday/weekday, about 10 of 18. Though I won't use names out of respect for statements made in confidence, I learned that some of the people in our district have jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, at least one of our principals is an expert bowler, and someone has been on the Phil Donahue show as a guest. I was impressed by the substantial commitment shown not only to the issue of discipline, but also every other aspect of our district. I'm looking forward to making substantial progress on discipline issues with this committee. Though the timetable may be somewhat optimistic, I'm glad we're finally moving on this. The committee is run by SeDA Consulting, who has considerable expertise in the area of school discipline. Sharon Davis, who runs the outfit, was the primary presenter, and she was fantastic!

Ypsi High Students Receive Arvin Scholarships

Of the 9 Arvin Scholarships handed out, Ypsi High Students received 3. Following is an excerpt from the A2 News: People who knew Bob Arvin remember him as a leader and a nice guy who would help anyone. The 1961 Ypsilanti High School valedictorian was captain of the wrestling squad and quarterback for the football team. He was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and after completing his education was shipped to Vietnam. In 1967, his division was ambushed and at the age of 24, Arvin was killed. Yet decades after his death, Capt. C. Robert Arvin is still helping people - through the college scholarship named for the highly decorated Ypsilanti native. This year, the C. Robert Arvin VFW Post 2408, which created the scholarships, selected nine students who reflect Arvin's academic, sports and leadership excellence. Four students were awarded $1,200 Arvin scholarships; five received $500. This is the second year the scholarships have been awarded to Ypsilanti-area students. Money for the awards is raised through contributions and fundraisers, including an annual golf outing and banquet. The 2005 Arvin Education Award winners are: - Robin Snyder, who graduated first in her class from Ypsilanti High. She received a $1,200 scholarship. Snyder was senior class president and earned 11 varsity letters competing in softball, volleyball and swimming. She served as team captain in all three sports. She said a highlight of her education was touring Italy and Austria with the Ypsilanti Wind Symphony. Snyder plans to attend the University of Michigan, majoring in pre-med. She said the biggest influences in her life are her extremely supportive parents, Brad and Debbie Snyder, and God, who she said generously blessed her. - Katharine Chapman, who graduated with a 3.6 grade point average from Ypsilanti High. She received a $500 Arvin education award. Chapman was drum major for the high school marching band and she handled the choreography for the school musical. She earned many awards in music and drama and was a member of the golf team. She said among the highlights of her education were the times the marching band moved through the hallways to dismiss classes to pep rallies. She credited her brother and her parents, Mark and Shirlee Chapman, for influencing her life. She said her brother brought leadership to life and made it "cool and important.'' She said her father gave her a love of performing and her mother gave her organization and poise. Chapman plans to attend Grand Valley State and major in elementary education. - Austin Engel, who graduated from Ypsilanti High with a 3.6 GPA. He received a $500 award. Engel participated in baseball, soccer and wrestling and was named the wrestling team captain this past year. He also was a member of the homecoming court and the National Honor Society. Engel was active in his church, including mission trips to Guatemala, and is planning another mission trip to Jamaica. He said his parents, Mike and Anita Engel; teachers; and God are major influences in his life. Engel plans to attend Cedarville University of Cedarville, Ohio, but is undecided on his major. Excerpted from:

Camped all weekend in the Northern Lower Peninsula

My daughters and I camped with--well, you could call the group the extended family Doyle. 10 dads and about 15 kids (from 3 on up). We camped at Kneff Lake in the Huron National Forest in the Northern Lower Peninsula. Day one, we acclimated and hung out: Day two, we paddled down the Au Sable River: That night, the girls were utterly delighted to stay up late, roast marshmellows and make s'mores by the campfire: It was truly a great time!

K-12 Rally a success!

I couldn't be there (I was busy losing a trial, for heaven's sake), but the rally was a huge success! The governor spoke, turnout was much larger than anticipated, and a loud message reverberated through the Capitol Rotunda. Amy Doyle, our soon-to-be and much anticipated new BOE member attended and was kind enough to send me these pictures: Let's hope they listen.

Instead of the thrill of victory, it was the agony of defeat

We lost the trial. The jury was not willing to pin blame for the burn on the hospital in the absence of an explanation, even though the hospital personnel were the only ones there, and they had no explanation. Even though their own expert witness said "If everyone does everything the right way, a burn won't happen." I kind of thought that if the burn happened, that kind of indicates that everyone didn't do everything the right way. Hey, but I'm just a lawyer. In fact I'm a prehistoric unfrozen caveman lawyer. The modern ways of the people of Midland frighten and confuse me. I don't know much about this medical malpractice stuff, but I do know . . .

I learned an important and valuable lesson last night

Last night at 3:00 A.M., while sleeping soundly in the posh Ashman Court Hotel in Midland, MI, I learned a very, very important lesson. I learned that I do not need to worry about dying in a hotel fire because I am asleep. I learned that the loud, eardrum piercing sound that goes off when there is a fire is MORE than sufficient to wake me immediately. In fact, I think that the manner in which it woke me was by instantly increasing my heartbeat to 200+. I also learned that it is horribly unpleasant to be woken up this way. I learned (and I so totally did not know this--I was quite suprised to learn it) that there is a strobe light attached to fire alarm in my room at this hotel, and waking to a piercing sound accompanied by a strobelight makes me extremely dizzy. It makes me dizzy enough to come very, very close to falling down. I also learned that the doors to the stairwell lock after you exit them. Which means that you can't get back in once you've gone outside that way. I also learned that it is really, really easy to forget your room key at 3:00 A.M. after being woken by a piercing sound and a strobelight. I also learned that I'm not the only one who learned these things in the wee hours of last night.

Trial diary - day two

I put one of the Defendants, the ENT doc, on the stand this morning. He did a decent job defending himself, but he did get a few questions wrong. It was clear his atty wasn't all that excited about everything he had to say. After that, I put my expert witness (an Ear, Nose and Throat doc from Maryland) on the stand. It's always fun to put your own expert on right after the person whose care he's criticizing. No matter how great they do defending themselves, your expert can just shoot 'em down over and over again. Gotta love it! He did quite a good job, but I could have killed the hospital's atty for his excruciating long cross-examination. Next came one of the Defendant nurses responsible for setting up the electrocautery equipment. She did a fine job of defending herself, but I did catch her on a few issues. We ended the day by starting the testimony of the mother of the injured child. She's doing a fantastic job! Tonight I will prepare to cross-examine the defense experts, which will take place tomorrow and the next day. The attorneys met at length after trial today to try and streamline the remaining witnesses in an effort to finish on time. None of us wants to take this into next week.

I'm in trial this week

I'm staying in Midland, MI all week trying a medical malpractice case. Four years ago, a 5-year-old child went into Mid-Michigan Medical Center for a tonsillectomy. When the tonsillectomy was done and he woke from the anesthesia, he had a third degree burn on his leg that required a skin graft. Nobody knows what happened, and if they do, they aren't talking. Here's what the burn scar looks like: Here's what the skin graft donor site looks like: I picked the jury today and we did opening statements. I'm not crazy about the jury pool in Midland. I used 5 peremptory strikes and dismissed two jurors for cause. That's a personal record for me by far. I picked one of my expert witnesses up at the airport and prepped him at the hotel. The hotel, called the Ashman Court Marriott Conference Hotel, is by the way, quite nice. There is so much Dow Corning and Dow Chemical business activity up here, they can support a top end luxury hotel, which ain't bad from my perspective. It is right next door to the courthouse, which is a lovely stone building. Last time I had to travel upstate, I got stuck in a Hampton Inn.

Senator Jelinek lies about k-12 funding

According to the A2 News: Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks, the chair of the Senate subcommittee on K-12 spending, argued that lawmakers have maintained school funding during difficult times. So, then, when energy, health insurance, worker's compensation insurance, cost-of-living, inflation and retirement costs go up (many in the double digits, all of which are not controllable at the district level), Jelinek thinks he is "maintaining" funding by keeping it even for three years? Whose he kidding? (Other than perhaps the children who can't understand the flaw in his argument because he's not funding their education). The only way to "maintain" funding in the face of rising, uncontrollable costs is to keep pace with the cost increases. Were the Legislature to do so, it could claim to be "maintaining" funding. What the Legislature is doing now, however, is actually decreasing funding by failing to keep pace with known, calculable increasing costs that nobody can decrease. Jelinek goes on to say that education "is the No. 1 priority." It ought to be obvious to anyone who is paying attention that tax cuts are Jelinek's (and his party's) No. 1 priority. Education does not even make the list of real priorities. Education is paid lip service. So says Sen. Robert Emerson, D-Flint, with whom I agree wholeheartedly. If the problem is a weak economy, why hasn't it occurred to any of our politicians that strong, viable, competitive schools for children might attract people and businesses who would then be in a position to strengthen our economy? Perhaps property values might rise if we were to attract people to our state based on the quality of our schools. Perhaps the economy might strengthen if our young people stayed here after graduating and honed their skills, opened business, had children and bought things in Michigan rather than leaving for greener pastures.

Quotes from the American Taliban

Click here to read pro-theocracy quotes from your fellow Americans. I'm not sure which is scarier--that they said these things publicly, or that they don't appreciate irony of their positions. It's kinda sad . . . A few true nuggets: " . . . the winner gets the right to teach our children what to believe." -Gary Bauer (American Values) "When science and the Bible differ, science has obviously misinterpreted its data." -Henry Morris (Institute for Creation Research) "We don't have to protect the environment, the Second Coming is at hand." -James Watt (Former Sec. of the Interior) "Worship with your vote." -Roy Moore (Former AL judge)

Willow Run disses Ypsi

This week's Ypsilanti Courier objectively and articulately dissects the sleazy ads run by Willow Run, which diss surrounding school districts, some of which are partners in joint programs. The ads play up many of the difficulties suffered by other school districts due to Michigan's weak economy. The intent is obviously to disparage neighboring districts and poach kids. The article, entitled "WR Superintendent takes some heat over ad campaign," states: The campaign isn't making Willow Run a lot of friends among neighboring districts also participating in the Schools of Choice program."It's not totally factual," says James Hawkins, Interim Superintendent for Ypsilanti District, of the ad. "We did close schools, but we're not laying off teachers. We haven't laid off any teachers, nor have we laid off any administrators." According to Hawkins, Michigan's sagging economy and ensuing budget cuts led Ypsilanti to close two schools at the end of this school year. "The one salient factor that's evident in this whole process is that we have not diluted, reduced, modified educational programs, not one iota," says Hawkins. "We have maintained the sanctity and the quality of programs. We have not touched any educational program in an effort to balance our budget. As a matter of fact, we have expanded educational programs." In addition to expanding advanced placement programs at Ypsilanti High School, the district is adding Spanish and drama programs to all elementary schools. The Courier paraphrases Sup't Benit's downright sleazy response as follows: If the facts in the ad paint a negative picture of Ypsilanti and Belleville, Benit says that he didn't mean to be critical. . . . "We have to do what we can to avoid financial problems by trying to attract as many students and trying to do the best job we can. . . . We lost a lot of students to Perry Development and once they go there, they stay there." In reply, Ypsi Interim Sup't Dr. Hawkins hit the nail right on the head: "I always believe in taking the high road," says Hawkins. "I would never want to enhance my district's status by criticizing another. Competition is fair game, but to do it at someone else's detriment, I think is taking it to another dimension, which is questionable. We'll aggressively market the multitude of successes and great programs that are in practice in our school district, in a way and fashion that I think is acceptable and recognizable to everyone." I get the feeling that Sup't Benit can't compete purely on the strength and quality of his programs and must instead rely on the transient difficulties of other districts to attract students. Apparently competition involves kicking neighbors while they're down rather than actually competing Newsflash to WR: Could it be that parents and students choose Ypsi over WR because it's better? You betcha. "My intent was to get people's attention," Benit says of his ad. Now that you got their attention, Sup't Benit, watch out. When we get it, they'll be coming over here.

Ypsi High Graduation

I had the privilege of handing out diplomas to grads at the Ypsi High Graduation last night. What a fabulous ceremomy! Some of the grads high-fived, some hugged, but all were visibly excited and proud to be receiving their diplomas. I had been told to be prepared for loud and raucous behavior, but none materialized. In fact, my graduation from Grosse Pointe South in 1985 was far more rowdy than Ypsi High's was. I was also invited to attend a social event following the ceremony, held by high school administrators and teachers. What a great group of people! I learned that the last day of school at Ypsi High went very, very smoothly, and that there were no problems to speak of. I think I detect a trend here! Things are looking up and getting better with each passing week. Let's keep the momentum!

Apsey 2 is out and . . . how STUPID!

A few posts ago, I lamented a really stoopid decision by the Court of Appeals. Ignoring modern law that is uniform throughout the country (to prevent this type of jackass judicial idiocy), the COA applied an antiquated, 150+ year old law requiring "special certification" of out of state affidavits filed with any court in Michigan. This law is so old that in many states it is physically impossible to get these certifications. The COA doesn't care. Read it here. The two incredibly dumb judges are Kathleen Jansen and Hilda Gage. Keep on the lookout when it comes time to contribute to their opponents (there WILL be opponents when they run). The standout here is Mark Cavanaugh, who was man enough to simply say he got it wrong and should have come down the other way at the get-go. You can read his dissent here. The good news is, if any of this can be interpreted as good, that the ruling is prospective only. This means that it is not supposed to apply to cases already in court, but only to new ones. We'll have to see about that.

Aha, ha, ha ha, hahahaha, hee hee, hoo hoo . . . .

Saw this on Postsecret, which is a site that encourages people to reveal their secrets by sending in an anonymous postcard. Check the site out--it's very interesting. When I saw this one, I literally fell out of my seat laughing. I do believe I have an idea what he's talking about . . .

Make your own LED flashlight

My friend and neighbor, Dave Strenski, is not only a true genius but an engineer extraordinaire. He has published his method of making a working LED flashlight from PVC plumbing supplies and other inexpensive electronic purchases from the local Radio Shack. You can read the instructions here. My daughters each have one, and they love 'em.

What I did last night . . .

Hung out with these good neighbors.

Apsey has been vacated (for now)

The most embarrassing gaffe in recent memory by the Michigan Court of Appeals has been vacated. For the original opinion, see Apsey v. Memorial Hospital, typos and all. The original holding was destined to result in the wholesale dismissal of hundreds, if not thousands, of legitimate and meritorious medical malpractice cases currently before courts throughout Michigan on the basis of a technicality. In its opinion, the COA cited a 150+ year old law requiring "special certification" of all affidavits prior to filing. Without the "special certification," the court was to treat the case as if it had never been filed, including ignoring any tolling of the statute of limitations. Apparently unbeknownst to the COA was that the process for obtaining these "special certifications" was considerably different 150 years ago, when the prevailing method of travel was by horse and buggy, and the procedures set forth in the law are no longer available in many states, making compliance an impossibility. With truly absurd lack of foresight, the COA was also apparently unaware that medmal litigants represented a tiny subset of other litigants who relied on notarized affidavits in their filings. Needless to say, banks, loan companies, real estate lawyers, (any litigant who might need to file an affidavit in court for any reason) went apeshit when they found out that they all might lose their legitimate pending cases on a technical grounds. In particular, the silk-stocking, $400+/hr., non-contingent fee crowd are mighty upset that they might get sued for malpractice for failing to obtain "special certification" for their affidavits. After receiving amicus briefs from the all the usual suspects, apparently the COA could not ignore the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, the UAW, and the Dep't of Community Health as well as the as-yet-unsubmitted Michigan State Medical Society's brief, which, I have on reliable authority (and I believe may be a first), actually sided with the plaintiff in a medmal case. We'll have to wait to see what the Federalist Society, a/k/a the Michigan Supreme Court, does if it manages to get its hands on the case. They'll probably be upset that they didn't think of the novel defense theory first.

Tulani Smith Appointed Principal of Adams!

One of the district's finest former principals (currently in central office), has been placed at Adams Academy as principal for next year! Sharine Buddin will take Sharon Irvine's place at Perry. Mrs. Irvine recently accepted a job as a principal in Northville. Kevin Carney, Pat DeRossett, and Joe Guillen will all remain in their current positions as principals of Erickson, Estabrook, and Chapelle, respectively. Read the Press Release.