Tag: Anita Steward
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Flint Schools eventfully roll into new school year: lawsuits settled, sports cancelled, student no-shows
By Harold C. Ford Events in August kickstarted the 2020-21 school year for Flint Community Schools in a most newsworthy fashion. The settlement of two longstanding lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union had important ramifications for Flint’s schoolchildren. All fall sports have been canceled. Fewer than 50% of Flint’s students showed up for class at the…
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Education Beat: Student no-shows spur FCS “Operation Return to Learn”
By Harold C. Ford “All hands on deck.” — Kevelin Jones, assistant superintendent, Flint Community Schools More than 50 percent of students expected to attend Flint Community Schools (FCS) during the 2020-21 school year were no-shows through the first week and a half of school that began Aug. 5.. In response, teams of FCS educators—including Superintendent…
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Education Beat: Flint schools start new school year amid great uncertainty
By Harold C. Ford Amid great uncertainty, Flint Community Schools (FCS) begin a new year in August amidst great uncertainty. Sources of uncertainty emanate from international, national, state, and local levels of our pandemic-plagued world. Already weighted down by numerous challenges, FCS is moving into the 2020-2021 school year beset by an erratic pandemic,…
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Education Beat: Flint School board approves plan to re-open schools online Aug. 5
By Harold C. Ford A plan for all Flint students to return to school Aug. 5 on a virtual/online basis only has been approved by the board of the Flint Community School (FCS) district. Then in September, following recommendations from the state and other sources, FCS students would continue school in three possible formats: face-to-face/brick-and-mortar;…
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Education Beat: Flint school board nixes new administration’s plan to reopen schools
By Harold C. Ford On June 29, with barely five weeks remaining until the start of the 2020-2021 school year, the board of education of Flint Community Schools (FCS) rejected the plans for reopening schools put forward by Anita Steward, the district’s new superintendent. A motion to move 6th, 7th , and 8th graders to…
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Education Beat: Lopez fired, Steward hired as Flint Community Schools staff challenges continue
By Harold C. Ford “I’m just overwhelmed how we were left in March and she stepped up.” …Vera Perry, board trustee, Flint Community Schools, June 25, 2020 At a special meeting of the board of education of Flint Community Schools (FCS) June 25, Derrick Lopez was terminated as FCS superintendent “without cause” in a 4-1…
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Education Beat: FCS moves on $95 million budget; grapples with pandemic, closures, contracts
By Harold C. Ford As an eventful 2019-2020 educational year came to an official close June 18 for Flint Community School (FCS) students, the district’s board of education met a total of 10 times in the months of May and June. On June 17, Casey Lester, FCS board president, figuratively and remotely banged the final…
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Flint Community Schools implementing pandemic response plan with Mott Foundation aid
As the Flint Community Schools (FCS) district grapples with needs for remote learning with all schools closed in the pandemic crisis, a new grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation aims to expand internet access for FCS students and keep them safe through a filtering app. A Foundation grant of $163,000 to the FCS will be…
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Education Beat: Flint schools board adopts deficit elimination plan, dismisses three administrators
By Harold C. Ford At its April 21 meeting, conducted via Zoom, the Flint Community Schools (FCS) Board of Education adopted an amended Enhanced Deficit Elimination Plan (EDEP) to send to the State of Michigan for review. The board also dismissed three building administrators for “performance issues” without detail provided to the public. Further, not…
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Flint Schools Supt. Derrick Lopez suspended, Anita Steward named interim
By Harold C. Ford At a special meeting of the Flint Board of Education on April 15, Derrick Lopez, Flint’s superintendent for the past 20 months since his appointment in Aug. 2018, was suspended with pay “pending investigation.” Notably, Lopez had been absent from the last two meetings of the board. Assistant Superintendent Anita Steward…
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