‘No Credible Evidence of Any Illegal Activities’ In 2004 Bar Fight

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with the Michigan State Police, Tuesday closed its extensive investigation of the Dearborn Police Department regarding a 2004 bar fight, concluding there is no credible evidence of any illegal behavior by members of the department.

Robert Donaldson, lead attorney of the Public Integrity Unit, informed the City of the prosecutor’s decision, following an 18-month review of off-duty police officers who were at the bar following a retirement party when a fight broke out.

The prosecutor’s statement of “no credible evidence of any illegal activities” conclusively counters concerns about the off-duty officers’ behavior, which were originally brought up at a 2007 City Council meeting.

Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. said in a release issued by the City on Tuesday that he was pleased that the comprehensive review by the prosecutor and State Police has effectively cleared the off-duty officers.

“We are committed to ensuring that the public can have a high level of trust in all City of Dearborn employees,” O’Reilly said. “When questions were raised at the council meeting about our off-duty police officers, we followed through with the Prosecutor’s Office because of that commitment to the public’s trust.

“I hope any doubt about our Police Department is now erased by the public’s renewed confidence in our officers and command staff,” O’Reilly said. “I share that confidence and am eager to move forward with the department, oncentrating on continuing to provide excellent public safety services.”

“I’m also glad personally, and on behalf of the City, that the prosecutor’s decision preserves the honorable reputation of the late Police Chief Michael Celeski, who served Dearborn his entire career with whole-hearted dedication, and who should be remembered that way,” he said.

Councilman Robert A. Abraham issued the following statement Tuesday about the investigation.

“It is disturbing that pointed questions and unsubstantiated claims can escalated to such levels without facts or evidence. Although Truth and Justice prevailed in this case, the process caused the disruption and stress in so many lives,” Abraham said.

“This issue was the focus of many headlines and news articles that called in questions the reputation of good people and leaders in our community. It is sad and unfortunate that false claims have such an impact without evidence or truth.

"I hope that in the future the “good” news in Dearborn travels at the speed as the possibility of “bad” news.

“May the hard working and dedicated people that were wrongfully accused in the case be treated with the highest respect and dignity in the future; and may the late Chief Celiski be remembered as a kind and honorable public servant that always put the his family and the community first!”

For the Detroit Free Press story, click here.

HFCC, Dearborn Education Foundation Plan Separate Golf Outings

The 18-hole Dearborn Hills Golf Course is one of the nicest public golf courses in Wayne County, something most folks in Dearborn who play golf already know. Lee Morris, general manager of the course, and his staff do a great job, day-in and day-out.

It is nice to see Golf Digest magazine has come to the same conclusion. Click here.

In the magazine’s 2008-2009 “Best Places to Play, the Dearborn Hills Golf Course earned a 3.5 star rating on a five point scale.

Designed by Warner Bowen, the Dearborn Hills golf course, 1300 S. Telegraph Road, opened in 1926. For more information you can visit www.dearbornhills.com or call 313-563-4653.

Other Golf News

In other golf news, mark your calendar for Saturday, Sept. 13. That’s when Henry Ford Community College will host its sixth annual Beverly G. Duquette Memorial Golf Outing to raise money for student scholarships. Duquette, a former HFCC employee, was the first member of the college's support staff to be awarded the Women's Recognition Award in 1995 from the HFCC Focus on Women program in honor of her many years of work to help women overcome adversity and achieve their goals. The golf outing honors her work.

Previous Beverly G. Duquette Memorial Golf Outings have raised nearly $40,000 for student scholarships at HFCC.

This event takes place at Taylor Meadows, 25360 Ecorse Road in Taylor. The event costs $100 per golfer and includes a continental breakfast and lunch, 18 holes of golf with cart and a banquet dinner with door prizes. Banquet-only tickets are $30 per person. Space is limited to 144 golfers and individual golfers will be teamed in foursomes.

The golf outing begins at 7:30 a.m. with the shotgun start following at 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be at the turn on the golf course. The banquet will immediately follow the outing in the clubhouse banquet room at 1:30 p.m. with dinner and beverages. For more information, call the Golf Hotline at 313-845-9808..

And on Sunday, Oct. 5, there is the chance to golf at the exclusive TPC Michigan golf course in Dearborn as part of the Education Foundation’s Annual Golf Outing to support Dearborn Schools.

Cost for the outing is $225 and includes lunch, dinner and drinks. Registration begins at noon and shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. If you are unable to golf, you can still sponsor the event by sponsoring a hole or donating an item or gift card for the silent auction.

I’ve been disappointed about the comments that have been posted under the story about the candidates running for the Dearborn school board. Some comments have been constructive, but others have been filled with half-baked facts.

As a proud former student of the Dearborn school system, I feel it’s important to set the record straight on a few items.

I often read how our schools aren’t “Top Rated” like they were back in the day.  I would simply ask those who claim our schools were better “back then” to provide the evidence. What organization gave the schools the “Top Rating?” How were they rated? What were the scores on the test? Were the tests given back then comparable to the tests that are given today?

When it comes to comparing how schools used to be with how they are now a lot of us suffer from Nostesia, a term coined by public education advocate and public speaker Jamie Vollmer. Nostesia is a mind altering mixture of 50 percent nostalgia and 50 percent amnesia. We remember the great things about school but forget the bad. When I went to DuVall Elementary we had classrooms of 35 or more students. This was not the ideal teaching situation but all I remember is my great teachers, some who would even play kickball with us at recess.

Do you know that all Dearborn schools have been accredited by North Central Accreditation? (This organization is now known as AdvancED.) This is the same organization that has been accrediting universities and high schools across the country for years. To achieve this accreditation you just don’t fill out some paperwork and write a check. This is a rigorous process where schools are visited by educators from other areas and must demonstrate that students are learning and achieving. Again, not just our high schools but all Dearborn schools have achieved this accreditation.

Another common way to evaluate a school district is to look at MEAP scores. I will not pretend that Dearborn’s MEAP scores are the highest in the state. They are not. However, looking at the MEAP scores alone does not provide the total picture of a school’s performance. Can you imagine the outcry from parents if we determined that a student passed or failed a grade based on one test given on one day on material learned the previous year? However, people have no problem judging our district this way, which is exactly what MEAP does.

MEAP scores were never intended to be the end-all measure of a school. MEAP is a tool, like the many other evaluation tools that schools use. They tell school leaders what areas students are having success and what areas they are not. When a school sees that students scored 100 percent in math (this occurred at several Dearborn elementary schools over the past few years), we know that students are learning and understanding the concepts being taught. On the other hand, when we have a group of students score low in a certain area we can evaluate how we are teaching the material, determine why students did not learn the concepts being taught, and then modify or improve instruction.

Dearborn has used this type of data to start certain intervention programs at the elementary and middle school grades. These programs provide students with additional learning resources and can improve achievement. Intervention programs not only help the lowest achieving students but can also be designed for the top achieving students, allowing them to excel and learn beyond the lessons in the classroom. A program like the ninth grade academy, now in place at all three high schools, is an example of an intervention program that helps all ninth graders become more successful. Ninth grade is a critical year for high school students. Those who do not do well in ninth are the most likely to not complete high school.

MEAP is also used to determine if a school district has made what the state calls Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP. You could dedicate an entire website explaining AYP alone. For now, we’ll just provide a brief overview.

Beginning in 2002 students had to achieve a predetermined score on the MEAP in order to make AYP. Each year that score increases. If any group or sub-group of students does not attain the set score the entire school doesn’t make AYP. Did you know that each year since 2002 all Dearborn elementary and middle schools have made AYP? That’s right, the district that everyone likes to say is not educating kids has shown improvement each year. Often, on the State of Michigan website, a school will be reported as not making AYP. More times than not, it’s the state not having the manpower to properly review results. The Dearborn School district has challenged such mistakes and has been successful in having results corrected to more accurately reflect student performance on the test.

The other reality that many don’t want to face is the changing demographics in Dearborn. Fifty-five percent of Dearborn students are economically disadvantaged and 40 percent are English language learners. I would like to emphasize that Dearborn students are learning the English language despite those who have posted comments here claiming to “really know” that the district is doing something different. Unstable family conditions, learning disabilities and many other factors can place a student at risk of not being academically successful and no one group or factor is to blame. The Dearborn school district has never made excuses for poor performance but to say we have a failing district is simply wrong. This district has had tremendous success.

 If you want to talk about the great things going on in the Dearborn Public Schools I offer just a few:

• All Dearborn Public Schools are accredited by the North Central Commission on Accreditation and since 2002 all elementary and middle schools have achieved Adequate Yearly Progress as required by No Child Left Behind and the State of Michigan.

• Students attending Dearborn’s three high schools were awarded more than $15,000,000 in scholarships and are attending the nation’s most academically prestigious universities, including Harvard, Yale and MIT.

• Nearly one-in-five high school juniors and seniors take advantage of the dual enrollment program taking classes at Henry Ford Community College, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and other local universities. Students have earned more than 4,800 college credits and parents have saved over $400,000 in tuition cost.

• More than 2,300 secondary students earned a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or better including 174 seniors who maintained a GPA of 3.6 or higher during all four years of high school.

• Literacy, intervention, and early childhood programs across the district have contributed to improved standardized test scores and learning for each child.

• Students have gained valuable experience and an academic advantage enrolling in special magnet programs that focus on math and science, technology, culinary arts, medicine, or multimedia production.

• Dearborn is one of only a few select districts in the state to have an Early College program offering students the opportunity to graduate with both a high school diploma and associates degree in five years.

• District wide, athletic programs continue to attain divisional, regional, and state recognition including over 100 athletes being named to All-Academic Teams.

• All schools offer a variety of extra-curricular opportunities that reinforce academics, provide athletic competition, or encourage students to participate in community service activities.

I’ll be the first to admit the job at our schools is not done, but the district is continually working to bring about improvement and student success. Despite some of his shortcomings, John Artis did a good job of focusing all instructional staff on the job of teaching and learning. Artis began a program of evaluation that lead to Dearborn’s district wide accreditation.

From day one, Dearborn’s new superintendent, Brian Whiston, has been busy at work evaluating the state of our district. He has already begun work on improving areas that need attention, continuing with programs that have been successful, building partnerships with the city, business, and colleges, and continuing the focus on student achievement. He has brought in an independent team of former educators who will be spending the next three months visiting the high schools and meeting with parents and teachers to determine what is working and what needs improvement.

In Dearborn’s elementary and middle schools, literacy and math coaches have been very successful working with teachers to help them improve how they are delivering instruction to students. The same will now be done in the high schools to help teachers there deliver instruction better to students.

We have a lot to be proud of in our Dearborn schools. So let's arm ourselves with the facts and say something nice about them.

Tuesday at 4 p.m. was the deadline for those planning to run in the November general election for two open seats on the Dearborn School Board. We thought it would be helpful to post the names of the candidates here who are vying for those positions.

Two seats are up this year — those of current board President Sharon Dulmage and Secretary Aimee Blackburn. Each term is four years and the vote takes place Nov. 4.

• AIMEE BLACKBURN, board secretary.
• JOHN C. CORBIN – This is his second attempt. He ran unsuccessfully last year.
• SHARON DULMAGE, current board president.
• MARY LANE, former board member who missed last year’s deadline to file for her seat because she was in California for family reasons. She had been on the board for eight years.
• TAMERIA ARLENE METIVA

This should be an interesting race because with the addition of Mary Lane you essentially have three incumbents running for two open seats. And with this being the year we all go to the polls to elect a new president, voter turnout should be at an all-time high.