Annual Report 2006-2007 - Farmington Public Schools

Farmington Public Schools - Welcome!IndexPage 2Board of Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Farmington Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Professional Learning Communities . . 7Outdoor Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Safe Schools/Student Services . . . . . . 9Instructional Services. . . . . . . . . . . . 10Operational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Human Resources & Legal Services . 13Business Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14School Community Relations . . . . . . 15Financial Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16A Learning Organization . . . . . . . . . 18Comprehensive CurricularOpportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19NCLB and Education YES! . . . . . . . . 20Student Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Student Evidence of Excellence . . . . 24Staff Evidence of Excellence. . . . . . . 26Specialized Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Continued from page 1which provided recommendations for the necessaryreductions in staff, services and other changes inoperations. The District held several meetings to engageparents and community members in discussions aboutthe proposed reductions before the 2007-2008 budgetwas adopted by the Board of Education. More budgetinformation is contained in this report.We are truly grateful for the many resources we have inthis District; such as:• highly qualified, knowledgeable and dedicated staffmembers who are committed to excellence andempowered to make a difference for kids in theirdaily work.• incredibly broad levels of achievement from ourstudents in academics, to the fine arts, to ourathletics programs.• caring and supportive parents and communitymembers who take pride in the quality of ourschool district.• a wonderful tapestry of diversity that provides ourstudents with the experiences necessary to becomesuccessful in a diverse and changing world.• a collaborative employee and community relationsculture that allows school, city and association leadersto work together for the benefit of our children.In closing, I want to thank the Board of Education and thiscommunity for the opportunity to serve you and yourchildren. I hope you enjoy reading this year’s annual report.With warmest regards,Susan H. ZurvalecSuperintendent of Schools

Farmington Public SchoolsBoard ofEducationIn an effort to significantly reduce election costs, theBoard voted to begin holding school elections inNovember in odd years. The Board of Education, consistingof seven school district residents, will now be electedto six-year terms. The Board approved a new policy,which changed the four-year terms to six-year termsfor school board members. The longer terms will allowfor institutional memory, sound management andoperational consistency. School board seats will beadded to the non-partisan city election ballots startingNovember 2009.Board of Education meetings are generally held the firstand third Tuesdays of the month at the Lewis SchulmanAdministrative Center. Regular Board of Educationmeetings are cablecast LIVE on TV-10 (Channel 16 inWest Bloomfield).This school year, Frank Reid, board trustee, served aspresident of the Michigan Association of School Boards'Board of Directors.Karen Bolsen, school board president for 2006-2007,received the 2007 James Lyons Legacy Award fromthe Dove Institute honoring hercommitment to fostering respect andunderstanding among all neighbors.Board members continue to participatein the Michigan Association of SchoolBoards’ (MASB) Boardmember Awardprogram, which offers school boardmembers a way to learn new leadershipskills and to stay up-to-date oneducation issues. There are sevenlevels of recognition. Board memberFrank Reid achieved Level 6 - MasterPlatinum Award and was awarded theAdvocacy Skills Specialty Award.Priscilla Brouillette earned Level 4 -Master Board Member Award. KarenBolsen achieved Level 3 - Award ofDistinction and Howard Wallachachieved Level 2 - Award of Merit.Vision StatementThe vision of Farmington Public Schools is highachievement by all students, where learning is ourmost important work. We are a district in which:— Students, teachers, parents, communitymembers, support staff, and administrators workcollaboratively to create a positive learningenvironment to ensure all students aresuccessful, competent and productive.— Teachers hold high expectations for all students.— We rely on our diversity of thought, perspectiveand people to build on our strengths.— All students and staff feel empoweredand supported.— Teachers use best practice in everyclassroom to engage each child.— Each school provides a safe, caringand nurturing environment for students,staff and parents that enables every childto experience the joy of learning.— Decisions are based on data andquality information.From Left to Right: Deborah L. Brauer, Frank L. Reid,Priscilla L. Brouillette, Howard I. Wallach, Karen L. Bolsen,Gary D. Sharp, and Sheilah P. Clay.Farmington Public Schools - Board of EducationPage 3

Farmington Public Schools - WelcomeWelcome!Farmington Public Schools offers a comprehensiveeducational program from preschool through adult andcommunity education that strives to meet the needs ofall students. The District maintains a core curriculumthat meets or exceeds State and national standards andoffers a full complement of fine arts, extracurricular andathletic programs.This southern Oakland County district serves more than12,000 students from Farmington, Farmington Hills anda portion of West Bloomfield. The District is comprisedof three high schools, one alternative high school, fourmiddle schools, 13 elementary schools, two earlychildhood centers, an adult education program, and aspecial education center program in two buildings. Thestudent population is racially and ethnically diverse.The District enjoys an unprecedented and supportiverelationship with the cities of Farmington and FarmingtonHills and is an active participant in community eventsand organizations. The District also enjoys the strongsupport of the business community who help provideadditional opportunities for students.The District strives for excellence through constantevaluation, feedback and revision of programs andprocesses. The District establishes programs to meet theneeds of ALL learners and is always striving to achieveequity. One of the District’s guiding principles is thatevery single student will be provided the opportunity todevelop his or her unique gifts and talents.If you require more information or additional copies of thisreport, please contact:School/Community RelationsFarmington Public Schools32500 Shiawassee, Farmington, Michigan 48336Phone: 248. 489. 3349 Fax: 248. 489. 3314E-mail: info@farmington.k12.mi.usWeb Site: www.farmington.k12.mi.us.Page 4

Farmington Forwardis the name of the District's new long range plan. It beginsas Mission 2007, Farmington Public Schools' strategicplan for the past 13 years, concludes. Mission 2007, theDistrict's first long term strategic plan, began in 1994. Itwas so named because the students entering kindergartenat its inception would graduate from high school in 2007;thus, charting the District's course as we moved from the20th into the 21st century.Based on current research about long range planningmodels, the Farmington Forward process was selectedbecause it is a continuous improvement model. It is calleddynamic planning to ensure the District builds upon itsstrengths and is flexible enough to keep pace with theever increasing rate of change facing all 21st centuryorganizations. Unlike Mission 2007, it has no endingdate. Instead, the District will regularly measure and reportprogress to the community and continually reassess andreset targets.To lay the groundwork for the Farmington ForwardPlanning Committee, the District's Leadership Council,District Student Achievement Team and Board of Educationreviewed and revised the District's mission and visionstatements. The District's Mission Statement was strengthenedby adding the commitment to “engage every student”in quality learning experiences empowering “each student”to become “thoughtful, contributing citizens in a changing“world.” A new Vision Statement also was developed andis guided by the overarching commitment to “highachievement for all students where learning is our mostimportant work.”The formation of the Farmington Forward DynamicPlanning Committee was announced in November 2006and parents, staff, students, graduates and communitymembers were invited to submit applications to participateon the committee. More than 40 members representing abroad spectrum of our school community were selected toserve. The work of the committee was to first learn aboutthe current state of Farmington Public Schools and 21stcentury trends in learning, technology, globalization andissues affecting education. Then, based upon these keylearnings, develop the District's goals to guide its workover the next several years.To accomplish its work, theplanning committee met sixGoal 1times for full day sessionsfrom January through April.The agendas and summariesCurriculum, Instruction and Student Achievementof each session are locatedon the District's web site atGoal 2www.farmington.k12.mi.us.Focus group sessions alsowere held with staff, parentsand community members toCommunity Relationsreview the proposed goalsand identify strengths andGoal 3challenges for the committeeto consider before finalizingand recommending the goalsBudget/Financeto the Board of Education atits June 12 meeting.Goal 4The planning committeeorganized into four subcommitteesto draft the goals:1) Curriculum and Instruction,Human Resources/Operations/Technology2) Budget and Finance,Continued on page 6Page 5Farmington Public Schools - Farmington Forward

Farmington Public Schools - Farmington ForwardContinued from page 53) Community Relations and 4) Human Resources,Technology and Operations. The goals are called “BHAG,”which stands for “big, hairy and audacious goals.” Thischaracterizes goals that are broad and robust causing usto stretch ourselves to become a more flexible District ableto respond to change more adeptly while continuing toraise student achievement for all of our students.The Farmington Forward goals were reviewed by the Boardof Education on June 12 and approved by the Board onJune 19. District administration will now organize theimplementation process identifying the committees that willidentify our immediate (next year) and more long range(next three to five years) strategies, targets and measuresfor these goals.Goal #1: Curriculum,Instruction and StudentAchievementFarmington Public Schools will continuously grow as acommunity of learners integrated with the world where:• Each member of the Farmington Public Schoolscommunity of learners will feel physically, emotionally,and academically safe, secure and accepted.• All learners will experience and achieve in achallenging, relevant, high-level learning environment,which will prepare them to be lifelonglearners, successful in a global society.• Farmington Public Schools will develop critical andcreative thinkers to be adaptable citizens of thefuture able to embrace change through processing,accessing, designing and managing information.Page 6Goal #2:Community RelationsFarmington Public Schools will inspire every communitymember to invest in our children's future and buildparticipation and ownership in our school district by:• Promoting honest, trustworthyrelationships through open communication• Seeking out and respecting each other's diverseideas, perspectives and abilities• Increasing collaborations with business, governmentand cultural organizations to make the most of ourvast community resourcesGoal #3: Budget/FinanceFarmington Public Schools will develop and implement aproactive financial management model that enables it tomake decisions based on requirements and prioritiesincluding:• Prioritizing needs and acknowledging requirements• Investigating renewable energy resources• Consolidating services and facilities• Providing access to health and wellness• Building public support/involvementGoal #4: Human Resources/Operations/TechnologyTo support and enhance educational excellence to developall students to thrive as global citizens, we will:• Attract, develop and retain staff with multipleperspectives who inspire and foster a world classlearning community• Build on and sustain a culturally competent district• Create and maintain exemplary physical andvirtual facilities• Utilize cutting edge technology that supportslearning and facilitates operations

Professional Learning CommunitiesImprove Student LearningFarmington Public Schools is committed to the process ofreaching every child. The guiding principle of a ProfessionalLearning Community (PLC) is that the purpose of school is toensure high levels of learning for all students. The Districtrecognizes the increased demands for excellence for allstudents. It is becoming more proficient in using data toguide teachers to better meet specific student learning goals.Caring and Collaborating for Learning was the focus forprofessional development during the 2006-2007 schoolyear. Collaboration is at the heart of Professional LearningCommunities and increased student achievement. The use ofdata and feedback are essential for identifying student needsand supporting student success. Utilizing research-proventeaching and learning strategies, known as best practice, arealso an integral part of this process for increased learning.In an effort to focus on student learning, four criticalquestions are presented within the Professional LearningCommunities framework:1) What is it that we want students to learn?2) How will we know that they have learned it?3) How can we intervene if a student isn’t learning?4) What will we do if they already know the content?Answers to these questions are addressed through alignmentof curriculum to State standards, benchmarks, and gradelevel content expectations; the examination of student data;system of interventions; and acceleration strategies.Fact:Sixty-eight percent of the teaching staffhave advanced degrees.Farmington Public Schools - Professional Learning CommunitiesPage 7

Farmington Public Schools - Outdoor FacilitiesOutdoor FacilitiesThe outdoorfacility improvementsat thesecondary schoolswrapped upduring the year. Inall, 48 contractorscompleted $25million inimprovementsapproved byvoters in August2004.In three short years, school committees and District centralstaff worked hard along with URS Architects, Grand Rapidsand McCarthy/Smith, Construction Managers, FarmingtonHills to plan the details of projects, bid and award contractsand oversee construction as projects transformedour outdoor sites. The community is to be commended forits support of these marvelous venues now used by hundredsof students and parents from March throughOctober. Each and every middle and high school studentin the District is able to avail themselves of these facilitiesthrough physical education classes, an athletic team,marching band and/or as a spectator at an outdoor event.Each high school outdoor facility was redevelopedand upgraded with a new multi-purpose syntheticturf field, entrance plaza, new stadium press box,new varsity baseball and softball diamondsincluding press boxes, scoreboard and bleachers,practice synthetic turf fields, tennis courts, practicegrass fields, track and field events, new soundsystem, new concession, new and/or remodeledrestrooms, team rooms and storage facilitiesand irrigation.In addition, a traffic signal at North Farmington HighSchool at Farmington Road was installed. An expandedparking area also was constructed for staff at HarrisonHigh School.Each middle school outdoor facility was assured themiddle school template including a football field andscoreboard, track, baseball/softball diamond, irrigationand restroom/storage building. Depending upon existingfield conditions, some fields were relocated while othersmay have been regarded or reconfigured.We thank the community for thefunding of these projects.Fact:Forty-eight contractors completed $25million in construction improvementsapproved by voters in August 2004.Page 8Superintendent Sue Zurvalec, a NorthFarmington High School (NFHS) student,and NFHS Principal Rick Jones, cut theribbon to open the renovated outdoorfacilities at North.

Safe Schools• Working in collaboration with theFarmington/Farmington Hills Call toAction Coalition, the 47th DistrictCourt, the Farmington Hills Police andFire Departments, the FarmingtonPublic Safety Department, and theOakland County Circuit Court, theOffice of Safe Schools and StudentServices remains committed to maintainingsafety and security withinFarmington Public Schools and itssurrounding school community.• Support was provided in the area ofpupil accounting to include intradistrictSection 105, and PA 227School of Choice options. The Section105 School of Choice committee wasreconvened and recommended toexpand open slots from 20 to 25 tonow include Grade 2. The committeewill continue to recommend aconservative approach with closeexamination of enrollment trendsand building capacity issues.• The Safe Schools AdvisoryCommittee tightened accountabilityissues, districtwide, to assure theimplementation of guidelines and protocols.Accountability among schoolbuildings, based upon revisions andupgrades of security and response protocols,was this school year’s priority.Building visitations also occurred withlaw enforcement to assess securitygaps and to recommend assistanceas needed.• A training was held for more than100 staff to upgrade and assure consistencywith child abuse/neglectreporting procedures.• Sixteen students graduated from theDistrict's Adult Ed High SchoolCompletion program.• Forty-eight students graduatedfrom the District's Alternative HighSchool program.• The Adult and CommunityEducation Program continues tooffer three levels of English as aSecond Language (ESL) to foreignborn parents in our community,both day and evening classes.• The Adult Basic Educationprogram, housed at DunckelMiddle School, continues toeducate developmentally disabledadults over the age of 26.• This department continues to deliverinnovative programs to our District andneighboring communities throughenrichment classes that cover Pre-Kthrough senior adults. The publicresponse to these classes continues tobe extremely popular.• The Early Childhood Departmentsuccessfully opened three preschoolsatellite centers at three elementaryschools.Student Services• The Department also successfullyconsolidated three Early Childhoodcenters into two centers.• Early Childhood experienced recordenrollment at Alameda Early ChildhoodCenter.• The Department offers SpecialServices at both Early ChildhoodCenters for 0 – 5-year-olds in:- Early Intervention- Speech- Occupational TherapySafe Schools Student ServicesPage 9

InstructionalHighlights from the Instructional Services Department• Comprehensive curriculum maps ingrades K-12 that align with the GradeLevel Content Expectations (GLCEs)were developed and posted on theDistrict’s web site. Each map identifiesanchor readings and writings, as wellas power standards. Common unitassessments will be developed duringthe 2007-2008 school year.• Farmington continues to increasinglyuse data for decision making in itsclassrooms, in Professional LearningCommunities (PLCs), in schoolimprovement plans, in departmentmeetings and in direction setting andplanning. Feedback in the form ofsurveys, discussions, reflection andtest results help to guide the Districtas it looks for ways to positivelyimpact student achievement.• The Department continues toincrease the use of technology forkey stakeholders in data collection,analysis, and reporting in support ofdepartment, building and Districtgoals and to meet State and federalmandates. The District introducedPearson Inform, which providesteachers access to create intuitivereports on student and school performance.Powerful graphs and chartsmake it easy to target assistance,measure progress and make informeddecisions. Data collection for variousassessments was set up in PearsonInform where teachersdirectly input assessmentresults.• The District ScienceResource Center continuesto fully support K-12science instructionthrough efficient andcost-effective practicesregarding materialsdistribution, usage,refurbishment, andreplenishment whilecontinually exploringopportunities forproductive consortiaand partnerships withbusiness, industry tradegroups, and other schooldistricts and educationalorganizations. More than1,500 kits were refurbishedin 2006-2007.The Center continues todevelop and support educationaldisplays and core science curriculuminstruction at the Farmington DiscoveryNature Center in partnership with theCity of Farmington Hills SpecialServices staff.• The District continues to look atways to provide appropriatelychallenging instruction for high-abilityexceptional students. The middleschool DELTA (talented and gifted)Fact:Community Education served1,759 families, 1,510 adults and763 children with classes duringthe 2006-2007 school year.They participated in tuition-basedenrichment programs for adultsand children that met weekdays,evenings and Saturdays.coordinator works with teachers in allfour middle schools to create lessonplans, facilitate independent studiesand model lessons to benefit the giftedstudents in their classrooms whilethree DELTA coordinators work toserve the needs of students in our13 elementary schools. A variety ofprograms are in place throughout theDistrict including Junior Great Books,Word Masters, Math Olympiads,Destination Imagination, Robotics,Page 10

Future Cities, and Math Pentathlon.Seven mini-grants were awarded tomiddle school teachers to supportprogramming for high-ability students.• The District continues to excel inthe fine arts area. Numerous artexhibitions, Sticktacular, Day forStrings, middle and high school theaterproductions and music concerts arebeing held throughout the school year.• The Instructional ServicesDepartment continues to enhancethe involvement of linguistic minorityparents in the schools and in theeducation of their children. A BilingualParent Advisory Committee meetingwas held where the new BilingualParent Handbook was introduced andtopics for increased bilingual parentparticipation were brainstormed. Oneidea is for schools to host BilingualParent Coffees in an effort to includemore parents.• The District continues to increaseinvolvement in physical educationactivities such as All ChildrenExercising Simultaneously (ACES)and Hoops for Heart where there isparticipation by elementary schoolsDistrict wide.• The Special Education Departmentworked on developing a three-yearplan for Special Education Servicesthat incorporates required componentsof the State ImprovementPlan and the SpecialEducation Study Committeerecommendations. TheDepartment will supportDistrictwide understandingand use of a Response toIntervention (RTI) model.Response to Interventionaddresses early learningchallenges through the useof assessment and carefullydesigned interventionsdelivered to individualstudents according to individualneeds. SpecialEducation Services continuesits efforts to provide specialeducation programs andservices for students withintheir home school. Thepercentage of studentsparticipating in generaleducation settings forincreased amounts of timehas continued to increaseover the last four years.• The Sex EducationAdvisory Board wasre-established with moreparents and students. TheAdvisory Board reviewsteacher recommendationsregarding classroomdiscussion guidelines.Highlights from the Instructional Services DepartmentServicesPage 11

OperationalOperational Services• The District continues to monitorand ensure that programs generatingrevenue remain cost effective.• The transportation departmentcontinues to cost effectively maintainbuses for Mercy and Catholic CentralHigh Schools. Farmington PublicSchools, Mercy and Catholic Centralbuses all passed State inspectionwithout any red or yellow tags.• Science kits were prepared by theDistrict’s science department and thepurchasing department ensured timelydelivery to Troy generating revenue forthe District.• Completion of the Secondary OutdoorFacilities Plan, funded by the 2004bond issue, occurred on-time andunder budget.• The District’s energy manager, aconsultant from Energy Education, Inc.and District staff worked to reduceconsumption of electricity, natural gasand water throughout the District. It isestimated savings could average 23percent over the next three years.• The Kilowatt Kids, a club of the 5thgraders at William Grace ElementarySchool, monitored electrical use andhelped with conservation efforts intheir school.• The District actively participated inthe Oakland Countywide TransportationStudy Committee. The recommendationsof the Committee revolve aroundcooperative efforts and cost saving recommendationsfor center-based specialeducation/in-district special educationtransportation, and Oakland SchoolsTechnical Campus transportation.• The District Wellness Committeedeveloped a Wellness Procedure incompliance with State requirements.Included are procedures for nutritioneducation, nutrition standards andphysical education opportunities.• A coordinated School Health Team ofPower Middle School, NutritionServices and Botsford Hospital wasformed to examine all aspects ofschool health in the building andprovide recommendations to improvethe learning environment and studentachievement through healthier initiativesat Power Middle School.• A federal grant to provide a fruit andvegetable snack to students atFlanders Elementary School wasimplemented with the assistance of theNutrition Services Department.• A Transportation Services BudgetStudy Committee reviewed the cost ofthe following services: High schooltransportation, noon kindergarten, latestarts, early releases, half-days, nonpublicschools, special education andfield trips.Services• More than 90 custodial cleaningschedules for all buildings werereworked resulting in a reduction of8.5 custodial positions.• The installation of 1,200 newreplacement computers and rearrangementof existing computers wascompleted so that the high schoolshave the newest technology, themiddle schools the next newest andthe elementaries the next, none ofwhich are older than two years.Computers at each school level arenow identical by model and age.Page 12

Human Resources• Human Resources continues to workto maintain the professional workingrelationship with the Farmington PublicSchools’ Associations’ leadership whilepursuing a collaborative bargainingprocess. Human Resources made aconcerted effort to be available and toseek out Association leadership forinput in problem solving and addressingmembers’ concerns. Initiating andresponding to communications withAssociation leaders continues to beparamount in demonstrating respectfor their role in staff relations.• Focus was given this year to thealignment and streamlining of the workthat flowed between the Business andHuman Resources departments. Solidcommunication, with an eye on abetter understanding of the interworkingsof these two departments,has helped to provide consistent workand provide a framework to head offand resolve issues quickly.• The Department Increased scrutiny ofthe tracking and reporting of teachercertification and professional developmenttied to state and federal reportingrequirements—Registry of EducationalPersonnel (REP) and No Child LeftBehind (NCLB). The Departmentworked with staff to continue theDistrict’s compliance with the “highlyqualified” designation of NCLB and toreinforce the District’s role as a partnerin its attainment of such designation.• The on-line application processcontinues to provide an efficient anduser-friendly system for processingposition postings, screening candidates,and candidate follow up. Allposted positions are processed usingthe on-line system.• The Ventures interview process hasbeen fully integrated as a tool foridentifying outstanding candidatesfor employment and is used foradministrative, instructional, andsupport positions.• The web-based substitute systemwas expanded to function as both asubstitute placement tool, as well asan absence reporting/tracking tool.Through collective bargaining, the systemhas become the primary means ofreporting absences for all employees.• Within the day-to-day operations ofthe Department, as well as the District,the legal training and background ofthe Assistant Superintendent for HumanResources has been employed to collaboratewith outside legal counsel andto coordinate its work with the District.• The Human Resources staffcontinues to work collaboratively withbuilding principals and supervisors todevelop best practices.• A Committee was convened toreview and revise the FarmingtonPublic Schools’ Health Manual.& LegalHuman Resources and Legal ServicesServicesPage 13

Business ServicesBusiness• The District Financial StrategiesCommittee was convened to reviewbudget and financial statements andmake recommendations concerningDistrict needs for maintaining andimproving District buildings and sites.The Committee reviewed the financialcondition of the District, as well as theforecasted budget shortfall, the capitalprojects listing and proposed budgetreduction plan.• Business Services lead the DistrictBudget Committee in the preparation ofthe 2007-2008 fiscal year budgetincluding co-chairing both the CapitalNeeds and Non-Instructional Servicessub committees and providing informationas needed to the other designatedcommittees.• The Department implemented a betasite for the new financial packageadopted by Michigan Association ofSchool Boards (MASB) calledPaySchools to allow parents a meansof paying by either Visa or AutomatedClearing House (ACH) debit for transactionssuch as tuition payments,lunch payments, field trips, pay toparticipate fees, etc. The departmentworked with PaySchools to establisha bridge with the Nutrition Servicesprogram which should be active in the2007-2008 school year.Services• For the ninthyear in a row,the Districtreceived theCertificate ofExcellence inFinancialReporting fromthe Associationof SchoolBusinessOfficials(ASBO). Thisaward indicatesthat theDistrict’s financialstatements meet or exceed ASBO’scriteria for full and expanded reporting.• At the end of the 2005-2006 schoolyear, the District formed nine budgetcommittees to study programs andservices. The committees consisted ofadministrators, staff, students parentsand community members. The committeeswere: Consolidation ofInstructional Services, FarmingtonAlternative High School andFarmington Community SchoolConsolidation, Funding for CapitalNeeds, High School Restructuring,International Academy/IB Program,Marketing and Fund Raising, Non-Instructional Services, Sale/Lease ofProperty and Building Usage Fees, andTransportation Services.• TheDistricthosted twointeractiveBudgetPublicForums, onein Januaryand one inMarch toshare thefinancialpicture ofthe District.Page 14

School/Community• Under the leadership of theSchool/Community RelationsDepartment, the School/CommunityForum and the Farmington Area PTACouncil presented a series of parentforums throughout the school year. Thetopics were parent-driven and thesessions were hosted by elementary,middle school and high school parentgroups. The topics were:• Internet Safety• Meet the Board andAdministrators• “Understanding Your Child”• “Parent Involvement”• “Legal issues affecting teens”• “Sex education for parents:How to effectively communicatewith your teenager aboutsexuality”• The District School/BusinessPartnership Council continued torecognize Outstanding and NotablePartnerships with two OutstandingPartnerships being awarded this year:one to the Detroit Economic Club for itspartnership with the high schools, andone to Mr. Bill Zipp for his work withPower Middle School. The Notablehonorees were the Farmington HillsFire Department, the Farmington PublicSafety Department, the FarmingtonHills Police Department, Mr. RayOkonski, Jewish Family Services,Farmington Youth Assistance and LOCFederal Credit Union.• After a year of development under aDistrictwide committee, the District’sNEW web site was launched in the fall.The organization of the web site wascompletely revamped to provide amore user friendly web site for parentsand other web site visitors.• This year the District launched a newteaching award called the Judy WhiteOra Teaching with Heart and SoulAward named after one of the District’sformer assistant superintendents.Marian Orihel, Farmington CommunitySchool, was the first recipient of thisvery special award.• The Department worked closelywith Operational Services and theTransportation Department for thesecond annual Transportation PhoneBank which provided quality customerservice to parents who had questionsregarding transportation during the firstfew weeks of school. Along with theNational School Public Relation’sGolden Achievement award, the programhas also received the 2007MSBO Meridian Award of Achievement.• The list servs have proven to be awonderful way to communicate withparents. There are currently 6,620(2,818 last year!) users signed up forbuilding messages. Approximately 800messages were sent out during thisschool year, which is four timesgreater than the amount of messagessent out last year. Messages were alsosent out on a weekly basis to the morethan 1,904 people who signed up forthe District list serv. This group hasalmost doubled in one year’s time.• School/Community Relationsorganized and hosted the 10th AnnualSenior Adult Breakfast in October 2006where more than 300 senior adultswere in attendance. This was thesecond year in which the Districthonored a “Senior Extraordinaire” atthe breakfast. This year’s recipientwas Leona Goetzke.• School/Community Relations chairedthe Marketing/Fund Raising BudgetCommittee. The District will moveforward with soliciting advertising forthe District’s web site and workingwith the Farmington/Farmington HillsFoundation for Youth and Families insetting up designated funds.School/Community RelationsRelationsPage 15

Financial UpdatesFinancial UpdateThis is a report of the District’s year-end,audited financial results for the2006-2007 fiscal year, which endedJune 30, 2007.The District is currently under audit byindependent auditors, Plante & Moran,PLLC. The audit report was presented tothe Board of Education on October 23,2007. For the year ended June 30,2007, the District's audited, unreservedfund balance stood at $24,050,480 or16.02 percent of expenditures. This fundbalance, or reserve, would support theDistrict a total of 29 instructional days ifrevenues were curtailed.Audited revenues for 2006-2007 were$149,206,972 and expenditures were$150,173,783. Salaries and benefitsof staff comprise 88.7 percent of thegeneral fund expenditures with all otherexpenses including supplies, purchasedservices, and capital outlay accountingfor the remaining expenditures.Expenditures exceeded revenuesby $966,811.The June 30, 2007 financial statementsare being prepared under the GASBStatement No. 34 format. The Statementof Net Assets shows the community’sinvestment in buildings and equipmentnet of its related debt. The Statement ofActivities matches expenditures withprogram revenue and shows whichresources are used to fund the overalloperations of the District.Upon completion of the audit, thefinancial statements will be availablefor review at the public libraries inFarmington and Farmington Hills, aswell as on the District’s web site.For tax year 2006, the District wasable to reduce its operating millage onhomesteads by .5085 mills, or about51 cents for each thousand dollars oftaxable value. This year’s tax rate was10.6511 mills plus six mills for educationwhich goes directly to the State. Thisrepresents a decrease of 50.31 percentless than the rate paid in 1994 prior toProposal A. This rate also includes the1.800 mills levied for debt.The legislature worked hard to adopt abalanced State aid budget for fiscal year2007. This budget was the second inthe last five years to receive an increasein the foundation allowance to schools.The District continuously monitors theState’s financial condition as the revenueto schools is directly linked to the State’sfinancial condition. The legislature hasapproved a $48 increase in the per pupilRevenue - 2006-2007 Per Pupil Foundation Funding - 2006-2007State AidState Aid12%Property TaxesNonhomesteadOther $2,067Homestead$2,58437%51%$5,793Page16

Michigan schooldistricts aredependent uponthe State for about52 percent oftheir revenue forday-to-dayoperations.28%3%3%5%61%Salaries - 61%Purchased Services - 3%Transfers - 3%Intergovernmental Payments - 0%Employee Benefits - 28%Supplies and Other - 5%Capital Outlay - 0%Financial UpdatesExpenditures by Object - 2006-2007foundation allowance for 2008. The Stateis required by law to have a balancedbudget, and the District has experiencedlosses in funding two of the last fiveyears of $69 and $74 per pupil due toprorations in State funding. A prorationwas averted in 2007 by the State usingfuture credits from the retirement system.The District's financial health requiresthat the District continue to be vigilantin balancing the budget annually, whilestill maintaining the quality instructionour children deserve. For the pastseveral years, the budget process hasincluded ways of increasing revenuesources, examining operational efficienciesand looking at cost reductions.The Board and staff will continue to workhard to provide educational excellenceand equity for all students withinavailable resources.3%24%12%For the ninth year in a row, the District hasreceived the Certificate of Excellence inFinancial Reporting from the Association ofSchool Business Officials (ASBO). This awardindicates that the District’s financial statementsmeet or exceed ASBO’s criteria for full andexpanding reporting.11%1%19%14%16%EL Instruction - 19%HS Instruction - 16%Pupil and Staff Services - 14%Intergovernmental Payments - 0%MS Instruction - 11%Other Instruction - 12%Support Services - 24%Transfers - 3%New Community Services - 1%Expenditures by Function - 2006-2007State & Local SchoolDistrict MillageHomestead 2006-2007Operating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8511Debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.80State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.6511State & LocalSchool District MillageNonHomestead 2006-2007Operating. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.9388Debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.80State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.7388Page 17

Farmington Public Schools is a Learning OrganizationFarmington Public Schools is a Learning OrganizationAs a learning community, staff development hasa significant role in Farmington Public Schools.Opportunities for continual professional growth areoffered across all job classifications and in a varietyof venues.Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are criticalto our vision of staff development. Staff meet and worktogether to achieve the fundamental purpose of theschool, which is a high level of learning for all students.Early release, delayed start and weekly elementary PLCmeetings afford staff time to meet in a collaborativeculture to focus on student learning and results. Theyprovide opportunities to practice and strengthen ourskills of collaboration and data analysis around studentlearning goals. In addition, the opportunity to learn fromthe experiences and expertise of each member of theteam positively impacts our instructional decisions forincreased classroom learning.Teaching staff continue to receive training in the areasof research-based instructional best practice, whichstrengthens each teacher’s ability to deliver essentialskills in all curriculum areas to the District’s increasinglydiverse student population. Other areas of skill developmentinclude reader and writer’s workshop, differentiationof instruction, 6 +1 writing traits, and relationshipbuilding. Staff members from all job roles have theopportunity to advance their learning in the areas ofleadership, first aid, diversity, peer mediation andsubstance abuse prevention.In addition to the summer work with ProfessionalLearning Communities, staff members were alsoinvolved in summer workshops at both the District, andsite levels. These workshops provided the opportunityfor staff to pursue goals such as improving transitionprocedures between middle and high schools,advancing North Central Accreditation goals, increasingmath skills, using assessment for learning, mappingcurriculum and enhancing our ability to use technology.Farmington was host to a two-day conference foreducators developing data literacy skills through datateams. Teams of staff members also attended a ReaderWorkshop Institute and additional Professional LearningCommunity training out of district, yet in our area.Finally, new teacher training, which is supported bymentoring relationships with veteran staff, continues toenrich Farmington’s newest human resources.Building leadership capacity and skill sets wassupported by offering an Administrative LeadershipSeries to all Farmington administrators. This seriesemphasized balanced leadership and reflectivequestioning. We continue to participate in a year longbook study of “Learning By Doing” with leaders fromFarmington and other districts. Farmington participatesin developingteacher leadersthrough participationin GalileoLeaders andAspiringPrincipalsAcademies.Both provideleadershiptraining andopportunities forour teachers.Page 18

Farmington Public Schools offerscomprehensive curricular opportunities for all studentsFarmington Public Schools maintains a comprehensivecore curriculum in the areas of language arts, mathematics,science, social studies, art, music, physicaleducation, health, technology education and worldlanguage. Additionally, a media curriculum is beingdelivered through the District’s award winning mediacenter program housed in each school. A significantnumber of elective courses, which extend and enrichthe core offerings, have been developed/revised tomeet District standards of quality. Finally, the Districtcontinues to develop a number of interdisciplinarycourses that link two or more curricular areas.The District Frameworks Committee, composed ofparents, school personnel and community memberscontinues to oversee the preparation and adoption ofFarmington’s curriculum.The 2006-2007 school year was an important year ofstudy for the District’s high schools as the High SchoolRestructuring Study Group explored best practice in highschool design, as well as scheduling designs to reducecosts while maintaining high standards and optimumcourse offerings. The trimester system was identified asthe model to provide longer daily class periods and awide variety of course options for students in which toprovide our students with the tools necessary for theirlearning now, and to prepare them for the future. AMiddle School Restructuring Committee was alsoconvened to address student needs at the middleschool level, in preparation for high school requirementsand the skill set needed for their future. A six-period,trimester schedule beginning in the fall of 2007 wasalso determined to best meet the needs of our middleschool students.Also during the 2006-2007 school year, groups ofteachers met under the leadership of curriculumcoordinators to develop curriculum maps for all of thecore content areas, K-12. These maps address what itis our students need to know across the District basedon State standards and grade level and high schoolcontent expectations. The curriculum maps followa consistent format and address units of study,standards/benchmarks/content expectations, keyconcepts, learning strategies, activities and resources,as well as assessments. They are housed in our sharedcurriculum files for teacher access and on the District’sweb site for parent access. They are living documentsand will be revised as necessary.Curriculum maps:• Identify and prioritize essential learnings for studentsat each level/course K-12• Align taught curriculum with the GLCEs & HSCEs(grade level content expectations and high schoolcontent expectations)• Integrate content skills and knowledge through bigideas—embedding research-based best practiceinstructional strategies• Provide a focus for our teaching, student learningand professional development• Guide us in our teaching of essential learnings andcommunicate expectations for learning to staff,students and parents in a user friendly document.Curriculum coaching as a form of embedded staffdevelopment (professional development in the building)continues to be a District focus and support for staff andstudent learning. We have provided training at twolevels, novice and continuing, for elementary andmiddle school staff. Participants have developed askill set to promote collaboration and student learningin key focus areas. We continue to explore professionaldevelopment opportunities for adult learners as we builda culture of learning and collaboration. ProfessionalLearning Communities also support our culture oflearning andcollaboration.Staff meetsregularly insmall groups todiscuss studentlearning andresearch-basedteaching practices.Data isused to guideour decisionmaking withthe consistentgoal of enhancingstudentachievement.Farmington Public Schools offers Comprehensive Curricular OpportunitiesPage 19

District meets NCLB & Education YES! RequirementsPage 20District Meets NCLB & Education YES! requirementsIn January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB) was signed into law. This law contains the mostsweeping changes to the Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act (ESEA) since it was enacted in 1965. Itchanges the federal government’s role in K-12 educationby asking America’s schools to describe their success interms of what each student accomplishes. The Act requiresstates to set target goals for student performance based onstudent achievement data. It is intended to ensure that allchildren reach proficiency in reading and math by theyear 2014.NCLB requires states to establish a definition of AdequateYearly Progress (AYP) and consequences for not makingAYP. Michigan uses the state assessment, MEAP, forcalculating AYP. Michigan also uses attendance rates forelementary and middle schools and graduation rates forhigh schools. NCLB requires states to develop targetstarting goals for AYP and raise the bar in increments toachieve 100 percent proficiency by 2014. Michigan hasadopted a “step ladder” approach with incremental targetgoals to achieve 100 percent proficiency by 2014.NCLB requires states to implement a single statewideaccountability system. Michigan’s Education YES! is thestatewide accountability system. Michigan’s report cardincludes: academic status and change along with performanceindicators integrated with AYP for a compositescore/grade for each building and district. In the fall of2006, all students in grades 3 through 8 were tested inEnglish Language Arts and Mathematics to comply withthe NCLB mandates. Science MEAP assessments arealready established at each level. NCLB requires at least95 percent of all students be assessed.NCLB requires calculation and reporting of student databy subgroup. Michigan calculates student information bythe following subgroups: ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic,students with disabilities, and students with limitedEnglish proficiency.NCLB requires all teachers be highly qualified by the endof the 2005-2006 school year. In Michigan, highlyqualified means elementary certified teachers teaching K-5in self-contained classrooms and middle and high schoolcertified teachers teaching in their major. Other options forhighly qualified include passing a rigorous state test andcompleting a Master’s degree in a subject area. All teachersin the District are highly qualified.NCLB measures student achievement in reading and math.Michigan measures student achievement in reading andmath at the elementary level; and reading, math, scienceand social studies at the middle and high school levels.Under Education YES! (Yardstick for Excellent Schools),schools receive grades of A, B, C, D-Alert, or Unaccredited.The system takes multiple measures into account whengrading schools. These factors include MEAP Achievementdata, Teaching for Learning, Leadership, Personnel andProfessional Learning, School and Community Relations,and Data and Information Management, StudentAttendance for elementary and middle school, andgraduation rate for high school.In August of 2007, Farmington Public Schools receivedthe 2006-2007 Education Yes! Report Cards for allelementary and middle schools. The composite EducationYes! Grades consisted of 12 As and five Bs with 15buildings making AYP (Adequate YearlyProgress). The District also made AdequateYearly Progress for the 2006-2007 schoolyear.Farmington Public Schools is addressingthe implications of this federal legislationalong with the Michigan Education YES!Accreditation System to meet the needsof all our learners through the use ofNorth Central Association Commissionon Accreditation and SchoolImprovement process.Fact:All teachers in the District arehighly qualified.

School AccreditationFarmington Public Schools is engaged in a variety ofactivities relative to school accreditation. All elementary,middle and high schools are accredited by the NorthCentral Association Commission on Accreditation andSchool Improvement. Alameda and Fairview EarlyChildhood Centers and Farmington Community School areaccredited by the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children. Based on the successful completion of afive-year improvement process, which demonstrated gainsin student achievement, all schools have received theirOutcomes Endorsement from NCA. All Farmington PublicSchools have now finished their fourth year in NCA’s cycleof Performance Accreditation that promotes growth in studentachievement through a building school improvementprocess. The 2007-2008 school year will focus on thedocumentation of the school improvement plan.Student AchievementStudents are assessed through the Farmington PublicSchools’ Assessment Model. Assessment provides multipleopportunities and a variety of approaches to measurestudent achievement. Standardized tests are used tocompare student performance against state (MichiganEducational Assessment Program) and national (ACTExplore/Plan) results.In addition to standardized tests, end-of-grade, course andsemester assessments provide teachers with summativeinformation about student achievement that is tied directlyto the curriculum(e.g., mathematics, languagearts). Teachers use classroom assessmentsto adjust instruction based on resultsand to inform students of how their learning isprogressing. These measures are updatedcontinuously to reflect the latest research andbest practice. In addition to paper and penciltests, classroom assessments may include portfolios,demonstrations, research projects and other directmeasures of performance.The goal of the assessment program is to provide allstudents with varied and fair opportunities to demonstratewhat they know and are able to do. This complete assessmentprogram is used to monitor the learning of allstudents and providefeedback forinstructional andcurricular purposes.Top: The Farmington High School Marching Bandperforms at the annual Farmington/FarmingtonHills Multicultural Multiracial CommunityCouncil's Heritage Festival.Left: The District honored 26 middle school andhigh school students at the Turn Around AwardsLuncheon in March for “turning their livesaround.”Above: Students pose during the opening of thePower Middle School student-run branch of theLOC Federal Credit Union.Page 21

Student Assessment 2006-2007Student AssessmentMichigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP)Percent of students who took and achieved satisfactory (Levels 1 and 2) on the MEAP.Grade Subject FPS State Female Male 05/0606/07 06/073 ELA Composite 91 79 94 88 913 Math 95 88 96 94 944 ELA Composite 89 78 93 86 894 Math 93 85 94 93 915 ELA Composite 89 78 93 86 885 Math 86 76 85 88 845 Science 90 83 90 90 866 ELA Composite 87 78 92 83 906 Math 80 69 82 79 826 Social Studies 86 74 88 84 937 ELA Composite 89 76 93 85 897 Math 84 64 84 84 778 ELA Composite 84 71 89 79 858 Math 78 68 78 78 768 Science 83 75 85 81 879 Social Studies 84 74 84 84 8811* Reading 71 60 76 67 6711* Writing 57 40 61 52 6111* Math 60 46 60 60 5411* Science 68 56 68 68 6411* Social Studies 89 83 90 88 84* Results include William Miller, Farmington Community School, and Farmington Central High School inaddition to the three high schools.Page 22

Advanced Placement (AP)Number of Students taking AP ExamsDistrict 2006-2007 725District 2005-2006 634Number of Students Qualifying forCollege Credit on at least one examDistrict 2006-2007 527District 2005-2006 479Percent of Students QualifyingDistrict 2006-2007 73%District 2005-2006 76%American College Test (ACT)Total composite scores reported2006-2007 Female Male 2005-2006Farmington 22.8 22.8 23.0 23.1State 21.5 21.3 21.7 21.5National 21.2 21.0 21.2 21.1Percent of students taking testFarmington 75%State 67%National 40%Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)2006-2007 2005-2006 Female MaleFPSMath 587 588 572 610Reading 561 570 559 563Writing 554 558 563 542StateMath 579Reading 568Writing 553NationalMath 515Reading 502Writing 494Student Assessment 2006-2007Page 23

Student Evidence of Excellence 2006-2007Page 24StudentChandler Couzens, Dipika Krishriaswami, Carter Riehl,A team of students representing Longacre ElementarySchool won highest honors in the WordMasters Challenge.The third-grade team placed first in the nation in the year’ssecond meet among 543 school teams participating at thislevel and in this division. Eight of the school’s students wonhighest honors for individual achievement as well: AnnikaAndersson, Shrihari Bhaskaramurthi, Christy Champnella,Krish Sundar, and Nandan Tumu all earned perfect scores.The Harrison High School Dance Company was selectedto perform in the Michigan Youth Arts Festival. This is anadjudicated festival for Michigan’s top high schoolmusicians, vocalists, artists, actors, filmmakers, anddancers. There were 50 dances submitted and the HarrisonDance Company was one of the 14 groups selected.Ari Grant, North Farmington High School, placed in thetop 100 in the State at the Michigan Mathematics PrizeCompetition.The following students won State level recognition for theirwork in the Math Pentathlon contest: Ari Hollander,Hirokazu Murayama and James Przeslawski of EagleElementary School; Aditi Bhandari, Richard Lantz andJacob Vargo of Gill Elementary School; and AndrewNathanson and Eric Stanis of Forest Elementary School.For the first time, Farmington High School students placedthird in competitive events in the DECA International CareerDevelopment Conference. DECA is an association ofbusiness marketing students with more than 150,000members across the world. Only six percent of thesemembers qualify for the international competition each year.Holding the plaque that is hung at the Maxfield Training Center on thePartnership Wall of Fame is from left to right, Beth Chappel, President andCEO, Detroit Economic Club; Judy Miller, Farmington Public Schools' CareerDevelopment Coordinator; and Jana Chappel, Sponsor, Meeting andStudent Coordinator, Detroit Economic Club.The following students are 2006-2007 State PTA Reflectionswinners.• Ta’hani Griffin, William Grace Elementary, Award ofMerit in Primary Visual Arts• Casey Iles, Gill Elementary, Award of Excellence inPrimary Photography• Victoria Johnson, Highmeadow Common Campus,Award of Excellence in Intermediate Photography• Druva Krishnaswami, Longacre Elementary, Award ofExcellence in Primary Literature• Kamari Morse, William Grace Elementary, Award ofExcellence in Intermediate Film• Christian Olson, Hillside Elementary, Award of Merit inPrimary Visual Arts• Casey Iles, Gill Elementary, and Victoria Johnson,Highmeadow Common Campus, were also winners inthe 2006-2007 National PTA Reflections Contest.All three Farmington Public High Schools were named in the“Newsweek” top 1,200 public high schools in the country.• Farmington High School – ranked 813• North Farmington High School – ranked 1112• Harrison High School – ranked 1190Rankings are determined by the number of advancedplacement tests taken by all students at a school divided bythe number of graduating seniors.The following students were recognized at the 2006Leadership Award Program presented by the Farmington HillsBreakfast Optimist Club: Shulamite Chiu, Harrison HighSchool; Nicholas Eason, Farmington High School; CaelaHesano, North Farmington High School; Martez Lawson,Farmington Central; and Taylor Robinson, FarmingtonHigh School.Students in the North Farmington HighSchool Automotive program competed inthe Tech Trek competition at the NorthAmerican International Auto Show against11 other schools and placed first. Tech Trekis a test of automobile knowledge put on bythe Detroit Auto Dealers Association.The 2006 Jon Grant Teen SpiritualLeadership Awards, presented by theFarmington Family YMCA, went toDanielle Kaplan of North FarmingtonHigh School. The following students werefinalists: Samah Aso, Gadah Fadell,Ingal Lenz and Ronza Manwail, all ofHarrison High School. Kristine Kendall,North Farmington High School, also wasa finalist.Harrison High School’s Varsity Pom Ponsquad won top honors in the High SchoolState Championships at Eastern MichiganUniversity.Farmington High School’s Madrigal Choir received straight1’s from judges at the State Choral Festival in Lansing.

ExcellenceNorth Farmington High School students won a 2007Oakland Press Excellence in Education Program Medallionfor the school’s Genocide Interdisciplinary Study, whichinvolved nearly every student in studying the Armeniangenocide, the Holocaust and more recent genocides inRwanda and Darfur.Farmington High School students Sruthi Renati and AnnaSheppard were named National Merit Finalists. Renati scored2300 out of a possible 2400 on her SAT. Sheppard scored2210 on the SAT.The National Achievement Scholarship Program recognizesoutstanding achievement among American high schoolstudents. Of the 1.5 million students who take thePreliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Testeach year, approximately 120,000 students compete for thisaward. Three thousand students are honored by beingincluded on a published list of high academic achievers. Ofthis group, 1,600 are selected as semifinalists. SixFarmington Public School students placed in this group:George Blake, Stephanie Harbin and Julie Robinson fromNorth Farmington High School and Ajay Gopalakirshna,Benjamin Yelian and Sreekirthi Vadlamuri from theInternational Academy.The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizesapproximately 50,000 students every year, 16,000 studentsare designated semifinalists and are the only students toadvance in the Merit Scholarship competition. The other34,000 receive letters of commendation in recognition oftheir outstanding academic promise.Farmington High SchoolColleen Budd, Commended StudentKelsi Lindblad, Commended StudentSruthi Renati, SemifinalistAnna Sheppard, Commended StudentAashay Yande, Commended StudentHarrison High SchoolShulamite Chiu, Commended StudentAndrea Leach, Commended StudentMatthew Rose, Commended StudentJustin Simpson, SemifinalistNorth Farmington High SchoolGeorge Blake, Commended StudentJill Goldberg, Commended StudentDorothy Heebner, SemifinalistYue Li, SemifinalistAlexander Sapick, SemifinalistThe following North Farmington High School studentswere selected as Michigan Interscholastic PressAssociation Student Winners: First Place IndividualAward winners were: Shelby Booker, Brittany Braudo,Elizabeth Callan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Zoe Lesser,DaShawn Primm. The “Northern Star” Newspaper staffwon the Spartan Award. Alaina Buzas, editor in chief ofthe “Northern Star”, was selected as the JournalismEducation Association Journalist of the Year.Farmington Public Schools has been designated a GoldMedal school district by Expansion Management magazine.To be ranked as a Gold Medal School, a district must ranknationally in the top 16 percent of all school districts.The Harrison High School Robohawks robotics teamcompeted at Lawrence Technological University’s Robofestcompetition and earned first place in the Senior ExhibitionEvent. The students responsible for the win are: JoseyVarughese, Angela Selden, Theresa Matthews, SonuVarughese, Dan Smith, Robert Klosek, Brian Das andMichael Carlson. The Robohawks are coached by Steve Dailand are assisted by volunteers Barry Brouillette and PeteLindberg.Amanda Balogh, second-grader at Flanders ElementarySchool, was selected among 119 semifinalists in the country– and the only one from southeast Michigan – in theHuggable Heroes contest, for collecting toys, clothes and9,000 books that she and her family collected and deliveredto a Mississippi school devastated by Hurricane Katrina.Farmington Public Schools students were among 16 areastudents to be named to the 2007 “Observer” NewspapersAcademic All-Star Team. They are: Sruthi Renati, FarmingtonHigh School; Lauren Jones, Harrison High School;Alexander Sapick, North Farmington High School;Dorothy Heebner, North Farmington High School;Shulamite Chiu, Harrison High School; and AnnaSheppard, Farmington High School.Students from Warner Middle School were amongthe nearly 150,000 students worldwide to participate in theMath Olympiads program. The following mathletes wonnational awards for excellence in the Middle School Division:Ben Novak, eighth grade, won the Dr. George LenchnerMedallion, with a perfect score of 25 points; Eric Alemanand Jonathon Morof, eighth grade, won Gold Pin awards,for being in the top 2%; Ben Samoylov, eighth grade, andJordan Berman, sixth grade, won Silver Pin awards,scoring in the 90th to 97th percentiles; Evan Hayden,eighth grade, and Amit Sharma, seventh grade, recognizedfor earning a spot in the top 50% of all scores in the MiddleSchool Division.Four students from Gill Elementary School received perfectscores in the Michigan Division I Mathematics PentathlonTournament. Winners of the Gold Medal Hall of Fame forachieving a perfect score were: Arun Annamalai, NathalieNordan, Sanidhya Singh, and Jacob Vargo. Theycompeted against 300 kindergarteners and first-gradersin the metro area.The Gill Elementary School Mathematics Pentathlon Teamwon the Michigan 2007 First Place Team Gold Award foroutstanding performance. Gill students from all K-5 gradelevels competed against 1,400 students in Michigan andOhio. Gold Medal Hall of Fame winners were: RomanFirestone, Tomo Fukai, Clay Higley, and Justin Joseph.Dana Iles won a Gold medal. Bronze winners were VinniBhatia and Nisha Kamath. Lahari Nadikanti won anHonorable Mention.Student Evidence of Excellence 2006-2007Page 25

Staff Achievements 2006-2007Page 26Teachers honored: Right: Marian Orihel, Farmington Community School, is named the firstrecipient of Farmington Public Schools’ Judy White-Ora “Teaching with Heart and Soul” award.Center: Carol Kuenzel, North Farmington High School, is named the Farmington Public Schools’High School Teacher of the Year.Left: Kelly White, is awarded the Walmart/Sams Club Teacher of the Year.AchievementsStaffThree outstanding teachers were named Farmington PublicSchools’ Teacher of the Year for 2006-2007: Carol Kuenzel,Spanish teacher at North Farmington High School, wasnamed High School Teacher of the Year. Arlene Johnson,East Middle School teacher, was named Middle SchoolTeacher of the Year. And Rose Boyle, fifth-grade teacher atFlanders Elementary School, was named Elementary Teacherof the Year.Lorna Bussa, a Power Middle School teacher, was named2007 Outstanding Future City Teacher of the Year by theEngineering Society of Detroit. Bussa was selected becauseher Future City teams have placed in the top five for the pastthree years and she led her team to a second place win thisyear.North Farmington High School baseball coach Irvin Horwitzwas elected into the Michigan High School Baseball CoachesHall of Fame and was selected tocoach in the Baseball All State game this past spring.Melissa McDermid, third-grade teacher at KenbrookElementary School, won the Milken National Educator Awardand a $25,000 cash award. McDermid was one of 100teachers nationwide to win the award, which is dubbed theOscar of Teaching by “Teacher Magazine”. Milken winnersare selected because they have exceptional educational talent,exemplary accomplishments beyond the classroom,strong potential for professional and policy leadership, andan inspiring and motivating presence that impacts students.Steve Dail, Harrison High School physics teacher, received acash award to purchase classroom equipment for hisparticipation in the Plasma Physics and Fusion EnergyInstitute through Princeton University.Diane Bauman and Lisa Holmes, of School/CommunityRelations, received awards from the Michigan School PublicRelations Association for their work on the 2005-2006“District Annual Report,” “UpDate/Just for Parents” newsletterand the Early Childhood Department Growth Chart.Deb Hainer, of the Business Office, has completed all therequirements under the Michigan School Business OfficialsVoluntary Certification Program and has earned the BusinessOffice Manager Certification.Wendy Warren, Lanigan Elementary School teacher, receivedthe Exceptional Teacher of Emotionally Impaired StudentsAward from the Michigan Association of Teachers of Childrenwith Emotional Impairments.Diane Bauman, director of School/Community Relations;Cheryl Cannon, executive director of Operations; SharonJames, dispatcher; Judy Steinhebel, executive secretary;and Bill Tousley, director of transportation; were honored bythe Michigan School Business Officials with the MeridianAward of Achievement for their work on the “TransportationPhone Bank.Kudos to the Fleet Services Department: Les Dietz, GaryGerke, John Moore, David Popp, Jason Roe, Rob Terry,and Marcel Vallet. Farmington Public Schools’ schoolbuses, for the second year in a row, have passed the StatePolice Inspection with a perfect record.Laura Rickert, Harrison High School secretary, was named2006-2007 Support Person of the Year for FarmingtonPublic Schools. The 18-year employee was selected for heroutstanding job performance, strong work ethic, and calmnature.StaffNike honored Harrison High football coach John Herringtonand his Harrison High Hawks, as one of the top 50 footballprograms in the United States.

Kenbrook Elementary Principal PeggyMcKinley congratulates third-gradeteacher Melissa McDermid as she issurprised with the announcementthat she has been named a NationalMilken Educator.Superintendent Sue Zurvalec (left) congratulates Laura Rickert,Harrison High School secretary, as she is named FarmingtonPublic Schools' 2006-2007 Support Person of the Year.Marian Orihel, early intervention special education teacherat Farmington Community School, was honored with theJudy White-Ora Teaching With Heart and Soul Award.Orihel, one of the first school professionals some parentswith developmental concerns will work with, was selected forher passion and belief that all children have a right to beheard and appreciated.The Farmington Education Association (FEA) honored seveneducators at the annual FEA Teacher Hall of Fame Ceremony.Retired MEA Uniserv Director Zan Alley was honored with theThomas S. Chrzanowski FEA Distinguished Service Award.Also honored and inducted into the Hall of Fame wereretired educators Barbara Bachman, Virginia Cheek,Douglas MacQueen, Connie Qualman, Linda Tomalaand James Weston.Nine Farmington Public Schools’ employees wererecognized at the Farmington/Farmington Hills MulticulturalMultiracial Community Council’s12th Annual RainbowRecognition Breakfast:Deb Bergel, Farmington High SchoolNhu Do, Farmington High SchoolAaron Johnson, Farmington High SchoolVirginia McPeak, North Farmington High SchoolRick Murphy, Farmington High SchoolMichelle O’Brien, Kenbrook Elementary SchoolNinette Soares, Dunckel Middle SchoolLinda Stockton, Harrison High SchoolNorth Farmington High School principal, Rick Jones, washonored with the Chair Award for his dedication to theAchievementinterdisciplinary study on Genocide.Gail Piepenburg, art teacher at Farmington High School,and her students created an 8-foot by 8-foot tile permanentmural called the Falcon Forest.Superintendent Sue Zurvalec (left) congratulates ArleneJohnson, East Middle School teacher, as she is namedFarmington Public Schools' 2006-2007 Middle SchoolTeacher of the Year.East Middle School art teacher Beth Iatrou and her studentscreated a mural on display that has more than 400, 4-inchby-4-inchtiles drawn by students. The mural depicts thestudents’ perceptions of peace and is called “Bringing theWorld Together Piece by Peace.”Longtime football coaches John Herrington and Bob Sutterwere honored at the dedication of Harrison High School’srenovated football stadium by having the plaza at the southend of the facility named in their honor.Farmington Central High School teacher Denise Cadwellwas named the Oakland County Community Adult EducationTeacher of the Year.Rose Boyle, fifth-grade teacher at Flanders Elementary School, chosen asFarmington Public Schools’ Elementary Teacher of the Year, was also excited tohear that she was a recipient of a 12 month/12,000 mile free lease from theSuburban Collection. Rose sits in her new Chrysler Sebring convertible.Page 27Staff Achievements 2006-2007

Specialized SchoolsSpecialized Schools ProvideSpecial ServicesSCHOOL SITESAlameda Early Childhood CenterBeechview Elementary SchoolCloverdale SchoolDunckel Middle SchoolEagle Elementary SchoolEast Middle SchoolFarmington Central High SchoolFarmington Community SchoolFarmington High SchoolFlanders Elementary SchoolForest Elementary SchoolGill Elementary SchoolHarrison High SchoolHighmeadow Common CampusHillside Elementary SchoolKenbrook Elementary SchoolLanigan Elementary SchoolLongacre Elementary SchoolWilliam E. Miller School at Boys& Girls RepublicNorth Farmington High SchoolPower Middle SchoolVisions UnlimitedWarner Middle SchoolWilliam Grace Elementary SchoolWood Creek Elementary SchoolWooddale Elementary SchoolFarmington Public Schools, in addition to the regularkindergarten through 12th grade program, providesstudents with alternatives to meet individual educationalneeds. Many programs are offered within Districtboundaries for resident and nonresident students.These programs include:Cloverdale School provides services to individuals withsevere multiple or severe cognitive impairments fromage 2 1/2 to 26 years.Farmington Community School provides high schoolcompletion, English as a Second Language (ESL),literacy, Head Start/Home Start, preschool andcommunity education.Farmington Central High School provides studentsbetween the ages of 16 and 19 — who need analternative setting for learning — an opportunity toearn their high school diploma.Farmington’s Adult Basic Education program offersacademic classes for adults with developmentaldisabilities.William E. Miller School at Boys and Girls Republicprovides special education services to youth residing atthe facility — middle school through high school.Oakland Technical Center — Southwest, located inWalled Lake, provides occupational programs andservices to high school and adult education students.Visions Unlimited provides educational programs andservices to students with moderate or severe disabilitiesbetween the ages of 18 and 26 years.Page 28

32500 Shiawassee StreetFarmington, Michigan 48336248.489.3349 • Fax 248.489.3314Web site: www.farmington.k12.mi.usE-mail: info@farmington.k12.mi.us

Farmington Public Schools’ graduates will be:Collaborative Team Members Works cooperatively; resolves disputes constructively;suspends competition when appropriate to work collectively; perceives divergent viewpoints andresponds with understanding; treats others with dignity; functions responsibly as a member of afamily and other social groups.Effective Communicators Precise in thought; fluent in use of oral and written language;adept with nonverbal forms of expression; adapts communication strategies to suit apurpose; uses various media to express oneself; seeks out ideas of others and checks their perceptionsand understandings.Healthy Individuals Pursues a variety of interests and maintains a balance among them;committed to both emotional and physical well-being; self-regulating; respects one’s own dignity;accepts one’s own abilities and confidently pursues one’s potential; expresses emotions constructively;adapts effectively to changes in one’s life; forms care in relationships.Knowledgeable Thinkers Builds a bank of powerful ideas from various academic fields;uses these ideas to assimilate new information and construct meaning; applies knowledge toreal-life challenges.Lifelong Learners Sustains learning across one’s life span; creates a vision of the futureand sets attainable goals for realizing that vision; assumes responsibility for what one can control;continually seeks to renew and expand competence.Quality Producers Strives to achieve high standards; draws upon prior knowledge; usesappropriate tools to create praiseworthy products and processes; persistently tries to improvethe caliber of one’s work; takes pride in progress made; motivated by a work ethic and disciplinedto honor it.Responsible Citizens Dedicated to democratic values; pursues the common good; safeguardsuniversal human rights; feels a common bond with other Americans and identifies with theideals of the American heritage; loyal to the nation’s institutions but critical when society straysfrom its principles; cherishes one’s legal rights and upholds civic duties; services the communityand exerts influence in public affairs; cares about the dignity and well-being of all people.Thoughtful Problem Solvers Recognizes problems when they arise and is motivated tosolve them; weighs alternative solutions before acting; poses questions and explores imaginativeways to answer them; thinks both critically and creatively; evaluates the effectiveness of solutionsattempted.