It's a New World

From USA Today:

A high school principal in Dearborn, Mich., has dismissed a longtime wrestling coach after complaints from Muslim parents that the coach's former assistant — an evangelical Christian pastor — was trying to convert Muslim students into Christians.
But the pastor, Trey Hancock, head of Dearborn Assembly of God, said today that he never mixed his religion with sports. And the coach, Jerry Marszalek, said that Hancock "never did that ... he knew the difference between church and state."

Imad Fadlallah, head of Fordson High School, decided this month not to renew the contract of Marszalek, who has coached wrestling at Fordson for 35 years. Marszalek is an at-will employee and so the principal has the right not to extend his contract, said David Mustonen, spokesman for Dearborn Public Schools.

Fadlallah, the first Muslim principal at Fordson, heads a high school where more than 80% of the students are of Arab descent, a majority of them Muslim. In recent years, parents and students have complained that Hancock was using his position on the wrestling team to convert Muslims – a claim Hancock strongly denies.

Watching this one wind it's way through the court system should be fun.

I hope they had fairly strong evidence to justify firing the head coach for the actions of the assistant; otherwise, it feels like the principal might have just stepped into a religious minefield.

Read more here, if any.

Feel the Union Love

A University in Michigan tosses out their union, the AAUP. This probably isn't because of the failing auto industry.

Read more here, if any.

Well, That’s Useful

From the December 12th Education Week:

Secondary school teachers of special education in Michigan likely have lost their status as being “highly qualified” under federal standards because the state allowed them to take certification tests for elementary teachers.

Those teachers have until June 30, 2009, to become highly qualified, a status they need to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The Michigan Department of Education said it was unclear how many of the state’s 7,000 secondary special education teachers used the elementary exam to become highly qualified.

“At the time, this was believed to be an appropriate means to meet the requirements—until guidance from the federal government directed us to amend the requirements,” state education department spokeswoman Jan Ellis said last week.

7,000 teachers of our most in-need students who now have to jump through more hoops in order to stay in the profession. Who benefits from this?

Read more here, if any.