No Child Left Behind (or one's interpretation of it) Sparks Protest in Detroit Public Schools & Excessive Angst from the Detroit Police Department

The new Detroit Public School superintendent Connie Calloway recently decided to get a head start on the Federal NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND program and order the complete restructuring of FIVE Detroit schools. This is not federally mandated (not yet, anyway) and Calloway does not have board approval. Yet yesterday teachers from the Detroit Federation of Teachers had to march on the administration building to protest the MID-SEMESTER staff cuts and shuffling (including teachers and principals) because Calloway wants to "clean house," flip the script and begin with a "tabula rasa." But this begs the question, do the ends justify the means?

Read more about Calloway's decision HERE.

Read about the teacher's protest HERE.

TODAY, the students of Henry Ford High School protested the layoff of their high school Principal, Dr. Tavillion. The Principal's last official day of duty was today. I am actually glad to see students rise up to defend their faculty and administration. While I am sure that not every protester was 100% "for the cause," it is nice to see students support the stewards of their education.

However, in a big bone-head move, the Detroit Police Department moved in like gang busters to disperse the crowd. I understand the principles of crowd control and do not argue that the motorcycle on the sidewalk is well within the modus operandi. Choking a student out and whacking one upside the head with a book bag while that student is handcuffed and in custody - that is another story.

Read more about the protest at Henry Ford HS on Fox2Detroit HERE. (There is raw helicopter footage of the police in action).