LANSING — Focus teacher training on getting kids ready to meet federal reading and math standards, Gov. Jennifer Granholm told local school districts Tuesday.

Schools are required to provide 1,098 hours of classroom instruction each year, and 51 of those hours can be used for teacher training or professional development. Granholm is proposing that only hours used to reach federal Adequate Yearly Progress goals on math and reading tests may be counted as instructional hours.

The plan must be approved by lawmakers as part of the school aid budget. Granholm will soon visit schools in Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw and Grand Rapids to talk to teachers about the proposal.

“At the moment, we want professional development to go toward reaching the (federal) goals,” Granholm said.

This is the first time the state has issued specific recommendations on how to use professional development money. And while several states are looking to opt out of the federal No Child Left Behind act, this proposal indicates Michigan is opting in — way in.

“The federal government requires very clear standards. There’s no getting around that law,” Granholm said. “The problem with bailing out is you lose an awful lot of federal money.”

State report cards on Michigan schools released in late January showed that 896 out of 3,472 schools were not making adequate progress as defined by the federal law.

Dwight Sieggreen, a science teacher at Hillside Middle School in Northville, said he has no problem with Granholm’s plan as long as it doesn’t compel districts to reduce staff training.

“The more professional development that’s offered, the better,” Sieggreen said. “And it should be content-specific. If teachers are short of the professional content they need in the subjects they teach, it’s great for the district to provide that to meet No Child Left Behind.”

Margaret Trimer-Hartley, spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Association, said it’s a “strong, positive step” to get school districts to concentrate on meeting the federal standards. But she said the teachers’ union is concerned about schools getting the necessary state and federal money to do the job right.

“We also don’t want to see it too narrowly focused. This is not the only need out there,” she said.

You can reach Mark Hornbeck at (517) 371-3660 or mhornbeck@detnews.com.

What's Next Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced plans Tuesday to require school districts to focus teacher training on meeting federal standards for progress in math and reading. She will visit with teachers in Lansing, Detroit, Saginaw and Grand Rapids this week and next to discuss the plan. The proposal will go to the Legislature as part of the school aid budget. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend