We may have had some much-needed outdoor sunshine in the past week, but we are also celebrating sunshine of another kind. March 12-18 is being celebrated as “Sunshine Week” across the nation. Sunshine week is a week dedicated to shining a light on the importance of freedom of information, transparency and openness in government.

In this week’s paper, stories marked with a sunshine week emblem show that they were made possible through the Freedom of Information Act or Open Meetings Act. We hope this will bring awareness to how much we depend on an open, honest government.

It is important that citizens participate in our local government meetings and exercise their right to know. As responsible citizens working to keep our community strong, healthy and vibrant, we need to keep the focus on having an open government.

For more information on the FOIA and OMA acts visit the Open Government Guide at www.rcfp.org/open-government-guide. You can learn about both federal and state guidelines.

Creative Technologies Academy

Annual Public Notices

PARENTS RIGHT TO KNOW

The Creative Technologies Academy’s Board Policy Manual contains the following policy which is applicable to all Title I schools. CTA does NOT receive Title I funds, nevertheless it adheres to the following policy:

In accordance with the requirement of Section 1111 of Title I, for each school receiving Title I funds, the School Leader shall make sure that all parents of students in that school are notified that they may request, and the Academy will provide the following information on the student’s classroom teachers:

A. whether the teacher(s) have met the State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade level and subject areas they are teaching;

B. whether the teacher(s) is teaching under any emergency or provisional status in which the State requirements have been waived;

C. the undergraduate major of the teacher(s) and the area of study and any certificates for any graduate degrees earned;

D. the qualifications of any paraprofessionals providing services to their child(ren);

In addition, the parents shall be provided:

E. information on the level of achievement of their child(ren) on the required State academic assessments;

F. timely notice if the student is assigned to a teacher who is not “highly qualified” as required, or if the student is taught for more than four (4) weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

The notices and information shall be provided in an understandable format, and to the extent possible, in a language the parent(s) understand.

INSTRUCTIONS MATERIALS — RIGHT TO INSPECT

Parents have the right to inspect any instructional materials used as part of the educational curriculum for their student. Instructional material means instructional content, regardless of format, that is provided to the student, including printed or representational materials, audiovisual materials, and materials available in electronic or digital formats (such as materials accessible through the Internet.) Instructional material does not include academic tests or academic assessments.

August 1, 2013

We may be enjoying some much-need outdoor sunshine this week, but we are also celebrating sunshine of another kind. March 11-17 is being celebrated as “Sunshine Week” across the nation. Sunshine week is a week dedicated to shining a light on the importance of freedom of information, transparency and openness in government.

In this week’s paper, stories marked with a sunshine week emblem show that they were made possible through the Freedom of Information Act or Open Meetings Act. We hope this will bring awareness to how much we depend on an open, honest government.

It is important that citizens participate in our local government meetings and exercise their right to know. As responsible citizens working to keep our community strong, healthy and vibrant, we need to keep the focus on having an open government.

For more information on the Federal FOIA and OMA acts visit the Open Government Guide at www.rcfp.org/open-government-guide. You can also scroll down the page, and see the state guide for Michigan.