Michigan Educational Policy Fellowship Program

I'm a Fellow!  Saying that makes me chuckle.  Seriously, I was just accepted into the Michigan Educational Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).  What is this, you ask?

From the EPFP website:  "The Michigan program is designed to provide a forum for exploring public policy issues, link participants to key figures who shape and influence the process, and develop new leadership skills for education and community leaders.  The Fellows meet monthly for seminars, presentations, workshops, interactive learning, and leadership development activities.  Michigan's EPFP is affiliated with The Education Policy Center at Michigan State University."

I am involved with many groups and organizations, mainly groups that consist of people who are like me - they share my passion for using educational technology to improve educational experiences for students.  EPFP joins people from many different backgrounds and I really look forward to broadening my perspective of what is needed to create policies for widespread positive change.  I so much enjoyed meeting the other Fellows and hearing about what they do.  All of them work in education fields that I do not know much about... education of prisoners, working with families of newborn-5 year olds with disabilities, MDE grant coordinators, special education administrators, college professors, charter school principals, online learning teachers, etc, etc, etc.   I look forward to learning alongside other educators with such varied experiences. 

In the afternoon we had a guest speaker; Lou Glazer from Michigan Future Inc  presented an update on Michigan’s transition to a knowledge-based economy that opened my eyes.  He shares his presentation on Slideshare.  The outlook for Michigan is grim at the moment, and understanding why is key to the goals and objectives of the EPFP program.  He shares the 4 most important trait of prosperous states:

1. High proportion of wages from knowledge industries (includes industries such as professional and business services, finance, education, hospitality, and public administration).


2. High proportion of college graduates.


3. Big metropolitan area with higher per capita income than the rest of the state.


4. Largest city in that metro area with a high proportion of college graduates.

Looking at the data in his presentation gives you lots to think about.   There is much work to do! 

Lou's conclusion:  The places with the greatest concentration of talent win!

I'll be writing about my involvement in the program here over the next year.