Taking our blinders off to experience a foreign culture often translates into new ways of seeing our hometowns. Recent U-M graduate Peter Wagner writes on his teaching stint in Thailand's villages, and on what ants can show us.
Data breach has become a big problem in our Internet-reliant age. As a result APPS has decided that it needs cyber liability insurance coverage. Who knew there was such a thing? Excerpt: "While Target fights to recover from the breach and is now paying for free credit monitoring for all of the affected customers, other organizations are looking into the difference that cyber liability insurance could make in case they should ever experience their own data breaches. Ann Arbor Public Schools has realized that this threat is a real one and that a data breach could be very harmful to them if they were to experience one without this additional security protection." Read the rest here.
The computer gaming industry earns more than $60 billion dollars each year. Hollywood's use of computer animation only grows. Yet computer programming is not a focus in K-12 education in Michigan. The folks at GameStart see both an educational and entrepreneurial opportunity. They offer programming classes to 3rd through 8th grade students with a focus on the game that sets every kid's heart a-flutter.
With over 6,800 international students, U-M continues to attract students from around the globe. Excerpt: "Michigan's first two international students -- one from Mexico, one from Wales -- enrolled in 1847. Now the prestigious Big Ten university hosts the 8th-largest population in the country, 78% of whom come from Asia." More here.
Gym America is a pretty unique business, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that the growing gymnastics training facility couldn't quite find the right building to expand into among existing properties for sale in the area. Rather than settle, owner Claudia Kretschmer decided to not only build new in order to serve the 200 kids on the Gym America waiting list but to expand into new programming. "We currently hold 700 at capacity here," says Kretschmer. "We'll be able to take at least our waiting list, which has been pretty steady throughout the past year." The $2 million, 19,000 square foot facility will be built on State St. and Hines Dr. in Pittsfield Twp. The location was perfect, says Kretschmer as it is near their current facility and will provide room for the numerous changes that will come along with the business' move. In addition to taking on students on her waiting list, she'll add dance classes, a pre-school activity area, retail space, a pre-school and more. "It will be a certified preschool, teaching movement, language and music," Kretschmer says. "They'll be using both sides of the brain. There won't be anything electronic, it will all be using creativity and using their minds in a different way." Work on the new Gym America building in the spring, and Kretschmer hopes to open the doors to the new facility by Thanksgiving. She expects the number of children served to jump from 700 to at least 1,000, and will hire 15 to 20 new staff members to accommodate the additional kids and programming. Source: Claudia Kretschmer, Gym America Writer: Natalie Burg
Ann Arbor has no lack of interest in the arts and creative expression. That's exactly why entrepreneur Dianna Wilson decided opening her own School of Rock business was a great fit for the area. "[I] went to a couple operating School of Rock locations and was hooked," Wilson says. "I enjoy kids and music. To be able to watch kids develop and be proud of themselves is awesome." The new business is set to open in January in a 2,400 square foot location at 6101 Jackson Rd. Originally developed as an office building, Wilson says the segmented layout made it perfect for music lessons. The location is also ideal, she adds, for parents who may need to run errands during their kids' lessons at the many nearby retail stores. "School of Rock is a performance-based program," Wilson says. "It's not just taking lessons; they are learning to perform. The national exposure of the company offers some awesome and unique opportunities for students." As the business gets established locally, those opportunities will include recording their work. A planned recording studio in the space will give kids the chance to learn the technical side of recording as well. School of Rock will open with a staff of seven. Wilson hopes to increase her number of employees as enrollment numbers grow. The exact dates for opening, enrollment and an open house will soon be available on the business' Facebook page. Source: Dianna Wilson, School of Rock Writer: Natalie Burg
FamilyMint, a financial literacy startup, is gearing up to take its workbook for middle school kids national next year. The 4-year-old company launched in Ann Arbor with a web tool that helps parents teach their children about the values of saving and financial planning. The company, which is a client of Ann Arbor SPARK, has evolved overtime, taking on clients in the credit union space. Those clients encouraged FamilyMint to make a workbook for its curriculum, which has taken off over the last year. "That went over well," says Bob Masterson, president of FamilyMint. "It has been very well received in schools." Bank of Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor State Bank sponsored the rollout of the workbook in Ann Arbor Public Schools last summer. The Youth Financial Literacy Foundation also came on as a client and are looking at sponsoring a much bigger roll out in 2014. "They are introducing it to schools across the country," Masterson says. "They're testing it right now and plan to do a national rollout next year." Oddly, the workbook is proving to be a more effective tool in reaching kids. It is easy to used and there is a low barrier of entry because it can be held. Compare that to families that might have limited access to the Internet or don’t excel at keeping up with technology trends. "It's more in-line with what the kids are doing and how they are learning," Masterson says. He adds that FamilyMint is looking at creating similar workbooks for elementary and high school students next year. Source: Bob Masterson, president of FamilyMint Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Studies indicating positive outcomes be damned, there is a constant drive to eliminate art, music and other 'non-essentials' from public education. This has forced some cash-strapped schools to look poorer nations for low-cost ideas about how to include them in their curriculum. Mitchell Elementary in Ann Arbor has looked to Venezuela. Excerpt: "One Ann Arbor Elementary School is teaming up with the University of Michigan School of Music for a unique approach to teaching music...and they are turning to Venezuela for inspiration. It's called El Sistema." Read and listen to the rest here.
Necessity is the mother of invention... and innovation. What else would turn a breakfast and lunch cafe into a tutoring space? Well, the generosity of Beezy's Bee Roll, who offered 826Michigan her space for their evening tutoring workshops when Ypsilanti Middle School closed its doors.
Carlos Franklin and Kip Johnson love books. Both men were finding ways to sell books independently before coming together to open Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center in Ypsilanti. "I like to read and I always feel like when you read something really good, you always want to share it with your friends," says Franklin. More than giving the Ypsilanti community a place to buy books, Franklin says the aim of Black Stone Bookstore is to give locals a place to celebrate reading, learning and sharing. The 800 square foot location includes an area to study and for events such as poetry readings and book clubs. "This is about creating something and being a motivation for others," Franklin says. "We have a bunch of barbershops and car washes here, but I wanted to do something different to build the community up." Franklin says he'd like Black Stone to help Ypsilanti feel more like the college town it is. Though the shop is distinguishing itself as a destination for African American literature, the shop carries books representing all cultures, and Franklin says their intention is to reach out to everyone in the community. Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center opened at the beginning of Nov. with Johnson and Franklin on staff. They hope to grow the store to eventually include a full-service cafe and larger events space. Source: Carlos Franklin, Black Stone Bookstore and Cultural Center Writer: Natalie Burg
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