On Thursday, May 23 at 10 a.m. in Room 405 at the State Capitol, the Michigan Business Leaders for Education Excellence (MBLEE) will release a Profile of Achievement and School Success (PASS) report which recognizes Michigan's high performing elementary and middle schools. MBLEE is a program of the Michigan Chamber Foundation.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000320/DEM039 )

PASS identifies elementary and middle schools where 75 percent or more of the students scored at the proficient level or better over the last two years on all areas of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test, excluding social studies.

PASS was developed to publicly recognize those schools that successfully achieved high academic performance by consistently meeting or exceeding state standards. PASS was also created as an alternative to the absence of a state accreditation system to inform the public, parent and business community of local school performance.

PASS data was compiled by Dr. Michael Williamson, former Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Michigan Department of Education. In addition to Dr. Williamson, Dave Whitwam, CEO of Whirlpool Corp. and Chairman of MBLEE; Jim Barrett, President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce; Jim Sandy, MBLEE Director; and other MBLEE members will participate in the press conference.

CONTACT: Jim Sandy or Bob Thomas of Michigan Chamber Foundation, +1-517-371-2100.

PRNewswire -- May 22

NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000320/DEM039

PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

SOURCE: Michigan Chamber Foundation

Website: http://www.michamber.com/