Ron French

A perennial bottom dweller in academic rankings, Tennessee has sprinted to respectability by demanding more of teachers and students and giving them the tools to succeed.

The state may allow an oil lease under the largest stand of virgin white pine in the Lower Peninsula. Experts say drilling wouldn't harm trees. But critics fear a booming oil rig at Hartwick Pines State Park.

Revenue and jobs? Or undisturbed quiet? Make your voice heard on drilling proposals. Also, see if you live near a proposed drilling site.

Primary voters in Dickinson County will go the polls Tuesday; probably in the same sedan. A county-by-county guide to voter apathy in Michigan.

Support from Republicans and Democrats. More than $8 million in spending. No organized opposition. Why is the public skeptical?

Grand Valley may have found the secret to on-time graduation: Financial incentives.

Cherries dumped in ditches? Polish imports? With the National Cherry Festival in full swing, one cherry producer is left with a sour taste.

More than 10,000 additional needy four year olds will likely find seats in public preschool next fall thanks to final legislative approval this week of Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to double the size of Michigan’s public preschool programs. This caps two years of work by local school districts, private preschool providers, and early childhood advocates to solve a major preschool shortage.

Aspiring teachers will soon face tougher tests after the Michigan Legislature last night approved $1.8 million for certification test upgrades.

Like small communities across Michigan, Hillsdale is quietly laying off police, reducing services and watching its roads fall to pieces. And yet, there is support for state aid to Michigan’s largest city.

Detroit’s former mayor argues that the city’s negative image brings down all of Michigan – even hundreds of miles away.

Michigan residents are sending politicians the clear message that it’s time to spend more on the state's deteriorating roads. Even if it means raising taxes.

The legislature’s inability to decide on a test that accurately measures student growth may impact students and teachers next fall.

A state push to improve teacher performance was hampered by testing delays. Bridge pointed out a minor fix that would speed testing. On Tuesday, that fix passed a hurdle in the state House

When money ran out at Albion High, the district shipped students to rival Marshall High School. What happens when poor, African-American students are bused to an affluent, nearly all-white high school? The answer may surprise you.

With wariness among students from both towns, Albion teens enter classrooms very different from their old school. ‘They can’t know what they haven’t been taught.’

Two superintendents face down ‘racist’ concerns from parents in their communities, and begin to see the promise of their stand.

Seven months later, there is a growing optimism among students despite academic struggle. And the districts’ finances begin to grow.

Year-round school is suddenly the hot new education reform movement in Lansing. Bridge wrote about a wildly popular year-round district in Michigan’s Thumb last fall. <p>Now bipartisan support for year-round schools is growing in the legislature.</p>

The devil is always in the details, but year-round bill sponsor Andy Schor, D-Lansing, says the pilot program spearheaded by him and Gov. Rick Snyder will ultimately win support from parents, students, and teachers.