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Watch Bridge’s Lunch Break about Michigan’s K-12 teacher staffing challenges

lunch break
Bridge education reporter Isabel Lohman moderated a discussion with a panel of educators and researchers about causes of and potential solutions to teacher staffing issues.

Bridge Michigan’s monthly Lunch Break series resumed Wednesday with a discussion of teacher staffing challenges in Michigan’s K-12 schools.

If you missed Wednesday’s chat, you can watch it on-demand below.

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Guest panelists included Christina Gibson, superintendent of Eastpointe Community Schools; Kendra Hearn, associate dean of Undergraduate Education & Educator Preparation in the University of Michigan School of Education; Tara Kilbride, assistant director for Research at Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative; and Micky Savage, director of Human Resources & Labor Relations for Grand Rapids Public Schools. Education reporter Isabel Lohman moderated. 

Topics included barriers to attracting teachers to the field, strategies for recruitment and retention, cultural and legislative factors impacting teacher attraction, pay in the education field, programs in the state that are encouraging and incentivizing Michiganders to become teachers and school support staff, and much more.

Bridge’s Lunch Break monthly series focuses on timely topics facing our state. Previous discussions have included examinations analyzing Michigan’s August primary election results, tracking Michigan’s economic progress, how COVID has impacted Michigan’s K-12 students, Michigan’s new redistricting maps, Michigan’s eldercare crisis, and COVID mandates and K-12 education.

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Become a Bridge Club member today to regularly receive advance notification of what our nonprofit newsroom is planning and receive member-exclusive benefits — such as free Bridge event tickets, copies of our bimonthly Bridge Book Club selections, and more. Member support allows us to offer engagement opportunities like this Lunch Break series.  

To stay up-to-date on upcoming events and Bridge Michigan's education reporting, sign up for Bridge Michigan's Education Watch newsletter.

Stay tuned for an announcement of October’s Lunch Break discussion and registration information.

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