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To prosper, Michigan must be a more educated place. Bridge will explore the challenges in education and identify policies and initiatives that address them.
Articles
Opinion | The miseducation of Michigan: How state fails kids in black history
My kids are in one of Michigan’s best districts. Their African-American history class included ‘Boyz n the Hood’ and a documentary about gangs. We can do better as we celebrate Black History Month.
The real state of Michigan education: Improving outcomes costs money
Whitmer campaigned on improving Michigan schools. Education leaders across the state offer suggestions to accomplish that goal.
CEOs, Republicans add voices to Michigan’s child care ‘crisis’
Michigan needs workers. Workers need child care. But the cost is out of reach for many Michigan families. Will the weight of CEO’s and, increasingly, Republican lawmakers prompt the state to open its wallet?
Four people, four reasons child care costs are a growing crisis in Michigan
Few people are happy with the affordability of child care in Michigan. Bridge profiles a parent, a child care worker, the owner of a child care center, and a CEO whose workers can’t find suitable care.
Michigan cut school funding and school performance plummeted. Coincidence?
A new MSU study confirmed what many school leaders have felt: Michigan traded public education support for tax cuts.
Six systems in 7 years and Michigan students still lag. Now comes A to F.
Should schools be graded with a letter? A number? How about a color? How about if we told you none of it has done much to help students? Michigan churns through reform while top states stick with one plan.
Car repairs and rent checks: a bold plan to keep Michigan students in college
Almost 1-in-4 Michigan adults is a college dropout. A foundation in St. Clair County is turning traditional scholarships on their head, and creating a possible model for the rest of the state.
Michigan’s A-to-F school ratings on ice until attorney general weighs in
The Legislature and former Gov. Rick Snyder approved a new accountability system for Michigan schools. But the Michigan Department of Education questions the law’s legality.
Michigan A-to-F school bill gets passing grade in Senate; on to Gov. Rick Snyder
A controversial bill that will give grades to schools will likely become law, despite concerns about whether it meets federal guidelines.
Michigan education department blasts A to F school system bill
State Superintendent Sheila Alles minced few words in a last-ditch effort to kill an A-to-F school grading system pushed by the legislature.
Michigan House passes A-to-F school grades but nixes new commission
In what appeared to be a compromise to get votes, a politically appointed commission with broad powers over Michigan schools was downgraded to an “peer review panel.” Bill now goes to Senate.
Michigan may soon rank schools A-to-F. Will it help? Nobody knows.
Would hanging a scarlet letter on a struggling school improve learning? Michigan might find out, if a bill now being considered in the Legislature passes.
Once embarrassed by its graduation numbers, Wayne State becomes a model
Graduating less than half your students in six years doesn’t seem worth bragging about. Until you see the trend line. WSU just won a national award for improving grad rates, particularly for black students.
Free tuition brings more low-income students to the University of Michigan
Michigan has struggled for years to get low-income students to enroll. A program offering free tuition to Michigan students from families earning under $65,000 a year may have done the trick.
Some colleges are unaffordable for many qualified students
Even as net prices begin to fall at some schools, many families are priced out, according to college cost data now available for universities across the country.
Hey college applicants: Harvard will reject you. And that’s OK.
High school seniors (and their parents) are too stressed about getting into top universities. But acceptance into the “right” school matters less than what students do on campus, says New York Times author Frank Bruni.
Got a beef with Michigan’s social studies standards? Help rewrite them
The Michigan Department of Education is asking for volunteers to figure out how controversial proposed changes to the state’s social studies standards should be changed, or not.
A final meeting, and Michigan’s social studies standards head for a rewrite
No gay rights. No Roe v. Wade. No Climate Change. That could change, after the Michigan Department of Education was inundated with complaints about social studies revisions for K-12 students.
Muskegon kids struggle to read. Their superintendent had the same problem.
Muskegon Superintendent Justin Jennings read at a third-grade level when he entered college. So he knows the challenges schools face as they prepare for Michigan’s third-grade “read or flunk” law.
Michigan is failing its students, as state test scores keep tanking
M-STEP results show 1-in-3 third-graders are not proficient in reading. The bad news extends across grades and subjects, impacting white, black and Hispanic students. What should state do now?