If you care about Michigan, please support our work.
Donate TodayTalent & Education
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
Seven things to know about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s debt-free college plan
The governor’s ambitious revamp of college aid could be a game-changer for Michigan, but the state’s poor won’t benefit much. Here’s why.
In Tennessee, a model for Michigan’s plan for debt-free community college
If you want to know the impact Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed college aid expansion, look 500 miles south to Tennessee, where a nearly identical program has been up and running since 2014.
A $18B debt is coming due, and it’s haunting small town Michigan
See how your town compares as a new state law tracking public pension and health care debt lays bare the financial woes of rural Michigan.
Birmingham superintendent apologizes for African American history class
In response to a column in Bridge Magazine, superintendent sends parents letter saying district “failed in its obligation” to provide “appropriate” lessons.
More Michigan residents get college degrees, but state still trails diploma race
More than four in 10 Michigan adults have an associate’s degree or higher, the highest rate on record but still far short of what the state needs.
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.