Talent & Education

More than $30 million has been allocated for early reading initiatives in the 2016 state education budget. Many of the initiatives, intended to boost Michigan’s third-grade reading rates, followed Bridge reporting on the benefits of early investment in vulnerable children.

Women in full-time jobs earn on average three-fourths the pay as men in Michigan, a wider margin than most of the nation. While critics question the scale of the gap, policymakers debate ways to close it.

Hispanic women in Michigan earn barely half the income of non-Hispanic white males.

A bill to set rigorous statewide standards for evaluating teachers was backed by Republicans and Democrats, as well as the governor. Standing in their way: state Sen. Phil Pavlov, who has his own ideas about what's best for teachers.

UM education dean Deborah Loewenberg Ball slams the Legislature’s latest bill to rate teachers. She urges the state to instead adopt her panel’s recommendations, which she said would be the nation’s gold standard for raising classroom performance.

Hazel Park High’s academic turnaround plan transformed it from one of the state’s worst high schools to one of the best in just two years. Will district finances halt its success?

In an era where consolidating government and creating “efficiencies” is the mantra, there are 16 one-room schoolhouses still operating across lower Michigan, often in the shadow of larger schools districts. Do they have a future?

The vast majority of families that pick one-room schools for their children do so through Michigan’s broad school choice law. For Paul and Jeanine Starcher, choosing Verona Mills was a way to keep their quadruplets in one classroom.

A girl, a college president, and the struggle to increase income diversity on campus.

From ACT prep to private tutors and advisors, middle- and high-income students are groomed to follow their dreams. For bright low-income students, the first obstacle is learning where to start.

Getting low-income students to think about two- and four-year colleges is the goal of a program that can lift young people from poverty and boost the state’s economy.

Grading Michigan State University and the other NCAA tournament teams on the academic factors that matter to average (much shorter) students.

More than 80,000 low-income infants and young children in Michigan don’t have access to a primary care doctor to nurture their development.

Adding a second year of preschool nets long-term gains for children in poverty, and for state, studies show.

In a year when state legislators are disinclined to spend, a stunning report shows that Michigan can invest now in proven early childhood programs, or spend a great deal more later.

A consensus of research shows home-visitation programs for families with young children improve child development, while saving taxpayers money that would otherwise go to remedial education, incarceration and other costs.

Michigan has reduced funding for low-income child care by 67 percent since 2007. Research shows that high-quality centers can boost educational performance.

For thousands of low-income students, a four-year college degree is only within reach if they start at community college, saving money on tuition. State lawmakers are leaning on colleges and universities to make that process easier by ensuring students’ hard-earned credits transfer with them.

Think you can still pay for college delivering pizza? Think again. Bridge presents 6 realities facing today’s college student.

Hemlines rise and fall, but tuition just goes up.