To prosper, Michigan must be a more educated place. Bridge will explore the challenges in education and identify policies and initiatives that address them.
State lawmakers approved funding to ensure students in grades 8 through 12 develop a deeper understanding of the state’s 12 federally recognized tribes, tribal governance, the Trail of Tears and the history of abuse at federally funded boarding schools.
Districts across the state are relaxing mask requirements, routine COVID testing, social distancing rules, and 10-day quarantines this back-to-school season.
Saying she was ‘appalled’ by the possible closure of an Ottawa County library, romance novelist Nora Roberts steps in with a $50,000 donation and a willingness to send more. Donations now exceed next year’s budget shortfall for the library.
As classes begin for the fall, new state policies reflect the push to get more trained teachers in classrooms, more food in school cafeterias and safer conditions on school buses.
Michigan has about 1.4 million student loan borrowers. Borrowers with federal loans who have incomes below $125,000 will get up $10,000 in loans canceled; up to $20,000 if they had Pell Grants.
Remedial courses are one of the main reasons vulnerable students drop out. The courses cost money and provide students with no credit toward graduation, discouraging many students from completing their degrees.
The Nain Rouge brewery recently opened in Midtown with a couple of goals in mind — training students and diversifying the craft industry. The brewery collaborated with EMU and Midtown Detroit Inc. to see the first group of students through to graduation.
Jason Strayhorn, a former Michigan State football standout, said he resigned and relocated because of his children’s out-of-state athletic and academic opportunities.
Tips about planned school attacks rolled in after the Oxford High School shooting. But the OK2SAY confidential tip line also allowed officials help students in distress, including those who were suicidal.
Detroit public schools are fully staffed and the volume of statewide teacher retirements — an imperfect barometer — is steady compared to years past. Challenges remain in Grand Rapids and some rural districts, but there is reason for optimism.
Michigan now has 10 alternative certification programs, intended to help reduce a shortage of classroom teachers by finding candidates outside traditional college education programs. Critics worry they compromise teaching standards, shortchanging students.
For the past three years, there have been 17 electric school buses across the state. After this month, there could be 150 more on the way, including some in rural areas.
A group representing Michigan charter schools accuses the DOE of adding new hurdles for charters to access federal money to open new schools. Supporters of the rules say they rein in problematic practices within the charter school industry.
George Grant Jr. said he does not believe universities should be ivory towers with transactional relationships with their communities. He vowed to be engaged and transparent and make the school welcoming for students.
About 700 Michigan schools have adopted the TRAILS program to help students manage their emotions, de-escalate conflict and make better decisions. The program received a huge funding increase in the latest budget deal.
The Flint schools superintendent said the year-round calendar, intended to reduce summer learning loss, doesn’t work for his district. But other school districts remain fans. The key, they say: community buy-in.
Wilson will have led the Detroit university for 10 years when he leaves next July. He said addressing an increasingly competitive market for students will be a major focus for the next president.
Private schools across the state benefitted from federal COVID relief funding, while they also had access to taxpayer money that public school districts did not: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Many private schools received both COVID relief funding and PPP loans, according to an analysis by the Detroit Free Press in collaboration with Chalkbeat Detroit and Bridge Michigan.
Tiny Hillsdale College is at the center of education battles in Florida and Tennessee, while expanding its influence in charter and private schools closer to home. Its conservative values could reshape schools in Michigan under a Republican governor.