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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
How a wedding planner became an uncertified Michigan teacher for $15 an hour
One was a wedding planner. The other, an assistant basketball coach. Their stories say a lot about how Michigan increasingly is using long-term substitutes, full-time teachers with no training in education to lead classrooms.
Michigan leans on long-term substitutes as its schools struggle
In the last five years, the number of long-term substitutes taking over public classrooms has risen tenfold in Michigan. Critics say reliance on subs is an embarrassment for a state with lagging school performance.
Being poor on rich U-M campus still a struggle as school broadens reach
The University of Michigan is seeing gains since offering free tuition to low-income families. But for many students, the class divide remains daunting once they step foot on one of the nation’s richest campuses.
As Michigan schools struggle, Democrats and Republicans try...talking
How partisan are Michigan schools? Legislators say the parties don’t even use the same vocabulary on education. But an influx of educators just elected to the House and Senate wants to change that.
Benton Harbor crisis a tipping point for Gretchen Whitmer, school takeovers
The fate of Benton Harbor schools could foreshadow the fate of other Michigan school districts facing high debt and low student achievement
Students to University of Michigan: Stop funding Detroit evictions
A group of students petitioned the Board of Regents to cut a $30 million investment from the school’s endowment fund to a firm whose work in Detroit has led to some housing evictions.
U-M’s Schlissel: ‘Our children will suffer’ because of how we treat higher education today
The University of Michigan president speaks out on topics ranging from financial aid to road funding in an interview with Bridge Magazine.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Benton Harbor reach tentative deal to save high school
The agreement would allow the impoverished community to keep its high school if the school district improves academic performance and pays down debt.
In Benton Harbor schools, a lesson for – and about – Gretchen Whitmer
Bold or reckless? Confounding or strategic? Whitmer’s surprise recommendation to close Benton Harbor High School offers clues about her governing style.
Michigan Teacher of the Year: Bring teachers into reform talks
Cara Lougheed, an English and history teacher from Rochester Hills, says she’s skeptical of school rating systems yet understands the desire among parents to evaluate schools in their community.
As deadline passes, Benton Harbor and state negotiate fate of high school
Friday was supposed to be the day Benton Harbor learned if its high school would remain open. Instead, the district and Michigan officials may still be seeking a resolution other than dissolving the district.
Whitmer faces some backlash over Benton Harbor High closing
The governor is getting pushback from city activists. Meanwhile, it appears the administration may be able to dissolve the district without help from the Legislature if local officials balk at closing the high school.
Five years in, Michigan passes social studies standards as conservatives fume
With a few last tweaks (adding the Ten Commandments and a reference to sturgeon), Michigan’s controversial social studies standards are approved by a Democratic-leaning state education board
Albion lost its high school; students did better. Is Benton Harbor next?
The anguish Benton Harbor is undergoing now was felt by Albion residents six years ago. Today, Albion students, attending a high school 13 miles away, are graduating at a higher clip.
Whitmer plan to boost funds for neediest K-12 students hits wall in Lansing
The Republican-controlled Senate and House leave the Democratic governor’s big school reform effort out of their education budget proposals.
Anguish in Benton Harbor as years of mistakes lead to a school’s likely demise
Teachers blame administrators. Administrators blame the board. The board blames the state. Caught in the middle are students saddled with devastatingly low rates of achievement.
Candidate Whitmer: A right to literacy. As Michigan Guv: No need to address.
During the 2018 campaign for governor, Gretchen Whitmer supported a lawsuit to guarantee students’ right to literacy. Now that she’s in office, she is asking a federal appeals court to dismiss the case.
Michigan is investing heavily in early reading. So far, it’s not working.
Only three intermediate school districts out of 56 in Michigan are showing increases in third-grade reading. A leading educator asks for patience.
Poll: parents don’t know Michigan's 3rd-grade reading law, love A-to-F school grades
Parents care about improving Michigan schools. But they aren’t hung up on the “controversies” in Lansing’s education circles, according to a new poll.
Six times more third-graders may flunk next year under Michigan reading law
More than 5,000 students may be flagged to repeat third grade under a new law intended to ensure solid reading skills at a key age. That number sounds high, but it could have been far higher.