Bridge Listens Issues Watch recap: What do Michigan voters think of education?

Bridge Michigan’s monthly reader discussions resumed Wednesday with a conversation about Michigan’s education challenges
Literacy scores, college access and parental involvement all came up during the discussion
Bridge is asking readers to nominate their top issues for the 2026 election in a nomination form

Bridge readers weighed in on Michigan’s literacy scores, career technical education access and absenteeism troubles in a Wednesday evening installment of Issues Watch.

The newly renamed virtual event featured reporters Isabel Lohman, Simon D. Schuster and Ron French. Two readers also spoke directly to the audience about their experience with teaching or leading Michigan public schools.

This week, Bridge reporters did a deep dive into the challenges facing Michigan schools and how leading gubernatorial candidates would aim to change policy. Bridge also highlighted the unique challenges rural students and schools face in getting career technical education.

It’s part of the monthly Bridge Listens series, an effort to hear directly from readers about their pressing issues in the 2026 election. Nearly 2,800 people responded to the first round of surveys. Now, Bridge is asking readers to narrow the list from about 30 topics to the top three issues using a nomination form.

You can watch Wednesday’s full discussion here.

Next month’s Issues Watch discussion, scheduled for April 29, will center on health care in Michigan.

Previously, our virtual events were held at lunch time. Previous events have discussed the collapse of the whitefish population in the lower Great Lakes, Michigan summer tourism , the changing landscape of deer hunting in the state, spending of Michigan’s opioid settlement funds, solutions to gun violence in Michigan, Michigan’s population crisis, youth mental health in Michigan and the legacy of the automotive industry on the state’s environment and economy.

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Bridge Club members are notified of future events from our nonprofit newsroom and receive member-exclusive benefits such as free Bridge event tickets, copies of our bimonthly Bridge Culture Club selections and more. Member support allows us to offer engagement opportunities like this Lunch Break series.

To stay up-to-date on upcoming events and Bridge Michigan’s reporting, sign up for any of our free email newsletters, including our twice-weekly Education Watch newsletter.