After three school years of pandemic disruption, Bridge Michigan wants to know if finding teachers to staff schools has become even harder in your school district. Reach out to reporter Isabel Lohman if you have a story.
Isabel Lohman
Isabel reports on early childhood, K-12 and higher education for Bridge Michigan. She loves visiting schools and analyzing how policies made in Lansing affect students and educators. Previously, she was the children’s issues reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee. There, she reported on the state's third-largest public school district's COVID-19 response and how a community copes after losing teenagers to gun violence. Isabel grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and has also lived in Missouri, Tennessee and Belgium. Isabel moved to Ann Arbor in January 2022 where she experienced her first Michigan winter. She has a warm winter hat with a snap-on puff ball. You can reach Isabel at ilohman@bridgemi.com.
Posted inTalent & Education
A supergroup was to reform Michigan schools, then the schools dropped out
A coalition of business, school, philanthropy and labor groups came together in 2019 to try and solve decades of mediocrity in Michigan public education. But major school groups, including the department of education, have bailed, leaving the effort in question.
Posted inTalent & Education
Nursing deal and college affordability in Michigan higher-ed budget pact
The state’s higher-education budgets do not include a large expansion of Michigan Reconnect, the tuition-free community college program, but does set aside funding for a to-be-determined scholarship program.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan high school students are helping colleges improve campus success
Grand Valley State University leaders are taking ideas from a group of high school students to create programs that will help low-income and first-generation college students succeed when they arrive on campus.
Posted inTalent & Education
What the Supreme Court school prayer decision will mean for Michigan
Education law experts say Michigan public schools will have to comply with the ruling, which found that the Washington state football coach was discriminated against by being punished for praying at midfield after games.
Posted inMichigan Government
Key quotes from Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court abortion ruling
A conservative majority of justices overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a federal right to abortion. In a series of opinions, the nine-member court revealed deep divisions within their ranks.
Posted inTalent & Education
High Court rejects ban on religious school aid. How it impacts Michigan.
The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that states can’t give taxpayer funds to some private schools while excluding religious schools. Legal experts say it won’t immediately impact Michigan, but opens the door to broader school choice.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan sends money to help Oxford ‘heal,’ improve safety at other schools
Oxford Community Schools will be able to use the new state funding for staffing to help traumatized students, as well as for repairs to the high school in the wake of the deadly shooting.
Posted inTalent & Education
House rejects tutoring bill. What’s next for Michigan’s struggling students?
Rep. Julie Alexander’s bill would have given students up to $1,500 to spend on tutoring and other education expenses. Democrats call it a voucher program. Where does tutoring stand in Michigan now?
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan lawmakers advance bill to limit how race is taught in schools
Amid the national debate about “critical race theory,” Michigan lawmakers weigh a bill to prohibit teaching of “race or gender stereotyping.” Critics say it’s a distraction.