NEW LOOK, COURSE: The Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts merged July 1 to form Ypsilanti Community Schools, a new district that’s embarking on a variety of operational reforms, including a longer school day and longer school year. (courtesy image/Ypsilanti Community Schools) Two Washtenaw County communities are taking a marriage born out of necessity […]
Jo Mathis
A guest author for Bridge Magazine.
Posted inSuccess
High hopes, high energy: Detroit teacher leads with flair
At the beginning of every school year, while other teachers are going over their first day lesson plans minute by minute, Pamela Harris-Hawthorne has a different goal. In fact, for the first couple weeks at Detroit Innovation Academy, Harris-Hawthorne doesn’t teach her fifth-graders a thing. She’s too busy getting to know them. “Once you know […]
Posted inTalent & Education
School in Thumb takes online learning to the max
Allison Ruiz was attending the Thanksgiving parade in downtown Detroit two months ago when she got a call from a student with a homework question. Nothing unusual for a teacher whose classes are 100 percent online — and whose students hit the keyboards whenever and wherever the mood strikes. “I was a little leery about […]
Posted inSuccess
A hope for homeless youth in Detroit’s Covenant House
Sam Joseph once spotted a former resident playing basketball in Covenant House Michigan’s gated five-acre campus. It was Prince, who had been a homeless teen when he found shelter, education and life-skills training at Covenant House Michigan, then got a scholarship and moved on to Ferris State University. “Why are you here? Did you get […]
Posted inSuccess
Don’t fit in school? There’s a different WAY
Jessica Cooper was so turned off by all the drugs and the social drama at her Livingston County high school that she finally dropped out during her junior year. “You had to be popular, or in a specific group,” she explained. “It just made me want to be alone.” Soon after she enrolled in the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Colleges' ROI more complicated than simple math
Philip Swanson, fresh from earning his degree in civil engineering from Wayne State University, already is among a fortunate minority. While more than 50 percent of college grads under age 25 are either jobless or under-employed, Swanson has secured a full-time job in his field of study. And, because he earned a baseball scholarship and […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Is Michigan higher ed headed for a shakeout?
Richard Vedder is a higher ed heretic. At a time when virtually everyone is pushing for more kids to go to college, the director of the Center for College Affordability & Productivity argues the traditional college deal is not what it used to be. With college graduates plentiful and jobs scarce, a diploma from a […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Conservationist's message: Nature is just out your door
Ask John Hartig about his childhood, and you’ll hear about fishing with his father in Northern Michigan, biking around Belle Isle and hiking and canoeing at church camp Up North. Hartig, who manages the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, wants every Michigan kid in even the most urban environment to develop a love for the […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Private-public pact gets Troy on track
For the entire 10 years Michele Hodges had been president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, a new rail-and-bus transit center for the Oakland County community had been in the works. Then, on Dec. 19, 2011, the Troy City Council voted 4-3 to turn down $8.5 million in federal funds for the transit center, which […]
Posted inSuccess
Song pushes Ann Arbor, state for 'better story'
Every Friday, at 4:30 p.m., local geeks are invited to pop a cold one at Tech Brewery in Ann Arbor. The start-up co-op, located in what was a brewery in the 1880s, rents space to network-hungry entrepreneurs. “Beer-30,” as the gathering is called, offers not just libations, but a good chance to tap into the mind of […]