Donald Trump’s selection of school-choice advocate Betsy DeVos for U.S. education secretary has focused attention on Michigan’s generous choice policy. In September, Bridge Magazine revealed one troubling side-effect: segregation
Mike Wilkinson
Mike has been a reporter for Bridge Michigan since 2013 and focuses on data-assisted reporting, often finding stories by analyzing maps and data sets and has created Bridge's dashboards on COVID-19, the state's economy and Michigan's elections. He held similar positions at The Detroit News and The Blade of Toledo. A native of Michigan, Mike grew up in Macomb County, graduated from the University of Michigan and started his reporting career in New Baltimore before his career took him to Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio. You can reach him at mwilkinson@bridgemi.com
Posted inMichigan Government
Rural Michigan thumbs nose at Clinton, backs Trump
Donald Trump steamrolled Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in midsize to smaller counties across the state, flipping many that voted for President Obama in previous campaigns.
Posted inMichigan Government
Trump or Clinton in Mitten? What past elections tell us
How Michigan may play a pivotal role in presidential election: It could be firewall for Clinton or the fulcrum of a Trump shocker
Posted inTalent & Education
How more affluent families get welfare for pricey private colleges
Thousands of middle- to upper-income students use federal welfare funds to attend expensive private schools. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of impoverished families in Michigan receive cash assistance.
Posted inTalent & Education
School choice producing segregation in districts across the state
More than 300,000 public school students take advantage of the state’s popular school choice program. Whether by chance or design, districts are becoming less diverse.
Posted inTalent & Education
Top 10 Michigan school districts impacted by school choice
The state’s school choice policies are making many districts far more segregated. Here are the districts most impacted by school choice.
Posted inUrban Affairs
School choice, metro Detroit’s new white flight
Nearly 50 years after the racial tumult of 1967, state schools of choice policies are helping to create more racially segregated districts in metro Detroit and beyond.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Walking back segregation in Ferndale schools
Ferndale, an inner-ring suburb popular with Detroit students, is taking bold steps to desegregate its schools.
Posted inBusiness Watch
7 things every Michigan business startup must know
Too many new entrepreneurs make the same, avoidable mistakes. In a state badly lagging in new businesses, executing a sound plan is critical. Our experts tell you how.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan and the death of entrepreneurship
If the state doesn’t create a new generation of business owners, its future will remain hostage to the swings of the manufacturing sector