Red Elk Banks, executive operations coordinator for Whole Foods Market, is playing a role in one of the bright spots in Detroit’s tumultuous recent history – overseeing the construction of a Whole Foods Market in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Detroit has long been (wrongly) perceived as a “food desert” for its lack of any national-chain […]
Nancy Derringer
Nancy Nall Derringer is a former reporter at Bridge
Posted inTalent & Education
Snyder adviser, educator pull no punches before large audience at education summit
MAKING HIS CASE: Sen. Roger Kahn (far left) discusses the need to vastly increase funding for early childhood programs during a panel at the Center for Michigan’s “Future of Education” summit in Lansing Tuesday. “If the governor’s budget falls short, I’ll push for $140 million,” Kahn said. (Bridge photo/Lon Horwedel) Oakland Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch […]
Posted inTalent & Education
On parents, better to coax or coerce?
Ask Sally Wiggins to describe her role in her daughters’ education, and she starts at the beginning. “My pregnancies were intentional,” she said, embarked upon after her marriage had proven stable over a period of years. Her prenatal care was top-notch; Wiggins, a nurse by profession, took pains to make sure her nutrition, exercise, rest […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Grading teachers proves harder than thought
An annual performance review — in which duties, accomplishments and expectations are weighed against a set of standards — is a rite of passage for most Michiganians. And it’s easy to do for, say, a car salesman. How many cars you sell? How much money did you make? But for Michigan teachers, assessing performance and […]
Posted inTalent & Education
On parents, better to coax or coerce?
Ask Sally Wiggins to describe her role in her daughters’ education, and she starts at the beginning. “My pregnancies were intentional,” she said, embarked upon after her marriage had proven stable over a period of years. Her prenatal care was top-notch; Wiggins, a nurse by profession, took pains to make sure her nutrition, exercise, rest […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Grading teachers proves harder than thought
Public views on teacher preparation. CLICK TO ENLARGE. An annual performance review — in which duties, accomplishments and expectations are weighed against a set of standards — is a rite of passage for most Michiganians. And it’s easy to do for, say, a car salesman. How many cars you sell? How much money did […]
Posted inSuccess
Filmmaker grows ‘antidote’ to ‘ruin porn’ craze
If Detroit were an actor walking a Hollywood red carpet, it would be having a hot year. Two feature-length documentary films, “Detropia” and “Burn,” have gathered national attention for their looks at the deteriorating – and recovering – metropolis, with critics marveling at Detroit’s eye-popping vistas of decay and tarnished grandeur. But to independent filmmaker […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Schools in tight-knit Arab community dominate value rankings
Jazaleh Fakhreddine describes herself as born to teach. Watch her command a classroom of fourth-graders and you’ll believe it. When she wants the children’s attention, she raises her hand and folds her fingers down one by one. “She’s counting!” a boy hisses to a classmate, and the group falls silent. She speaks quietly, calmly, preparing […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Snyder vetoes looser rules on owning lions, tigers, bears
UPDATE 1-2-13: Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed two bills last week that would have changed the state’s Large Carnivore Act, but encouraged lawmakers to resubmit them with specific changes in the new session. Bridge reported on the tie-barred Senate Bills 703 and 1236 last month (story below), which passed in the last hours of the Legislature’s […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Bills would turn Michigan into 'super choice' state
Michigan Board of Education President John Austin calls it a “nuclear bomb.” National education reformer Diane Ravitch proclaims “Michigan is on its way to ending public education.” Michigan Future Inc. President Lou Glazer warns that local school districts won’t survive. Welcome to education reform in Michigan, circa 2012. A coordinated series of draft and introduced […]
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