One health official called it a “COVID test supply crisis,” with the state “triaging” test kits and some schools saying they may run out of needed tests next week if new supplies don’t arrive soon.
Ron French
Ron reports on a variety of subjects across the state. Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron graduated from Purdue University. He reported for newspapers across Indiana before moving to Michigan in 1995. Ron lives in Okemos, and like the true Michigander he’s become, he now has a family cabin Up North. You can reach him at rfrench@bridgemi.com or 517-214-3636.
Posted inTalent & Education
At U.P. school, many students felt fine, but 1-in-6 tested COVID positive
The more school officials tested, the more COVID cases they found among mostly asymptomatic students at Norwood Elementary in the western Upper Peninsula, underscoring the challenges schools face keeping kids in class amid omicron.
Posted inTalent & Education
Etsy, ice cream and flirting: What emails show about U-M’s Mark Schlissel
Emails from the fired U-M president appear to show an improper relationship. They also document his love of Etsy, Hulu, ice cream and apparent aversion to big tips.
Posted inTalent & Education
University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel fired for improper relationship
Emails released Saturday showed the U-M president engaged in what regents said was an improper and unreported relationship with an underling, a violation of university policy.
Posted inTalent & Education
For Michigan parents, a hellscape of nasal swabs, missed work and fury
Remember the monotony of 9-to-5 worklife? Doesn’t seem so bad compared to the daily disruption of omicron, with changing school schedules, child quarantines and cross-city trips for test kits.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan superintendent: With schools closing, let’s address teacher shortages
Scholarships for aspiring teachers and loan forgiveness for current educators won’t stop Michigan schools from closing now, but it could lessen the state’s teacher shortage long-term, says the state’s top school official
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Michigan colleges battle omicron with mandates, caution amid a better year
Michigan campuses had massive COVID outbreaks in the first year of the pandemic, which have been largely sidestepped this year. Officials are trying to be proactive amid the latest surge, with some going remote in January.
Posted inTalent & Education
Fewer masks, more illness, mass confusion as Michigan schools face omicron
School mask mandates are declining across Michigan even as COVID cases rise to crazy levels. And with a surge in teachers and other staffers out sick, the state is taking a harder line on quarantines.
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Michigan teacher: Kids are heroes but something is going to break
With students in and out of classrooms because of COVID or just plain stress, one teacher describes the struggle of kids learning “how to do school again” in an unsustainable year.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan State University, U-M will require COVID booster shots
Trying to head off infections from the new omicron variant, the University of Michigan and MSU are mandating employees and students who were vaccinated more than six months ago to get booster shots as soon as possible.