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.
Ron French
Ron French is the senior enterprise reporter at Bridge Michigan, covering a wide range of topics including rural communities, federal policy impacts, education and public health. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter, and previously reported for newspapers across Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University.
Rooted in Okemos, Ron has become a true Michigander — complete with a family cabin Up North.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
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.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
10 years of strict teacher evaluations haven’t boosted learning in Michigan
It seemed like a common-sense accountability law. A decade later, though, almost all teachers are rated effective and students’ test scores have declined.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Michigan school board member after Oxford shooting: Make school optional
Education is required from ages 6-16. State Board member Tom McMillin says that after a deadly school shooting in Oxford it’s time to rethink that practice. Other state education leaders dismissed the suggestion.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Bloody drawings, a cry for help and Oxford’s choice before school shooting
It was a judgment call that went horribly wrong. Experts weigh in on the decision by Oxford High School to return a troubled student to class before a shooting rampage. Like many districts, Oxford has a policy to discourage student suspensions.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Prosecutor: Oxford suspect shouldn't have been allowed back in class
Oxford school officials are coming under scrutiny for what they did, and didn’t do, following disturbing interactions with the 15-year-old suspect before the shooting spree.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Scores of Michigan schools close amid threats following Oxford shootings
School districts are working with local law enforcement to probe the credibility of the online threats, with some school leaders saying it is not yet possible to keep up.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Michigan House seeks $50 million for school police after Oxford shooting
The extra money would be used for additional school resource officers across the state. The state has no idea how many officers already are in Michigan schools. Not everyone agrees more police are necessarily better.
