Schools tried a bit of everything to keep students safe last year. Some of those efforts are being pared back now as schools and health officials learn more about what appears to help reduce COVID, and what doesn’t.
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
Six northern Michigan counties join Wayne with newest school mask mandates
The latest counties to mandate masks in schools are Wayne, Benzie, Leelanau, Emmet, Charlevoix, Otsego and Antrim.
Posted inTalent & Education
Almost half of Michigan students now in schools with COVID mask mandates
Even without a statewide school mask mandate, many Michigan students will be required to wear face coverings when they return to classrooms in the coming days.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan college enrollment dropped amid COVID, group urges state to step in
Low-income students aren’t going to college at the rates they were before the pandemic. Is it time for the state to make higher ed more affordable?
Posted inTalent & Education
Q & A: Small-town Michigan superintendent tells why he is mandating masks
With no state mandate, local Michigan superintendents are being forced to make tough decisions on whether to require face masks to protect against COVID this fall. The debate is dividing communities like Eaton Rapids.
Posted inTalent & Education
State’s top doc to Whitmer: School mask mandate would reduce COVID in Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said she would “follow the science” on pandemic policy, is apparently not following the advice of her chief medical officer on school face mask mandates.
Posted inTalent & Education
Gov. Whitmer urges Michigan schools to mask up, stops short of mandate
Decisions on whether masks will be required in classrooms this fall will be left up to local districts, despite CDC and state pleas for them to mask up.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan schools can’t fill teacher aide jobs: ‘There are no applicants.’
Job seekers can make almost as much at McDonald’s as they can working as a special education paraprofessional, making the vital but sometimes stressful jobs a tough sell for Michigan school districts.
Posted inTalent & Education
Wayne State University issues vaccine mandate; Central Michigan requires masks
Colleges and universities had expected a normal return to campus this fall but the Delta variant of COVID-19 is scrambling their plans. Businesses like auto manufacturers also are adding mask mandates.
Posted inTalent & Education
Q and A: How the pandemic stunted Michigan low-income college enrollment
High school grads on the fence about going to college didn’t get much personal contact with advisors and college representatives last school year because of the pandemic. The result is predictable and sobering.