Seven districts in Washtenaw County are moving to online-only learning beginning Monday, March 16. Districts around the state are wrestling with the pros and cons of closing as Ohio announced it was shutting its public schools.
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 Health Watch
Coronavirus fears shutter Michigan university classrooms
The state’s public universities have told students not to attend classes in person as schools scramble to convert to virtual learning. Some students were told to go home, others are staying on campus.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
These Michigan colleges shut down because of coronavirus concerns
Universities across the state stop holding in-person classes, as of Wednesday. Others will move online after spring break.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan schools scramble to plan for a potential coronavirus outbreak
Would schools close for weeks at a time? Would lessons be online? What if a student travels overseas? Michigan districts are creating protocols on the fly to address a possible outbreak.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Kettering University president: College is ‘increasingly not relevant’
Robert McMahan says universities must change, or companies are going to stop buying what they’re selling. Kettering graduates produce the highest return on financial investment of any Michigan university.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Frustrated by teacher shortages, Michigan educators offer their solutions
Want to solve Michigan’s teacher shortage? A new report skips policymakers and asks the state’s teachers what they would do. More class support and financial incentives to new teachers would help, they say.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Free college sounds great. But Dems’ higher-ed plans draw scrutiny in Michigan.
From zero tuition to student loan bailouts, Democrats campaigning in Michigan’s March 10 primary are proposing big changes to higher education. Some question the feasibility of the proposals.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Preschoolers, older college students win in Whitmer education budget
Michigan’s governor proposes a big move toward universal pre-K and free training and college for adults in a budget that includes the biggest school aid increase in 20 years. State university funding? Meh.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Access to career-tech in Michigan varies by ZIP code. That’s a problem.
Low-income and minority students have less access to career-tech programs in high school than other students, according to a new study.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Michigan schools revolt: We won’t flunk struggling third-grade readers
In what amounts to a mutiny against Michigan’s “read-or-flunk” law, school districts around the state tell Bridge they don’t plan to make students repeat third grade because of poor reading scores.