From financial incentives to colleges designed for dropouts, states are finding ways to help residents get their diplomas. Could these programs help Michigan
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
Michigan’s college dropout dilemma
Thousands of adults are just a few classes away from a degree. So why isn’t Michigan, so hungry for skilled workers, doing more to help them finish
Posted inTalent & Education
Over 28? You’ll get no student aid from Michigan
Obsolete state policies favor financial aid for young students over the older, part-time students who are increasingly filling college campuses.
Posted inMichigan Government
How long will Flint’s water chief remain unpaid?
Flint hired a former brigadier general to oversee replacement of its lead pipes. The Mott Foundation gave Flint money for his salary. So why hasn’t Michael McDaniel been paid? The answer tells you all you need to know about the slow pace of Flint’s recovery.
Posted inMichigan Government
Mott president on Flint: ‘You hit rock bottom multiple times’
Ridgway White says he is buoyed by the amount of philanthropic money flowing in to address Flint’s water crisis. But the Mott president tells Bridge he sees graver challenges in improving the city’s longer-term economic trajectory
Posted inChildren & Families
Beyond bottled water: Huge checks, slow progress test patience in Flint
Delivering pallets of water was the easy part. Now it gets messy, as various players jockey for position, balance competing interests and struggle with plans to repair the city and its people after a crisis like no other.
Posted inChildren & Families
Think America doesn’t give a damn about Flint? 15,000 donors disagree
15,000 donations have poured in to help Flint kids battling lead poisoning. One-dollar bills and five-figure checks arrive almost daily from schoolchildren and prison inmates, elderly widows and romance writers. Here are a few of their stories
Posted inTalent & Education
State education proposal would add $1.4 billion to school budget
Tripping over its own good intentions, a long-awaited study calculating the cost of a good education may be undone by its high price, timid promises and puzzling methodology
Posted inTalent & Education
The 3 biggest head-scratchers in Michigan education cost study
The report was supposed to be a big win for education reformers. But holes in the study may undermine efforts to increase school spending
Posted inBusiness Watch
Dow Chemical being courted by other states
If more business-friendly states come calling, can Midland hold on to thousands of high-paying jobs? A test of Gov. Snyder’s economic development strategy.