Ron French

Teachers in school districts where Michigan’s proposed teacher evaluation system is being piloted are generally receptive to the changes. But inconsistent scores and a lawsuit in one district are among the challenges schools are likely to face when the system is rolled out across the state as soon as next school year. Brian Rowan, professor […]

Amber Arellano is the executive director of The Education Trust-Midwest The Education Trust-Midwest, based in Royal Oak, has played an integral role in shaping the debate over Michigan teacher evaluation reform. Executive Director Amber Arellano spoke to Bridge about the importance of the reform efforts for Michigan’s children. Bridge: It seems the debate has centered […]

One college advertises classes in “truck driving and teacher preparation.” Another program draws potential teachers from the bottom fifth of high school students. Michigan imposes no minimum standards for admission to teacher training programs, leaving standards to individual schools that have little incentive to limit enrollment. The result: Some Michigan teacher candidates studying in programs […]

It was the end of her first semester as a Michigan teacher. Her students had gone home, and Wendy Zdeb-Roeper sat at her classroom desk, writing a letter to her alma mater. “I remember the feeling before the school year began,” recalled Zdeb-Roeper, now executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals. “I […]

MSU education students Alex Benitez, left, and Caitlin Gallagher, center, and other MSU students portray characters in the American Revolutionary War as they sit in and and take part in Haslett Middle School teacher Ben Pineda’s 8th grade social studies class. In Haslett, college seniors and eighth-graders sit in the same social studies class. About […]

Principal Mary Lang doesn’t suffer mediocrity in her classrooms. High-quality teaching is crucial in her North Godwin Elementary where the deck is already stacked against most students. ““Two or three ineffective teachers, and these kids are done,” Lang said. From her closet-sized principal’s office, Mary Lang doesn’t need to talk about more rigorous teacher training. […]

“I started teaching in a charter school in Taylor. I showed up and they said, ‘Here’s a curriculum,’ and they handed me a USB (drive) and a pile of books and said, ‘Teach this,’ and you’re kind of left alone. You’re almost creating your own curriculum, and as a 23 year old, I didn’t have […]

The Michigan children most in need of experienced teachers are the students least likely to get them. A Bridge analysis of state data found that inexperienced teachers appear to be clustered in Michigan’s poorest schools. The students in those classrooms will, on average, learn less than their suburban peers taught by more experienced teachers, widening […]

How long will they student teach? It depends on which university they attend. From left to right, Haslett student teachers Kayli Carter (GVSU), Melissa Lynch (CMU), Sam Georgi (MSU), Justine Dailey (CMU) Anaite Castaneda (MSU). (Bridge photo by Ron French) Theory ran into reality the day Melissa Lynch walked into a fifth-grade class in Haslett, […]