AND AFTER COLLEGE?: All the money being borrowed by college students in Michigan — $1.9 billion in one year alone — poses a significant threat to future economic growth says Mitch Bean of Great Lakes Economic Consulting. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Michigan’s student debt problem is getting worse, with college kids borrowing almost […]
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 inChildren & Families
Why are Michigan’s child abuse/neglect rates so high?
ALL TOO COMMON: Michigan has one of the nation’s highest rates for child abuse and neglect, according to the most recent state figures. Child welfare officials and advocates have theories as to why, but there’s no consensus explanation. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) The number of abused and neglected Michigan children rose in recent […]
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Thousands of low-income, minority students missing out on college-prep classes
(courtesy photo) Only 3 percent of low-income and African-American high school students in Michigan are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) classes that help them get a toehold in college. That’s one of the lowest rates in the nation, according to a study conducted by Education Trust. The AP gap puts an estimated 12,000 poor and […]
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
On horizon for preschools: More public-private partnerships
MACKINAC ISLAND — Legislators had barely made it to Mackinac Island after passing an historic increase in funding for early childhood education before discussion turned to what happens next. A panel today predicted more public-private partnerships in pre-K for 4-year-olds and investment in brain development at even earlier ages could be on the horizon if […]
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
State adopts ‘nation’s largest’ expansion of early childhood funding
Ten thousand additional Michigan 4-year-olds will be in classrooms next school year, after Republican and Democratic legislators Wednesday passed the largest expansion in early childhood education in the nation. (Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) The $65 million expansion for the 2013-14 budget year is a major victory for business leaders, educators and children advocates, as well […]
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Michigan moves into national forefront of preschool funding
Michigan will move from middle of the pack to top of the heap when Gov. Rick Snyder signs off on a massive expansion of state-funded early childhood education in coming days. REASON TO CELEBRATE: Great Start preschool student Shelby Tomshani, left, plays with Head Start preschool student Zoey Stock in September 2012 at Lakeland Elementary […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Region struggles with sick economy, sick families
(Bridge illustration/Howard Davy) When Dr. Marion Hautea looks out at the waiting room at Thunder Bay Community Health Service in Rogers City, he sees diabetes. He sees hypertension. He sees abscessed teeth and coronary disease. Mostly, though, he sees jobs. Jobs that have left Northeast Michigan, burdening the region with the highest unemployment rate […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan’s STD belt: It’s not what you think
(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) A line of Michigan counties, stretching along Interstate 94 from the Detroit River west to Lake Michigan, carries a dubious distinction: some of the highest rates of a sexually transmitted disease in the Great Lakes State. This phenomenon – an (un)chastity belt, if you will – is not, however, the result of […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Living on right side of county line means more life, better health
(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) Zack Conley and Mike Sannan live on opposite sides of Rawsonville Road, a noisy strip of pavement separating Wayne and Washtenaw counties. Both men have access to some of the best hospitals in the state. Yet Sannan is almost twice as likely to be in poor or fair health. As a Wayne […]
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Leaders in high-retention districts make no apologies for kindergarten repeats
New Lothrop, a small school district in Shiawassee County, holds back more of its kindergartners for a second year than any district in the state — and its superintendent makes no apologies for it. “The bottom line is, we’re not going to promote kids if they’re not ready,” said New Lothrop Superintendent John Strycker. “We […]
