Why do some low-income elementary schools in Grand Rapids perform better than others? Educators in Grand Rapids say that ranking formulas often do not reflect critical differences between seemingly similar schools.
Talent & Education
To prosper, Michigan must be a more educated place. Bridge will explore the challenges in education and identify policies and initiatives that address them.
Posted inTalent & Education
One teacher, 25 kids and the enormous challenge of turning around Detroit schools (Chapter 1)
The state is in the midst of yet another fix for Detroit’s troubled schools. So this spring, Bridge spent time in William Weir’s social studies classroom to get a sense for what works, and what doesn’t, for one Detroit teacher.
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One teacher, 25 kids: For struggling students, a push to 'dream bigger' (Chapter 2)
For third- and fourth-graders with limited reading skills, a teacher must take creative measures to make lessons stick.
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One teacher, 25 kids: ‘Can I sleep at night?’ (Chapter 3)
Budget deficits in Detroit mean even larger class sizes come this fall. Will Mr. Weir meet the challenge for his young students?
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How state’s new early childhood funding will help boost student learning
More than $30 million has been allocated for early reading initiatives in the 2016 state education budget. Many of the initiatives, intended to boost Michigan’s third-grade reading rates, followed Bridge reporting on the benefits of early investment in vulnerable children.
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In paychecks, Michigan women have a long way to go, baby
Women in full-time jobs earn on average three-fourths the pay as men in Michigan, a wider margin than most of the nation. While critics question the scale of the gap, policymakers debate ways to close it.
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Hispanic women struggle with just over half the pay of men
Hispanic women in Michigan earn barely half the income of non-Hispanic white males.
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How a single, powerful senator killed serious reform of teacher evaluation
A bill to set rigorous statewide standards for evaluating teachers was backed by Republicans and Democrats, as well as the governor. Standing in their way: state Sen. Phil Pavlov, who has his own ideas about what's best for teachers.
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Ball Q&A: Michigan kids ‘will lose’ with weak teacher evaluation bill
UM education dean Deborah Loewenberg Ball slams the Legislature’s latest bill to rate teachers. She urges the state to instead adopt her panel’s recommendations, which she said would be the nation’s gold standard for raising classroom performance.
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One high school’s miracle revival. And what may kill it.
Hazel Park High’s academic turnaround plan transformed it from one of the state’s worst high schools to one of the best in just two years. Will district finances halt its success?