Bridge will celebrate its second birthday in a few months. As a media “toddler,” we are still learning the best ways to present the most important topics to our readership across Michigan. To that end, we need to learn more about you – our readers. Each year, we survey our readership on a variety of […]
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
Michigan isn’t properly monitoring schools, education group says
Increasing school choice doesn’t help students, if the new options are bad. All too often, that’s been the case in Michigan recently with charter schools and cyber-schools, claims a new report by the reform group Education Trust-Midwest. CLICK TO ENLARGE The report to be released today, “Invest in What Works: A Call to Michigan Leaders,” lays […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Consensus on Common Core school standards evaporating
(courtesy image/used under Creative Commons license) Seven years ago, Michigan’s Democratic and Republican lawmakers arrived at a rare moment of consensus: They agreed to dramatically raise the bar for high school graduation. A two-bill package passed the Senate without dissent, and there was just a smattering of no votes in the 110-member House. Michigan […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Legislators eye changes to high school graduation requirements
TOO MUCH?: Almost a dozen bills are before the Legislature to alter requirements for a high school diploma – requirements adopted less than a decade ago. (Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) Seven years ago, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature surveyed Michigan’s high school academic landscape and did not like the view. The state had but one […]
Posted inTalent & Education
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 […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan’s 13,000 ‘redshirt’ kindergartners
Kindergarten classes in Escanaba and Dearborn are quite similar, with 5-year-olds wiggling in their chairs and brightly-colored artwork lining the walls. But when children walked out of those classrooms in the spring of 2011, they faced different futures. In Escanaba Area Public Schools, almost 40 percent of the children were told they weren’t moving on […]
Posted inTalent & Education
See how your school ranks on kindergarten repeats
Almost 14,000 kindergarten students were held back for a second year of kindergarten classes in the 2010-11 school year. A Bridge Magazine analysis of state data found wide disparities in the rates of such kindergarten retention, however. And these rates are not tied to academic success, poverty or other research factors. Districts in rural areas […]
Posted inTalent & Education
How often does your school hold back kindergartners?
Almost 14,000 kindergarten students were held back for a second year of kindergarten classes in the 2010-11 school year. A Bridge Magazine analysis of state data found wide disparities in the rates of such kindergarten retention, however. And these rates are not tied to academic success, poverty or other research factors. In some districts, one-third […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Education reform report will highlight ‘Issues & Ale’ event in Ferndale tonight
What do Michigan’s parents and residents want out of public schools? Where are the trouble spots? The bright spots? Tonight in Ferndale (just north of Detroit), the Center for Michigan and Michigan Radio are convening a panel of experts to discuss the findings in the Center’s new report, “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education.” This […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Report shows Michigan high for higher ed cuts as legislative panel targets U-M, Wayne St. funds
Michigan’s premier public universities have no problem attracting students, but they’re having a harder time appealing to legislators. And while decreases in state funding are common across the country today, the percentage of cuts in Michigan is higher than in most states. Wayne State University could lose 15 percent of its state funding (about $27 […]