For Joanne Kelty, the economics of Michigan’s preschool program become more vexing each year. She supervises a program for Grand Rapids Public Schools considered to be a model for the state, with vocal support from the district’s superintendent and school board. Yet every year, the district has fewer 4-year-olds in class. “I hold my breath […]
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
Preschool's great, if you can get there
Every morning, a bus picked up 5-year-old kindergartners a block from the Middleton family home in Walker and took them to a Kenowa Hills school. Every morning, Kelly Middleton packed up 4-year-old Seamus and drove him to the very same school. “I’ve seen buses go by,” Middleton said. “When it’s winter and you don’t want […]
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Truth Squad defends its fact-driven reporting against political attack
An organization called Progress Michigan published a blog post today questioning the integrity of Bridge Magazine’s Michigan Truth Squad political ad watchdog service. Specifically, Progress Michigan said other media partners should “think twice” before publishing our Truth Squad calls on political ads because it “is supported by many of the same corporate special interests that […]
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Battle of the 'Starts' takes kids prisoner
Hundreds of Michigan 4-year-olds qualify for Head Start and Great Start, but are in neither preschool program, stuck in a no-man’s land between bureaucracies. School leaders, state administrators and directors of Head Start and Great Start describe a sometimes personality-driven relationship between the programs that can run seamlessly, or can devolve into accusations of “poaching” […]
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Michigan lags behind other states in pre-K efforts
The education of Jordan Shaw will start a year later because she lives in Michigan. The Canton girl was in a private preschool program last year as a 3-year-old. But after Jordan’s little brother was born, her parents could no longer afford it. “Preschool gives them good learning skills. (But) trying to pay for her […]
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Why the lights never come on in some preschool classrooms
Gobles is a small, rural, almost exclusively white community on the west side of the state. Beecher is an old blue-collar suburb of Flint, racially mixed and overwhelmingly poor. But the children of Gobles and Beecher do share a characteristic — one that neither wants: They can’t attend free, state-funded preschool. Across the state, there […]
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One woman marshals a pre-K army
Maybe she just didn’t have enough experience to know better. Maybe she had a financial incentive. Whatever the reason, Natalie Merryman succeeded where a lot of school districts failed. As a first-year preschool teacher in the Great Start Readiness Program, Merryman was able to find the kind of at-risk 4-year-olds who are often forgotten in […]
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Education talks set for Imlay City, Pontiac, Detroit, Clinton Township
Imlay City, Pontiac, Detroit, Lansing and Clinton Township are among the upcoming stops for the Center for Michigan’s ongoing townhall series on K-12 reform: WHEN: Sept. 27, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: East Meeting Room, Novi Public Library, 45255 10 Mile Road, Novi RSVP: Julie Farkas, Novi Public Library — (248) 869-7204 WHEN: Oct. […]
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In Grand Rapids, a tale of two kids
Like any mother, Grand Rapids resident Courtney Malone wants the best for her children. That’s why she worries about her 3-year-old son, Bryson, who is on a waiting list for the state’s Great Start Readiness Program. She fears he could be losing ground by missing out on the all-day preschool. “It’s very disappointing,” said Malone, […]
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Pre-K access is a challenge across the state
In theory, children from low- and moderate-income homes have an equal opportunity for free, high-quality preschool in every corner of Michigan. But it turns out some corners are more equal than others. In Saginaw, 91 percent of 4-year-olds eligible for Great Start Readiness Program are in that state-funded preschool or another state- or federally funded […]