At first blush, Godwin Heights Public Schools isn’t anything special. Only 6 percent of its juniors were considered “college ready” on their ACTs in 2012, about one-third of the state’s median rate. Fourth- and eighth-grade MEAP scores were middling, at best. On the other hand, Bloomfield Hills has the highest percentage of students deemed “college […]
Which Mich. schools add most value for students?
Posted inTalent & Education
State Champs: See how your local district ranks
Fifty-two Michigan public school districts and charters were named Academic State Champions for the 2011-12 school year. Winners were drawn from a database created by Bridge Magazine and Public Sector Consultants of traditional public school districts and charter schools offering kindergarten through 12th-grade. The analysis ranks schools by how much value they add to students’ […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Schools in tight-knit Arab community dominate value rankings
Jazaleh Fakhreddine describes herself as born to teach. Watch her command a classroom of fourth-graders and you’ll believe it. When she wants the children’s attention, she raises her hand and folds her fingers down one by one. “She’s counting!” a boy hisses to a classmate, and the group falls silent. She speaks quietly, calmly, preparing […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Charter schools hit the extremes in academic ranking
While several charter schools are among the best in the state in outperforming academic expectations, overall, charters fare poorly in Bridge Magazine’s top-to-bottom list of Michigan schools. The analysis offers ammunition to charter advocates and critics alike; mainly though, it raises questions about why Michigan charter schools are so wildly inconsistent, even when teaching similar […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Helping teachers improve will help students learn, education group argues
Amber Arellano is the executive director of Education Trust-Midwest, Michigan’s only statewide, nonpartisan advocacy and research organization focused solely on education. Arellano has testified before legislative committees on a variety of education-related bills, and is a strong believer in using data to help gauge what works and doesn’t work in public schools. Arellano responded to […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Don’t play ‘either-or’ game on Michigan energy policy
By Mark Fisk/Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs Proposal 3 sparked a significant debate in Michigan about what alternative energy sources we could be using to create jobs, reduce our dependence on imported coal and foreign oil and improve public health by decreasing dangerous pollution in our air and water. The Proposal 3 campaign raised important issues […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Bolger backs bigger dollars for early childhood
House Speaker Jase Bolger, freshly elected to a second term to head Michigan’s House of Representatives, added his voice Wednesday to a growing coalition of political leaders in favor of increased state spending on early childhood education. “We should expand early childhood education opportunities as investments to help kids succeed. Those investments also will provide […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
From light rail to neighborhood rehab, Kresge Foundation pours money, attention into Detroit
Rip Rapson became president of the $3.1 billion Kresge Foundation in 2006. He has since changed the foundation’s focus from providing challenge grants that support building projects in local communities to program-related investments in seven areas, including community development, education, health and human services. Kresge also has taken a high-profile role in the revitalization of […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Labor says it will prevail, but RTW experts are skeptical
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Given recent events in Indiana, third-shift General Motors worker Roxanna Lucas was “not surprised” when Michigan followed suit by adopting a Right to Work labor standard. Lucas, like many coworkers at the sprawling suburban Fort Wayne GM assembly plant, sees RTW as nothing less than a calculated scheme to take down […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Indiana reaction belies pro-Right to Work claims
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — In the weeks after “Right to Work” became law in Indiana, Michigan-based Android Industries was anointed a poster child for the job growth state officials predicted would flow from the measure. Company officials insisted it was no accident they picked Indiana to open an automotive plant in suburban Fort Wayne in […]
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