Michigan school opinions

Cara Lougheed, an English and history teacher from Rochester Hills, says she’s skeptical of school rating systems yet understands the desire among parents to evaluate schools in their community.

Students lose about a month of learning over the course of the summer. There are ways to stop that brain drain.

Rep. Darrin Camilleri may not have been able to afford college if he didn’t figure out how to fill out a federal financial aid form called the FAFSA. He’s now pushing to make the form a high school requirement.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to close the high school in Benton Harbor because of low academic achievement and high debt. A State Board of Education member (and fellow Democrat) makes a case for investing in the struggling district, rather than closing the high school.

Former state superintendent Tom Watkins offers some words of wisdom to Michael Rice, who’ll take over as Michigan’s school chief in July.

The current school funding model is broken. The plan laid out by Michigan’s new governor begins to fix it.

Bills now in the Legislature would allow students to substitute career tech for art. That’s a problem if we want to build well-rounded adults.

A middle school principal makes a pitch for Gretchen Whitmer’s plan for more school funding, and different ways of splitting up those dollars

Detroit neighborhoods with higher rates of asthma have higher school absenteeism. One in five students switched schools during the year. Data can be a valuable tool when researchers are in touch with a city’s challenges.

Eliminating gifted education programs has hurt individuals, and Michigan’s economy

As an immigrant and a legislator, Padma Kuppa writes that she knows the value of an education, and Michigan needs to invest more.

One of the five candidates in the running to become the next Michigan State Superintendent explains why he backs a study calling for more education funding.

Michigan Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, penned a guest commentary questioning the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s views on school funding. Here’s the Mackinac Center’s response.

Dayna Polehanki was a school teacher before becoming a state senator, and she argues that Republicans are being disingenuous when they say education funding is at an all-time high.

Fewer college students are considering careers in teaching, and new teachers flee the profession at a high rate. Michigan needs to address those issues.

Brad Lyman grew up in public schools in Michigan and taught in schools in Maryland. One state invested in its children, and one didn’t.

Students across Michigan now rely on campus food pantries. Worrying about your next meal is not what college is supposed to be about.

The next governor has an opportunity – and a responsibility – to address problems that have festered for decades in our polarized politics

More high school grads are earning degrees and certificates, but we’re still below the national average.

Our children can’t succeed if they can’t read. It’s time we do something about it.