Talent & Education

Michigan’s career and technical education system is hobbled by enormous funding inequities across the state, even as Kalamazoo builds a state-of-the-art CTE center bankrolled by an anonymous donor.

The high school class of 2022 has been through a lot. From virtual learning in their bedrooms, to mourning the death of loved ones. Four seniors spoke to Bridge about all that they missed, and vowed “never to take anything for granted.”

Michigan’s efforts to boost third-grade reading skills took a hit during the pandemic, with teachers reporting less time to provide targeted support to struggling readers, particularly more vulnerable readers, an MSU report found.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed education budget plan focused mostly on the state’s struggling K-12 schools. But Michigan universities and community colleges would also get a big spending bump, assuming GOP lawmakers buy in.

In a survey by the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, educators noted more shortages and disruption than before and said they are less satisfied with their jobs.

More than $1 billion in federal COVID relief funds will be used for school COVID test kits and additional state lab capacity, less than a month after schools ran dangerously low on supplies.

Schools are battling teacher shortages, mental health concerns and more. Gov. Whitmer said she wants to make “bold investments” in education with billions of additional dollars in state and federal funds. Republicans say they are eager to talk, but wary of the tab.

COVID continues to disrupt the number of high school graduates enrolling in college, which has consequences for the state’s economy. School counselors are seeing the pandemic’s toll as the governor seeks to boost student success.

Under the governor’s budget proposal being announced Wednesday, Michigan students would reap huge benefits from billions of dollars in state surplus and federal COVID relief funds.

Big storms used to mean snowball fights, not school. But remote technology has made it easier for schools to keep teaching in the pandemic. Educators say there are still kinks to figure out before snow days vanish.

The proposal is similar to bills introduced in at least a dozen other states, and comes in the wake of concern by some parents and conservative politicians that schools are teaching divisive lessons on race and other issues.

Some districts used up all their allowed closure days for COVID, staff shortages and school shooting threats. Students will still get snow days, but they may have to attend classes longer in June.

A law already allows bus drivers to serve as substitute teachers. Now, lawmakers are considering allowing uncertified education majors to teach for a full year. ‘We need to do something,’ sponsor says.

Administrators around the state have been asking the Legislature for more flexibility but so far their efforts have gained less traction than a school bus on an icy hill.

For years, community colleges have sought legislative approval for four-year nursing programs to help staff hospitals short on workers. But the state’s four-year universities fiercely oppose the move, leading to the latest turf battle in Lansing.

The state’s school outbreak report data is even less reliable than in the past, as omicron overwhelms the reporting system and schools end contact tracing.

One health official called it a “COVID test supply crisis,” with the state “triaging” test kits and some schools saying they may run out of needed tests next week if new supplies don’t arrive soon.

The more school officials tested, the more COVID cases they found among mostly asymptomatic students at Norwood Elementary in the western Upper Peninsula, underscoring the challenges schools face keeping kids in class amid omicron.

Emails from the fired U-M president appear to show an improper relationship. They also document his love of Etsy, Hulu, ice cream and apparent aversion to big tips.

Emails released Saturday showed the U-M president engaged in what regents said was an improper and unreported relationship with an underling, a violation of university policy.