michigan education

In 2015, Michigan set a ten-year goal to rank among the top 10 states for education. The state has poured billions of dollars into its education system, the 9th largest investment of any state. But a decade later, Michigan has not only failed to increase its scores — the state now regularly ranks within the bottom 10 states in the nation.

What’s brewing for school budgets as Republicans in the state Legislature make a case for major structural changes. Also, an entomologist explains why swarms of mayflies, annoying as they may be, are actually a good thing. And we visit one of Detroit’s most celebrated new restaurants, where tradition meets technique.

What’s brewing for school budgets as Republicans in the state Legislature make a case for major structural changes. Also, an entomologist explains why swarms of mayflies, annoying as they may be, are actually a good thing. And we visit one of Detroit’s most celebrated new restaurants, where tradition meets technique.

Head Start provides eligible families with free, government-subsidized early education for children. However, programs in Michigan are reporting increasing delays in federal payments. If the delays continue or worsen, some may have trouble remaining open through the remainder of the school year.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress found no significant improvements in writing or reading scores for Michigan students since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, we catch up with Michigan Public's Zena Issa about what's happening at ArabCon in Dearborn. Then, we discuss the recent college free speech rankings released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Later, we listen in on an interview by Michigan Public's Tyler Scott about name, image, and likeness, as well as an Interlochen Public Radio feature about a news outlet's return as a non-profit.

Today, some residents of Detroit neighborhoods try to get answers about concrete smashing operations near their homes. Also, Michigan’s Legislature turns its attention to interventions for kids' dyslexia and other kinds of reading delays. Plus, what’s cooking at the Dixboro Project. We’ll meet the new executive chef and partner Garret Lipar, who dazzled Detroiters at the micro-sized restaurant Albena.

Organizers say the consortium behind the partnership is the largest education collaboration of its kind in state history, encompassing 39 school districts with more than a million students.

But researchers say the change does not overcome the shortfalls tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was an advocate for education issues that are popular with many conservatives while she was at the helm in…