Michigan

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Michigan
A person wears a "Let's Go Brandon" hat before Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a Get Out the Vote Rally, on the eve of gubernatorial and other primaries in the state, on May 23, 2022, in Kennesaw, Ga.
A person wears a "Let's Go Brandon" hat before Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a Get Out the Vote Rally, on the eve of gubernatorial and other primaries in the state, on May 23, 2022, in Kennesaw, Ga.
Brynn Anderson/AP
Law & Courts Their District Banned 'Let's Go Brandon!' Shirts. Now Students Are Suing
The Michigan students wore hoodies with the coded message critical of President Biden, which their district says is inappropriate for school.
Mark Walsh, May 2, 2023
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8 min read
Students from Renaissance High School's chess club play friendly games against each other at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Mich., on April 24, 2023.
Students from the chess club play against each other at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Mich., on April 24, 2023.
Emily Elconin for Education Week
Teaching 'Everybody at School Wants to Play': Chess Is Trendy Again
The ancient game is surging in popularity among young people.
Elizabeth Heubeck, April 27, 2023
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4 min read
Illustration of a female standing, and her shadow forms a dollar sign symbol.
uzenzen/iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance From Our Research Center Inflated Costs, Growing Needs: Why Educators Are Pessimistic About School Budgets
More than half of educators believe increasingly complex needs of students are driving up per-pupil expenses, new data show.
Mark Lieberman, April 18, 2023
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5 min read
Students read an Earth Day coloring book in Claire Martin's kindergarten class as part of Earth Day activities on April, 22, 2022, at the Discovery Enrichment Center in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Students read an Earth Day coloring book in Claire Martin's kindergarten class on April, 22, 2022, at the Discovery Enrichment Center in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP
Reading & Literacy Michigan's 3rd Grade Retention Law Held Back More Black and Low-Income Students
Parents' advocacy and ability to navigate exemptions might explain the difference, new research finds.
Sarah Schwartz, April 14, 2023
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5 min read
Thumb 04 BS
Families & the Community Video These Moms Ran for Their Local School Board and Won. Here’s What They've Learned
After their district brought on a new superintendent, these Michigan moms decided to run for their local school board, and they won.
Kaylee Domzalski & Sam Mallon, March 28, 2023
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2:59
Miguel Perez
Miguel Luna Perez, who is deaf, attended schools in Michigan's Sturgis Public School District from ages 9 through 20.
Photo courtesy of Luna Perez family
Law & Courts Supreme Court Rules Deaf Student Can Sue School District Over Alleged Failures
The justices rule that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not bar the student's suit for money damages.
Mark Walsh, March 21, 2023
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5 min read
Students in Brooke Smith’s class dance as they participate in an exercise through the InPACT program during the school day at North Elementary School in Birch Run, Mich., on March 2, 2023.
Students in Brooke Smith’s class dance as they participate in an exercise through the InPACT program during the school day at North Elementary School in Birch Run, Mich., on March 2, 2023.
Emily Elconin for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Students Need More Exercise. Here's How to Add Activity Without Disrupting Learning
Classroom activity breaks have the potential to boost students' attention and fitness, researchers and teachers say.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 3, 2023
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6 min read
Kim King, an art teacher at Mansfield Elementary School in Mansfield, Conn., works with Ainsley Liebster, a pre-k student in her choice-based art class, on Feb. 13, 2023.
Kim King, an art teacher at Mansfield Elementary School in Storrs Mansfield, Conn., works with Ainsley Liebster, a pre-K student in her choice-based art class in February.
Christopher Capozziello for Education Week
Teaching 5 Ways to Inspire a Love for Learning in Students
Education researchers and classroom teachers weigh in on what works.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 21, 2023
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6 min read
Miguel Perez stands outside the Supreme Court after arguments in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools on Jan. 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Miguel Perez, right, along with lawyer Roman Martinez, stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday after arguments in his case against his former school district in Sturgis, Mich.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Special Education Supreme Court Seems in Favor of Deaf Student's Right to Sue School District Under the ADA
Miguel Luna Perez was there as the justices weighed issues in his case over his district allegedly failing to provide trained interpreters.
Mark Walsh, January 18, 2023
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7 min read
Miguel Perez
Miguel Luna Perez in a 2016 yearbook photo as a senior at Sturgis High School in Michigan. Luna Perez, who is deaf, went on to the Michigan School for the Deaf in a settlement with his district but is seeking to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for the district's alleged failures to provide him adequate assistance to communicate.
Photo courtesy of Luna Perez family
Special Education A Deaf Student Says His School District Failed Him. The Supreme Court Will Decide
Miguel Luna Perez received inadequate assistance for 12 years, his suit says. The high court will decide if he can pursue money damages.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2023
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10 min read
Image of students in line for a school meal.
Lisa Rathke/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Student Hunger Over Winter Break: One 4th Grader's Solution for His School
A school nurse and student work together to help feed students and families who may not have enough to eat during holiday closures.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 22, 2022
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4 min read
People gather as the Supreme Court begins its new term and to hear the first arguments, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Monday's session is also the first time new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's first Black female justice, will participate. And it's the first time the public will be able to attend since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
People gather for the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court's new term Oct. 3, the first time the public was able to attend since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Special Education The Supreme Court Will Decide a Significant Special Education Case
The justices will decide whether families must exhaust special education proceedings when they seek money damages under other federal laws.
Mark Walsh, October 3, 2022
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4 min read
A bus full of meals drives down a road as Chattahoochee County schools provides meals for their students for the last time before summer break on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Cusseta, Ga.
Bus drivers provide the start and end to many students' school days—playing a critical role in learning. But with relatively low pay and challenging working conditions, veteran drivers are leaving for other jobs and districts are struggling to fill open positions with new ones.
Brynn Anderson/AP
Recruitment & Retention 'It's Hard to See the Perks': Schools Face Tough Sell in Filling Key Jobs
Bus drivers and other K-12 workers say they are underpaid for the difficult jobs they do to keep schools running.
Mark Lieberman, June 15, 2022
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6 min read
Jecholiah Marriott, 17, a junior at Cass Technical High School, leads the March for Our Lives rally through the streets of downtown Detroit, Mich. on June 11, 2022. The rally was to protest the spike in gun violence, especially in schools across the country.
Jecholiah Marriott, 17, leads the March for Our Lives rally through the streets of downtown Detroit on June 11.
KT Kanazawich for Education Week
School Climate & Safety A New Generation of Youth Activists Asks a Familiar Question: How Many More Students Must Die?
Detroit high school students pick up the reins of the March For Our Lives movement after another stunning spate of gun violence.
Williamena Kwapo, June 11, 2022
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3 min read
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