The Michigan education department launched an initiative last week that aims to bolster student achievement by working physical and social-emotional learning into instruction.
The pilot program, underwritten with a $24 million federal grant, will begin with 23 schools, according to a press release from state schools Superintendent Michael Flanagan. Over a three-year period, schools will implement programs that promote positive living, whether physical, mental, or emotional.
Michigan received its money through a Safe and Supportive Schools grant, a project of the U.S. Department of Education that aims to improve nonacademic factors that can positively influence learning. Eleven states won grant money.
Named think.respect, the Michigan program targets anti-bullying, restorative justice, parent and youth engagement, and community involvement. The state education department will monitor the programs to see if they get results and will determine whether programs deemed effective can be implemented statewide.
