Michigan school opinions

Let’s assemble Michigan’s championship team: New research on international student retention shows significant talent opportunities for the state.

Fall enrollment figures boost confidence in our state’s ability to produce the talent pipeline needed to power Michigan’s economy forward.

Getting here took a dedicated effort from lawmakers, teachers, advocates, parents and students who worked together.

By listening to the needs of school-based personnel in our state, we can work collectively to develop strategies that support positive youth development and ensure students concentrate on learning.

While we applaud the past two years of increased investments in schools, Michigan still has a long way to go.

Changes to M-STEP would streamline the assessment process, add to the relevance of the remaining testing tools, and remove impediments Michigan students have to higher education.

This initiative means more STEM education and skilled training programs and more good-paying middle-class jobs.

Now is not the time to decrease funding for mental health.

It is past time for more school districts to partner with their local child advocacy centers on prevention services, to reduce the number of children who are abused and to teach them how to speak up.

Michigan lacks enough qualified teachers to deliver high quality in-person computer science instruction. We need educators who are proficient and ready to inspire the next generation of computer scientists.

Policymakers should consider additional investment and improvements in transitional kindergarten, given how successful these programs appear to be in Michigan.

The state Legislature should give educators a graduation gift: get rid of the 80/20 rule and restore power to teachers.

Investing in early childhood education is not just an investment in individual children; it is an investment in the future of our state.

The spending proposals currently being considered provide mixed signals about the state’s priorities and backslide on the recent commitment to the educational needs of ‘at-risk’ students.

School aid budget proposals would limit the ability of community-based child-care providers to participate in the state’s publicly funded pre-K program. Policymakers should not ignore the voices of constituents.

A promise of guaranteed tuition coverage sends a clear message that college is affordable and is more likely to broaden the pipeline of students pursuing degrees or credentials.

For Michigan to be successful in the coming decades, we must reinvent what happens in school for all students. We can't do any of this without addressing how our education system is governed.

Restoring pension and retiree health-care benefits will go a long way toward recruiting and retaining more teachers and the employees necessary to provide government services in Michigan.

Immigrants are an important part of Michigan’s economy and business community. With the state losing talent and population, increasing funding for English learners is critical.

Programs like Michigan Reconnect, which offers an opportunity to attend community college tuition-free, can strengthen the workforce and assure CEOs that Michigan has a pipeline of qualified employees.