Talent & Education

Data released by the state and published here as a searchable database provides information on current mask policies for many of Michigan’s 537 public school districts.

Even without a statewide school mask mandate, many Michigan students will be required to wear face coverings when they return to classrooms in the coming days.

Some campuses went for mandates. But others tried prizes to increase the number of vaccinated students and parents on campus as the fall semester begins.

Low-income students aren’t going to college at the rates they were before the pandemic. Is it time for the state to make higher ed more affordable?

With no state mandate, local Michigan superintendents are being forced to make tough decisions on whether to require face masks to protect against COVID this fall. The debate is dividing communities like Eaton Rapids.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said she would “follow the science” on pandemic policy, is apparently not following the advice of her chief medical officer on school face mask mandates.

Check out the latest on rules set by colleges across the state as they prepare to start their fall semesters while the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads, mostly among the unvaccinated.

Michigan schools are investing heavily in summer school to accelerate learning. They are hiring reading, math and behavioral specialists (and a few drones) as students transition back to classrooms.

The board, by a 6-2 vote, rejected a non-binding resolution by Republican members to prevent schools from requiring masks, COVID tests or quarantining unvaccinated students. One GOP member was in tears.

Decisions on whether masks will be required in classrooms this fall will be left up to local districts, despite CDC and state pleas for them to mask up.

Michigan schools want the option of offering hybrid in-person and online learning for students who want it, but accounting rules may not allow it.

Job seekers can make almost as much at McDonald’s as they can working as a special education paraprofessional, making the vital but sometimes stressful jobs a tough sell for Michigan school districts.

Colleges and universities had expected a normal return to campus this fall but the Delta variant of COVID-19 is scrambling their plans. Businesses like auto manufacturers also are adding mask mandates.

High school grads on the fence about going to college didn’t get much personal contact with advisors and college representatives last school year because of the pandemic. The result is predictable and sobering.

Citing the rise in coronavirus cases in parts of the country, U-M and Michigan State University will mandate proof of COVID vaccinations for all students, staff and faculty.

Detroiters have long told city and school officials that almost anything would be better than leaving unused school buildings vacant.

The $105 million payout comes from federal funds that weren’t spent because of COVID.

Hundreds of prospective teachers attended training programs in Michigan but failed the licensing exam to become a teacher.

Unless masks are mandated by government authorities, it’s unlikely most Michigan school districts will require face masks in classrooms this fall, say school leaders.

Some Michigan school districts are opening full-time, online schools as an alternative to traditional classrooms, on the belief that not all families will want to return to school buildings this year.