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K-16 Education

Seats are filling fast for March 10 Education Town Hall: Reserve yours today!

February 4, 2010 – 11:52 am

Maybe it's the big-name speakers? Maybe its the provocative topics that are sure to dominate this year's statewide election?
Whatever the reason, seats are going fast for the Education Town Hall meeting on March 10 produced by The Center for Michigan and Public Sector Consultants.
Just three days after announcing the event, we've booked more than half [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (2)

Big ROI for early childhood programs

January 28, 2010 – 10:19 am

How would you like to click your fingers and make more than one billion dollars in economic benefit come Michigan's way?
Well, go ahead and click, and then express thanks for the state's battered-but-still-alive early childhood programs for low-income children:
A new study by Wilder Research outlines $1.1 billion in estimated cost savings that can be attributed [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (2)

Michigan advocates gird for big preschool funding battles in 2010

January 14, 2010 – 11:01 am

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's newsletter features two special reports on the dollars, cents, and sense of investing in Michigan's youngest residents. Yet another gigantic budget deficit in 2010 means state funding for pre-school education and other early childhood programs is once again on the chopping block — despite reams of research suggesting big returns on investment. [...]

By The Center for Michigan | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (3)

SPECIAL REPORT: MI falling behind other states in early childhood funding

January 14, 2010 – 11:01 am

By Melissa Preddy
As advocates for pre-school education and intervention rev up nationwide for the new decade's initiatives, some state budget woes are short-circuiting access to programs aimed at getting infants and toddlers off to a good start.
Even in states that managed to preserve funding when budgets were enacted, programs are under pressure. Mid-year reductions in [...]

By The Center for Michigan | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (0)

Education dollars to watch when the "race" is over

January 7, 2010 – 11:26 am

Some pundits have labeled the Michigan Legislature's race in December to pass "Race to the Top" education reform legislation one of the most significant acts in the capitol in the past decade.
No doubt, it was complex legislation requiring an unusual amount of bipartisan negotiation under tight time constraints.
The legislation creates the opportunity for a handful [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Accountability, Fresh Thoughts | Comments (8)

SPECIAL REPORT: Benchmarking the economies in "Big Ten" college towns

December 17, 2009 – 8:24 am

By Melissa Preddy
Nine months ago, Tera Johnson officially launched a dream, presiding over the first shift at her new $14 million Wisconsin Specialty Protein whey-processing plant in Reedsburg near the University of Wisconsin.
Next month, Johnson’s "Teraswhey" brand of protein supplements will hit the shelves in 200 Whole Foods markets nationwide, and her factory will produce [...]

By The Center for Michigan | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, Quality of Place | Comments (2)

Paths to innovation and the school reform debate

December 10, 2009 – 11:37 am

David Brooks, the New York Times columnist who probably pleads for bipartisanship more often than the Center for Michigan does, is talking about innovation this week.
"People are asking anxious questions about America's future," Brooks writes. "Will it take years before the animal spirits revive? Have we entered a period of relative decline?"
Take those national [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (4)

An economist's fixes for Michigan

December 3, 2009 – 11:53 am

Kalamazoo economist Tim Bartik has some answers for Michigan's economy…
MORE BUSINESS INCENTIVES: Michigan spends $500 million per year now, but another $100 million could result in a half-billion in additional income for the state. (This idea may run counter to the latest thinking of some statewide business advocates).
UNIVERSAL PRE-SCHOOL FOR 4-YEAR OLDS: If we could [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (6)

Education in Michigan gets mixed grades in new report

November 13, 2009 – 11:03 am

Are local schools ready to innovate and change to maximize their competitiveness in the 21st Century?
Not really, according to a new "Leaders & Laggards" report card on education innovation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for American Progress, and the American Enterprise Institute…
Put bluntly, we believe our education system needs to be reinvented. [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts | Comments (4)

Education tips for middle school parents — promising hints from Kalamazoo

October 29, 2009 – 10:04 am

Five years ago, many of the brightest minds in Michigan business and education proclaimed Michigan needed to double its number of college graduates. Since then, state education policy has been characterized largely by funding cuts, tuition increases, and an ever-growing amount of student loans.
The pressure is on like never before for parents working to both [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (1)

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