Education

Detroit Federation of Teachers members have given their leadership the go-ahead to strike if the union’s return-to-school safety demands aren’t met.

In a Wednesday evening vote, 91% of participating DFT members voted to authorize a “safety strike” if the Detroit Public Schools Community District doesn’t “implement basic science-based safety protocols before schools reopen during the continuing coronavirus pandemic.”

Ten former student athletes are suing the University of Michigan for damages related to abuse by the late Dr. Robert Anderson.

One named plaintiff, Mike Robinson, is a former basketball play for U of M and the other nine have chosen to remain anonymous.

A series of education bills is on its way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. On Monday, the Michigan House approved a three-bill package that amends the State School Aid Act to account for virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also allow districts to prioritize in-person instruction for grades K-through-5.

The pandemic has altered how schools will do business this fall, and the bills address both in-person and virtual enrollment and attendance.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers will be voting Wednesday on whether to strike over COVID-19 related health and safety concerns.

The union, which represents 4,200 Detroit Public School employees, wants to start the school year in a completely online format.

Michigan schools that deem it safe to provide in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic would have to prioritize the option for K-5 students under legislation that would also largely base districts’ state funding on last year’s pupil count to account for enrollment uncertainty in coming weeks.

The bills, which will be approved by the Senate in a rare Saturday session, reflect a deal announced late Friday by legislative leaders and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The House will vote Monday.

Physicians throughout the state are asking lawmakers to consider science and research when making decisions about how to proceed with education this fall. 

The Michigan state senate is expected to meet this Saturday to discuss a package of four education bills. House Bills 5910, 5911, 5912, and 5913 were approved by the state house of representatives in July. 

Traverse City Area Public Schools will offer in-person instruction for students this fall, but the first two weeks of school will happen online.

The plan, which was approved by the district school board by a vote of 6-to-1 at a virtual meeting Monday night, calls for online instruction to start the fall semester. Then on September 21 students and teachers would resume in-person instruction with added health and safety measures.

Owen Bondono, Michigan’s newly named Teacher of the Year and a ninth-grade English language arts teacher at Oak Park Freshman Institute, works to create a classroom community in which students feel comfortable sharing their experiences and ideas with eachother. But as a fall semester unlike any other approaches, and some schools lean toward virtual learning to limit the spread of COVID-19, Bondono is having to rethink the way he conducts meaningful class conversations with his students.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District wants parent input about how their students will be learning in the fall.

DPSCD is offering both fully virtual and face-to-face instruction. District officials say they want a parent feedback survey completed by August 4, though the “drop-dead deadline” for responses is August 21.

Some school districts have already announced they'll be offering remote instruction only in the fall, over concerns it is not safe for teachers, staff, students or their families to have in-person instruction, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

School district leaders in Michigan say a package of online education bills making its way through the legislature sets requirements that are too rigid.

The bills are in anticipation of many students going to school online this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.   

One of the bills requires districts to document a 75% average attendance record; otherwise some state funding will be cut. 

This story was updated on 7/28/20 

The day after President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Royal Oak Schools was the recipient of unwelcome headlines in the media, after the release of a videotape of middle school students chanting, "Build that wall!"

A couple weeks later, a student placed a noose in a boy's bathroom.

Grand Rapids Public Schools says it plans to have online-only instruction for the first nine weeks of the school year.

Superintendent Leadrianne Roby says the district will follow the state’s guidance and decide whether to return to in-person teaching in October.

Officials with Ann Arbor Public Schools say it's not safe to return to in-person teaching in the fall.  

Local public health experts say the COVID-19 case rate in Washtenaw County is up markedly over the previous six weeks, and the Ann Arbor-Detroit area is considered medium to high risk for infections.

They also say the impact of University students returning to Ann Arbor in September is a big unknown.

Some school districts are in the thick of work devising a plan to return students to the classroom for face-to-face instruction in the fall. 

Many of the plans will likely be a hybrid, two days in school, three days online, for example, in order to reduce class sizes and allow for physical distancing.

But the Lansing School District is taking a different approach.  The district will offer online-only instruction starting on August 26th.

School Board President Gabrielle  Lawrence says the coronavirus pandemic is not under control in Michigan.

Michigan’s largest school district has approved a re-opening plan that includes in-person learning.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District board voted for the plan Tuesday night. It calls for schools to make a number of adaptations to manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.