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Yahoo
27-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
With the threat of federal funding cuts looming, here's what's at stake in Michigan schools
Kimberly Sommerville, an academic interventionist at Mark Twain School for Scholars in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, looks over a student's work during a session on Fri., April 4, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Lori Higgins / Chalkbeat) This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit's free newsletter to keep up with the city's public school system and Michigan education policy. In a slightly warm classroom on a sunny April afternoon, five fifth graders loudly clapped their hands together or on their desks as they read a sentence out loud. 'Did' Clap. 'She' Clap. 'Wink' Clap. 'At' Clap. 'Hank' Clap. With each clap, the students at Mark Twain School for Scholars in Detroit were distinguishing between the different sounds they were hearing with each word in the sentence, a common exercise in literacy lessons on phonological awareness. They quickly moved to the next sentence, and Kimberly Sommerville, the academic interventionist who works closely with them to improve their literacy skills, immediately spotted a problem. One student read the sentence, then the other four students were expected to say, and clap, what they heard. But the students were clearly hearing 'A lot of junk is in the sink.' 'Listen,' Sommerville interrupted, then enunciated each word loudly for the group, helping them hear that the last word was supposed to be 'tank' and not 'sink.' Scenes like this happen across the Detroit Public Schools Community District and are led by academic interventionists like Sommerville, whose work is a vital part of the district's effort to improve academic achievement and get struggling students like the five in this classroom back on track. She is one of 600 such interventionists that the district employs. Their role existed before the pandemic, but the district has invested even more in them to address the learning loss students experienced during the public health crisis. It's 'the best program ever,' Sommerville said, because of its strong focus on phonics and its use of the Orton Gillingham method, a popular approach to teaching reading. But she worries about its future because it partly benefits from federal education funds that are at risk of being cut. (Money from the settlement of a literacy lawsuit and a grant from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation also cover the cost of the academic interventionists.) Sommerville has reason to worry, as do educators across Michigan whose schools rely on federal funding. The Republican-controlled Congress has signaled that it plans to substantially cut federal dollars for public schools. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from schools if they allow transgender girls to participate in girls' athletics — already, it has moved to strip Maine of its funding for refusing to comply. The administration also has threatened to withhold federal funding from states that don't eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in schools. (Those efforts hit a legal roadblock Thursday.) Republican proposals could affect Michigan students in myriad ways, from early childhood to tutoring to accessing school meals. Trump has proposed eliminating Head Start, a long-running early childhood program for children from low-income homes. Republican lawmakers have pitched changes to federal school meal programs that could leave hundreds of thousands of students in Michigan without crucial breakfasts and lunches. Deep cuts in the U.S. Department of Education, part of Trump's efforts to eliminate the agency, have affected services for some of the most vulnerable children. Deep cuts in AmeriCorps could also be felt locally, particularly for a statewide tutoring program that helps students at about 80 schools in Michigan. And Trump's tariffs could increase costs for school districts. In Glen Lake Community Schools in northern Michigan's Leelanau County, district officials fear the district could lose nearly $3.3 million in federal impact aid that it receives to offset the loss of property tax revenue from Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshore, which is located within the district's boundaries. The impact aid provides operating funds for the district and makes up 20% of the district's budget. Glen Lake Superintendent Jason Misner said the proposed cut could be absorbed by the district's healthy fund balance for the next school year. But there are limits to how far that rainy day money can go. The uncertainty weighs on school district leaders who must build budgets for the 2025-26 school year by the end of June with little concrete information about how much federal funding they'll receive, or if they'll receive any. And teachers don't know yet what potential cuts will mean for them in the classroom. 'Every day I'm scared,' said Janine Scott, a math lead teacher at Davis Aerospace Technical High School (and a member of Chalkbeat's reader advisory board), during a recent panel discussion on teacher morale. 'We have kids who rely on [federal funds].' The unpredictability 'creates anxiety, and anxiety within our school administration and support staff' creates more concern,' said Nick Ceglarek, superintendent of the Northwest Education Services, an intermediate school district that provides services to local schools in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties. Many of those services, including some that provide direct instruction and help to students, rely on federal funding. On an evening in mid-March, more than 1,000 people logged into a virtual engagement session with DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to hear about the potential cuts and their impact on the district. Those attending peppered Vitti with questions about whether nurses, central office staff, special education staff, and others would be affected. Some wondered if class sizes would rise, whether there would be funding for school lunches, and whether paraprofessionals could lose their jobs. There were few concrete answers because so little is known about what might happen. Federal funds touch many aspects of education. Among the most common: Title I funding helps schools provide support to students from low-income homes. Title II funding provides money for teacher training and other initiatives on effective instruction. Title III money invests in English language learners. Title IV supports programs that provide educational enrichment for students from low-income homes. Schools receive Medicaid reimbursements for some students' special education services. And the federal school lunch program allows all students in a school with a large number of students from low-income homes to receive free school meals. The stakes are particularly high for DPSCD, the state's largest district, as about 32%, or $210 million, of its annual budget comes from federal funding. In the virtual session, Vitti shared how a 25% cut — which hasn't been proposed but is something a national urban schools' group has suggested might happen — would affect the district. Whatever cuts happen, Vitti said the district might be OK for the next school year if it uses its fund balance and state funding increases at the level Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed. Other strategies to address potential funding cuts include accelerating the closure of schools the district is currently phasing out, reducing discretionary funding, freezing vacant positions, decreasing operating costs, decreasing the frequency of technology refreshes, and reducing insurance coverage. But he strongly urged those in attendance to reach out to state and federal lawmakers to share their concerns and ask them to fight back against the potential cuts. 'This current president and administration is not supportive of our children and our communities based on their budget. Budgets define your priorities, period,' Vitti told those in attendance. The possibility of federal funding cuts was the talk of a recent superintendent's meeting for the school districts that are part of the Northwest Education Services. Like most intermediate school districts in Michigan, the agency provides a range of direct services to students. Ceglarek, the superintendent, said he's particularly concerned about proposed cuts in Medicaid funding. Ceglarek said schools rely heavily on Medicaid dollars to provide services to students from low-income households and students who have individualized education programs, or IEPs, which spell out what services schools are required by law to provide. 'When a student has an IEP, we are obligated as a district to ensure that plan is enacted and those services are provided, whether we get funding for it or not,' he said. The ISD receives more than $2 million in Medicaid reimbursements, which is used to hire speech and language pathologists, psychologists, social workers, and physical therapists and then 'deploy them into our local districts to provide these needed services.' 'It's quite an efficient model,' Ceglarek said. 'Many of our districts … don't necessarily need a full-time speech pathologist. They may only need a half-time person.' He has the same concern about any potential cuts to federal migrant student funding, because the ISD hires a specialist who travels among the districts and provides a range of services to English learners. 'Should those dollars be eliminated … That's a scary proposition,' Ceglarek said. .' 'Are you ready?' one girl standing at the front of the classroom at Detroit's Mark Twain school said to her peers. When they all said yes, she began reading sounds such as 'ing,' 'sp,' 'a,' and 'wh.' With each sound, the students wrote what they were hearing onto a dry erase board then held it up when they were done. After a few exercises led by Sommerville, she turned it over to her students to guide their peers. Having students lead an activity isn't part of the academic intervention program, but it's something Sommerville began doing because students expressed an interest. 'To me, they take ownership of the program,' Sommerville said. They do so well that when Sommerville's coach visited her classroom two months ago, she joked that, 'you're not going to have a job.' Sommerville is trying to remain hopeful that the Trump administration won't make substantial cuts to education. 'I think he's just being spiteful right now, but I don't think he'll do that. Because you want your kids to do very well in life. You really do, and that looks bad on him if you cut education. This is a representation of you, you know,' she said. A little over a mile away from Mark Twain, at Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School in Ecorse Public Schools, similar literacy interventions were taking place as Marcie Gould, a tutor/interventionist, worked one-on-one with a struggling third grader. After doing a warm up activity, Gould, who wore a black shirt with 'literacy and justice for all' written in colorful letters, pulled out a set of small tiles and laid them out in front of the girl. 'We call these letter tiles so it helps the kids have a more hands-on experience,' Gould said of the tiles, each of which had different sounds that she moved around to create words and asked the student to read out loud. The Ecorse district uses state early literacy grant dollars to pay for tutors like Gould from the Michigan Education Corps. But the program could still be affected by federal cuts. The Michigan Education Corps program is part of AmeriCorps, a federal initiative that has undergone significant cuts since Trump took office. Ecorse Superintendent Josha Talison said that if any facet of the program had to be altered because of funding cuts, he would be concerned. 'Because the program has aided in the reading comprehension growth of our students since the program has been in place over the last five or six years,' he said. Holly Windram, executive director of the Michigan program, said a continuing budget resolution Congress passed March 14 keeps their funding stable through the 2025-26 school year for the 80 or so schools that will use corps tutors. After that, there is uncertainty. Federal funding makes up 20% of its budget, and if that funding is cut for the 2026-27 school year, she'll need to seek other sources of money. 'We financially have diversified funding. I'm concerned, but I'm not panicking financially at this point. My question is who are we going to get our money from,' Windram said. Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@ Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ahead of setting school budgets, Michigan education leaders brace for federal cuts
As the U.S. Department of Education's future is uncertain, school leaders across Michigan are pondering an intimidating reality as they plan next school year's budget: What if a portion — or all — of the state's annual federal funding goes away? Michigan receives roughly $2 billion in federal education funding annually. Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, held a budget update on Wednesday. Vitti, in the virtual meeting with over 1,000 attendees, said his district, the largest in the state, disproportionately relies on federal funding, compared with other districts in the state. "You can imagine the hurt and pain that we will experience by losing federal funds," he said. Adding later that the direction the federal government has taken under President Donald Trump is "defunding the future of the most disadvantaged children in this country." "This is no longer a drill," he said. "We have to stop thinking, 'Oh it's rhetoric; it's just an executive order.'... This is real, folks. ... We cannot wait, we cannot hope. We cannot pray alone to think that we're going to get through this without changing direction and advocating for something different and something better." The U.S. Department of Education's workforce has already been about cut in half, with cuts to some grant and research programs. Federal education funding makes up about 9% of the state's education budget, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy. No concrete cuts to federal funding have been put forward and even if Congress eliminated the federal education department, funding wouldn't automatically be cut. But speculation over what could be cut has proliferated. A federal budget resolution approved Friday does not lay out many specific streams of education funding, Education Week reported, prompting even more speculation about what could be slashed by Congress. School budgets have to be completed by June 30. And a lot could happen between now and then. But already, administrators have started to use the word "cut" — hopefully, judiciously, Vitti said, if federal cuts happen. "What I don't want to do is go to a world where many of you lived once where everyone gets a pink slip saying we don't know if your job is there next year," he said. Novi Community School District Superintendent Ben Mainka said he is preparing for both the best- and worst-case scenarios as budget uncertainty looms. "We're kind of operating under the auspices of, let's be prepared, but let's also not do something rash and reduce programming or something like that ahead of hearing any information about actual cuts," Mainka said. In Wayne County alone, schools receive $421 per student in federal Title I funding, which is meant to help schools that educate a disproportionate amount of students from low-income homes. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which allocates money for services for students with disabilities, is federal law. Michigan schools received about $460 million in federal funding for special education in 2024, about 15% of the funding for special education services, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy. State funding remains the largest source of education funding. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's proposed budget includes a 4.1% increase to the foundation allowance for Michigan students, raising it to $10,000 per pupil, up from $9,608. But whether Whitmer's proposed budget will be passed as-is is up to lawmakers, who will likely agree on their own proposals before passing a budget, expected sometime in the summer. While 10% of state education funding is federal, about 32% of federal funding constitutes Detroit Public Schools budget, Vitti said, which is because the district has a weak local tax base and a larger population of vulnerable students than many districts in the state. Vitti said he is particularly concerned that Congress, in service of cutting $2 trillion from the budget, could eliminate portions of Title I funding, funding for teacher training, funding for English Learners, funding for programs that help low-income students improve learning experiences, Medicaid funding that helps students with disabilities, and funding for school lunch programs. In Detroit, $124 million in Title I funding for the 2024-25 school year went to paying academic interventionists, funding for assistant principals, funding for literacy programs, and more purposes. If Congress cut 25% of Title I funding, the superintendent said, Detroit would see $30 million gone. Vitti, stressing that no idea has been finalized, discussed several strategies district officials have thought up to address any potential budget cuts, including: accelerating the closure of schools that district had already planned to close, reducing discretionary funds for purposes such as professional development and STEM programs, freezing hiring for vacant roles, delaying technology upgrades and eliminating commercial property insurance coverage. "Myself and the board is already thinking about ways to keep people employed, mainly protect school staffing, protect student programming so reform can continue despite these cuts for the next year or two," he said. In Warren on Wednesday, educators, parents and students held school "walk-ins" to protest recent cuts to the federal education department. Robert Callender, a chemistry teacher and president of the Warren Education Association, wrote in a news release that federal education funding is critical to educating vulnerable students in particular. 'Dismantling the Department of Education would be devastating for local students with special needs and students from lower-income families, as our schools rely on federal resources to support special education programs, tutoring, school meals and more,' Callender wrote in a news release. 'This would cause permanent harm to Warren students, who need and deserve more support — not less.' Education leaders also stressed that federal funding for students with disabilities has never been fully funded: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act promised to fund 40% of special education funding, but has largely hovered around the 15% mark, according to the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association. Many districts, even with state special education funding, have to dip into general education funding to cover special education expenses. "We're seeing a significant amount of challenges that relates to costs" of special education services, Mainka said. "Because, obviously, to support our children in the way that they need to be supported — and we're adamant that they get that support — it costs a lot of money." Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, wrote in an email response to questions from the Detroit Free Press that part of the frustration among education leaders is the pace at which the federal government is making cuts. "Compounding this is the lack of communication from the federal government," she wrote. "It seems as though cuts are happening so quickly in other departments of the government and schools need time to react to these things. It is pretty unnerving to just be watching the headlines learning about what is happening at the same time as the public." Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan education leaders brace for federal cuts amid speculation
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Detroit District Offered Gift Cards For Perfect Attendance. 4,936 Kids Earned It
This article was originally published in Chalkbeat. Nearly 5,000 Detroit high school students have earned at least one $200 incentive for perfect attendance since early January. High school students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District can earn $200 gift cards for each two-week period in which they have perfect attendance, from Jan. 6 through March 21. There have been two cycles so far for which students have received the gift cards and, in addition to the 4,936 students who had perfect attendance in at least one of two-week periods, 2,028 have had perfect attendance in both cycles, according to data Superintendent Nikolai Vitti shared with Chalkbeat this week. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The attendance incentive is aimed at improving attendance in the district, where two-thirds of nearly 49,999 students were considered chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year. The incentive is among a number of efforts the district has employed over the years to create an attendance-going culture among students. The district has invested heavily into attendance agents to improve attendance and this school year announced that students with extremely high rates of chronic absenteeism will be held back a grade at the K-8 level and required to repeat classes at the high school level. The number of students earning the perfect attendance incentive is a fraction of the nearly 15,000 high school students in the district, leading one school board member to question last week whether the incentive is working. But Vitti said he is encouraged that the program is getting more high school students to class and resulting in a small decrease in the chronic absenteeism rate for high school students. He said the district and board will have to evaluate the program's success at the end of the school year. Related Chronic absenteeism has been one of the district's biggest challenges for years. The chronic absenteeism rate has declined, from a high of nearly 80% at the height of the pandemic, when quarantining rules meant many students missed school because of COVID exposure. But last school year's much lower chronic absenteeism rate of 66% still means it is difficult to have consistency in the classroom and improve academic achievement. Students in Michigan are chronically absent when they miss 10%, or 18 days in a 180-day school year. Statewide, 30% of students are considered chronically absent, compared to 23% nationally. A recent education scorecard cited the state's rate as being a factor in students' slow academic recovery from the pandemic. Here are some of the highlights of the students who've received the incentive so far:: 3,473 students had perfect attendance during the first cycle. 3,492 students had perfect attendance during the second cycle. About 10% already had perfect attendance. About 4% were considered chronically absent at the time the incentive began. About 16% had missed 10% of the school year at the time the incentive began. About 25% had missed 5-10% of the school year. About 44% had missed 5% or fewer days in the school year. At a Detroit school board meeting last week, Vitti said the statistic showing that just 10% of the students who earned the incentive already had perfect attendance is an indication that 'this is not just rewarding those that have already been going to school.' Board member Monique Bryant questioned what school leaders are doing to promote the incentive to students who haven't earned it. Bryant suggested that data Vitti shared at the meeting showing that chronic absenteeism is down by 5 percentage points for high school students since the incentive began is an illustration that most students aren't rising to the goal of the incentive. Vitti responded that it depends on how you look at the data. 'Right now, chronic absenteeism at the high school levels improved by five percentage points,' Vitti said. 'That means that 700 high school students are not chronically absent where they were last year. I'd also say that at least on the 97th day, our chronic absenteeism at the high school levels is the lowest it's been since the pandemic.' The question for board members to decide at the end of the school year is whether the incentive 'is the right investment with other challenges that we have districtwide,' Vitti said. 'But I think the data is suggesting it's working for many students … but not all.' Board member Ida Simmons Short urged the district to survey students to learn more about what is preventing them from coming to school. The causes of chronic absenteeism are numerous and include physical and mental health reasons, lack of transportation,and lack of affordable housing. Most of them tie back to poverty. Vitti specifically cited transportation, because half of the students in the district don't attend their neighborhood school and the district doesn't provide school bus transportation for high school students, who must take city buses to get to school. 'Sometimes they're unreliable, they're late, they're too far away from where the child lives,' Vitti said. Vitti said traditional school bus transportation for high school students 'was decimated' under emergency management and it could cost between $50 million and $100 million to bring that level of transportation back. Another factor, Vitti said, is that for some students, school isn't relevant. Middle and high school students, in particular, 'struggle to understand, 'why am I going to school every day? How is this connected to what I'm going to I need to know for life.'' Mi'Kah West, a Cass Technical High School student who serves as a student representative on the board, said that when talking to other members of the District Executive Youth Council last week, many said students overall are excited about the incentive. One thing that stuck out, she said, was council members saying they heard students in the hallways or on social media saying they were coming to school because they want the money. 'And, while we don't want to just say we want to come to school for the money,' West said, 'I think it's important to see that students … may have stayed home because they don't want to come to school, but they're willing to come to school now.' Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@ Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Michigan winter storm on collision course with critical student count day at schools
The winter storm set to roll into southeast Michigan this afternoon is on a collision course with one of the most critical days for kids to show up to school across the state: count day. Twice a year, school attendance on count days (once in October, once in February) is used to determine school funding, because funding is calculated on a per-student basis in Michigan. If your child's district seems eager to remind you about count day, that's not unusual: Schools have used everything from the promise of Detroit Pistons tickets to sweet treats to boost attendance for count days. But Wednesday could create a major dilemma for school districts across the region: A snowstorm forecast to bring as many as 4-7 inches is scheduled to start in the afternoon, with a winter weather advisory for portions of southeast Michigan starting at 1 p.m. That's only a few hours before pickup time for many schools. Chrystal Wilson, spokeswoman for Detroit Public Schools Community District, wrote in an email message that the state's largest district planned to maintain its current schedule, though district officials will continue to watch the weather. Trudging through inclement weather might present some challenges for students and families, particularly students who rely on public transportation or walk. Other parents may be hesitant to drive if heavy snow is falling. If attendance is low on count day, school districts could face financial consequences in the following school year. Students must attend school all day to count, or must have an excused absence. However, the count in February is less consequential than the count in October. The fall count determines 90% of state per-student funding for that school year, while the February count determines 10% of funding for the next school year, according to state law. 🔢 Countdown to Count Day! 🔢 When you show up, you're shaping the future! Count Day is Wednesday, February 12 —a chance... Posted by Detroit Public Schools Community District on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 If a school district cancels school due to conditions out of the school's control, count day is moved to the next school day, according to the Michigan Department of Education. But if schools don't call a snow day Wednesday, the count will go as planned, according to state law. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan student count day at schools could be affected by storm
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayor Mike Duggan announces open applications for Grow Detroit's Young Talent program
The City of Detroit opened applications for its Grow Detroit's Young Talent summer jobs program for city youth Thursday morning, Mayor Mike Duggan announced. Grow Detroit's Young Talent launched in 2015, providing nearly 80,000 paid summer employment experiences for Detroiters between the ages of 14-24 years old. Participants will have a range of opportunities to work with the city, corporate employers, small businesses, community organizations and other partners across metro Detroit. 'Many of the youth who took their first steps towards a career that first year are now themselves leading and mentoring others. That should be the goal for us all — to make the path a little easier for those that follow us," Duggan said in a statement. The program is intended to help young adults have summer work experiences that pave pathways to future careers and introduce employers to the next generation of Detroit's workforce. Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation manages the program, partnering with various employers, foundations, philanthropic donors and community partners. The program has especially provided young Detroiters finishing up high school a chance to look into post-secondary education opportunities, and an ability for older youth to gain experiences across different industries. 'By offering real-world experiences in an industry setting, students gain exposure to the expectations of a professional work environment while still in high school. This not only helps them make informed career pathway choices but also provides them with the opportunity to meet new people and grow their professional network. Such experiences are crucial for their personal and professional development, ensuring they are well-prepared for future success," Alycia Meriweather, Deputy Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, said in a news release. The application portal is available online at It will remain open through May 16 at 11:59 p.m., according to the city. Employers or partners interested in participating also can visit the website to fill out a form. More: Uncertainty in Michigan looms over Trump promise to dismantle US Department of Education More: Rubin: I explored the almost-vacant RenCen. Here's what I found. The program offers several opportunities for partners to participate, including: Becoming a funding partner by making a financial contribution to support summer work. Becoming an employer partner by providing a job at your designated worksite and sponsoring a six-week paid work experience or 120 hours. Being recognized as an affiliate partner by directly hiring youth through an existing summer program, which you operate. Volunteering to support key program components, such as career fairs or work-readiness training. Exploring options to provide year-round and/or permanent employment opportunities to Detroit youth. Applicants will be randomly selected through a lottery system in which they must complete all enrollment forms and upload any required documents into the CareerEdge portal. Eligible youth will receive a minimum of 12 hours of work-readiness training before beginning their summer job. Partners will interview candidates in May at a Grow Detroit's Young Talent career fair, and eligible youth will be able to select their summer job experience during a June virtual career fair. More information is available online at Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Duggan launches Grow Detroit Young Talent program for 2025
