Latest news with #MichaelRice
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Flint among three districts receiving state grant to consolidate, modernize buildings
Flint Community Schools — once a district with dozens of school buildings — will go from 11 to 7 active school buildings using $35.9 million from a state grant program encouraging districts to consolidate, the Michigan Department of Education announced April 24. The state granted $75 million to three districts including Flint to "modernize school buildings" and "reduce square footage," according to Michael Rice, state superintendent of schools. The three districts are Flint, North Central Area Schools in the Upper Peninsula and Union City Community Schools in the south central part of the state. But based on application for the grant, the demand for money to consolidate and improve infrastructure is high: The state received requests for more than $626 million from schools, 51 applicants total. 'There is great demand for additional state funding to improve learning environments for our children,' Rice wrote in a news release. The grant to Flint in particular is important. The district's enrollment has been on a downward slide for decades, leaving more and more school buildings abandoned throughout the long-embattled city. The school district's population has declined by nearly 3,600 students in nearly a decade — from 6,533 in the 2014-15 school year to 2,605 this school year, a 60% decline. The loss of students is more staggering looking further back: In the 2004-05 school year, 19,025 students attended Flint schools, according to state data. More: GM storing poor-selling Canadian-made electric vans on Flint lot More: Could no-strings-attached 'cash prescriptions' slash poverty among Michigan's youngest? Flint Community Schools will use the money combined with funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to close four buildings, while building a high school and upgrading existing buildings. "These investments are not just about bricks and mortar," wrote Kevelin Jones, Flint Community Schools' superintendent. "They're about our children, our future, and our commitment to excellence. Flint scholars will have access to a state-of-the-art high school designed to support modern learning, expanded programming, and the success of every scholar." Union City Community Schools will receive more than $23.6 million schools to go from three to two buildings, demolishing one and modernizing its elementary and high school facilities. And North Central will receive more than $15.4 million, according to the state, to consolidate to a single school building from two, investing in technology and other modernization efforts. Advocates say Michigan schools desperately need money to improve facilities for student health and safety. A recent report commissioned by the state Legislature estimated $22.8 billion in repairs or renovations are needed. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: $75 million state grant will help three school districts consolidate
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice announces retirement
Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice addresses children about free summer meals at Waverly East School in Lansing on June 26, 2024. | Lucy Valeski 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. Michigan State Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice announced Friday he is retiring from his position. Rice's retirement from leading the Michigan Department of Education will be effective Oct. 3. 'It's been an honor to serve Michigan's 1.4 million public school children over the last six school years,' said Rice in a statement. Rice was appointed to his position by the State Board of Education in May 2019. Pamela Pugh, president of the board, said in a statement Rice is committed to 'putting children first.' 'Even in moments of disagreement, his focus on what was best for students never wavered,' she said. Pugh cited the state's highest recorded four-year graduation of 82.8% in 2024, measures to rectify the ongoing educator shortage, expansion of career and technical education, and expanded school mental health services, among the outcomes Rice helped the state attain. In recent months, Rice was outspoken about school leaders' obligations to enforce legal protections for LGBTQ+ students, as well as the state's continuing efforts to make curriculum reflect diverse perspectives under the Trump administration. But under Rice, Michigan public schools did face growing criticism, including from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, because of weak student performance on state and national exams. Whitmer's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rice's departure. Rice defended the department's record during a contentious House Appropriations subcommittee meeting last month. 'How do we keep going the wrong way and you still have a job?' said Rep. Timmy Beson, a Republican, during the hearing. Rice said in response that 'based on a number of metrics, we're going in the right way,' citing rising graduation rates and the increased number of students entering postsecondary education. Republican members of the State Board of Education last year criticized Rice's public silence on the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights investigation of the state education department, which stemmed from allegations that the department violated the rights of students with disabilities during COVID-era school closures. The state has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which is ongoing. 'I expect to return to working eye level with children, work that I have missed enormously these last six years and to which I look forward,' he said. Before working at the state education department, Rice was superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools for 12 years and in Clifton, New Jersey for five. Rice began his career in education teaching French in District of Columbia Public Schools. He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in psychology, and graduated from New York University with a master's degree and a doctoral degree in public administration. Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@ Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michael Rice, head of Michigan Department of Education, will retire in October
Michael Rice, the head of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), will retire Oct. 3, according to an announcement Friday. Rice, who began his career as a high school French teacher and formerly led Kalamazoo Public Schools, was appointed by the Michigan State Board of Education in 2019. 'It's been an honor to serve Michigan's 1.4 million public school children over the last six school years,' he wrote in a news release. 'It's been a privilege to work with the State Board of Education and the state's talented teachers, students, parents, administrators, support staff, Governor Whitmer, state legislators, education organizations, broader community, and the dedicated staff of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), small in number but mighty in battle, to improve education for our children.' Rice wrote that his family members are getting older and, "with a nod to Robert Frost, I have promises to keep to them." He plans to write, consult, and mentor after exiting the state education department. Rice led Michigan's education agency through one of the most turbulent periods in the country's recent history: the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also been a proponent of strengthened reading instruction and dyslexia recognition in schools across the state. And he's been outspoken in more recent months in his opposition to numerous Trump administration moves, including the executive order to eliminate the federal U.S. Department of Education. Among the achievements highlighted in MDE's news release about Rice's retirement: Michigan's four-year graduation rate is the highest in recorded history, at 82.8% in 2024. Michigan has more students completing career and technical education programs than ever. And MDE has helped administer the Michigan School Meals program, passed by the Legislature in 2023, which provides all Michigan public school students in participating districts with free breakfast and lunch. It's unclear when the State Board, an elected body, will convene to choose Rice's successor to lead the state's education agency. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Head of Michigan Department of Education to retire in October
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Michigan students' scores stagnate in newly released national assessment
Michigan students stagnated in performance in reading and math in a critical national assessment taken every two years, largely making no significant gains — or sustaining significant losses — since a drop in scores following the pandemic. The results released Wednesday show the state's education system likely has a long road ahead in strengthening student achievement. And the scores, as they have in previous years, illustrate a vast achievement gap between the state's economically disadvantaged students and those who are not from low-income homes, as well as long-running schisms that show students of color scoring lower than white students. There was a glimmer of excitement in the numbers, however, for Detroit Public Schools Community District, which saw a significant score increase in the fourth grade math category. Michael Rice, state superintendent of education, said in an interview that the scores show that "we have work to do" across Michigan in improving reading and math outcomes for students. Rice attributed the lagging numbers in part to the pandemic and the rise of constantly pinging cellphones. "Children, as a rule, have challenges shutting that out and shutting it off. And so what we know is: Children are reading less and what we know is that part of reading achievement is putting in the reps, putting in the time," he said. "You've got to read." More: Paused pause? Michigan reeling from potential threat to federally-funded programs More: Dana Nessel and other state AGs sue to block Trump's federal funding pause Michigan fourth and eighth graders' reading and math scores only fluctuated by a few points between 2022 and 2024 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), an assessment taken by a random sample of students every two years across the country. Michigan is not the only state with sluggish scores: Most other states in both reading and math saw very little progress on the NAEP assessment. Officials with the National Center for Education Statistics, which compiles the score data, said even progress made nationally in a few areas, such as math, was driven by high-performers, meaning that students historically known to struggle on this assessment continue to struggle. Nationally, education leaders said with the release of the data that the results spell trouble for America's public school students. "There are significant challenges for us as a nation in these data, the gap between the highest and lowest performing students in the eighth grade has widened in both reading and math," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, in a conference call with reporters. Carr said a recent survey also shows that students enjoy reading less, underscoring a struggle to improve reading outcomes among public school students. In Michigan, students took tests in reading and math in fourth and eighth grade. The reading results showed: In fourth grade, the average reading score in Michigan was 209 in 2024, compared with 212 in 2022, which was categorized as not a significant change, and 218 in 2019. The fourth grade national average was 214 in 2024. In eighth grade, the average reading score in Michigan was 255 in 2024, compared with 259 in 2022, which was categorized as not a significant change, and 263 in 2019. The eighth grade national average was 257 in 2024. The math results showed: In fourth grade, the average math score in Michigan was 235 in 2024, compared with 232 in 2022, which was categorized as not a significant change, and 236 in 2019. The fourth grade national average was 237 in 2024. In eighth grade, the average math score in Michigan was 270 in 2024, compared with 273 in 2022, which was categorized as not a significant change, and 280 in 2019. The eighth grade national average was 272 in 2024. Detroit's public school district has long lagged behind statewide average scores, mirroring state M-STEP assessment results. But district Superintendent Nikolai Vitti in more recent years has touted some advances in the numbers, showing that the district is improving its outcome for students, many of whom are economically disadvantaged. Most of the categories in Detroit's average NAEP scores in this round did not change significantly. In fourth grade reading, for example, the 2024 score was 174, compared with 176 in 2022. But Detroit did see a significant change in fourth grade math, going from an average score of 194 in 2022 to 200 in 2024. Schools have poured billions of dollars in federal aid meant to stem learning losses into tutoring and other programs to help struggling students. But M-STEP and NAEP scores haven't inched up. That doesn't mean losses between 2024 going back before the pandemic can all be chalked up to the pandemic. "This is not just a pandemic story," said Carr, who pointed out that national scores going back decades have declined. In particular, Michigan students identified as economically disadvantaged struggled in every category. For instance, in eighth grade math, students identified as economically disadvantaged scored, on average, 21 points lower than those not in that classification. These achievement gaps are nothing new in Michigan. But, in recent years, state leaders and lawmakers have directed millions of budget dollars to try to improve outcomes for historically marginalized students. Leaders with nonprofits such as EdTrust Midwest have called for even more investment, including a more targeted investment in the teaching workforce in low-income areas. Rice, too, said that more funding should go to lowering class sizes in vulnerable districts like Detroit and Flint, where teachers have upward of 30 students to juggle in one classroom. Rice also said he believes the state has made some good moves in recent years, particularly in passing legislation that will screen for dyslexia in young readers, that will pay off in the long run on future NAEP tests. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan students' scores stagnate on just released national assessment
