In every classroom across our great state – from Monroe to Manistee and Mt. Pleasant to Marquette – every Michigan student deserves access and opportunity to the educational resources and support to realize a bright future.
Yet for too long, Michigan’s education system has served as an engine of inequality when it should be providing opportunities for all students to achieve at high levels.
Longstanding educational inequities compounded by the daunting challenges of teaching and learning through a pandemic bring us to a moment of important opportunity where strong state leadership and significant systems changes are critical for Michigan’s educational recovery from pre-kindergarten through high school.
The Education Trust-Midwest has long supported evidence-based strategies, including those from leading education states, that will put Michigan on a path to be a top ten education state for every Michigan student.
Statement by the statewide, non-partisan coalition, Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity (MPEO) coalition, on the recently passed Michigan House FY 2026 Budget
The MPEO coalition and its leaders oppose the House passed budget because it does not adequately meet the needs of our most vulnerable students. Instead, this …
One District’s Story of the Potential Impact of the Opportunity Index for Students from low-Income Backgrounds
By Dr. Jeffrey J. Thoenes, Superintendent Comstock Public Schools (CPS), an urban school district in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is in the midst of a turnaround. Thro…
EdTrust-Midwest’s three-point action plan aims to put Michigan back on track to becoming a Top 10 Education State
EdTrust-Midwest's 2025 State of Michigan Education Report, Meeting the Moment, includes important new data and research on how Michigan leaders can meet the mo…
New Analyses: Michigan in Bottom Ten in Nation for School Funding Weights for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds Amid Greatest Threat to Public Education in Decades
Statewide Bipartisan Coalition Calls on Michigan Policymakers to Prioritize Investing in Michigan’s Most Vulnerable Students after Decades-Long Underinvestment…
New Analyses: Michigan in Bottom Ten in Nation for School Funding Weights for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds Amid Greatest Threat to Public Education in Decades
Amid the greatest threat to public education in decades and continued sluggish recovery for Michigan student learning following the pandemic, a diverse biparti…
Lifting Partner Voices at Michigan’s Capitol
This week, EdTrust-Midwest and members of the Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity (MPEO) coalition joined together for our third annual Advocacy Da…
Advocacy in Action in D.C.
EdTrust-Midwest in April hosted a delegation of Michigan leaders to join dozens of other equity advocates from around the country to meet with Michigan's Congr…
EdTrust-Midwest Presents on Teacher Shortages and Student Access to Quality Teachers at the Capitol
Today, EdTrust-Midwest’s Director of Government Affairs, Jeff Cobb, and Director of Policy and Research, Dr. Jen DeNeal, presented to the House Education and W…
Michigan Students in Poorest Districts More Likely To Have Less-Qualified Teachers
‘Stark’ gaps: Students are 16 times more likely to learn from a temporary- or emergency-credentialed teacher than peers in the richest districts.By Amanda Gedu…
“Everyone needs a teacher, just like they need a doctor. Let’s value and respect our educators for the sake of the future of this country. ”
By: Yara Barbosa K-12 educator, Grand Rapids, MIExperienced teachers bring so many strengths that we need to KEEP in our classrooms so our students can have th…
“Almost every teacher at my school has some kind of side gig to supplement their income.”
By: Elizabeth ToyeK-12 educator, Southeastern, MIAs a high school teacher in southeastern Michigan, educator shortages have directly impacted my ability to do …
“We have more teachers leaving the profession than wanting to become a teacher, especially in special education”
By: Katherine Grass K-12 educator, Lansing, MII am a first-grade teacher and have seen a huge change in the profession over the last 20 years. When I applied …
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“As a K-4 principal, I have faced significant challenges due to teacher shortages in various ways. One of the most pressing issues arose during my fourth year …
“I love teaching, I’m passionate about it and I believe that it is the most important job in the world.”
By: Kristi Trickey Highschool Language Arts Teacher, Southeastern, MI As a first-year teacher in Michigan, I made roughly $32,000. When you factor in taxes an…
“I think that when we talk about teacher shortages, we often talk about money or compensation, but it goes way deeper than that.”
By: Fredericka Brown Parent, Grand Rapids, MI I am a parent of the GRPS public school system in Grand Rapids MI. I am also certified as a preschool teacher as…
Community Organizing for Teacher Compensation
By: kyle lim - Urban Core CollectiveThe Urban Core Collective exists to support the self-determination and agency of historically marginalized communities by e…
Bold leadership and statewide solutions needed in the wake of lagging performance on NAEP
EdTrust-Midwest called for bold leadership and statewide solutions after the newly-released 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, again sh…
EdTrust-Midwest calls for statewide solutions, bold leadership and investment in the wake of lagging Michigan NAEP results
The following media statement can be attributed to Jennifer Mrozowski, senior director for external relations and strategic communications at EdTrust-Midwest, …
Vision: Ensuring all children in Kent County have an equitable path to economic prosperity through family, quality education, and community supports
By: Katie Adrianse, Director of Communications, Maegan Frierson, Director of System Building, and Mark Woltman, Vice PresidentKConnect is a collective impact o…
More teachers work outside areas of expertise in high-poverty Mich. districts
By Isabel Lohman, Bridge MichiganMichigan’s teacher shortage is so bad that instructors are leading classes they aren’t trained to teach — and the problem is f…
