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Happy, Healthy, Ready-to-Learn in Traverse City—Safe Routes to Student Success
Building schools for happy, healthy, ready-to-learn kids—not car line and parking convenience—isn’t just about walking or biking or exercise. It’s a proven way to support the goals just outlined in our new strategic plan: • Student Achievement • Health and Safety • Student Behavior • Student and Staff Wellbeing As we invest millions this summer…
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From Traverse City to SkillsUSA Nationals in Atlanta: The Power of Trades and Hands-On Learning
Being at SkillsUSA Nationals is a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting and developing skilled workers — not just in Traverse City or Michigan, but across the country. Thousands of talented young builders, makers, and fixers are here, competing at the highest level in their trades — and it’s incredibly inspiring. We’ve got a…
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Envisioning Equity: A New Narrative on Assessment in Education
New from The FrameWorks Institute (where I was fortunate to learn, thanks to a Rotary Charities of Traverse City Changemaker Fellowship): “Envisioning Equity” offers 6 powerful shifts to reframe how we discuss assessment and equity in education. Education = a shared responsibility Equity = a societal good Assessment = a tool for justice Key recommendations:…
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Mississippi’s Reading Miracle: A Lesson for Michigan?
Between 2013 and 2024, reading scores for the lowest-performing students dropped significantly across 40+ states — but one state defied the trend: Mississippi. Despite being the poorest state in the country, Mississippi’s literacy gains—especially among Black and low-income students—are now leading the nation. How? They didn’t just tweak policy. They invested in literacy coaches, screened…
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Uncomfortably bold
I love this public comment from last week’s school board meeting, which advocated for the new strategic plan to be uncomfortably bold with measurable goals to significantly reduce the achievement gap between students from low-income and financially comfortable families. Thank you, May Van Valin. You can watch her full comment. Tonight is our second meeting…
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