Lori Higgins Journalist Profile

Articles

This Detroit principal has unique ties to the children he serves

1 month ago | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators. Mario Lemons leads a school in the same westside Detroit neighborhood where he grew up, and just a block away from the high school from which he graduated.
Parents’ inflexible work schedules impact student attendance

2 months ago | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Lauren Abdel-Razzaq

Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy. Challenges faced by working parents can contribute to chronic absenteeism, according to a new book. “The shift is like a twelve-hour shift,” said one parent whose experience was recounted in “Rethinking Chronic Absenteeism: Why Schools Can’t Solve It Alone,” which was written by two Wayne State University education researchers.
‘Why schools can’t solve it alone’: New book tackles chronic absenteeism

2 months ago | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Lauren Abdel-Razzaq

Researchers Sarah Winchell Lenhoff and Jeremy Singer have been studying chronic absenteeism in Detroit for years, talking to scores of parents, students, educators, and school administrators along the way, and keeping track of many school efforts to reduce absenteeism. One thing they’ve learned during that time is that no matter how much passion schools put into solving the chronic absenteeism problem, they may be fighting a losing battle.
Michigan school buildings will need $23B in repairs and upgrades

2 months ago | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy. A first-of-its-kind report says Michigan’s K-12 school buildings need $23 billion of work over the next decade — a dire situation that some superintendents said should prompt urgent policy discussions at the state level. A large chunk of that dollar amount, $10.9 billion, is for basic needs such as repairing HVAC systems and roofing.
Trump Education Department layoffs challenged by 21 state attorneys general

2 months ago | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy. A group of 21 Democratic attorneys general has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration aiming to stop the mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education.
Michigan high school graduation rates reach new high

Feb 21, 2025 | bridgemi.com | Isabel Lohman |Lori Higgins

Michigan’s four-year high school graduation rate is higher than last year and the last pre-pandemic school year School leaders cite additional academic support, credit recovery options and close monitoring of student dataState superintendent credits many course options as factor for student engagement, graduation totals Michigan’s four-year high school graduation rate is at the highest level in 16 years.
Nearly 5K Detroit students have earned $200 perfect attendance incentive

Feb 18, 2025 | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

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.
Use vacant school buildings as shelter for homeless families

Feb 12, 2025 | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. After two children likely froze to death while sleeping in a van, some school board members said Tuesday night they want the Detroit school district to do more to assure students and their families have safe housing.
Michigan advocates push against potential federal education cuts

Feb 10, 2025 | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

A cross-section of Michigan advocacy groups and individuals that included State Superintendent Michael Rice vowed Monday to push back against the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. “We’re a united front in Michigan and we’re not backing down,” said Molly Sweeney, director of organizing for 482Forward, an education justice advocacy group based in Detroit.
Schools should inform parents about ineffective curriculum

Feb 6, 2025 | bridgedetroit.com | Lori Higgins |Christine Ferretti

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s education budget proposal for the 2025-26 school year would require elementary schools to notify parents if they are using a high-quality curriculum to teach students. It’s one of the initiatives in her budget proposal, introduced Wednesday to the Michigan Legislature, that requires schools to be more transparent with parents about how their children’s schools are performing.