Michigan’s governor says the state needs to stay the course on education policy. In recent years, the state has changed its reading curriculum, offered free school meals to everyone and paid for literacy coaches. 
But the latest reading scores show slight declines across the state in the percentage of students in grades 3-8 who are reading at grade level.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says the rather than making big frequent changes the state needs to focus on strategies it knows work. This school year, the state is changing how it funds districts based on the number of “at-risk” students they serve. 

The governor also indicated she is waiting to decide whether to opt in to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. The program offers tax breaks for donations to organizations that grant scholarships to low-income students.

Opponents say the program violate the prohibition against giving public money to private schools that voters have supported several times. Michigan is one of 15 states that still hasn’t decided whether to join the program-despite calls from Republicans. 

Whitmer says she’s still waiting on details from the U.S. Treasury Department about how the program would work. 

Additional headlines for Sept. 9, 2026

SMART plans expansion

SMART is preparing to expand bus service into additional Metro Detroit communities after voters approved countywide transit funding while public transit usage is increasing, according to new data. 

The agency’s report shows ridership rose about 25% over the past year. The SMART system currently operates 45 fixed routes across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The agency plans to extend service into communities that previously opted out of the regional bus system.

SMART has proposed adding eight new routes and five extensions. New routes have been proposed for the Telegraph, Middlebelt,and Seven Mile corridors, as well as the return of SMART service to Hamtramck. Saturday routes will also be added for the first time since cuts in 2011. 

Detroit home repair programs

Applications for the Detroit home repair programs opened today. The Critical Home Repair option is open to owned homes with children under 18, seniors over 62 or residents with a documented disability. The Detroit LeadSafe program serves families who own or rent their homes with children under age 6 or with a pregnant woman in the home.

Both programs have income eligibility requirements and are only available to homes where property taxes are up to date or being paid through a payment plan. For more information, call 866-313-2520 or email hhfsHomeRepair@detroitmi.gov. 

Art explores how Detroiters view home

Tomorrow is the opening reception for “Where We Belong: The Architecture of Home” at the Boulevard. The reception and exhibit explore the question of who gets to call Detroit home. Thursday’s event offers music, food and conversation as well as art.

On Saturday, Outlier Media’s Orlando Bailey will conduct “special interviews” exploring concepts of home, neighborhood, memory and belonging. On Sunday, the exhibit holds the conversation it calls “Building Belonging” with three Detroiters working in place, people and the built environment.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 20. For more information, visit abayomicdc.org/wwb. 

Stevie Wonder in Detroit

Stevie Wonder is planning a stop in Detroit this fall as a part of a tour celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of his album “Songs in the Key of Life.” The legend will play the Fox Theatre on Dec. 8-9.

Tickets go on sale on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. at 313presents.com, livenation.com and ticketmaster.com. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today kicks off the 16th annual Detroit Month of Design. 

Kiana Wenzell is the co-executive director of Design Core Detroit and the director of Detroit Month of Design.  She explains this year’s theme, “Design Moves the Future.”

“Whether you’re moving forward, moving backwards, or just dancing and moving your body and getting the energy moving, let’s put our ideas into motion if we want to move this city in this region forward,” she says. 

The event will feature contemporary designers, from 250 applications, and 100 events over 30 days.

“When you go to an exhibition, whether it’s an exhibition at Scarab Club or an exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, it’s gonna be the work of practitioners that are doing things in our city today,” says Wenzell.

Wenzell says others can learn from Detroit’s progress. “As you face different social and economic ups and downs, what can you lean on that’s inherently within you, and what’s within your community, and I think Detroit’s always been great about that, even when the storylines weren’t saying that.”

Wenzell adds that the event works to build community and is always evolving.

“So even though this is our 16th year, the festival’s never the same because we’re not the same from year to year. The festival also helps to showcase the changing tapestry of our city. Detroit is is changing fast, not only downtown, but the commercial corridors,” she says.

In 2015, Detroit received the City of Design designation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for creating art, which improves the quality of people’s lives. 

Detroit is the only City of Design to receive this designation in the U.S.    

More than one hundred people came out to unveil an honorary street sign for the late Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin on Woodrow Wilson Street this Saturday. On that street sits the Muslim Center, which El-Amin cofounded and where he served as an imam. 

 El-Amin was the first executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan working alongside interfaith leaders. 

His daughter Zarinah El-Amin says she’s blown away by the reception. 

“I would have never even imagined that my father would have a street named after him in a big city like Detroit, but for his community members, right, that came together and saw fit that he had this honor, they did this.” 

El-Amin served as the Neighborhood City Hall Manager between 1994-2001 under then Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. 

Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young Junior says El-Amin’s work outlasted him. “If you were homeless, he would help you get a house. If you were drug addicted, he’d help you get treatment.” 

The honorary street name is at the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Davison Street.

Additional headlines for Monday, Aug. 31

Detroit Month of Design      

This week kicks off the 16th annual Detroit Month of Design.

Kiana Wenzell is the co-executive director of Design Core Detroit and the director of Detroit Month of Design. This year’s theme is “Design Moves the Future.”

“Whether you’re moving forward, moving backwards, or just dancing and moving your body and getting the energy moving, let’s put our ideas into motion if we want to move this city in this region forward,” says Wenzell.

The month of design will feature 100 events in 30 days throughout the city featuring Detroit artists and creatives throughout September.

ISNA Detroit

The Islamic Society of North America is hosting its 63rd convention in Detroit during Labor Day weekend. It’s one of the largest annual gatherings of American Muslims in the U.S.

Topics include patience, perseverance, and God consciousness, civic duty and preserving stories of American Muslims as part of the 250th birthday of America.

Azhar Azeez is the CEO of ISNA.“We have invited more than 150 speakers who will not only address spiritual and theological topics, but they will also address contemporary challenges that the American Muslim community is facing, whether it is Islamophobia, whether it is anti-Muslim hate rhetoric, whether it is issues related to religious freedom, we will be addressing all these important topics.”

The program includes a knowledge retreat, a Detroit Food Truck Fest and a bazaar. There will also be a mini auto show, a family walk and a showcase of 20 Michigan nonprofits.

The Convention will take place Sept. 4-7 at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit. Visit isna.net to learn more.  

Interfaith Buddhism Odyssey 

The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is hosting an opportunity for people to learn more about Buddhism. People can learn about mindfulness and have conversations about Buddhism. They can also take a tour of a temple, learn about traditions and share a meal.

The next Interfaith Odysseys will be hosted in Sept. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Midwest Buddhist Meditation Center in Warren, Michigan. 

Tickets are $35 for individuals and $50 for a family of two or more.  

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.