Minneapolis Public Schools will be closed Thursday and Friday “due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city,” the district announced Wednesday night after a fatal ICE shooting earlier in the day in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Public Radio received a report that armed U.S. Border Patrol officers entered Minneapolis Roosevelt high school property during Wednesday’s dismissal period.
All district programs, activities and athletics were also cancelled. The district won’t move to e-learning, as that is only allowed in cases of severe weather.
The district said it will collaborate with the city on “emergency preparedness and response.”
For some of our listeners, arts and culture from kindergarten through high school were guaranteed and expected. Woodshop, cooking classes and, of course, art classes were a part of the curriculum.
As the decades have gone by, less money to schools means less resources. Oftentimes the first things cut from the budget are the arts. But educators who work within the K-12 school system say the arts are essential to a well-rounded education.
Meghan Collins
Meghan Collins is Museum Educator for K-12 and Family Programs at the MSU Broad Art Museum. She is also an Assistant Professor of Art Education in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan’s schools are increasingly tasked with more than teaching.
They are expected to raise reading and math scores, address rising mental health needs, manage technology and discipline, and serve as safe, stable places for families under stress. In some communities, they’re also absorbing fear sparked by immigration enforcement actions. That includes the detention of Detroit students seeking asylum.
This is the landscape facing Michigan’s new top education official.
Dr. Glenn Maleyko was sworn in last month as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He steps into the new role after nearly a decade leading Dearborn Public Schools. He has identified literacy as his priority and launched a statewide listening tour.
The Metro’s Robyn Vincent sat down with Maleyko to learn how he plans to lead a system being asked to do more than it was designed to handle.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Presidents of Michigan public universities aren’t sticking around as long as they once did.
At least, it seems that way. Two high-profile research university presidents departed in 2025: University of Michigan’s Santa Ono and Wayne State University’s Kimberly Andrews Espy. When UM-Dearborn’s Chancellor, Domenico Grasso, filled in as interim president of UM with plans to retire after his term, another public university lost a president.
“It’s always been a difficult job. You run basically what are equivalent to small cities,” said Robert LeFevre, president of the Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities association. “The demands are ever-increasing. Presidents are fundraising non-stop; they’re on the road a lot.”
And it’s not just public universities that have experienced more leadership loss this past year. Six community college presidents left their roles for retirement or other jobs, including at one of Michigan’s public universities.
Private universities, however, have largely been spared the leadership changes this year. One reason for this is that the presidents of those institutions don’t typically leave for another job, LeFevre said. Instead, presidents stay in the job until retirement, or in the rare cases, dismissal, he said.
The longevity of Michigan’s higher education leaders is largely in line with national trends, said Erica Orians, vice president of the Michigan Community College Association.
Nationwide, university presidents are sticking around for less time as a result of the challenges that affect the entire sector. Enrollment decline, lingering post-pandemic burnout and increasing concerns about federal funding for operations and student financial aid are all top of mind for leaders in higher education.
Despite this, the job is as rewarding as ever, said Dan Hurley, president of the Michigan Association of State Universities.
“(Michigan’s) institutions have missions that excite and drive those who want to serve as presidents,” he said. “… Leading the change is one of the most impactful things someone can do.”
Why presidents leave
Higher education sectors can have varying missions and different ways of operating. Public universities tend to be larger, for example, and independent colleges do not receive direct state or federal appropriations. However, all are impacted by a decade of declining enrollment, decreasing funding for operations and student aid and leadership burnout.
Fewer students are graduating high school because of decades of declining birth rates in Michigan, and some high school graduates are choosing to join the workforce immediately, rather than earn degrees. However, schools are finding their footing. But Michigan has experienced enrollments inching up as of late after a decade of decline.
Universities in Michigan experienced millions in research funding losses from President Donald Trump’s administration’s shift in priorities for higher education. This impacted public universities, like the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, but also, to a lesser extent, independent colleges, like Alma College and Lawrence Technological University, the Center for American Progress reports.
Orians said turnover in community college presidencies was the highest since she began at the Michigan Community College Association a decade ago. However, she said there has been a wave of retirements this year that left more schools looking for leaders, and she doesn’t think the trend will continue.
“No one is running away from the challenges of higher education,” she said. “That’s why they’ve gotten into this work.”
But it’s hard for a president to pass up an opportunity they might see as a better fit.
Russ Kavalhuna left his role at Henry Ford Community College for the presidency at Western Michigan University. Mike Gavin left his role at Delta College to continue his work “defending equity in higher education,” Inside Higher Ed reported in October.
Adding to this, tensions with a governing board might cause a president to feel pressured to leave. All of the last permanent presidents at Michigan’s top research universities, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, left after reported disputes with their boards.
LeFevre said that although presidents at Michigan independent schools don’t typically leave for other jobs, it didn’t mean that the sector hadn’t had its own massive vacancies in leadership in the past year. A couple of years ago, seven presidents either retired or were dismissed, he said.
“Once presidents fit with their boards, the school and the community, they have a tendency to stay,” he said.
How long presidents stay
Of all sitting university presidents in Michigan, the average length of tenure is about three years, with most having been in the role for about 18 months, an analysis of presidential term lengths by The Detroit News shows. Three presidents have been hired this year.
Hurley attributes this to a “cyclical” transition over the last 12-18 months. While the number of public universities that have looked for a permanent president in 2025 is higher than in previous years, he doesn’t believe it’s a trend that is here to stay.
Independent college and university presidents who are currently in the role have stuck around a little longer, a review shows. The average tenure for a sitting president is a little over five years, with most having served for three.
Four private university presidents have been in the role for over a decade: Adrian College’s Jeffrey Docking, Kettering University’s Robert McMahan, the University of Olivet’s Steven Corey and Spring Arbor University’s Brent Ellis.
The length of tenure for sitting community college presidents is longer, at about seven years, with most presidents having served for about five, a review shows.
Two community college presidents in Michigan have some of the longest tenures of any higher education president in Michigan. Daniel Phelan of Jackson College has held his role since 2001, and Curtis Ivery of Wayne County Community College has served since 1995.
“When I talk about curriculum and outcomes, it’s not abstract to me,” he told the magazine. “Nothing replaces the passion and love I have for people. I really sincerely believe that education is the only way out. And I don’t stutter about that. I am so committed to that.”
Orians said the Michigan Community College Association’s Leadership Academy tries to prepare potential community college presidents who are administrators or senior faculty to take on the role if the current president leaves. Those who’ve been through the academy have found work as presidents at colleges in Michigan or other states.
“Future leaders are equipped to lead (through the academy),” she said. “And they know the schools, the community … it’s a real hallmark of community colleges.”
A Harvard-trained biomedical researcher, Samuel Stanley Jr. earned a reputation at Stony Brook as a leader who strengthened the university, especially in science, technology, engineering and math, but struggled with transparency and communication skills at MSU. (David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS)
By Craig Mauger, Chad Livengood, Beth LeBlanc, MediaNews Group
Lansing — A group of seven Michigan House Republicans introduced bills this month that would exempt land owned by people without children in public schools from property taxes that benefit public schools.
The legislation, which has little to no chance of passing the state Legislature this term, would lead to significant funding cuts for K-12 schools in the coming years. However, the supporters of the proposals contended that it was unfair to require property owners who don’t directly use public schools to fund them.
“It’s fundamentally unjust to force people, including seniors, empty-nesters, those who pay for private school, and those without children, to subsidize a government education system they do not use,” Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, argued in a press release. “This is especially unfair because our broken system spends a record amount of money, yet results continue to plummet.”
The exemption, under Carra’s proposal, would be phased in starting with a 40% drop in taxes in 2027 and then expanding by 15 percentage points annually until the school-connected property taxes were eliminated in 2031.
Among the other six lawmakers who co-sponsored the measures were Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Jim DeSana, R-Carleton, who also serves on the appropriations panel.
About 72% of Michigan households do not have a child in government schools, according to Carra’s press release.
Jess Newman, deputy political director for the advocacy group United for Respect, labeled Carra’s proposal an “unconscionable bill” and “a move to defund our public schools.”
“The result for our communities will be nothing short of devastating,” Newman added. “Families are already stretched thin by rising housing, health care and child care costs. Making parents shoulder the cost of education alone would be unbearable.
“We all benefit from healthy, well-funded schools, whether or not we have children attending, and this move will only further widen inequities between wealthy and low-income districts.”
Newman is part of the Invest In MI Kids campaign, which is seeking to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2026 that would impose a 5% tax on income over $500,000 to increase funding for K-12 schools.
House GOP leaders sent the property tax exemption bills to the Government Operations Committee. In addition to the House, the Democratic-controlled Senate would have to approve them for them to become law, and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would have to sign them.
Democrats in the Senate and Whitmer have promoted their efforts to increase K-12 school funding over the years.
Senator asks for AG convention opinion
State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, has asked Attorney General Dana Nessel for an official opinion on whether it’s legal for political parties to hold early nominating conventions to make binding picks of candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and other statewide offices.
Both Michigan Republicans and Democrats have scheduled nominating conventions for the spring of 2026, as a strategy to give their nominees an early start on the fall campaign. The parties have done the same thing previously.
However, Michigan law says each political party must nominate a candidate for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general at fall conventions after the August primary.
“It has come to my attention that one of the state’s major political parties intends to convene a separate ‘endorsement convention’ several months prior to the August primary election,” McBroom wrote to Nessel “Under the adopted party rules, only a person who has (a) obtained prior endorsement at that separate “endorsement convention” and (b) paid a fee of $10,000 to appear before the ‘endorsement convention; may be considered for nomination at the post-primary state convention.”
McBroom specifically asked Nessel to decide whether a political party may lawfully conduct an endorsement convention that “purports to bind, limit or otherwise condition the constitutional authority of the post-primary state convention to nominate candidates for attorney general and secretary of state.”
Duggan moving downtown
After 12 years of living in the Manoogian Mansion on the banks of the Detroit River, outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan is going to get a better view of downtown Detroit each morning.
Duggan and his wife, Dr. Sonia Hassan, are moving into a rental condo in the 33-story Book-Cadillac Hotel building on Washington Boulevard.
The one-time Livonia resident confirmed his post-mayoral residency plans in a Dec. 18 interview with The Detroit News editorial board.
“My wife and I are looking forward to being able to just walk out to dinner downtown like normal people, which we will be able to do in two weeks,” said Duggan, who is running for governor next year as an independent.
With his eyes set on moving into the governor’s residence in Lansing in 2027, Duggan said he and his wife got a one-year lease in the Book-Cadillac, which houses both luxury condos and a Westin hotel.
Duggan has lived at the Manoogian Mansion on the city’s east riverfront since he was first elected mayor in 2013. Detroit’s official residence for the mayor is named after its one-time owner, the late construction materials magnate Alex Manoogian, who donated it to the city in the mid-1960s.
A nonprofit group reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on improvements to the 4,000-square-foot home while Duggan has lived there.
Duggan told The News he expects Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield to make additional improvements to the century-old mansion.
“It’s in good shape now and Sheffield (will) fix it up even more,” Duggan said. “… It is a great place to live. I will miss the house.”
Andy Levin’s new (ad)venture
Former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin appears to be living his best life — and perhaps pinching himself.
Instead of trying to mount a comeback in Michigan politics, the former two-term congressman from Bloomfield Township has bought a cross-country skiing and snowshoeing resort in northern Ontario.
In a Dec. 20 post on LinkedIn, Levin divulged that he and his wife, Mary Freeman, are the new majority owners of Stokely Creek Lodge in Goulais River, Ontario, about 25 miles — or 41 kilometers — north of the International Bridge connecting Sault Ste. Marie with its sister city of the same name in Canada.
“We’ve been snowshoeing, skiing, canoeing and hiking in the Algoma region of Ontario since before we were married. In fact, I proposed to Mary on snowshoes high atop the Awausee Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park,” Levin wrote.
The former congressman described the lodge in the foothills above Lake Superior as “a mix of unfussy, down-home comfort with high standards.”
Levin and Freeman still run their Detroit-based energy-efficiency consulting firm, Lean & Green Michigan. In his announcement post, Levin suggested they might use the resort to host retreats for progressive political allies.
“As we move into the holiday season in a world plagued with violence, greed and corruption, I’m grateful for the curveballs life throws our way.” Levin wrote. “Watch out: some of them just might open doors to adventures you didn’t even know you wanted to undertake!”
Whitmer calls Michigan troops
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday called Michigan National Guard troops deployed to Germany, Kuwait and the southeast border to wish them well ahead of the holidays and New Year’s.
More than 800 Michigan National Guard members are serving away from their families and homes of the holidays, according to the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
“As we celebrate the holidays and gather with family, friends, and loved ones, I encourage every Michigander to take a moment to acknowledge the selfless sacrifices that these individuals make every day and pray for their safe return home,” Whitmer said in a statement Tuesday.
The members she spoke with over video calls included those from the 217th Air Operations Group, 110th Wing, from Battle Creek; Alpha Company, 3-126 Infantry Battalion from Detroit; Bravo Company, 3-126 Infantry Battalion from Wyoming; and the 1430th Engineer Company from Traverse City, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Pure Michigan plate wins in a landslide
The basic white Pure Michigan license plate will continue to carry the mantle of being the most popular license plate design in Michigan into 2026. The license plate adorns about 8.3 million vehicles and trailers, accounting for about 71.5% of license plate sales in Michigan, the Secretary of State’s office said last week.
Among the state’s standard plate options, the blue and yellow Water-Winter Wonderland plate is the second most popular, with 1.27 million plates or 10.9% of plates issued, and the multicolor Mackinac Bridge plate comes in third, accounting for 10.7% of plates issued at 1.25 million vehicles and trailers.
About 453,000 of the discontinued white, green, and blue Spectacular Peninsulas plates remain in circulation, as well as about 218,000 green and white Water Wonderland plates.
About 122,586 university fundraising plates are still on the road, with Michigan State University topping the list at 55,413 and the University of Michigan in second with 28,194.
The University of Michigan-Flint came in last with 536 fundraising plates in circulation.
Tweet of the Week
The Insider report’s “Tweet of the Week,” recognizing a social media post that was worthy of attention or, possibly, just a laugh, from the previous week goes to the Pure Michigan account on X, formerly Twitter.
On Christmas Eve, the state’s tourism organization posted a bird’s-eye view of a snow-covered Mackinac Island, proving the island is much more idyllic when covered in snow during the winter than when it’s filled with politicians and lobbyists in the spring for the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual Mackinac Policy Conference.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says he and his wife, Dr. Sonia Hassan, are moving into the Book-Cadillac Hotel building in downtown Detroit after he vacates the Manoogian Mansion, the official residence of Detroit’s mayor. (David Guralnick, Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS)
Design students in LTU’s College of Architecture and Design will exhibit their product design work at Ann Arbor’s pop-up CultureVerse Gallery through Jan. 5, 2026.
The exhibition is titled “Artists & Their Teachers: The Power of Mentorship in the Transfer of Ideas.”
The exhibition is unique for its focus on a variety of professional and emerging artists.
Junior Ashgen Lourdes Davish from Commerce Twp. and senior Sofia Eddy, from Bloomfield Hills are among five LTU students participating in the event.
College of Architecture and Design Interim Dean Lilian Crum said industry-sponsored studios like this one with Design Declassified, a sustainable building materials company, are invaluable to students.
“They provide real-world constraints, professional expectations, and collaborative opportunities that prepare students for the complexities of contemporary design practice,” she said. “This partnership challenged our students to design products while addressing adaptability, resilience, and environmental impact.”
They will be showcased at the May 2026 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City.
Exhibition hours are Friday and Saturday, from 4 to 7 p.m., and by appointment through Jan. 5, 2026. Appointments may be arranged by contacting A2 Jazz Fest administrative director Anna Gersh.
The CultureVerse Gallery is located at 309 S. Main St., Ann Arbor.
Erika Cross, CoAD adjunct professor of design and owner of Ann Arbor-based Erika Cross Studio, and her students, juniors Ashgen Boyer, Lourdes Davish, Delanie Shorten, and Ryan Sukhraj, and senior Sofia Eddy, are participating in the public exhibition with other artists and their students.
Photo courtesy Erica Cross Studio
Social media companies are distracting people, sowing division, and preventing kids from experiencing normal childhoods.
Those are the big takeaways of the book, “The Anxious Generation”, by Jonathan Haidt. That book is a big reason countries, states and classrooms have been restricting social media and phone use.
Michigan schools have already taken action. Gibraltar, Dearborn, and Novi school districts have restricted phone use.
In Novi, the school superintendent gave copies of Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” to anyone who wanted it.
About one year later, how has the book influenced Novi students, teachers and parents?
The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with Novi Community School District Superintendent Ben Mainka to find out.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Detroit mayor-elect Mary Sheffield has chosen her deputy mayor.
Brian White has been her chief of staff during her time as city council president. White says he’ll help Sheffield deliver on her promises to spread Detroit’s growth into the neighborhoods.
Sheffield has also announced she will keep Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison in his position. In a press statemen the Sheffield transition team credited Bettison with a record drop in violent crime across the city. Sheffield said the chief has the “respect of his peers…the loyalty of the rank and file… and the hearts and trust of the people.”
Additional headlines from Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Federal childcare assistance
New federal bills would replicate a Michigan program to help with childcare in every state.
The “tri-share” childcare program splits the cost of childcare between income-eligible families, employers and the state. Republican Representatives Hillary Scholten and John James co-sponsored the bill.
If passed, the legislation would give states enough funding to run the programs for three years.
Whitmer aims to improve reading scores
Governor Gretchen Whitmer says improving Michigan’s student reading skills will be her number one priority next year.
She told the Michigan Literacy Summit in Detroit that last year’s reading test scores show the need for urgent action. “Today, we’re 44th in the country in fourth grade reading. Just four in 10 third graders in Michigan read at grade level, and almost one in three Michigan students tests below average, and that’s what would call a crisis and the vast majority of the people of our state would agree.”
Whitmer says school districts need to focus on a small number of proven strategies to build reading skills, such as phonics.
She says she will share more details about her plans during her final State of the State address early next year. Kids Count ranked Michigan among the ten worst states in 4th and 8th grade reading scores.
Detroit attorney joins the race for District 13 Representative
Detroit attorney Maurice Morton has announced he is running for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District seat. Morton will challenge Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar as an independent.
Financial aid information
The state’s last virtual FAFSA webinar of 2025 is this week.
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education Advancement and Potential’s Student Aid and Access Outreach team offers online information sessions for students and families preparing to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.
The FAFSA is used by colleges and funding organizations to determine financial aid for students. The MiLEAP webinars also offer information on federal financial aid programs, state financial aid programs and resources for finding scholarships. The last FAFSA webinar of the year is Thursday, Dec.18 at 6:30 p.m.
To register or to find a recording of a previous webinar, go here.
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What should teachers focus on when exploring sexual health with students? How should they broach sensitive subjects? What does it mean to have healthy relationships with others, and to monitor our own emotional wellbeing?
These are some of the questions that the Michigan State Board of Education tackled last month. That’s because the board changed its standards guidelines for the first time since 2007. Those changes include explaining and exploring things like gender identity, gender expression, healthy romantic relationships, and understanding one’s own emotions in the classroom.
Co-Vice President for the State Board of Education Tiffany Tilley joined The Metro to discuss what the changes might mean for schools and students across the state.
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For years, Detroit students have borne the weight of decisions made far from their classrooms.
They’ve studied in buildings neglected through decades of disinvestment, crossed dangerous neighborhoods reshaped by school closures, and grown up in a district that spent years under state control. This trauma came from policy decisions that left Detroit students with less than their peers across Michigan.
Now, a new ballot initiative, Invest in MI Kids, argues it can help repair that history. The campaign proposes a 5% surtax on only the very highest incomes, with the money flowing into Michigan’s public schools.
That surtax would apply to income above $500,000 for single filers and above $1 million for joint filers. All revenue would be deposited into the Michigan School Aid Fund, where it would be legally restricted to classroom and student supports. The money could go toward things like smaller class sizes, educator pay, mental health staff, and career and technical education.
Funds would then be distributed through the state’s existing school-funding formula, meaning every public district would receive additional dollars. Higher-need districts, such as Detroit, would see greater impact if the state administers funds equitably.
Imani Foster with 482 Forward is organizing families and young people around this campaign. She joined Robyn Vincent to discuss what Detroit kids and students across Michigan stand to gain.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Education Department staffers who were slated to be laid off, saying their help is needed to tackle a mounting backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families.
The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced lawsuits challenging layoffs in the agency’s Office for Civil Rights, which investigates possible discrimination in the nation’s schools and colleges. But in a Friday letter, department officials ordered the workers back to duty starting Dec. 15 to help clear civil rights cases.
A department spokesperson confirmed the move, saying the government still hoped to lay off the staffers to shrink the size of the department.
“The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,” Julie Hartman said in a statement.
In the letter to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, officials said the department needs “all OCR staff to prioritize OCR’s existing complaint caseload.” The office handles everything from complaints about possible violations of disability rights to racial discrimination.
More than 200 workers from the Office for Civil Rights were targeted in mass layoffs at the department, but the firings have been tied up in legal battles since March. An appeals court cleared the way for the cuts in September, but they’re again on hold because of a separate lawsuit. In all, the Education Department workforce has shrunk from 4,100 when President Donald Trump took office to roughly half that size now, as the president vows to wind down the agency.
The department did not say how many workers are returning to duty. Some who have been on administrative leave for months have since left.
The Office for Civil Rights had a backlog of about 20,000 discrimination cases when Trump took office in January. Since then, with a significantly reduced workforce, the backlog has grown to more than 25,000, AP reporting has shown using department data.
Trump officials have defended the layoffs even as complaints pile up, saying the office wasn’t operating efficiently, even at full staff.
The Office for Civil Rights enforces many of the nation’s laws about civil rights in education, including those barring discrimination based on disability, sex, race and religion. It investigates complaints from students across the country and has the power to cut funding to schools and colleges that violate the law, though most cases are resolved in voluntary agreements.
Some former staffers have said there’s no way the office can address the current backlog under the staffing levels left after the layoffs. Families who have filed discrimination complaints against their schools say they have noticed the department’s staffing shortages, with some waiting months and hearing nothing.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE – The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
When six Southern public university systems this summer formed a new accreditation agency, the move shook the national evaluation model that higher education has relied on for decades.
The news wasn’t unexpected: It arrived a few months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April overhauling the nation’s accreditation system by, among other things, barring accreditors from using college diversity mandates. It also came after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in May made it easier for universities to switch accreditors.
The accreditation process, often bureaucratic, cumbersome and time consuming, is critical to the survival of institutions of higher education. Colleges and their individual departments must undergo outside reviews — usually every few years — to prove that they meet certain educational and financial standards. If a school is not accredited, its students cannot receive federal aid such as Pell grants and student loans.
Some accreditation agencies acknowledge the process needs to evolve. But critics say the Trump administration is reshaping accreditation for political reasons, and risks undermining the legitimacy of the degrees colleges and universities award to students.
Trump said during his campaign that he would wield college accreditation as a “secret weapon” to root out DEI and other “woke” ideas from higher education. He has made good on that pledge.
Over the summer, for example, the administration sent letters to the accreditors of both Columbia and Harvard universities, alleging that the schools had violated federal civil rights law, and thus their accreditation rules, by failing to prevent the harassment of Jewish students after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.
The administration’s antipathy toward DEI has prompted some accreditors to remove diversity requirements. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, for instance, removed diversity and inclusion language from its guiding principles earlier this year. Under White House pressure, the American Bar Association this year suspended enforcement of its DEI standards for its accreditation of law schools and has extended that suspension into next year.
But state legislatures laid the groundwork for public university accreditation changes even before Trump returned to the White House.
In 2022, Florida enacted a law requiring the state’s public institutions to switch accreditors every cycle — usually every few years — forcing them to move away from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, known as SACSCOC.
North Carolina followed suit in 2023, with a law prohibiting the 16 universities within the University of North Carolina system and the state’s community colleges from receiving accreditation from the same agency for consecutive cycles.
Then, the consortium of six Southern university systems this summer launched its new accreditation agency, called the Commission for Public Higher Education. The participating states include Florida and North Carolina, along with Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news release that the commission will “break the ideological stronghold” that other accreditation agencies have on higher education. Speaking at Florida Atlantic University, he said the new organization will “upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels.”
“We care about student achievement; we care about measurable outcomes; we care about efficiency; we care about pursuing truth; we care about preparing our students to be citizens of our republic,” DeSantis said.
Jan Friis, senior vice president for government affairs at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, which represents accrediting agencies, said the century-old system is in the midst of its most significant changes since the federal government tied accreditation to student aid after World War II.
“If the student picks a school that’s not accredited by a recognized accreditor, they can’t spend any federal aid there,” Friis said. “Accreditation has become the ‘good housekeeping seal of approval.’”
What’s next for the new accreditor
Dan Harrison, who is leading the startup phase of the Commission for Public Higher Education, described accreditation as “the plumbing of the whole higher ed infrastructure.”
“It’s not dramatic. It’s not meant to be partisan. But it’s critical to how schools function,” said Harrison, who is the University of North Carolina System’s vice president for academic affairs.
Though the founding schools of the new commission are all in the South, Harrison said, he expects accreditation to shift away from the long-standing geography-based model. In the past, universities in the South were accredited by SACSCOC simply because of location. In the future, he said, public universities across the country might instead be grouped together because they share similar governance structures, funding constraints and oversight.
“In 2025, if you were designing accreditation from scratch, you wouldn’t build it around geography,” Harrison said. “Public universities have more in common with each other across states than they do with private or for-profit institutions in their own backyard.”
The Commission for Public Higher Education opened with an initial cohort capped at 10 institutions within the first six states. Harrison said that based on the interest, the group could have accepted 15 to 20.
“I thought we’d be at six or seven. We reached 10 quickly and across a wider range of institutions than expected,” he said. “We already have an applicant outside the founding systems. That’s well ahead of where I thought we would be.”
That early interest, he said, reflects frustration among public institutions around finances. In particular, public universities are mandated to undergo audits from the state, but also feel burdened by audits required by accreditors.
“Public universities already undergo multiple audits and state budget oversight,” he said. “Then accreditation requires them to do the same work again. It feels like reinventing the wheel and it pulls faculty and staff away from teaching and research.”
Harrison estimates it will take five to seven years for the new accreditor to be fully up and running, and that institutions will need to maintain dual accreditation to avoid risking Pell Grants and federal loans.
The commission is busy assembling peer review teams made up primarily of current and former public university leaders such as governing board members, system chancellors, provosts, chief financial officers, deans and faculty. In contrast to regional accreditors, which typically draw reviewers from both public and private institutions, the new commission is prioritizing reviewers from public universities.
“Ultimately, we want to be a true nationwide accreditor,” Harrison said. “Not a regional one. Not a partisan one. Just one that is organized around sector and peer expertise.”
While the creation of a public university accreditor is new, the concept of sector-specific accreditation exists in other parts of higher education, including for two-year colleges.
Mac Powell, president of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, said that tailoring accreditation to a sector can make the peer-review model more meaningful, because reviewers can identify with similar challenges. He said reviewers have been moving away from measuring resources and bureaucratic compliance toward assessing what students actually get out of their education.
“The big shift was moving from counting inputs to asking, ‘Did students actually learn what we said they would learn?’” said Powell, whose organization accredits 138 colleges across Arizona, California, New York and the Pacific.
The most important metric all accreditation models should value is how they transition their students into the workforce, he said.
“Every accreditor today is paying much more attention to retention, persistence, transfer, career outcomes and return on investment,” Powell said. “It’s becoming less about how many books are in the library and more about whether students can find a pathway to the middle class.”
The institution evolves
Stephen Pruitt is in his first year as the president of SACSCOC, the accreditation organization that the half-dozen Southern state university systems just left. Pruitt, a Georgia native, jokes that his “Southern accent and front-porch style” has helped him break down the importance of accreditation to just about anyone.
In simple terms, he said, accreditation is the system that makes college degrees real. But he feels he has to clarify a misconception about the role of accreditation agencies like SACSCOC.
“There’s this myth that I’m sitting in Atlanta deciding if institutions are good or not,” he said. “That’s not how American accreditation works. Your peers evaluate you. People who do the same work you do.”
At the same time, Pruitt isn’t dismissing the concerns that prompted states such as Florida and North Carolina to explore alternatives to SACSCOC. According to Pruitt, institutions have long raised concerns about slow turnaround times, redundant paperwork and standards that have not always adapted quickly to the evolving landscape in higher education.
“Some of the frustration is real. Institutions want less redundancy and more responsiveness. Competition isn’t something we’re afraid of,” he said. “We’re doing a full audit of our processes. We have to be more contemporary. Faster approvals, more flexibility, more transparency. Accreditation shouldn’t just be the stick. It should be the carrot too.”
Soon to be graduates pose for a photo at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images North America/TNS)
Police are investigating a potential threat against Groves High School, officials said Friday.
The Beverly Hills campus is part of the Birmingham Public Schools district.
School staff alerted the police department’s school resource officer at 9:30 p.m. Thursday about a “concerning” image posted on social media, according to authorities. The image displayed several hunting rifles lying side by side. It had no captions and was posted on a group thread related to the school district, police said.
Officers visited the student’s home to conduct a welfare check. Investigators said the student and his parents were cooperative.
“It was determined last night that there was no immediate threat to the community and there were no guns located at the individual’s residence,” Edward Arnold, the village’s Director for Public Safety, said Friday.
He said there are no firearms registered to the parents, and the photo had been taken several months ago when the student was in the Upper Peninsula.
On Thursday, district officials told parents in a letter that the police department received a tip from the state’s OK2SAY system for reporting school threats anonymously.
The report involved a social media post made by a Groves student that included an image depicting several rifles, the letter said. “Importantly, there was no direct threat made toward any individual or toward the school.”
School officials said although police deemed there was no immediate threat to the school’s students and staff, they will “continue to exercise due diligence and work closely with law enforcement to thoroughly review all aspects of the situation.”
The district also said the student suspected of posting the image of the weapons will not return to the school while the investigation is conducted.
“Additionally, families can expect an increased police presence at Groves and our feeder schools throughout the day (Friday) to provide added reassurance for students and staff,” officials said.
Groves High School has about 1,100 students.
In August, Michigan State Police said the OK2SAY system received 11,671 tips in 2024, a 20% increase from the previous year and the highest reporting level of the program since its inception in 2014.
More than 600 of those tips related to threats, 252 were about guns,125 were about bombs, and 73 involved weapons possession, according to the program’s annual report. That compares to 741 tips about threats, 185 about guns, 64 about bombs, and 73 about weapons possession in 2023.
The growing awareness of the value among parents wanting to develop and inspire their child’s interests is not only driving more companies to develop educational products but pushing sales.
According to a report by Global Market Insights the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) toy market is projected to reach $13 billion by 2032. Among the toymakers meeting the demand is Assaf Eshet, CEO and founder of Clixo , a flexible, origami-inspired magnetic system that was recently named one of Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025. As an industrial designer who has worked for some of the top names in the toy industry, Eshet said his mission has always been to create toys that inspire exploration rather than dictate outcomes.
Brooklyn Knott, 9, left, and Ava Salcio, 9, fourth-graders at Clintondale Community Schools’ McGlinnen Elementary School and members of its student council try out Clixo, one of several STEAM toys not only earning awards but the attention of kids who love to build things. (Photo courtesy of Alexandra Hichel/Clintondale Community Schools)
“Kids should have a real appetite for curiosity,” said Eshet. “Our job as parents, teachers and toymakers is to strike that nerve of wonder and keep it alive.”
That’s what Playmobil did for him as a child.
“I used to assemble them and then reassemble them to make them my own,” Eshet said during a phone interview from New York City.
Now children are taking his kits, assembling them as they are and then reimagining them to be something else.
“Things that we can’t even imagine they are already creating,” said Eshet, who launched the brand in 2020 with a few kits and has expanded it to include 20 kits ranging from $15 to $200. New this year for aspiring paleontologists is Dinosaur Adventure (6-up, $49.99).
“It’s an amazing set,” Eshet said, of the newest addition to the Clixo family featuring 36 pieces that can be used to make a variety of dinosaurs or whatever creature comes to mind.
“You can mix and match them, too,” said Eshet, whose Clixo brand is also in the running for the Toy Foundation’s Best Creativity Toy of the Year.
The company also earned the Best Creative Fun Award by Tillywig and was named to Toy Insider’s Top Holiday Toys list in 2023.
Clixo is a new favorite but the launch of STEM toys happened around the same time as the space race and the inauguration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958.
“The scientific achievements of the next three decades from the moon landing, artificial heart, personal computing and cell phones all yielded a call for enhanced science education,” according to a report from Forbes. “The call was answered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which established guidelines for the teaching of science, math, engineering and technology in grades K-12, introducing the acronym SMET. However, educators and policymakers found the term awkward and unappealing, evensuggesting it sounded like ‘smut’. So in 2001, the NSF officially rebranded the initiative STEM and more recently STEAM, as ‘Art’ was added.”
“A lot of parents are buying STEAM toys that have educational value and those toys become treasures,” said Julie Everitt, co-owner of Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy in St. Clair Shores, which has been in the business of selling toys for more than 50 years. Everitt said there are a number of cool new STEAM toys out this year including Rail Cube by Sanko Toys (3-up, $99.99-$199.99).
“The set comes with magnetic tubes that you connect to create a little monorail for a little engine,” Everitt said. “It’s a super cute set and it really goes.”
Another favorite at Whistle Stop is Hape’s Lock and Learn Playboard (3-6, $34.99), a wooden busy board featuring little exercises that teach kids meaningful tasks like how to unlock a latch or turn on a light. Among the STEAM toys growing in popularity among older kids is Rolife’s miniature kits ($49.99). Tweens and teens, even adults can build everything from little houses and book nooks to tiny greenhouses.
“Most of them are for ages 14 and up but we do carry some for 8-plus,” Everitt said, sharing but a few of the STEAM toys making this year’s hot list.
More toys
Looking for a few more toys. Check out our kids’ review of this year’s lineup of STEAM toys along with many others that are expected to make Santa’s Wish List inside the Homefront section and on our website.
Meet toymaker Assaf Eshet, an industrial designer who came up with the idea for Clixo, a STEAM toy that’s been making everyones hot list of toys this holiday season including Time’s 2025 Best Inventions. (Photo courtesy of Clixo)
Amid increased immigration enforcement across the country, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald urged students, teachers and families not to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — but to also know their rights if agents show up at a school or detain parents.
McDonald said in a Friday news release that interfering with ICE or other law enforcement “increases the risk for everyone.” The county prosecutor said ICE agents may enter public areas in schools without restriction, but must present either a judicial warrant or permission from the school to enter private areas like classrooms or offices.
McDonald’s statement follows news on Wednesday that ICE agents pursued purported gang members who had fled on foot near a Clarkston Community elementary school, Oakland County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Steve Huber said Friday. The district issued a shelter-in-place order, sheriff’s deputies provided additional security to the school and assisted the search, Huber said.
The search and shelter-in-place order lasted for about an hour, according to district officials.
In preparation for a possible ICE presence, McDonald said schools should require visitors to sign in, make sure security cameras work, follow student privacy protections and have a communication plan. She also said faculty and staff should treat ICE agents like they would any visitor who’s not a parent or guardian and educate the staff on how to identify a judicial warrant.
The prosecutor also said parents and caregivers should remember their right not to answer any questions about immigration or birthplace, make sure the school has correct emergency contact information, ask their schools if they have an ICE preparedness plan and make a family plan if a parent is detained while their children are at school.
“As ICE raids have happened across our country, many community members, including our students, parents, and teachers, have experienced understandable anxiety and fear. Schools should be places where kids feel safe, and worrying that a teacher, child, or classmate could be detained can impact a student’s health and well-being. Working together, there are steps schools and families can take to keep kids safe, informed, and protected,” McDonald said in a statement.
School superintendents across Michigan vowed in January that they would keep their students and school buildings safe and instructed staff on proper procedures as the Trump administration increased its immigration enforcement efforts nationwide.
ICE officials said in September their agents do not “raid” schools, but could enter a school if an undocumented immigrant with a felony record were to flee into a school.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald urged students, teachers and families not to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — but to also know their rights if agents show up at a school or detain parents. (Katy Kildee, The Detroit News)
On Nov. 10 Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz formally adopted the Okanagan Charter.
The charter provides institutions with a common language, principles and framework to become a health and wellbeing promoting campus and outlines two calls to action: to embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates, and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.
“We know that a mentally and physically healthy community leads to a thriving campus. Adopting the Okanagan Charter means we’re joining a global movement of health-promoting universities and reaffirming our commitment to embed health into every part of campus life,” said Becky Lewis, director of University Recreation and Well-Being and chair of OU’s Healthy Campus Network. “As part of the adoption, and as we move forward, we will foster an environment where everyone can live well in all areas of wellness – physical, mental, social, environmental and financial.”
Oakland is one of the first 50 universities in the country to adopt the charter.
“We’re so proud to lead by example and adopt the Okanagan Charter,” said Pescovitz. “By doing so, we are reaffirming our commitment to care for one another, nurture a campus where all can flourish and build a future rooted in health.”
President Pescovitz signs the Okanagan Charter, reaffirming OU's commitment to promoting health and wellbeing across campus and in surrounding communities.
Photo courtesy OU
The Roeper School has announced a new transportation service beginning in the 2026–2027 school year.
O’Neal Turner, Roeper’s director of enrollment and financial aid, said inaugural routes will serve families in and around the Livonia area and the southwestern suburbs.
“We’re proud to partner with Cranbrook Schools to make this service possible. By sharing a single route, both schools can reduce costs for families and minimize environmental impact,” Turner said in a statement. “This collaboration helps meet the needs of families who commute from communities as far as Ann Arbor while ensuring their children can continue to enjoy a Roeper education.”
The annual fee includes round-trip transportation and before-care/after-care services. For 2026–27, the cost will be $2,500 for the first child with a $500 discount for each additional sibling.
The proposed schedule includes a 6:45 am pick-up and 5:45 pm drop-off, though these times may be adjusted.
Registration for new and returning families will open in spring 2026. The exact pick-up locations and additional details will be shared before registration begins.
The Roeper School is a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 day school for gifted children located in Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham.
The Roeper School, founded in 1941 by George and Annemarie Roeper, is a prekindergarten
through grade 12 independent day school for gifted children located in Bloomfield Hills and
Birmingham,
Photo courtesy the Roeper School
Thousands of students from southeast Michigan experienced hands-on learning in a new way.
Over 9,000 high school students from 132 schools across six counties turned out for MiCareerQuest Southeast, the region’s largest career exploration, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
The event in its fifth year featured more than 210 career demonstrations in advanced manufacturing, construction, health sciences and technology. The interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations exposed students to industrial technology and may have helped some decide what their career choice will be.
“Some of these engineering tools really make me want to pursue something in that field when I go to college next year,” said Jared Jackson, a senior at Novi High School. “The tools they use to create cars and buildings and other things is amazing.”
“Hands-on events like MiCareerQuest open our students’ eyes to real-world career paths and inspire them to imagine their futures,” said Lisa Butts, director of K-12 Career Focused Education at Oxford Community Schools.
Nyla Rushin from Children’s Village tries on fire department gear from the Novi Fire Department. Several municipalities brought in personnel and equipment to show students what career opportunities they have.
Photo by Matt Fahr
Alyssa Valdwin, a sophomore at Brandon High School, was interested in a specific career, but got a chance to see what other careers were available.
“I really want to be a postpartum nurse so the healthcare area was what I really wanted to see, but I wanted to see what other things they had to offer,” Baldwin said after she helped take lugnuts off a tire at the Baker College Auto Diesel Institute display.
One display that drew a crowd was a virtual reality set up from Emerge.
The company, started in 2017 and based in Troy, offers “virtual extended reality experiences”, according to Joe Bamberger, co-founder of the company.
Carissa Hanna and Apple Gillum from Royal Oak High School walk among the planets at the Emerge display.
Photo by Matt Fahr
Students put on virtual reality headsets and to explore the galaxy, oceans, deserts and more. Emerge can bring those experiences into classrooms through virtual field trips.
“We can do anything related to any educational area and we can provide in-building field trips and educational lessons in an immersive way,” said Bamberger. “Students can dissect things, try anything that is too dangerous or impossible or expensive to create in a classroom setting we can do over and over again. If you can think of it, we can create it.”
The company has been to all 28 school districts in Oakland County and last year went to schools in 29 different counties in Michigan.
“The kid that usually has his head down and asleep in class is usually the kid that we can’t get out of the headset,” said Bamberger.
Carissa Hanna and Apple Gillum, juniors at Royal Oak High School, gave their evaluation of the technology after a few minutes of moving planets around.
“It was fun and it was weird and it was cool,” said Hanna. “We were walking among the planets!”
Ken Gutman, superintendent of Oakland Intermediate Schools, explained the value of the event.
Students from Oakland Community College work with Tom Coates from the Marine Trades Institute in Cedarville, Michigan on woodworking.
Photo by Matt Fahr
Media News Group
“With industry having the opportunity to share what they do, they can fill jobs they struggle to fill, but they can also show the value in what they do,” said Gutman. “There are over 200 careers here that they (students) may have never heard of. What a great opportunity for our kids.”
“I would recommend this to everyone because it is very helpful if you are still looking for your career and you get to do hands-on things and learn what you want to be in life,” said Erandy Ferreyra from Avondale High School.
A survey of students and administrators from last year’s event shows how effective the event can be:
89%t of students said they learned about career and training opportunities previously unfamiliar to them.
78% said the event helped them plan their post-high school education.
93% of educators said it effectively showcased potential career paths.
98%t agreed it represented a strong cross-section of in-demand careers
Students from around the county got a chance to try out construction, health and technology equipment through the 400,000 square feet of displays during CareerQuest.
Photo courtesy CareerQuest
An Oakland Community College faculty member continues to make an impression in the art world.
Tylonn Sawyer had two pieces in art exhibitions this fall, ART Basel Paris and Palais de Tokyo, as well as fashion magazine W.
Art Basel is a global series of art platforms connecting collectors, galleries and artists, while Palais de Tokyo (Tokyo Palace) hosts contemporary art exhibitions as part of Paris Art Week. This marks Sawyer’s second consecutive year exhibiting in Paris.
His pieces were selected to represent Detroit artists by Detroit-based cultural organization Salonnière.
Sawyers’ 30 x 22-inch oil on paper, “The King James Version,” featured at ART Basel Paris depicts a young Black man holding an American flag.
At the Palais de Tokyo, his 8 x 6-foot charcoal, pastel and glitter on paper, “Black Man on Horse Bayard,” shows a Black man in a white riding suit on a black horse.
“This is the second year Salonierre has sponsored my trip to Paris to display my work. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to participate in Paris Week alongside other Detroit-area artists and curators,” Sawyer said.
His art was also highlighted in “W” magazine’s feature, “How Two New Art Exhibitions Are Spotlighting Black Queer History.” The magazine showcased his 72 x 48-inch lavender pencil on paper piece, “Strata Drawing 4: Cake Walk.”
Sawyer has taught art at OCC since 2016, covering all levels of drawing and oil painting.
He has also created public murals and collaborative projects for organizations such as Quicken Loans Corporation, Market International Festival at Eastern Market, Detroit’s Museum of Contemporary Art and The Detroit Institute of Arts.
“I like to teach art students as if they have never seen a pencil,” Sawyer said. “Once a student has learned foundational skills, then we work on establishing ways to use those skills to manifest whatever they observe or imagine.”
Tylonn Sawyer with his 8 x 6-foot charcoal, pastel and glitter on paper, “Black Man on Horse Bayard,”
Photo courtesy OCC
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