Brian Whiston is the new guy in town at the Michigan Department of Education, and it looks like he's got poverty on the brain. Whiston and the state Board of Ed early this week convened a group of folks from around the state to share their ideas for how to improve academic outcomes for all students, especially those in poverty.

The proposals range from more funding for at-risk schools to offering competitive grant programs so schools can implement interventions that have been proven to increase student achievement to improving high quality early childhood care and universal preschool. You can read the individual presentations here.

Now, before we get too far into the weeds here, a quick reminder about why we're even talking about this. Our education system here in Michigan used to be pretty decent. It's not anymore. All groups of Michigan students – black, white, poor, rich – are losing ground academically compared to their peers in other states:

• When measured against 21 other large urban districts across the country, Detroit's fourth-grade students ranked last in math and reading, according to the Trial Urban District Assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
• The most recent NAEP data rank Michigan in the bottom third of all states in fourth grade reading, fourth grade math, and eighth grade math. 
• State assessments show only 18% of Michigan's high school students meet ACT college-readiness benchmarks in all subjects.
• According to data compiled by the nonprofit group Education Trust-Midwest, Michigan's student achievement rank has fallen in the last decade for all groups of students – white, African American, Latino, low-income, higher-income.

For more on this article by Jennifer Guerra from State of Opportunity, please see this link: http://stateofopportunity.mich...are-some-suggestions