Facing an ongoing shortage of teachers, dozens of school districts across the state are launching a new program that would make it easier to be an educator in Michigan.

Three Ann Arbor YMCA learning centers will offer the national program.

Classes are resuming Monday morning for Eastern Michigan University students after a tentative deal has been reached between the university and faculty that had been on strike.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer will deliver her budget proposal on Wednesday (Feb. 9). Local 4 learned it will include more than $2 billion for an educator incentive program.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will propose spending $2.3 billion over four years to recruit and retain teachers and other school staff, enticing them with annual $2,000 bonuses that would grow to $4,000 by 2025.

AAPS will be hosting virtual interviews this week.

The state of Michigan releases new COVID school data each Monday. The latest batch of numbers has Macomb County leading the state with outbreaks and cases.

School educators and administrators are becoming more troubled by students attempting TikTok challenges.

Over the past year, the workforce has been devastated by a loss of many teachers who quit or retired amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Educators will need to show their teacher I.D. or tax-exempt paperwork to get supplies while they last.

AAPS is searching for teachers across multiple disciplines.

ROMEO, Mich. – Romeo Community Schools hit another milestone on Monday as students returned to full class schedules. The excitement of a return actually started last week as teachers prepared to welcome cohorts back to Romeo High School. New Today: 200 students in quarantine as Oxford High School returns to virtual learning amid COVID outbreakMonday was the day a return to full days, full-time face-to-face learning for high school and middle schoolers finally happened, which means 80 percent of the district’s students are physically back in class. Rick Boggio, an academy coach at Romeo High School also said Monday felt like the first day of school. The high school operates with a learning system called the Academies at Romeo in which students decide on an area of interest and attend micro-and macro-focused learning that gives real world experience in their area of interest.

DETROIT – On Monday, Meijer hosted a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Ford Field for educators and educational staff in Michigan. A total of 2,600 people got the chance to get vaccinated at the event. The vaccination clinic was pre-registration only and at capacity before the event started. Recently Meijer and the Michigan Education Special Services Association collaborated to identify and schedule 2,600 education employees still needing the vaccine. VIEW: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 vaccine doses 💉VIEW: Tracking coronavirus cases, outbreaks in Michigan schools

Ann Arbor Reasonable Return co-founder Jesse Kauffman holds a sign at a rally organized by the group in downtown Ann Arbor on Jan. 30, 2021. ANN ARBOR – Parent group Ann Arbor Reasonable Return released a statement on Wednesday afternoon in response to the Board of Education’s vote to offer a hybrid learning option. “Today, we celebrate the vote by the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education to offer Hybrid/Hyflex learning,” reads the statement. The grassroots organization founded by local parents, including medical professionals, has been advocating for the safe return to face-to-face learning. Ann Arbor is the only district in Washtenaw County and one of few in the state that has remained virtual since the coronavirus pandemic began.

ANN ARBOR – The Washtenaw County Health Department has announced that approximately 1,200 local teachers will get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Saturday. In partnership with Michigan Medicine and IHA, the Health Department is allotting this week’s vaccine supply from the state toward the effort as districts begin to reopen ahead of Gov. “Limited vaccine supplies continue to hamper our local efforts to reach everyone currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccination,” Jimena Loveluck, health officer for Washtenaw County Health Department said in a statement. The Board received substantial backlash over its decision at last week’s meeting to rush a vote on staying virtual. “We are grateful for their work with the Governor’s team to resolve the issues that delayed getting vaccines to K-12 staff across Washtenaw County compared to communities across the rest of the state.

A high school student holds up a sign at a protest outside Skyline High School in Ann Arbor on Feb. 20, 2021. ANN ARBOR – Dozens of students and parents stood outside Skyline High School holding signs and giving speeches on Saturday, calling for the Ann Arbor Board of Education to continue with their original plans to return to school buildings beginning in March. AdAnn Arbor Public Schools students hold up signs at a rally to reopen schools at Skyline High School on Feb. 20, 2021. Skyline High School senior Eli Hendricks addresses a crowd of students and parents outside his school in Ann Arbor on Feb. 20, 2021. Signs posted outside Skyline High School's student entrance in Ann Arbor call for the return to hybrid learning.

(AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – The Washtenaw Superintendents’ Association has issued a statement calling to increase vaccine supplies for teachers in the county’s public school districts. According to a recent survey of educators by Michigan Education Association, only 25.6% of respondents in Washtenaw County had received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. WSA represents the superintendents of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and the following nine public school districts: Ann Arbor Public Schools; Chelsea School District; Dexter Community Schools; Lincoln Consolidated Schools; Manchester Community Schools; Milan Area Schools; Saline Area Schools; Whitmore Lake Public Schools and Ypsilanti Community Schools. Washtenaw County superintendents have taken every opportunity to collectively advocate on behalf of our school communities at the local, state, and federal levels. We call on local Washtenaw County leaders to continue to keep equity at the center of everything we do, including our vaccination efforts.

DETROIT – On Tuesday, the K-12 Alliance of Michigan -- representing hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and schools -- held a roundtable to give a glimpse of issues facing students, teachers and learning. READ: Michigan leaders say schools need $1 billion to recover from COVID financial tollAdREAD: Michigan GOP: No aid for K-12 schools unless Whitmer cedes power to ban in-person learning, sports“I would say to Republicans to find a different bargaining chip, education is not it,” said Kevin Miller with St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency. READ: With districts fully integrated in remote learning will Michigan schools declare a snow day? Ad“One way is to get kids, particularly minority and low-poverty kids, do tutoring throughout the summer and school, and pay them. So, both they get a professional experience and they get a positive relationship, and they contribute to helping with this learning loss,” DeVault said.

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said it is moving forward with offering a voluntary COVID-19 testing program to educators. Officials said the MI Safe Schools Testing Program, which began Tuesday, will provide weekly tests for educators at private and public schools. Approximately 300 schools and 9,000 staff members have signed up for testing so far. Gretchen Whitmer pushed for schools to resume in-person learning by March 1. Everyone has a role to play in ending this pandemic.”The state paused high school in-person learning in November.

Gretchen Whitmer announced on Friday her push for Michigan public schools to resume in-person learning by March 1. Whitmer encourages Michigan public schools to reopen for in-person learning by March 1Ibrahim has two kids in elementary in the Farmington Public Schools. Kids need their education... Our children are the future.”Like other parents, David Phillips, who has two kids in school in Fraser, knows that kids are better in school. And I think we’re putting our kids in harm’s way,” he said.

WALLED LAKE, Mich. – A Walled Lake Consolidated School District teacher received the Michigan Lottery’s Excellence in Education award. Michelle Fiebke-Lang, retired Mary Helen Guest principal, said, “Sarah has served on numerous WLCSD District and school committees. As a parent in the District, Sarah continues to serve as the Guest PTA secretary." Dodds has been an educator for 16 years, all with Walled Lake Consolidated School District. We feel blessed to have her as a Gator," said Glengary principal RosaLeigh Johnson.

Educators warn they may not have tools, funds for students to return to class in the fallPublished: June 18, 2020, 4:38 pmMichigan schools have been in crisis mode since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic derailed life as we know it.