Michigan, Here I Come! – EduShyster

Michigan, Here I Come! – EduShyster:

Michigan, Here I Come!

Wow—a huge thanks to everyone who chipped in and made my *send EduShyster to the Mitten State* fundraising campaign such a success. In seven days, I raised $5,000 from 100 donors. Make that $5,025 from 101 donors. And while I did get a few three figure gifts (thanks Dad!), most of my contributions were small—$10 here, $18 there—from readers who want to know more about a would-be Secretary of Education and what the hell is going on in Michigan. So in just over three weeks, I’ll be hitting the road. Here’s where I’m headed, who I’ll be talking to and what I’m up to…

First stop: Detroit
Here’s a question for you: do you know how many charter schools in Detroit’s rapidly expanding and radically unregulated charter sector provide bus service? No idea? Don’t feel bad. Turns out nobody knows the answer to this question. Which is one way of conveying the scale of Detroit’s wild West-ish-ness. I’ll be talking to parents about how they navigate this system, and recording their stories to share in a podcast. I’ll have some help from the amazing organizers at 482Forward, a group that’s been pushing back against Detroit’s voicelessness over its own schools, or as they like to say *nothing about us without us.*

Sick out city 
Remember those teacher *sick out* protests last year that, at least for a brief moment, got everybody talking about the deplorable conditions of Detroit’s schools? I decided that I’d like to meet some of the teachers who led the protests because, well, I have Michigan, Here I Come! – EduShyster: