Purpose/Objectives: This paper describes the results from a Smarter Lunchroom program designed to evaluate if bundling fruit or vegetable strategies listed on the Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard increased selection of fruits and vegetables by students in school cafeterias from 2015 to 2017. Methods: Twenty-one Michigan State University (MSU) Extension…

This exploratory, descriptive study examined trends associated with Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) student stop out, reenrollment, and persistence to a credential upon reenrollment. For the 2006-2017 cohorts, 78% were retained from first to second year. Inferential models suggested that first-year stop out was mainly correlated to students' high…

The research objective is to explain evidence of structural racism, inequity, and inadequacy in the Michigan public school finance system related to the education of Black students or Black descendants of captive and enslaved Africans. This analysis stems from ongoing research that integrates transformative paradigms, critical race theory, and…

Gaps in educational achievement between high- and low-income children are growing. Administrative data sets maintained by states and districts lack information about income but do indicate whether a student is eligible for subsidized school meals. We leverage the longitudinal structure of these data sets to develop a new measure of economic…

In 2003, when it came to contracting out for common public school services, only outsourcing food provision could be considered a rather common occurrence in Michigan. There was good reason for this: school districts are prohibited from making a profit from their cafeteria, but any deficits created in providing food for students must be covered by…

Many of Michigan's public school districts are under substantial fiscal pressures from a combination of declining enrollment and increasing costs, particularly related to employee benefits, but most districts are responding to these challenges. One of the ways that districts can stretch their resources further is through competitive contracting…

This article describes findings from a survey completed by 250 K-12th grade teachers from eight states (i.e., Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi) that had fully implemented the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by spring 2013. The survey was designed to examine teachers' perceptions about…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reducedprice (FRP) meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast…

The Michigan Context and Performance Report Card measures school performance by adjusting standardized test scores to account for student background. Comparing schools using unadjusted test scores ignores the significant relationship between academic performance and student socioeconomic background--a dynamic outside a school's control. The…

In spring of 2012, the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, the Colorado League of Charter Schools, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools worked to collect evidence that would accurately portray both the adequacy of charter school facilities and the average amount of operating funds spent on facilities. Collectively, the…

Objective: This study investigated changes in Michigan school food service directors' farm to school (FTS) participation levels and perspectives since a 2004 survey and factors that would facilitate FTS expansion. Design: Electronic survey census of all Michigan school food service directors. Setting: Michigan kindergarten-12th grade schools.…

With Michigan's public school districts facing a decline in per-pupil funding, more districts are contracting out for at least one of the three major school support services--food, custodial and transportation--than ever before. This year's survey of school districts found that 44.6 percent of all Michigan school districts contract out for at…

Privatization of school support services is a time-tested means for lowering educational costs. The three major services that school districts in Michigan contract out for are food, custodial and transportation. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy's survey of privatization is the longest running and most comprehensive source of school support…

From April 25 through June 30, 2007, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy conducted its fifth survey of the privatization of bus, food and janitorial services among Michigan's 552 conventional public school districts. All Michigan school districts responded. In 2007, the Mackinac Center also conducted a nationwide survey of state education…