FOR USE SUNDAY, AUG. 7, AND THEREAFTER:
CENTERPIECE: LOSING TEACHERS-MICHIGAN
LANSING — Stacey Ancona has taught in inner-city and suburban school districts, and says her next job won’t be in Michigan. She’s one of hundreds of new teachers leaving for jobs in other states, a reflection of Michigan’s shrinking number of students and budget cuts that are forcing schools to cut staffs and raise the number of students per classroom. Since peaking at 100,638 in the 2004-05 academic year, the number of teachers in Michigan has shrunk by 8 percent, to 92,691. That number could be even smaller this fall as school districts absorb a 2.2 percent cut in state funding amid rising costs for teacher pensions, technology and books. By Kathy Barks Hoffman.
Eds: This week’s Capital Focus and a Michigan AP Centerpiece. Moving Friday.
With:
— LOSING TEACHERS-MICHIGAN-GLANCE
EXCHANGE-BOARD GAME
GREENVILLE — Hey board game enthusiasts: looking for a new challenge? Brothers Chris and Paul Nowak, of Greenville, have created and are self-manufacturing a game that has earned a seal from Texas-based super-smart-people foundation American Mensa. But you don’t have to be a genius to play Uncle Chestnut’s Table Gype (pronounced like “pipe” but with a “g”), which one reviewer has called a cross between chess and Chinese checkers. By Morgan Jarema, The Grand Rapids Press.
AP Photo pursuing.
Eds: An AP Member Exchange. Moving Thursday.
EXCHANGE-CAFFEINE FIX
OWOSSO — For the owners of Journey Cafi, each cup of coffee sold is in the service of a higher cause than profits. It’s a philosophy Cindy Bolf makes plain on the coffeehouse’s website: “Every time you buy a cup of coffee, you’re helping to change a life one cup at a time.” For Bolf, her mission to help fund relief efforts, improve facilities and save lives began with a church mission trip to Ethiopia, near the horn of Africa. By Jessica Robinson, The Argus-Press (Owosso).
AP Photo pursuing.
Eds: An AP Member Exchange. Moving Thursday.
FOR USE MONDAY, AUG. 8, AND THEREAFTER:
EXCHANGE-STRANGE SCHOOL
ONEIDA TOWNSHIP — No record of the historic Strange School would be complete without mentioning Nancy Ewing. After all, her tenure spans more than a quarter of the 132 years since the one-room brick schoolhouse was built. Ewing couldn’t tell you how many students she taught over the years, but she can relate countless stories of her time as a student there in the 1960s, and later serving as the school’s only full-time teacher, principal, nurse and janitor since 1977. Dozens of alumni, friends and family members gathered at the school recently to celebrate Ewing’s retirement. By Melissa Domsic, Lansing State Journal.
AP Photo pursuing.
Eds: An AP Member Exchange. Moving Thursday.
EXCHANGE-WILDLIFE PARADISE
ROLLIN TOWNSHIP — Jake Ehlinger is part exterior designer, part environmental engineer. The Addison area resident is owner of Habitat Solutions, a land management business that helps landowners improve their property to attract wildlife — especially whitetail deer. After spending the last 30 years transforming his 70-acre parcel into a wildlife paradise, Ehlinger said he is now using his expertise and experience to help other landowners do the same. By Doug Goodnough, The Daily Telegram (Adrian).
AP Photo pursuing
Eds: An AP Member Exchange. Moving Thursday.