Business leaders, teachers' unions and school administrators are joining in what is described as an unprecedented alliance to improve Michigan's K-12 public education system by moving past shorter-term partisan fights that influence policymaking in the Capitol.
The initiative, called Launch Michigan, was unveiled Wednesday by more than 30 groups representing 700,000-plus people. They include unlikely allies: business organizations such as the Business Leaders for Michigan and Detroit Regional Chamber, labor unions like the Michigan Education Association and AFT Michigan, and an array of school management, philanthropic and other groups.
Organizers say their goal is to stop redefining why the state's education system is lagging and to instead coalesce behind research-driven policies that officeholders and candidates stick with over the long haul.
