Isabel Lohman, Bridge Michigan

One of the high points in the graduation rate data released Friday: the Lansing School District, where the rate has increased dramatically since 2021.

‘It is hard,’ says one teacher about the challenge of teaching about a complex conflict. ‘But it's also what we want to be doing.’

Some observers say they wish Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had gone further in shaking up Michigan’s education system.