Michigan Democrats have been in the news quite a bit this week, especially when it comes to the display of Democrats in disarray as the "uncommitted" vote earned a delegate following Tuesday's primary, after winning 13.3 percent of the vote and over 101,000 votes total. Fresh off of that primary, Michigan Democrats are also getting hit hard for the pandemic lockdowns they so willingly embraced, even at the dire cost to students. On Thursday, the State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF), the policy partner of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), launched a five-figure ad highlighting that learning loss, with Townhall being granted an exclusive preview.
A 30-second ad starts off with a reminder of local news coverage about the stay home order that went into effect in 2020, as foreboding music plays in the background. Text on the screen reminds that "Lansing Liberals... kept our kids out of school for far too long," and that "now Michigan children are paying the price." This is especially as "Michigan students forced online by COVID learned less than those in schools."
The ad also reveals that, according to a Chalkbeat report, "gaps in Michigan student achievement remain wider than pre-pandemic norm," and that "Michigan students' declining test scores are 'clearest picture yet' of pandemic learning loss," as MLIVE.com had covered.
There's a much more hopeful tone for the second half of the ad, however, as the ad offers that the MI Brighter Future Plan "will help get our kids back on track."
The plan will go "back to the basics!," as it ensures "every teacher is trained in proven phonic-based reading methods;" offers "bonuses for teachers who take positions in schools where they make the biggest impact;" and also offers scholarships for "extra education assistance" as well as for "the cost of summer or after-school reading programs."
"When the world shutdown, Lansing Liberals kept our kids out of the classroom for far too long. As a result, Michigan children are now forced to overcome significant amounts of learning loss as a result from these lockdowns," said SGLF Spokesperson Mason Di Palma in a statement. "While Michigan continues to rank towards the bottom in education, conservatives are determined to reverse this trend by introducing the MI Brighter Future Plan. If Lansing Liberals choose to kill this proposal, it will confirm just how little they care about helping create a brighter future for Michigan children."
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The ad campaign, the second so far this year from SGLF in Michigan, will run on digital platforms in 17 counties across Michigan. Viewers will be directed to support the MI Brighter Future Plan advertise in the campaign by expressing that support to their state representative.
Such a plan was introduced by Michigan's Senate Republicans earlier this month. A local News Channel 3 report highlighted how the initiative "looks to not only improve childhood learning, but give students and teachers in K-12 schools the support they need."
"All of our students in Michigan have fallen back half of a year," Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt was also quoted as explaining. "Our students are lagging behind, even more so before [COVID]. We got to catch them up, we got to provide whatever resources we can."
During a debate against Republican opponent Tudor Dixon in October 2022, Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer claimed that schools had only been closed for "three months," with Dixon pointing out some schools were even closed still in 2022. That claim from Whitmer was also fact-checked by many local and national outlets.
No matter how much Whitmer may have tried to downplay the learning results haven't been too good for her state, as highlighted in the ad above.
As that Chalkbeat piece from last November indicated:
The gaps between Michigan’s lowest and highest performing K-8 students are wider than would have been expected before the pandemic, and some students are falling further behind, according to an analysis of benchmark testing results released this week.
...
Since spring of 2021, student achievement in the state improved slightly in math and very little in reading, the report found.
In fall 2020, Michigan students were in the 42nd percentile of national norms in math, meaning 58% of students nationwide performed better. Michigan students fell to the 39th percentile in math by spring 2021. In spring 2023, they returned to the 42nd percentile.
It is likely that students are still behind where they were in math prior to the pandemic, since the first benchmark assessments were administered well after in-person learning went on pause in March 2020.
In reading, students in the state fell from the 51st percentile in fall 2020 to the 45th percentile in spring 2021. Results in reading have not moved substantially since then.
...
Since spring of 2021, student achievement in the state improved slightly in math and very little in reading, the report found.
In fall 2020, Michigan students were in the 42nd percentile of national norms in math, meaning 58% of students nationwide performed better. Michigan students fell to the 39th percentile in math by spring 2021. In spring 2023, they returned to the 42nd percentile.
It is likely that students are still behind where they were in math prior to the pandemic, since the first benchmark assessments were administered well after in-person learning went on pause in March 2020.
In reading, students in the state fell from the 51st percentile in fall 2020 to the 45th percentile in spring 2021. Results in reading have not moved substantially since then.
What hope the report spoke to about learning growth, spoke to it being a long-term project, by quoting the interim the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative's Tara Kilbride. "It’s going to be a long-term, multiyear effort," she indicated.
You can watch the ad below.
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