Governor Granholm believes all Michigan citizens must have the opportunity to get the education that leads to good jobs and rewarding careers. That's why she has set an ambitious goal for our state - to give Michigan the nation's best educated workforce. To reach that goal, she appointed a Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, chaired by Lt. Governor John Cherry and charged it with finding ways to double the number of college graduates in Michigan within ten years. The Cherry Commission's 19 recommendations laid out a roadmap to transform education in Michigan.

Giving Every Child the Opportunity to Go to College

Because she believes all children in Michigan should be able to go to college or get technical training, Governor Granholm created the Michigan Promise scholarship, a $4,000 scholarship for every student in Michigan. This new scholarship will give all students in the state the ability to pay for at least a two-year community college degree, making two years of college or technical training the new standard in Michigan education. Employers who demand an educated workforce need look no further than Michigan.

Additionally, Governor Granholm has asked the Legislature to create "Promise" zones in cities with a combination of low rates of educational attainment and high rates of poverty and unemployment. The "Promise" zones are modeled after the privately initiated Kalamazoo Promise, which guarantees students who graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools free tuition at any state university or community college in Michigan. The zones will allow local communities to capture a portion of state property tax revenues to supplement local and philanthropic funds to provide a tuition guarantee, spurring economic development and increasing accessibility of higher education.

Great Expectations: Michigan's High Standards for Its Schools

To prepare all students, not just some, for education beyond high school, Governor Granholm is making fundamental changes in our K-12 schools. After establishing some of the nation's highest standards for grades K-8 in 2004, she led the fight for a rigorous core curriculum that would - for the first time - prepare all Michigan high school students for success in college and the workplace.

With the bipartisan support of the State Board of Education and the Michigan Legislature, the new curriculum became law in April 2006, giving Michigan among the most demanding high school standards in the nation. All Michigan high school students will be required to take a full complement of math, science, English and other courses to earn their diplomas. Students must also meet a first-in-the-nation requirement for on-line learning to prepare for the kind of learning they are certain to encounter in the workplace.

The Governor has other changes in store for Michigan's schools. All Michigan high school students now take a college entrance exam to encourage more students to continue their education, and she is working to expand access to pre-school, require kindergarten for all children, and increase the drop-out age to 18 years old.