State of Opportunity

Series produced by Michigan Radio

Caption: State of Opportunity from Michigan Radio
State of Opportunity from Michigan Radio 

What can be done to break the cycle of poverty and improve opportunities for the most disadvantaged children?

Michigan Radio’s State of Opportunity project is looking at what can be done to break the cycle of poverty and improve opportunities for the most disadvantaged children. We’re examining the impact that healthcare, schools, family, the local community, and public policy have on child development…from cradle to college.


105 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
The story of an unaccompanied minor, 7 years later
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Erick Moya and his family., Credit: COURTESY ERICK MOYA
This spring, a wave of children showed up at the southern border of the United States, with no adult to care for them. The children were labeled “u...

  • Added: Feb 13, 2015
  • Length: 03:24
The devastating rate of suicide among American Indian teens
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: A tribal member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians., Credit: EVA PETOSKEY
Suicide is a major public health problem for American Indians. The suicide rate for American Indian teenagers is two-and-a-half times higher than t...

  • Added: Feb 13, 2015
  • Length: 03:48
Here's what Michigan is doing to reduce the rate of broken adoptions for foster care youth
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Candice Sponaas was very close to being adopted out of foster care, but her adoption fell through before the papers were finalized., Credit: JENNIFER GUERRA / MICHIGAN RADIO
The goal for children in foster care is to find them permanent homes. For some, that might mean adoption. But the road to adoption can be bumpy, an...

  • Added: Feb 13, 2015
  • Length: 03:46
The importance of "school culture" for kids with disabilities in Michigan
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Karen Wang and her son when he was younger. She has lived in three different school districts looking for the right mix of services and culture., Credit: KAREN WANG
The federal government says Michigan’s education outcomes for kids in special education have to improve. But things like graduation rates aren't ba...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 16, 2015
  • Length: 03:47
  • Purchases: 1
How one teacher talks about Ferguson
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: The 6th grade students at Shabazz Academy in Lansing spent the semester studying the events surrounding the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Renisha McBride and Eric Garner., Credit: JENNIFER GUERRA / MICHIGAN RADIO
Teaching middle school students about what happened in Ferguson, or talking about choke holds and grand juries – that’s not part of common core, an...

Bought by WABE and Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 12, 2015
  • Length: 03:37
  • Purchases: 2
From Kalamazoo, two artists full of Promise
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Rogelio (Roy) Almaguer works on a new tattoo. He says attending Kendall College of Art and Design makes him a better tattoo artist. He hopes to one day own a shop where customers can get tattoos, screen-printed clothing and other original artwork., Credit: Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
Roy Almaguer and Raul Ortiz are both the first in their families to attend college. The two friends are now students at Kendall College of Art an...

  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:19
How do you get a kid out of a bad situation? Start with one person who cares.
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Portrait of a family that overcame obstacles. Jamie Alexander, second from right, credits her Grandma Bobbie Lee, far right, with stepping in to help raise the kids when her mom, third from right, struggled through addiction., Credit: courtesy Jamie Alexander
Stories on State of Opportunity are all about ways to help disadvantaged kids find success in life. But when you meet a successful adult who grew u...

  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:07
Living off tips and not the minimum wage
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Piece image
While the state minimum wage will go up to $8.15 an hour starting in September, tipped workers will only get a raise to 3 dollars and 51 cents an h...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:16
  • Purchases: 1
A Catholic high school in Detroit requires students to hold down a job as part of their homework
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Once a week, Idalis Longoria trades in her Catholic school uniform for scrubs as part of Cristo Rey's jobs program., Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
School is almost over for the year, and one Detroit high school has lots to celebrate. The entire graduating class has been accepted to college. Ne...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio and WTJU


  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:35
  • Purchases: 2
If a lack of diversity is the new normal, what can Michigan schools do?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Grace, Zariah and Molly eat lunch together at a "geekend" designed to bring students from neighboring districts together., Credit: Sarah Alvarez
Michigan’s schools are some of the most racially segregated in the country. The third most segregated, in fact. But would more diversity translate ...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:39
  • Purchases: 1
How one teen escaped gang life and lived to tell about it
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: A street in southwest Detroit., Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
Gang life is a reality for a lot of kids who live in poor neighborhoods. There are parts of Detroit, for example, where gangs run the blocks. For M...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:45
  • Purchases: 1
A Detroit diversion program gives teen offenders a second chance at a clean record
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: In Teen Court, a jury of high school students asks questions of the offender to come up with an appropriate sentence., Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
When a teen commits a crime, that record can affect them for years. But a diversion program gives some first-time offenders a way to keep their r...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio and KUOW


  • Added: Jun 20, 2014
  • Length: 03:48
  • Purchases: 2
What kids with disabilities bring to the classroom
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: "He would bless our school.", Credit: Zak Rosen
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 11, 2014
  • Length: 06:51
  • Purchases: 2
Home visiting programs for young children: solid benefits, not so solid funding
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Piece image
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 11, 2014
  • Length: 03:21
  • Purchases: 1
New report says outcomes for African-American kids in Michigan are among the worst in the country
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: This chart represents scores for African-American child well-being. Michigan is all the way on the right, third worst in the nation., Credit: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Race for Results report
Our State of Opportunity team looks at many statistics and reports about child well-being in Michigan. Recently, the Annie E. Casey Foundation rele...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 11, 2014
  • Length: 03:30
  • Purchases: 1
What do you get when you ask teenagers to design an app? You get an awesome app
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: A group of Grand Rapids teenagers discusses their idea for a new app during class at the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology., Credit: Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh


  • Added: Mar 21, 2014
  • Length: 03:41
  • Purchases: 1
Five months after students take MEAP, rest of Michigan learns what many teachers knew all along
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Renee Howard, third-grade teacher at Congress Elementary in Grand Rapids, coaches her students on writing., Credit: Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
If you want to hear our full documentary on Congress Elementary, you can find it by clicking on the State of Opportunity tab at michiganradio.org. ...

  • Added: Mar 21, 2014
  • Length: 03:09
Can the American Dream be revived?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Piece image
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio and Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 21, 2014
  • Length: 03:18
  • Purchases: 2
Will better evaluations and more training help Michigan's teachers improve?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Teachers from Congress Elementary in Grand Rapids participate in the district's fall teacher development day., Credit: Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
Teacher evaluations have become a hot political topic in Michigan. Chances are if you’ve heard anything about them, the discussion has been about...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 03:31
  • Purchases: 1
Political posturing, multimillion dollar contracts and the future of student testing in Michigan
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: One of the changes ahead for Michigan school assessments: switching from paper and pencil to computer-based tests, Credit: Kees Romkes / Flickr
Schools in Michigan will face a big change next year in student testing. After more than four decades in use, the Michigan Educational Assessment P...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 03:37
  • Purchases: 1