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
Could more lawyers make Michigan's child welfare system work better?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
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Michigan’s foster care system is the sixth biggest in the country, with more than 13,000 kids. Many of them have a parent or relative who feels jus...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 03:46
  • Purchases: 1
Student and school prepare for a father's deportation
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
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Our State of Opportunity project has been following the story of a little boy named Charlie. His dad was scheduled to be deported this week and his...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 03:19
Making school more human
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Boggs School student Zoe Walker, posing for a Detroit Future Schools project, Credit: Detroit Future Schools
A program in Detroit is pairing digital media artists with classroom teachers in a handful of city schools. It’s called Detroit Future Schools. I...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 03:39
Helping kids at The Boggs School step into their best selves
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: A student, at the James and Grace Lee Boggs School, in her class t-shirt., Credit: Andrea Claire Maio / Series: Back to Your Senses
The James and Grace Lee Boggs School opened at the beginning of this school year. It’s a K-through-4 charter school on the near east side of Detroi...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2014
  • Length: 06:13
The Big Test
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Here, the kids line up outside Congress on their first day., Credit: Credit Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
For this special documentary, Dustin Dwyer spent six weeks in the fall following a group of third grade students at Congress Elementary in Grand Ra...

  • Added: Feb 07, 2014
  • Length: 58:31
A lasting friendship begins after Ann Arbor woman responds to radio story with kindness
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
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We wrap up our State of Opportunity coverage for the year with a conversation between two women whose paths crossed after hearing a story on the ra...

  • Added: Jan 03, 2014
  • Length: 03:37
Four tips to help folks move up the economic ladder
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: The Blackman family has managed to climb up one rung on the economic ladder through a combination of hard work, education and savings, Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
Climbing out of poverty is incredibly tough. But some manage to do it. With State of Opportunity, Michigan Radio’s Jennifer Guerra reports.

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 19, 2013
  • Length: 03:49
  • Purchases: 1
'A clean, well-lighted place' for Detroit kids to go after school
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School provides services to kids and their families and stays open until 7 p.m., Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
At most low-income urban schools, once the bell rings at the end of the day, kids have to go home…often to less than ideal situations. But what if ...

  • Added: Dec 19, 2013
  • Length: 03:48
How your name might influence what people think about you
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
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Reporter Jennifer Guerra has been thinking a lot about names lately: what they mean, what they project and what assumptions people make when they h...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio and Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 05, 2013
  • Length: 03:51
  • Purchases: 2
Does racial diversity equal better schools?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Coverage of desegregation in Detroit's public schools in the Detroit Free Press, Credit: Ray Litt
Schools were more diverse when segregation in Detroit was challenged at the Supreme Court 40 years ago than they are today. Now only four percent...

Bought by Delta College Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 15, 2013
  • Length: 03:40
  • Purchases: 1
40-year shadow cast by Detroit's failed busing plan
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Coverage from the Detroit Free Press in the mid-1970's questions court ordered busing , Credit: Ray Litt
Next week marks the 40th anniversary of a seminal Civil Rights case. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about busing and segrega...

  • Added: Nov 15, 2013
  • Length: 03:37
What kind of education do you get if you spend $12,000 per student?
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: 'We're given all the materials we need to teach,' says Birmingham Public Schools teacher Nathan Cohen, Credit: Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

  • Added: Nov 08, 2013
  • Length: 04:00
Students try to break the schools-to-prisons pipeline
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Rasul Zakie, Chanel Kithen and Trevon Stapleton of Youth Voice, lead a workshop on the 'school-to-prison pipeline', Credit: Zak Rosen / Michigan Radio
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: Nov 08, 2013
  • Length: 03:06
  • Purchases: 1
The Education Gap
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
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Sometimes a free education just isn't enough. On our special STATE OF OPPORTUNITY documentary – THE EDUCATION GAP – Michigan Radio’s Jennifer Guerr...

Bought by KTSW 89.9


  • Added: Oct 25, 2013
  • Length: 50:25
  • Purchases: 1
One school's fight against 'nature deficit disorder'
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: A sixth grader wades into a shallow pond to collect water for testing., Credit: Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio
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: Oct 25, 2013
  • Length: 03:36
  • Purchases: 2
Young 'makers' in Detroit are all about 'doing'
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Young makers play a game of life-size chess at Detroit’s Mt. Elliott Makerspace., Credit: Zak Rosen / Michigan Radio
Support for State of Opportunity comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

  • Added: Oct 25, 2013
  • Length: 03:24
Childhood trauma leads to significant health problems later in life
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.

  • Added: Oct 25, 2013
  • Length: 03:16
Dental care at school, no appointment necessary
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: Dental hygienist Julie Hilton cleans teeth in a corner of the school library at Congress Elementary in Grand Rapids., 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.

  • Added: Oct 25, 2013
  • Length: 03:23
Police set up more patrols in Muskegon, some residents say it's not enough
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: The orange paint marks where one shooter stood during a gunfight last month in Muskegon. Three children were on the porch in the background, one of them is the daughter of Jim and Shannon Ridge. Their son was just inside the door., Credit: Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio
Support for State of Opportunity from Michigan Radio comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children come first.

  • Added: Oct 04, 2013
  • Length: 03:41
In one Muskegon neighborhood, "weapons offenses" jumped 680% in seven years (Part 3)
From: Michigan Radio
Series: State of Opportunity
Caption: T.J. Chappel of the Muskegon YMCA leads a chant during a march to end violence in the city., 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.

  • Added: Oct 04, 2013
  • Length: 03:28