There’s something deeply American about mac and cheese. It’s comfort. It’s family. It’s the thing you make when you want everyone around the table to feel safe and cared for. (My full recipe is below.)
That’s exactly the feeling I want for every kid sitting in a classroom in this country. Safe. Cared for. Set up to succeed.
Right now, that’s not the reality for millions of children — and nowhere is that clearer than in Michigan, where kids rank 44th in the nation for 4th grade reading. Not because the kids aren’t capable. Not because the teachers aren’t trying. But because for decades, the system failed to give either of them the tools they needed.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has spent her time in office trying to fix that. She signed a landmark Science of Reading bill into law, requiring schools to use proven, phonics-based instruction. She passed the largest education budget in Michigan history. She funded literacy coaches, early childhood programs, free meals, and teacher training. She …
