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The Umich Alumni Association catches up with one of our former LEAD Scholars, Jamie Thompson:

Following graduation, I returned to my hometown of Detroit to teach kindergarten in the Detroit Public Schools. While working full time, I returned to U-M to earn my teaching certificate and a master’s degree in education policy. In 2020, I worked on U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s reelection campaign, registering voters in Detroit while delivering absentee ballots and personal protective equipment, and assisting families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, I am a legislative assistant for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in Washington, D.C., focusing on education and issues related to women, children, and families, such as early childcare and college affordability. I attend congressional briefings and hearings, take meetings with organizations and constituents from our district, conduct research on current events and policy, and provide input on legislation that Rep. Stevens should support.

In 2006, Michigan voters passed Proposal 2, which banned, among other things, preferential treatment based on race or ethnicity in college admissions. In addition, universities could no longer accept donations for race- or gender-specific programs.

The following fall, one of the least diverse freshman classes in recent history enrolled on the Ann Arbor campus.

For these reasons, the Alumni Association established the LEAD Scholars program for those who embody leadership, excellence, achievement, and diversity. The scholarship is available to accepted students to help the best and brightest make their way to Michigan. The Alumni Association — independent from the University — takes full financial and administrative responsibility for this program.

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In the first episode of a special HPS Insights series on how recent college graduates can land jobs in DC, HPS Partner Matt McDonald sits down with Sadie Polen, Program Lead at the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School; Lynn Halton, Supervisor of the University of Michigan’s Public Service Intern Program; and Ian Solomon, Dean of the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Each guest shares advice on what campus resources current college students can tap into to prepare them for a post-grad world.

“The University of Michigan has one of the largest and oldest DC Summer programs.” – Lynn Halton

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Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education on Wednesday, May 19. The hearing was titled “Picking up the Pieces: Strengthening Connections with Students Experiencing Homelessness and Children in Foster Care,” and the other witnesses included the executive director of the School District of Philadelphia, a foster parent, and the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction.

At the hearing, Erb-Downward shared findings from her research on the educational challenges faced by students who do not have a stable place to live. In a new analysis of student discipline data from the Michigan Department of Education, Erb-Downward found homeless students are suspended or expelled at a rate four times higher than their housed peers who are not economically disadvantaged. Erb-Downward’s research also found 1 in 4 students who had experienced homelessness at any point during middle or high school dropped out of school.

“While housing is critical, housing alone does not close the educational gap faced by students who have experienced homelessness. Without the needed school supports, homelessness and housing instability have lasting educational impacts on children,” Erb-Downward said during her testimony.

Read More at Poverty Solutions