Let's go in order. On April 20, 2026, a school board meeting took place in Midland, Michigan. A routine event that in other cities no one would have even noticed. But within that meeting, several things happened that say a lot about where American education is heading in 2026.
First. Anna Wamack, the district's deputy superintendent for finance, said outright, «Our forecast for the next fiscal year is a deficit.» At the same time, she added that the district as a whole is «in a stable financial position.» How does this reconcile? We'll break it down in a minute.
Second. The same board unanimously, five votes to zero, approved the launch of a new program. Flexible learning program plus alternative learning program, in English. In Russian, in short, this is flexible and alternative learning for high school students, which will be piloted with 25 students in the 2026-27 academic year. This is mainly for the eleventh and twelfth grades. The goal is to bring back those 200-250 teenagers from the district who have switched to virtual programs with third-party providers.
Third. The program will start with a deficit of $505,000 in the first year. This means the school is intentionally operating at a loss, because it sees strategic value in this.
The Midland Public Schools board approved what
And now for the most interesting part. What does all of this mean for families living in the US who are thinking about how to preserve the Russian language for their child?
We'll tell you now.
The Paradox of American Schools in 2026
To understand Midland, you need to understand the overall picture of the country. Because Midland is not an exception. It's a typical case.
California's January budget allocated an additional $22 billion to schools. Texas, for the first time since 2019, increased per-pupil funding from $6,160 to $6,215. In Midland, Texas (a different Midland, in Texas), the community approved a $1.4 billion school bond in 2023.
Money is coming into the system.
But in the exact same news in spring 2026, you read: Austin closes the year with a deficit of $181 million. Philadelphia cuts $225 million and 500 school positions. Eugene, Oregon cuts $30 million. Idaho cuts 2 percent after last year's 3 percent. And now Midland, Michigan, which is also preparing for a deficit.
How does it all fit together in one country? It fits together simply. There was ESSER, a federal pandemic program, which gave schools $190 billion over several years. By the end of 2024, this money ran out. And many districts managed to build it into permanent expenses.
The same Wamack in Midland noted an interesting detail. The average teacher's salary in the district has fallen from approximately $70,000 to approximately $67,000 over the last four years. Not because teachers' pay is being cut. But because experienced teachers are retiring, and less experienced, lower-paid teachers are replacing them. Savings for the budget. Price, quality.
Plus, in Midland, they predict a drop in enrollment. 41 fewer students in 2027, which means a loss of $410,000 in revenue, because in Michigan, each student brings $10,000 to the district from the state budget.
This is how the budget of an American school is structured today. It's always on the brink. And any small shift, a drop in enrollment, the end of federal grants, or an increase in pension obligations can push the entire district into deficit.
Why would a school that's running a deficit launch a new program?
Here's where it gets most interesting. When you have a deficit, it would seem logical to cut everything. But Midland is doing the opposite. They're launching a new program. With new funding of 505 thousand.
Why?
Because their students are leaving.
In Midland, 200 to 250 high school students who formally live in the district's neighborhoods are not attending school there. They have moved to virtual programs provided by outside educational corporations. That's lost money for the district. Each such student is $10,000 a year that goes somewhere else.
Superintendent Penny Miller-Nelson told the board, «In order to reach these students, we need to go to them. I think our team is better equipped to do that than anyone else. We have a personal connection to these kids and their families. The risk we take is worth it.».
go to them.
This means accepting the reality where a portion of students no longer wants to sit in a traditional classroom from 8 AM to 3 PM. They want a flexible format, possibly partly online, partly with a laptop at home, with a more flexible schedule. And if the school doesn't provide this, they will go to someone who will.
Midland isn't unique in this. Similar conversations are happening in dozens of counties across the country in the spring of 2026. The Afterschool Alliance describes the trend like this: «schools are being rebuilt for personalized learning because the standard model no longer holds high school students.».
So, we are living in a moment when American schools are starting to change structurally.
Flexible learning
Let's try to explain it briefly.
Flexible learning is a model where students are not required to be in school five days a week, morning to evening. Some of the classes are held in person, and some are taken at home via computer. The options vary in different districts. Three days at school, two days at home. Half a day at school, half a day at home. Or a completely individual schedule if the student is older and responsible.
Alternative learning, if translated to English, refers to programs for those for whom traditional schooling simply isn't a good fit. This includes teenagers with special needs, students who work while studying, athletes, and creative children who struggle within a rigid structure.
In Midland, these two things were combined into one program. A pilot for 25 students in the 2026-27 school year. For children who don't fit the regular format.
For parents, this is important for one simple reason. If Midland went through with such an experiment, other districts will follow. This is not the first pilot in the country, but it is one of the freshest and most illustrative. And the trend is clear. Online and flexible formats are ceasing to be exotic. They are becoming part of normal American education.
What does this mean for Russian-speaking families?
Now, about our angle. At Palme School, we work with bilingual children from the US, Canada, and Australia, so this news isn't abstract for us.
Here's a simple example. Arseny, seven years old, San Jose. Parents speak Russian at home, grandmother is in Moscow, plans to fly to her for the summer.
Last year, Arseniy attended kindergarten with a dual language program. Half English and half Spanish. It had nothing to do with Russian, but the very fact of bilingualism in his school day was context. The child saw that two languages are normal.
In the fall of 2025, he transferred to a school where there is no such program. The budget was cut, and the program was shut down. And here's what Arseny's mom writes: «I didn't expect it to be so fast. He started switch to English even at home. I used to chat with my grandmother via video call, but now she's silent or switches to English. And he's only seven.
What does the Midland story mean for families like Arseniy's?
First, the very fact that American schools are massively experimenting with online and flexible formats is good news. Online learning is becoming normalized. A child learning Russian via Zoom is more black sheep. This is becoming a routine part of school life.
Secondly, and more importantly, the flexible school format opens up windows in a child's schedule. These are the days when a student is at home with a laptop. They can be used for additional activities that the school itself does not offer. Russian fits in naturally there.
Third, in conversations with families, we see that the picture itself is changing. It used to be like this: there was a school, everything happened there, and if something was missing, the parent would add to it on a residual basis. Now it's like this: the school gives part of the educational process to the home. The family takes on more responsibility for what exactly the child does with this time. And Russian, if supported, becomes part of this personalized program.
What do we hear from parents
A small digression for honesty. We at Palme School regularly conduct cast developments, in-depth conversations with parents. And in recent months, the topic of hybrid learning has come up more and more often in these conversations.
A mom from Seattle, who speaks Russian, has a ten-year-old daughter. She says: «Our school introduced two remote learning days for the fifth grade. And I realized it's an opportunity. Before, we tried to study Russian in the evenings when everyone was tired. But now, on Wednesday mornings, she calmly does her schoolwork, and then she has a Russian lesson for half an hour. No stress.».
A family from Boston, with two children, aged 8 and 11. In February 2026, a hybrid format was introduced in the neighboring district. Mom in an interview: «We thought for a long time about what to do with these days off. In the end, we enrolled both of them with you. An hour of Russian a day, when they're home anyway. According to the schedule, it turned out to be easier than trying to find time in the evenings.».
Another couple, dad is Russian-speaking, mom is American, their son is twelve. Dad says briefly: «School has become more flexible. We're taking advantage of it. On Tuesdays, our son works from home, and on Tuesdays he has a Russian lesson for an hour. I wouldn't have persuaded him to do that before.».
These are not marketing templates. These are real conversations we have every week. And the common thread is the same everywhere. When schools become more flexible, families have real opportunities to incorporate into their child's schedule what the school doesn't offer. This includes their native language.
What do we do at Palme School
Briefly, without overheating.
We are working with children aged four to seventeen from the USA, Canada, and Australia, and Russian is their family language. Classes are held online via video link. The teacher guides the child through a program that is tailored to their age and level.
We are not trying to replace school. We are addressing a specific task. To preserve and develop Russian to a level that will function as a native-like second language in adult life.
One to two lessons a week plus short homework assignments are usually enough. That's not a lot. But the key isn't the number of hours, but regularity. A child who studies without skipping classes and with enjoyment progresses further than one who tried to study every day and quit after a month.
The first two lessons are free. You can get acquainted with the teacher and see, How is a lesson structured. And at the same time, figure out how to incorporate Russian into the child's schedule, taking into account all the changes in the school schedule.
