By Hon. Scott Benson and Dr. K. Dara Hill, Contributing Columnists
One of the biggest challenges for any urban city, especially Detroit, is education; and as we all know, education is the key to future success in work and life. Our children deserve the finest education possible and tools that will help them succeed not only now, but in the future.
Some want the city to take over the K-12 education system, but this a quixotic solution, which would fail as we have neither the expertise, nor the resources, to manage such a transition. Instead, we should support Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) through initiatives like my Wealth Generation Task Force’s tutoring and early childhood learning programs. These programs provide essentials like certified, free academic support to boost early literacy, reading and math skills. By focusing on targeted, evidence-based programs like high-quality tutoring and early childhood learning, we can address specific achievement gaps, promote educational equity, and directly contribute to workforce readiness and long-term wealth generation, all while maintaining a collaborative relationship with our school system.
As my task force outlined, an educated citizenry is important to a thriving city. Businesses often make decisions about siting a new factory or headquarters based on many important factors, but an educated workforce and strong schools are two of the top factors. And as everyone knows, strong schools impact Detroit’s ability to attract new employers who offer good jobs and good wages.
In Detroit, we offer tutoring for students in grades 2-5 through Soar Detroit. Soar Detroit is a high-impact tutoring program, which provides students one-on-one tutoring 2-3 times a week that can lead to improved academic success, while building better study skills and boosting students’ confidence. Consistent and well-structured, Soar Detroit has shown that a child who spends a year in their tutoring program can improve two grade levels in reading. This is essential work given that 86 percent of our third graders cannot read at their grade level.
My task force called for offering intensive tutoring programs in Detroit public libraries and recreation centers during after school hours and/or on Saturdays. These programs work, as after-school enrichment programs in Detroit are linked to an increase in high school graduation rates – reaching 74.3 percent for the 2022-23 DPSCD school year – and supporting overall student success, talent, and college and career readiness.
A citywide approach would cost about $1,875 a student for 25 hours of tutoring. Twenty-five hours of tutoring translates to 25 weeks over the duration of a school year. This investment would cover 12.5 weeks during the fall and winter semesters and aligns with the academic calendar at local universities. University students who are training to be teachers could offer two 30-minute tutoring sessions per week. An expenditure of $9.4 million could serve about 5,000 students annually.
For students who are from lower income families, tutoring is an important intervention. A 2017 study showed that tutoring is one of the most impactful approaches for students from lower income households. Of all the interventions studied, tutoring was the most effective.
Highly qualified tutors may benefit lower income families by offering onsite family literacy workshops and resources. When tutors collaborate with the families of the children they tutor, they ensure that families incorporate evidence-based family literacy practices at home. Resources include developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant literature and strategies to support reading foundational skills, reading fluency, comprehension, and writing skills.
Culturally relevant literature is relatable to students because of characters who look like them, who speak as they do, and have similar interests and experiences. Students who have on-going experiences with culturally relevant literature become more proficient readers who use effective reading strategies.
The academic and skill-building benefits of tutoring far outweigh any cost. Tutoring has been shown to increase learning gains by an additional 3 to 15 months across grade levels.
Scaling up our tutoring efforts will only help our children succeed in school and in life. This must be a priority in Detroit because the educational success of our children is connected to our city’s economic success. An educated, skilled workforce is an essential and critical necessity for our city.
Hon. Scott Benson is a Detroit City Councilman who represents the 3rd District on Detroit’s north eastside. Scott also serves his community by sitting on numerous boards, is an avid cyclist, and a proud husband and father.
K. Dara Hill is a Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture in the College of
Education, Health and Human Services at U of M-Dearborn, where she is also the director of the summer literacy program. She prepares teachers for culturally sustaining literacy practices in urban and diverse school settings. She is also a mother, wife and triathlete.
