The Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren, made up of stakeholders of diverse backgrounds, has completed its set of recommendations to address the future of the Detroit Public Schools, which has seen deficit after deficit over the last decade.
The report is coming after a 90-day period of preparation and at a time when DPS has lost thousands of students to suburban school districts. The group is strongly recommending that the DPS be returned to its original form of an elected board instead of an emergency manager controlled type of system. Many education activists have long decried an emergency manager for DPS, especially since the state takeover of the school district.
The Education Achievement Authority (EAA) created by Governor Rick Snyder during his first term in office to help the lowest performing schools has been besieged by controversy and scandals leading to calls for it to cease to operate.
The education coalition in its recommendation is calling for the EAA to be abolished as well while urging a change in state law for charter schools to become more transparent and accountable.
The report specifically is calling, for the first time, the creation of the Detroit Education Commission (DEC) whose members will be appointed by the mayor of Detroit. Though the commission will have no role in how DPS operates in terms of budgetary decisions, curriculum and hiring, it will play an advisory role in which schools are being closed and which new ones are built.
“I respect the work of the coalition and its many members who put so many hours into planning a new course for education in Detroit. These are ideas that sprouted from people across the city, including educators, union leaders, business leaders and the philanthropic community,” Snyder said.
“Their common traits are a love for Detroit and its people and the belief that we can and must do better as we prepare the next generations of leaders. There must be higher standards for all schools. Detroit can only be a stronger, more vibrant city if its schools provide the opportunity for all students to be successful academically and in life.”
Snyder said his office will “will thoroughly review the coalition’s recommendations as the state continues its work on a comprehensive approach to reform to present to our partners in the legislature, looking for areas of alignment and common ground in the weeks ahead. I look forward to continuing our work in this area that is vitally important to our largest city and our state as a whole.”
The coalition was formed last year with five cochairs and 26 steering committee members. The cochairs are Tonya Allen, president of The Skillman Foundation; David Hecker, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Rev Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP; John Rakolta, CEO of Walbridge; and Angela Reyes, director of the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.
“The fact that so many leaders from highly influential corners of Detroit would come together despite differing politics and agendas is incredibly heartening,” Allen said. “We share a common belief that Detroiters should have a say in coming up with solutions that can make Detroit schools work for kids, and that now, as the city is recovering in so many other ways, is the time to make real change happen.”
DPS Emergency Manager Darnell Earley commended the report concluded this week.
“I am pleased to see that the Coalition’s work parallels, reinforces and ultimately supports our own strategy to restructure and transform the district’s operations and right our own ship. DPS’ own efforts are being driven by my 10-Point Management Plan, the result of a thorough review of our operations that is guiding the district toward long-term financial stability and educational competitiveness,” Earley said. “In fact, my 10-Point Plan includes work on many of the areas that the Coalition’s recommendations also focus on, including staff development, special education, transportation, facility readiness, academic excellence and financial stability, among others.”
Earley said the implementation of the report is already under way.
“Implementation is already well under way in both the academic and operations areas of the 10-Point Plan. Two specific areas where progress is being made include staff development (in the form of a recently announced leadership development partnership with U of M Ross School of Business) and a review of sustainable organizational models that DPS might emulate,” he said.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan upheld the recommendations.
“Emergency management should be terminated and the Detroit Public Schools returned to the operational control of the elected school board at the earliest possible date. Emergency management has clearly failed to improve our public school system. I fully support DPS in its efforts to resolve its debt burden and make sure classroom teaching is properly funded,” Duggan said.
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