By: Jasmine West
For Detroit families preparing for another school year, city and education leaders are putting a sharper focus on one of the most basic challenges standing between some students and the classroom: getting there.
With classes beginning Monday, Aug. 24 for most Detroit students, Mayor Mary Sheffield joined Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti and charter school leaders Friday to urge families to make sure students are enrolled, prepared and have a transportation plan before the first bell rings.
The city is calling the effort “Day One Ready,” but behind the slogan is a broader push aimed at chronic absenteeism, transportation barriers and the practical issues that can keep Detroit children from showing up consistently.
That includes making Detroit’s free student bus program permanent for the 2026-27 school year, placing trained adult ambassadors on DDOT routes used by students and launching a new ride-share pilot for a small group of young people whose transportation circumstances have contributed to persistent absences.
“For the first time, certainly in recent history, Detroit’s parents and students have their school leadership and city leadership all focused in the same direction of making sure our children are set up for success in their education,” Sheffield said. “Together, we are charging every child to be in school Day One, August 24th.”
Sheffield was joined by Vitti, Djeneba “DJ” Cherif, CEO of University Prep Schools | Detroit 90/90, and Ralph Bland, CEO and superintendent of New Paradigm for Education, among other education leaders. Cherif became CEO of University Prep Schools in May after previously serving as the network’s chief academic officer. New Paradigm operates six Detroit schools serving more than 2,100 students from pre-K through 12th grade.
For families, the immediate message is straightforward: know where your child is going to school, complete enrollment requirements and know how they will get there.
Most Detroit students begin classes Aug. 24, while some schools and districts begin Aug. 31. The city has created an online education hub directing families to DPSCD enrollment and enrollment information for Detroit charter schools. Families are also being encouraged to contact their school directly to determine whether additional documents or steps are required before the first day.
Transportation is taking on an even larger role in that preparation.
Sheffield launched Ride to Rise earlier this year as a pilot allowing K-12 students in Detroit to ride DDOT buses without paying a fare. The program will now continue throughout the 2026-27 school year, backed in part by a $1 million state budget allocation.
The city says DDOT student ridership doubled during the first two months of the program near the end of the 2025-26 school year.
“Ride to Rise has been a tremendous success in removing a critical barrier for students that we believe will make a significant impact on absenteeism this school year,” Sheffield said. “I am deeply grateful to our legislative delegation in Lansing for prioritizing this essential program in this year’s budget.”
The program addresses a reality that extends beyond whether a student owns a bus pass. A free ride is only useful if a young person can safely and reliably navigate the route, make connections and arrive at school on time.
That feedback prompted the city to create Ride to Rise Ambassadors.
The administration has recruited 50 people who are being trained to work as transit ambassadors. Each school day, roughly 20 to 25 ambassadors are expected to ride DDOT routes serving high schools during peak morning and afternoon hours.
They will also be stationed at transit centers and near school bus stops, providing an adult presence as students travel. The effort will include coordination with DDOT employees, the Detroit Police Department Transit Unit and neighborhood police officers.
The city is also testing a more individualized option for students whose circumstances make traditional public transportation difficult.
Using absenteeism data and conversations with schools, Detroit’s Division of Youth and Education identified four high schools for a new ride-share pilot targeting a select group of students with persistent transportation barriers.
The city has not yet publicly detailed the four schools or the number of students who will participate.
The pilot is designed to do two things at once: get students with some of the highest absenteeism rates to school now and collect data on attendance outcomes and the cost of providing more intensive transportation assistance.
That information could eventually be used to make a case for additional state or federal transportation funding.
The focus on transportation comes as Sheffield has made reducing absenteeism one of the central education priorities of her administration, alongside out-of-school programming and stronger coordination between city government and Detroit’s traditional public school district and charter sector.
The city’s back-to-school push also extends to health barriers that can quietly contribute to missed class time.
The Detroit Health Department is offering appointment-based vision and hearing screenings for children ages 3 to 18, along with back-to-school immunizations and resources for children dealing with asthma and other health needs.
Dental care is also part of the effort. Beginning Oct. 1, Delta Dental is set to become the Healthy Kids Dental provider for Michigan children and young adults under 21 who receive Medicaid, covering services including exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings, extractions and emergency treatment.
Poor eyesight, untreated dental pain, asthma or missed immunizations can each complicate a student’s ability to learn or consistently attend school. The city’s approach this year is to treat those issues alongside transportation and enrollment instead of separating them from the larger attendance conversation.
For Detroit families, that makes “Day One Ready” less about a single date on the calendar and more about removing the obstacles that can turn one missed morning into repeated absences.
The first test comes Aug. 24, when thousands of Detroit children are expected to walk through school doors for a new year.
