Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are the future.” It is a sentiment that most people can agree with. However, belief is not enough. There needs to be systems and supports in place that make it possible for children to not just survive, but to thrive.
On Thursday, October 29, seven candidates aiming to join the Detroit Public Schools Community District school board sat on stage and shared their platform with a curious audience.
“We need to redefine what education looks like in this city,” said one candidate and it was a prevailing theme.
The current state of DPSCD has demonstrated some improvement. The 2025-26 results in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math across grades 3-8 on the 2025-26 M-STEP and PSAT 8 showed marked improvement. The district points to record proficiency in Math in every grade from 3 through 8, record proficiency in ELA in five of those six grades, and a record high for grade 11 students on the SAT Math.
These results represent a broader trend: the District keeps improving while the State average, on most of these measures, does not. Since 2017-18, DPSCD has narrowed the gap between its proficiency rates and the State’s by 7 percentage points in grades 3-8 ELA (from 32 points to 25), 10 in grades 3-8 Math (from 31 to 21), 10 in SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (from 27 to 17), and 14 in SAT Math (from 25 to 11).
Despite these gains, school board candidates shared a vision for a new DPSCD.
“Our schools determine how our neighborhoods look,” said Candidate Liana Stern Mulholland, adding, “[Schools] determine how our city looks.”
Out of the 34 current Detroit Public School Board candidates, seven attended this exclusive event at the Detroit People’s Food Co-Op. Three members of BAMN-the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary are on the ballot and shared a unified message. All three members affirmed that Detroit Public Schools need leaders who are transparent and parents who will demand more of the administration.
One of the more interesting positions to come out of the event, that was supported by more than one candidate, was the idea that the state could create a metropolitan-wide school
district which would create shared resources and defeat the scourge of inequality specific to DPSCD.
Here are some highlights of the seven candidates in attendance.
Terry Whitfield: He spent nearly 20 years working in youth development, community organizing, and philanthropy. This includes 10 years as a youth development worker and community organizer with organizations like Southwest Counseling Solutions and Alternatives for Girls.
Platform: Focuses on putting students first, improving third-grade literacy rates, increasing accountability across all levels of the district (from teachers and principals to the board and superintendent), strengthening family and community partnerships, and addressing systemic hurdles like chronic absenteeism and equitable funding
Aliya Moore: A native of Detroit’s west side and mother of two, Moore is an activist who began her organizational work struggling against the injustice of state-imposed emergency management over Detroit Public Schools.
Platform: Moore proposes expanding yellow-bus service or working more closely with the Detroit Department of Transportation to help students attend school daily and on time.
Cidney Calloway: A leader bringing thoughtful, responsible leadership to the Detroit school board by focusing on student outcomes, public trust, and progress that reaches every neighborhood. Calloway is a self-described servant-leader working to strengthen transparent communication and meaningful partnerships so parents, caregivers, and communities have a real voice in school decisions.
Platform: Student success- By connecting students and families with caring educators, practical resources, and pathways to future success, we help build stronger foundations both inside and outside the classroom. Support for Educators- Equitable compensation, safe teaching environments, and meaningful support for every school professional, we can help every child thrive. Families at the table- Practical solutions that improve opportunities, address barriers, and keep student well-being at the center of every decision. Accountable leadership-Commitment to working with district administration to prioritize high-quality instruction, safe and supportive schools, and meaningful partnerships with families, educators, and local organizations.
Shawn Vaughn: An organizer with BAMN. Vaughn explains that she has “fought tirelessly to defend public education, increase access to opportunities and demand equal, quality education for Detroit.”
Platform: 1.) Fight to remove Trump because so long as we’re under his fascist admin public education will never be safe.
2.) Protect our immigrant students and community members from ICE raids and deportations by making Detroit a true sanctuary city.
3.) Improve the learning/working conditions for our students and staff by repairing/improving facilities, expanding educational opportunities/programs and improving wages, benefits, etc.
Nicole Conaway: A Teacher at Hamtramck Public Schools. As a DPS Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) member she fought for and with teachers and students in action.
Platform: 1. Rescind the closing of Clarke, Catherine Blackwell, Ann Arbor Trail, and Greenfield Union schools; firing Vitti and hiring a new superintendent who respects our community and will fight for the resources our students deserve instead of acting like another Emergency Manager
2. Fight for the funding we need and seek relief and reimbursement from Lansing for the debt that we have been forced to pay so that we can keep all schools open and invest in them.
3. Organize and mobilize the power of Detroit to defend public Education from Trump’s fascist attacks on public education and free speech, and our community from attacks by Trump’s ICE gestapo.
Liana Stern Mulholland: An organizer and civil and immigrant leader since age 13, and have been an outspoken leader in the fight for equal, integrated, quality education in Detroit going back to the days of the original state takeover, and was a leader in the successful fight to end the subsequent years of emergency management.
Platform: 1. Expanding special education- including adding options that go beyond the binary of either “mainstreaming” or throwing students of vastly different learning needs into one special needs school.
2. Stopping the closing of Thurgood Marshall Elementary and reopening the four schools closed last year, including Ann Arbor Trail magnet.
3. Mobilize the district to stop ICE/Border Patrol. No more ICE/Border Patrol in and around our schools.
Rev. Dr. Steve Bland, Jr: Pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church, Bland has personal & professional experience as a lifelong community advocate and this previous year as a DPSCD Board member has increased my capacity to better achieve both my personal goals and the District’s Strategic goals by not only providing direct input and voting as a Board member in Board and Committee meetings, but my continued advocacy as a Community leader.
Platform: 1. Increase in Student literacy (reading, writing, job readiness, college prep. and critical thinking)
2.. Decrease in chronic absenteeism and truancy of students
3. Managing the reality of limited resources, particularly from terminated funding, in order to meet our stated strategic goals and Blueprint.