Chalkbeat

Seven decades after Brown v. Board, inequities challenge Michigan’s most vulnerable students

2024-05-15T13:51:35+00:00

Read more of Chalkbeat's coverage of the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.

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Seven decades after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled racial segregation unconstitutional, students of color in Michigan continue to attend schools rife with inequities.

The Education Trust-Midwest released a new report Wednesday that draws attention to these “devastating inequities” and renewed calls for a more equitable school funding system in Michigan to address them. It launched a new data tool that lets viewers see how much their schools would be funded if inequities were addressed.

The group also launched a new campaign involving a coalition of leaders across the state to call attention to “decades of neglect to Black, Latino/a students, and students from low-income backgrounds,” the resources and support their public schools need, and also the “urgent need to address profound pandemic learning losses” that hit underserved students especially hard.

“The urgency is to save another generation of students, so they can compete in a global economy and achieve the American dream of a good quality of life,” said Alice Thompson, chair of the education committee of the Detroit NAACP and one of the chairpersons of the statewide coalition.

Among the dire findings highlighted in the report:

Nearly half of Michigan students of color and two-thirds of all Black students attended schools in districts with high concentrations of poverty, where 73% or more of the students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. That compares with 13% of white students.
Michigan students in districts with the highest concentrations of poverty are much less likely to have highly experienced teachers who are, on average, more likely to be effective.
School-age children across the state have lost roughly half of a grade or more of learning in math and reading since the pandemic started. In school districts that serve predominantly Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds, such as Kalamazoo and Lansing, learning losses were dramatically worse.
At the current pace of educational recovery, most students would need an additional five years to catch up in math. In reading, most Michigan students would need decades — well beyond their time in school — to be able to read at their grade level, according to research from the Education Recovery Scorecard.
School funding disparities between wealthy and less-resourced schools make it harder for high-poverty districts to support their students’ educational recovery from the pandemic.

“Segregation in education is not only happening based on race, but also based on socioeconomic status, and very frequently at the intersection of both of those factors,” said Jen DeNeal, director of policy and research at the Education Trust-Midwest. “And we know that concentrated poverty in particular is a real challenge in Michigan.”

Schools with high concentrations of poverty, she said, tend to have fewer resources, less experienced teachers, higher teacher turnover, and increased exposure to environmental hazards and safety concerns.

Last year, the organization and others urged state lawmakers to adopt what they called an “opportunity index” that would provide additional money to districts serving communities with higher concentrations of poverty. The budget for this current year adopted that proposal, which has provided an additional $1 billion in funding to districts to serve at-risk students. But the opportunity index that went into effect doesn’t go as far as advocates wanted.

The Education Trust-Midwest’s new data tool will give families information that hasn’t been readily available. It shows them how much their districts are receiving now in per-pupil funding, including the additional amount they are receiving for at-risk students. A second column shows how much they would receive if the opportunity index was fully funded. And a third column shows how much districts would receive per student if they adopted a funding system similar to what Massachusetts adopted many years ago that has made it a leader in addressing funding inequities.

Here’s what the data tool shows for Detroit Public Schools Community District, the state’s largest district: DPSCD currently receives $10,862, including its basic per-pupil amount and its funding for at-risk students. If the opportunity index was fully funded, the district would receive $13,448 for each student. And if the Massachusetts funding model was used, the district would receive $17,881.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Report: Michigan teacher salaries aren’t keeping pace with other states

2024-05-15T13:47:41+00:00

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Average starting salaries for Michigan teachers lag behind most other states at a time when many school districts in the state are struggling with teacher shortages and the profession is becoming increasingly unappealing to those seeking careers.

That is one of the key findings in a new report from Michigan State University researchers that also finds that the average overall salary for Michigan teachers is now below the national average, after many years of being among the highest in the U.S.

The report, “Teacher Compensation in Michigan: Recent Trends and Public Opinion,” was released last month by the Education Policy Innovative Collaborative. It includes results of a public opinion poll of Michigan residents that shows wide support for increasing pay for new teachers.

Teacher pay is a critical issue in Michigan, as it is elsewhere in the country. There are wide disparities in pay between districts, with wealthier districts able to pay their teachers more. Shortages affecting many districts — especially in science, math, special education, and career and technical education — make it more attractive for teachers to move around in search of higher pay, creating instability. Often, that instability affects the most vulnerable students.

Jason Burns, one of the authors of the report and a research specialist at EPIC, said he hopes the findings will spur “a more informed debate on the topic.”

Here are some of the key findings in the report:

The average starting salary in Michigan was $38,963 during the 2021-22 school year, ranking 39th in the nation.
The average teacher salary in Michigan in 2021-22 was $64,884, 16th in the nation and below the national average of $66,745. During the 2012-13 school year, Michigan’s average was $61,560, 11th in the nation and above the national average of $56,065. That’s a 5% increase for Michigan over that time, compared with a 19% increase nationally.
Adjusted for inflation, Michigan teacher salaries have been on a steady decline. The report says that “if salaries had kept pace with inflation since 1999, the average Michigan teacher would have earned $81,703 in the 2021-2022 school year.”
In a recent survey of Michigan residents, 76% said they believe starting teacher salaries should increase, while 43% felt the same for average teacher salaries.

The teacher salary data is based on 2021-22 data, the most recent available for the report.

Michigan’s average teacher salary ranking has declined in part because many other states have moved to increase teacher salaries. Burns said Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Idaho, and Utah are among those that have moved to increase teacher salaries, mostly by boosting the minimum amount teachers can earn but in some cases raising salaries for all teachers. A Michigan bill last year that would have set a minimum salary of $50,000 for starting Michigan teachers failed.

The fact that this movement to increase teacher pay is happening in both blue and red states is interesting, Burns said.

“In education, a lot of things wind up being partisan these days,” he said. “But looking at what’s happening across the country, it’s been a very bipartisan kind of effort in terms of who is actually taking action on the issue of teacher salaries.”

Chandra Madafferi, president of the Michigan Education Association, heard a presentation on the EPIC report recently. Her reaction? “Coming from the classroom, I knew it was bad. I didn’t know it was this bad.”

She said there is inconsistency in teacher salaries across Michigan, with often a $20,000 difference at the top of the pay scale between those districts that “pay really, really well and those who don’t. So the inequity is still very apparent.”

Madafferi said she appreciates that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has made historic investments in public education, “because in many places, things are better than they have been.

“In many places, pay is going up. Things are getting better but there’s still so much that has to be done,” she said.

For instance, Madafferi said many districts are dealing with infrastructure and facility issues that require expensive fixes. If they can’t get that covered through a bond proposal, the money to fix the issues comes out of general funds, leaving less money to cover teacher pay increases.

“I have had multiple superintendents say to me, ‘I want to pay my educators more,’ or ‘I want to pay teachers more, however, we just can’t.’”

The report also highlights research from the Economic Policy Institute that finds that nationally, teachers earn 26.4% less than similarly educated college graduates. In Michigan, teachers earn 21% less. The gap is referred to as the teacher penalty.

Burns said research from the Federal Reserve Bank found a similar gap — 18% to 20% lower pay for teachers.

That kind of data is concerning to people like Armen Hratchian, executive director of Teach For America Detroit. TeachMichigan, a program of TFA Detroit, seeks to recruit and retain educators.

A 21% pay gap “is a real penalty,” Hratchian said.

“We have financially made this uncompetitive, and then we aren’t supporting folks in the way we should be,” Hratchian said. “What we’ve shown is when you do that, well, it strengthens the profession.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Rochester educator named Michigan Teacher of the Year

2024-05-07T21:42:29+00:00

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Kelley Cusmano, an English language arts teacher at Rochester High School, has been named Michigan Teacher of the Year for the 2024-25 school year.

Cusmano was surprised with the announcement during a visit to her Oakland County school by state Superintendent Michael Rice and other officials. According to a news release from the Michigan Department of Education, blue confetti was released into the air. About 1,600 students, coworkers, and family cheered, the release said.

Cusmano was selected from among 700 teachers who were nominated. Ten finalists were named last month. Tuesday’s announcement marked the end of a months-long process that seeks to identify outstanding teachers who can provide a voice for educators in the state. She succeeds Candice Jackson, a math teacher in the Detroit Public Schools Community District who was named last year.

“I’m not the best teacher in Michigan. But I have a really loud voice,” Cusmano told the audience, according to the release. “I love this job. I love what I do and who I do it with.”

Cusmano will now be in the running for National Teacher of the Year.

“Kelley is passionate, nurturing, and relentless in her efforts to support our students,” Rochester High Principal Joshua Wrinkle said in a letter nominating Cusmano. “Some of the most inspiring work that I’ve witnessed in education includes Kelley’s ability to encourage and support students who may be struggling, have disabilities, or are not excited about the course work. She is always looking for ways to motivate her students to achieve more than they ever thought they could.”

As Michigan Teacher of the Year, Cusmano will have a non-voting seat at the table at State Board of Education meetings. She will be expected to present a report to the board on issues that are important to teachers. She is also expected to do outreach on behalf of teachers throughout the state.

Here are the other Michigan regional finalists for the Teacher of the Year recognition:

Michael Powers, a social studies teacher at Manistique Middle/High School in Manistique Area Schools
Molly Dunham, a third grade teacher at Kingsley Elementary School in Kingsley Area School
Kristen Ritter, a mathematics teacher at Greenville High School in Greenville Public Schools
Laura Baker, an English teacher at Shepherd High School in Shepherd Public Schools
Sasha Wakefield, a mathematics teacher at Clio High School in Clio Area Schools
Cassandra Eberhardt, a social studies teacher at Williamston Middle School in Williamston Community Schools
Melissa Frost, a science teacher at Buchanan High School in Buchanan Community Schools
Kristina Dennis, a third grade teacher at Onsted Elementary School in Onsted Community Schools
Calvin Nellum, a science teacher at Detroit Academy of Arts & Sciences

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit school leaders want action to get pot edibles away from kids

2024-05-02T22:12:53+00:00

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Detroit school district leaders are urging lawmakers to help address what they describe as an “increasingly alarming” rise in student use of marijuana edibles and vape pens containing marijuana.

“A week of school rarely passes where a student is not taken to the hospital due to intentional or unintentional consumption of edibles,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti and members of the Detroit school board said in a Thursday letter emailed to federal, state, and local lawmakers.

From the 2019-20 to the 2020-21 school years, the Detroit Public Schools Community District had 289 drug-related incidents. Between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, there were 1,735 incidents. It is unclear how many of those incidents included marijuana use.

“This school year alone, we have already faced 745 drug-related infractions as of last week,” the letter said. The district leaders noted that the numbers have risen since marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2019.

Vitti and board members are asking lawmakers to adopt safety measures that include:

Requiring clear labeling that identifies edibles as including marijuana.
Prohibiting manufacturers from using packaging that imitates non-marijuana candy.
Providing each school with funding to purchase detection systems for vape pens and marijuana. The funding from this initiative would come from the profits and taxes collected from marijuana sales.
Initiating a public awareness campaign, funded using marijuana legalization revenues, to educate the community on securing edibles and keeping them away from their children, as well as the potential risks of access to children.

The letter includes an image that shows some edibles packaged to resemble candies such as Skittles and Starburst.

“In some cases marijuana edibles are indistinguishable from regular candy brands, misleading our students and facilitating the ease of their distribution within our schools,” the letter said.

Attorney and DPSCD parent Marcia Spivey isn’t surprised by Vitti’s characterization of marijuana use in Detroit schools. She says she fought hard against zoning rules to try and keep marijuana dispensaries out of her neighborhood. In her work representing children in the foster system in Wayne County, she has clients “who are in middle school or high school that have admitted to using marijuana on a daily basis.”

She wants to see city leaders working more closely with school officials in the district, especially when it comes to policies such as the city’s marijuana ordinance.

“There needs to be better coordination in terms of legislation that impacts our families because the legislation that the City Council passes directly impacts the families in Detroit,” she said.

Parent Aliya Moore echoed Spivey — she wants to see the city and school district working in tandem on this issue. She said there should be a strong focus on businesses that sell to minors and parents should face consequences, too.

“Ultimately we are responsible — we can’t just say they walked to the store and got it on their own,” Moore said.

Still, Moore says the legalization of recreational cannabis in Michigan makes this a thorny issue.

“Basically,” she said, “you can get weed out of the gas station.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Robyn Vincent is a reporter covering Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at rvincent@chalkbeat.org.

Why support for students and a strong school culture are key to this middle school principal

2024-04-18T13:00:00+00:00

As a high school wrestler many years ago, Jon Wilcox was expected to help coach much younger students who were learning to wrestle. It was a role he embraced and one that helped cement his decision to go into teaching.

“Week after week, I’d have the same group that I worked with, so I think that consistency in getting to know them and then going to tournaments, and coaching them from the corner — that was definitely pretty powerful,” he said.

Wilcox, who was recently named Michigan 2024 Principal of the Year, is influencing students in different ways these days. For nine years he’s been the principal of Petoskey Middle School, a school of about 570 students, 42% of whom come from low-income homes.

Those who wrote letters of support for his nomination said he is focused on the well-being of children and their families, has created a positive culture in the school, and has a collaborative leadership style, according to the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals and the Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honor Societies, which give out the award.

Wilcox prioritizes meeting the needs of students, especially post-COVID, when student anxiety is on the rise.

But middle school has always been a tumultuous time. So when less than a week into his tenure as principal, Wilcox was approached about funding for a behavioral health therapist at his school, he jumped at the opportunity.

“So many times a kid would get in trouble, and your toolbox is only so deep,” he said. “You try to counsel them as best as you can and then provide some kind of disciplinary action. And then it’s like, OK, now go back to the classroom.”

The school now has two behavioral health therapists, in addition to two counselors. Having that many people supporting the emotional and mental health needs of students, he said, “has been very beneficial.”

Educators can easily find themselves frustrated with the challenges students bring to the classroom that often seem unfair to the child, but something Wilcox heard years ago has provided some crucial perspective.

Parents, he was told, “send us their best … and they love their child more than anything.”

Wilcox, who recently talked to Chalkbeat, is always thinking about that because once students arrive at school, “We are responsible six, seven hours a day for the most important thing in parents’ lives. And that can be profound.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Petoskey Middle School Principal Jon Wilcox speaks to eighth grade students after he was surprised with the announcement that he had been named Michigan Principal of the Year.

What led you to a career in education?

Like a lot of educators, I was fortunate enough to have some really good teachers during my time in school, and not only that, but it was kind of a family business. I have several cousins who went into education, and one of my brothers was a teacher. My grandpa was a principal and he was very well respected in the community. That kind of intrigued me. I think when I decided I was in high school, and I was helping out with our youth wrestling program, and I just liked working with the kids and, and that kinda helped guide my decision to become a teacher. My dad always talked about what a respectable career choice that is because you’re having an impact on the community and a direct impact on kids who might need a little more support.

Was there anything in particular that you recall that showed you what it meant to be a teacher?

I had a physics teacher who was also one of our assistant wrestling coaches. Our head coach was out, so this assistant coach ran the whole practice. After practice, he asked me ‘How did practice go? Is there anything I could have done better?’ And I remember thinking like, ‘Wow, he cares enough to ask me what I think.’ I mean, this was a physics teacher that I looked up to and regarded as a great teacher and for him to humble himself and ask … what I thought about practice — that was pretty powerful.

What issues have come up for you as a school leader this school year, and how have you addressed them?

In middle school, year after year, there’s a lot of student conflict. We’re dealing with the age group where kids are trying to figure out who they are and what they’re interested in. And sometimes that changes over time. They’re very different kids when they come in as a sixth grader [and] by the time they leave as an eighth grader. There’s a lot of growth that happens. And with that growth comes a lot of change and change in friend groups, and therefore some conflict with peers. We try to use those as teachable moments about being empathetic and accepting of others. ‘You don’t have to like everybody, but you do have to respect everybody’ is what we try to teach our kids.

How do you deal with middle school conflicts?

You hear the word bullying a lot, and absolutely bullying happens. But most of the time, it’s conflict between two students. Generally, it’s conflict that we can work through and resolve. So we do a lot of conflict resolution meetings where we have an adult … talk through a situation with both kids and try to help them gain the perspective of the other student. And then, you know, apologize, and there might still be a consequence, but we really focus on those restorative practices.

What’s the best advice you ever received — and how have you put it into action?

One thing I heard [came] during my master’s program in a class taught by a superintendent. He said, ‘Never make a decision that you can’t explain publicly.’ And I’ve thought about that I can’t tell you how many times. It’s not that you always have to explain your decision publicly. But I think that is a really good lens to make sure that your head is in the right spot when making decisions, because we often have to make really complex decisions. And just thinking that through, how would I explain this if I had to, that’s probably the quote that I go back to the most.

Petoskey is a tourist attraction in Michigan, but you work in a district where nearly half of the students come from low-income homes. How do you address the challenges that come with educating vulnerable students?

We do have a lot of socioeconomic diversity and that does present its own challenges for sure. One thing that we have incorporated is we call it our student support network. Each one of our grade levels is divided into teams, and a team of four teachers will have the same students, and then our counselors are part of those teams. We’ll have [meetings] where we intentionally talk about who are the students that are struggling. How are they struggling? What interventions work for this student? What have we tried that didn’t work? And we document all that. We try to be really systematic about making sure that no one’s falling through the cracks.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

If I had to pick one thing, I would say “The First Days of School,” by Harry Wong [and Rosemary Wong]. That’s a book that I would imagine most teacher preparation programs utilize. And if they don’t, I think they should. I read that when I was a freshman in college, and I still, whenever we hire new teachers, I reference that book. And whenever we have a teacher that struggles with classroom management, I will hand them that book and say, read this chapter. That’s a really good book that seems to not have aged.

In recent years, many students have faced mental health challenges. How has your team helped support them at this time?

We have two school counselors. And then two behavioral health therapists that are employed through the local health department. They have appointments with kids that need additional support. That’s really been beneficial for our students and their families. And the other thing is restorative practices [because] not everything needs to be solved with a hammer. In the last couple of years, we’ve increased the amount of special education teachers we have so their caseloads are smaller than in the past.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I was lucky to have worked under a principal who told me that you need to take care of yourself, and you need to spend time at home and away from school. So he helped me [understand] that you could spend 24 hours a day working and there’s still going to be work on your desk. So know when to leave it and to go home. My wife and I have four kids. So we are busy going to athletic events, practices, and plays. So that’s how we take care of ourselves; we just spend time together as a family. We do a lot of camping. And then I have a little hobby farm where we grow Christmas trees, and we’ve got honey bees. So that all keeps me busy. And I love doing that stuff.

You have honey bees?

My second oldest, he came home from school — I think he was in kindergarten — and someone had brought in a frame of honey for show and tell. And he was hooked on reading books and watching YouTube videos about bees. So he kind of got me hooked, and we’ve had these ever since.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Legislation that would require children who are 5 years old on Sept. 1 to attend kindergarten advances to the Michigan House.

2024-04-16T19:01:29+00:00

The Michigan Senate has approved legislation that mandates kindergarten attendance in Michigan.

The bill, which supporters say will improve early education, passed with a vote of 21-15, with Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Senate largely opposed. It must now go to the Michigan House for consideration.

Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, a child who is five years old on Sept. 1 would be required to enroll in kindergarten, whether in a traditional public school, charter school, private school, or if their parents are homeschooling them.

Michigan is one of more than a dozen states that do not require kindergarten. Despite this, the state estimates that about most students enroll in the grade.

“If we’re serious about setting kids up for a lifetime of success, early education is where it’s at,” Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat from Livonia, said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Polehanki, the bill sponsor, said as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democratic lawmakers push to provide Michigan’s preschool program free for all, regardless of income, that “it doesn’t make sense that kindergarten continue to be optional.”

She said the goal of the legislation “is to create a culture in which early education is valued and viewed as the indispensable building blocks that it is.”

Parents who believe their children aren’t ready for kindergarten would be able to opt out.

But Sen. Thomas Albert, a Republican from Lowell, raised concerns about the process. In order to opt out, a parent would need to notify their local school in writing that they intend to delay enrollment in kindergarten for a year.

“The process itself raises potential concerns about unwarranted monitoring of a family’s personal education decisions,” Albert said. “Why collect information from families who are choosing to wait a year before enrolling their kids in kindergarten? What is the good that is going to be accomplished by making homeschooling and private school parents report to their local public schools?”

Albert also questioned what local school districts are supposed to do with the information.

“Is this a step toward the tracking of some families who might homeschool or send their kids to private school? That’s none of the state’s business.”

Some homeschooling families have opposed the kindergarten legislation because they believe it will pave the way for a required registry.

Albert said the change in the law is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist and he suggested the legislature’s time would be better spent addressing key issues such as chronic absenteeism.

In Michigan, 30% of students were chronically absent at the end of the 2023-24 school year, a big increase from nearly 20% just before the pandemic. Chronic absenteeism rates are particularly high in some of the state’s highest poverty districts, not surprising given poverty is one of the biggest causes of students not attending school on a regular basis. In the Detroit Public Schools Community District, the chronic absenteeism rate was 66% last school year and is trending toward 63% this school year.

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told senators during a committee meeting last month that he believes requiring kindergarten would help lower chronic absenteeism in the early grades.

Vitti said then that more than 70% of the kindergarten students in the district last year were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days in the school year. The rates, he said, were lower for first, second, and third grades.

“We want to start as early as possible, creating a culture and an expectation that school is important every day,” Vitti said.

Albert, during his comments on the Senate floor, said the state’s “attendance problem is far and away more pressing” than requiring kindergarten.

“Forcing someone to enroll in school does not mean they’re going to actually show up and learn anything,” Albert said. “Schools being shut down by the government for extended periods of time has changed behavior. And I do not believe the provisions of this bill are strong enough to change that.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Principals, district leaders will be trained on managing conflict in the Detroit school district

2024-04-11T13:25:24+00:00

The Detroit school district will invest money in next year’s budget to ensure school leaders and central office leaders are trained to manage conflict.

The district will also bring in third-party mediators to help resolve some conflicts.

Those were two new steps Superintendent Nikolai Vitti announced Tuesday during a report he made to the school board on dealing with complaints. Part of that report included a flowchart on how complaints are handled.

Vitti’s call for more training for school and district leaders is based on recent complaints made during the public comment period of board meetings and “just what I have seen over eight years with employee manager relationships.”

As the district has pushed harder on student performance and focused on outcomes and ensuring students do better academically, “administrators are holding employees more accountable to what’s happening in classrooms,” and in some cases that is leading to more tension and conflict, he said.

“But that does not excuse abuse,” Vitti said. “It does not excuse mismanagement of people and employees.”

The budget for the 2024-25 school year would include money to cover training for school and district leaders that would coach them on “how you manage change, how you manage conflict, how you manage disagreement.” The district hasn’t presented a proposed budget yet, and Vitti didn’t say how much the training could cost. Michigan districts must pass a balanced budget by June 30.

Vitti, who often faces criticism himself from those attending school board meetings, said he’s tried to model the kind of reaction he believes district leaders should follow.

“I try to focus on what is the substance and root of the concern rather than taking it personally. And it’s not easy to do. But it’s something that all of our leaders must do better at,” Vitti said.

At the board’s March meeting, a group of staff members at Thirkell Elementary-Middle School used the public comment period to make allegations that their principal has created an abusive and retaliatory atmosphere at the school. Several returned Tuesday, but were also joined by supporters of Stephanie Gaines, the principal.

Gaines told Chalkbeat last month that when she arrived at the school in 2019, it was not focused on teaching and learning.

“Thirkell serves some of the most disadvantaged and challenged students and families in the country. I come to work each day to give them an opportunity to succeed in this hard world,” Gaines said.

One of the returnees to Tuesday’s meeting was Emma Howland-Bolton, a fourth grade teacher, who told board members Tuesday that most of the current and former staff whose testimonials about the alleged abuse were part of a letter sent to the district now want their names attached. The letter was signed by some staff members but not all who provided testimonials.

She said she is skeptical the district will address the concerns that have been raised.

“I now know there is nothing I or anyone else can do or say to get the people on this stage to care,” Howland-Bolton said.

“They don’t care that we have the highest teacher turnover rate in the district because of the culture of fear and intimidation that permeates our building. And they don’t care that our young people often have three or four different teachers in a year as a result,” she added.

Kelly Townsel, a math master teacher at Thirkell, told the board Tuesday that she supports Gaines.

“School leadership keeps the staff, students and families safe. Never at any time since I have arrived at Thirkell have I witnessed any hostile situations with school leadership. We are doing amazing things … I believe in our leadership,” Townsel said.

Last month, Vitti responded to the complaints by saying that the district would interview staff at the school. During an update at Tuesday’s meeting, he said that work has already begun. Willing staff have been interviewed, and an ongoing survey will help the district assess the climate at the school. The results will be shared with the school’s leadership team and staff, Vitti said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan has a chronic absenteeism problem. Here’s what parents need to know.

2024-04-05T17:23:35+00:00

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Walk into some classrooms these days, and the chronic absenteeism problem is clear. Some students are continually absent. Teachers are spending extra time catching up students who missed too many days.

Schools across the nation are dealing with a chronic absenteeism crisis, and it’s been particularly acute in Michigan. During the 2021-22 school year, the state had one of the worst rates of chronic absence in the nation. The rates improved the next school year, but still, 30% of students statewide are missing too much school.

Chalkbeat Detroit has prioritized reporting on chronic absenteeism for nearly two years because the stakes are high not just for schools but also for the students whose absences deprive them of an adequate education.

A Detroit school agent’s fight against student absenteeism

Over the course of our reporting, we have talked to parents who are struggling with a host of obstacles — health, transportation, work schedules — in getting their children to school. We heard from a mom who was afraid she would lose her public assistance because her daughter had too many absences. We also heard from students and parents who say transportation problems often lead children to miss school.

In the coming months, we’ll be working with 482Forward, a community advocacy organization, to further engage Detroiters on this critical issue.

Michigan schools are struggling academically. And while there are many ongoing efforts to improve achievement, they will falter if the chronic absenteeism problem isn’t addressed, both in schools and the community.

This guide helps parents understand the importance of attendance, ways they can get help, and the consequences if their children miss school.

How many kids are missing too much school in Michigan?

434,241.

That’s how many students across the state were considered chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. The number amounts to nearly a third of the state’s public K-12 students.

What does ‘chronically absent’ mean?

Students are considered chronically absent when they miss at least 10% of the days school is in session. In a school year of 180 days, that is 18 or more missed days.

School officials monitor attendance on a daily basis, and if your child has missed more than a few days in a semester, you may hear from a teacher, an attendance officer, or even the principal. Their goal is to correct attendance patterns before students become chronically absent. Educators don’t wait until a student gets to 18 absences to intervene.

Why is chronic absenteeism a problem for students?

It’s simple. Every day a child doesn’t attend school is a day of instruction they are missing. Attendance Works, a national initiative that aims to reduce chronic absenteeism, says students can fall behind academically by missing just one to two days every few weeks.

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti often highlights the stark academic differences between students who are chronically absent and those who come to school regularly, with the latter group performing far better on state and local exams.

Chronic absenteeism has long been an issue in big-city districts. But the pandemic caused rates to soar in the U.S., in part because of quarantining rules but also because many students struggled with remote learning and mental health issues. Rates have improved in most states, but schools have had a difficult time recovering from the patterns that developed during the pandemic.

What about excused absences from school?

Students miss school for a number of reasons, including legitimate ones such as poor health or a family emergency. But whether an absence is excused or not, the end result is the same academically when a child misses school. That is why Attendance Works recommends that parents ask their child’s teachers “for resources and ideas to continue learning at home.”

What does Michigan law say about school attendance?

Michigan law requires, with a few exceptions, that parents send their child to school during the entire school year, from age 6 to 18. In Michigan, kindergarten is not required (though a bill was recently introduced that would make it mandatory). Exceptions to the attendance law include children attending private school, children being home-schooled, and children who have already fulfilled requirements for high school graduation.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District employs attendance agents such as Effie Harris, who routinely checks in on students who are struggling with attendance at Gompers Elementary-Middle School.

What penalties do students face for missing school?

State law allows for charges against a student who “willfully and repeatedly absents himself or herself from school or other learning program intended to meet the juvenile’s educational needs.” In some cases, courts will try an intervention program first to try to resolve the issue. But if the absences continue, the student and/or parent will face a judge. Penalties range from a warning all the way up to being placed in a secure facility, such as a juvenile justice center.

What about penalties for Michigan parents?

Parents or guardians can face a misdemeanor charge if they fail to ensure their child is attending school. If convicted, they face up to 90 days in jail and/or fines of between $5 and $50.

Also, parents who receive public financial assistance for their children could have that aid withheld by the state if their children are chronically absent.

Why should parents keep track of their children’s attendance?

What do you do if you’re not sure your student is making it to school every day? In most cases, schools will call parents if their children are not present. But that doesn’t always happen, and some parents may miss those calls. But there are other ways to keep track. In the Detroit school district, for instance, you can access a Parent Portal daily to check your child’s attendance. Most school districts use something similar.

In addition to attendance, these portals also provide information to parents about how your child is doing academically. This way, there are no surprises when report cards come out, or when you attend parent-teacher conferences. If you are not registered with your school’s portal, check with the school office to get instructions on how to access it. If you live somewhere where the school doesn’t have an online portal, you can call the office to check on attendance.

Which students miss school the most days?

Students from low-income families have a chronic absenteeism rate of 41.8%. That’s far higher than the rate for their peers from wealthier families, which was 17.2%. But it underscores what research and experts have been saying for years: Poverty has an outsize impact on attendance.

Other demographic groups with high rates of chronic absenteeism include Black students, 53%; homeless students, 60%; and students with disabilities, 39%.

What if parents think their kids need a mental health break?

That’s a legitimate concern. We’ve heard from many students who say they’ve struggled to recover emotionally from the pandemic. Michigan lawmakers are listening. Proposed legislation would allow students to take up to five mental health days as excused absences.

But here’s the concern: They’re still missing school. So just as with an excused absence for physical health issues, parents should communicate with their child’s teacher to receive materials that will help their child stay on track on class assignments.

What do parents do if a school official, such as an attendance agent, comes to your house or leaves a message about absences?

In these situations, it is important to communicate with school officials so that they understand the reasons your child is missing school. You may be concerned that this could lead to punitive measures, but the reality is that school officials can connect you with resources that might help address the causes of attendance problems. Ignoring their attempts to contact you will make the situation worse for you and your child. Ignoring calls and visits while your child continues to be absent makes it more likely you or your child will face some punitive measures.

Where can families go for help?

Wherever you are in Michigan, it may be best to start with your child’s school to see if they can connect you with resources you need, whether it’s help with housing, transportation, food, or whatever else is making regular attendance difficult.

If you live in southeast Michigan, you can dial 211 to connect with the United Way of Southeastern Michigan’s helpline, which provides referrals for everything from food and housing to financial and utility assistance. The helpline services Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Monroe and Lapeer counties.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District website has a number of resources that connect families with food, housing and shelter, medical and mental health, financial assistance, or emergencies related to incidents such as domestic violence and child abuse.

Also in the Detroit district, families can seek help through the district’s Family Resource Distribution Center and through health hubs that opened this school year.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Whitmer signs bills that give Michigan’s foster care youth hope for a quality education

2024-03-28T17:50:20+00:00

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation to ensure that students placed in foster care receive a quality education, a guarantee that has been missing in Michigan and has led to gaps in education for many youth.

The legislation was inspired by the stories of young people who told state education officials and lawmakers that their education was disrupted or inadequate.

The legislation Whitmer signed Thursday was part of a three-bill package that will now require residential facilities to enroll students in school within five days of placement and to provide an education that meets the state’s graduation requirements.

The bill was designed to address complaints from foster youth that they missed weeks of school and in some cases learned that the education they received didn’t meet state standards. The state has an estimated 10,000 kids in foster care, but the total number is unknown because many go uncounted in the current system, advocates say.

“When I heard the heartbreaking stories of foster youth who were working hard at their studies, only to discover their caretakers had given them busy work that wouldn’t count toward graduation, I knew I had to act,” Rep. Stephanie Young, a Democrat from Detroit who introduced the legislation, said in a statement.

Young told Chalkbeat earlier this year that many foster youth have experienced trauma and that “the very minimum we can do is ensure they get the best education they can.”

Whitmer previously signed two other pieces of legislation that were part of the package. One requires the Michigan Department of Education to oversee residential foster care facilities’ educational programs and enforce compliance. The other requires the education department, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the state Center for Educational Performance and Information to track the number of children in foster care, where they are, and how they’re progressing in their education. That information must be reported to the legislature.

Christian Randle, a high school senior who was in foster care for several years, said this to Chalkbeat earlier this year about the legislation:

“It’s the bare minimum that they can do, because they haven’t been doing anything for years,” said Randle. “It shouldn’t even have taken this long to pass the bills. Just the fact that it’s had to take this long shows a lot about how kids in foster care are treated.”

Randle entered a foster care residential facility at age 11 and worked diligently on his schoolwork to fulfill a promise he made to himself to graduate high school. But when he tried to enroll in a traditional high school two years ago, he found no record of him attending nearly three years of high school.

“Through all that stress and trauma going on inside of that foster care facility, the one thing I was happy about coming out of it was my schooling,” Randle, who now lives on his own, told Chalkbeat. “And that was taken away from me.”

“Michigan’s foster kids deal with so many challenges in their lives, but being denied graduation because their curriculum is inadequate should never be one of them,” Thomas Hickson, Jr., vice president of public policy and advocacy for the Michigan Catholic Conference, said in a statement. “All Michigan’s children deserve a quality education to be able to succeed later in life.”

Chalkbeat reporter Hannah Dellinger contributed to this report.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how DPSCD is weighing spending literacy lawsuit settlement money

2024-03-26T20:32:37+00:00

Detroit school district officials are finalizing plans for spending $94.4 million in literacy lawsuit settlement money, with a proposal that invests heavily in student support, teacher training, and parent resources.

Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, outlined the proposal to members of the school board finance committee during a meeting Friday morning. He said the full board will discuss the proposal more at an April 15 school board retreat.

The district’s plan aligns with about 90% of a proposal released last month by a task force that spent months getting community input on how the money should be spent, Vitti said.

The state allocated the $94.4 million to the district as part of a settlement of a lawsuit, filed in 2016 and settled in 2020, that alleged Michigan failed to ensure students in the district received a proper education during a nearly 20-year period in which the state controlled the district.

Vitti said the district has already seen improvements in literacy.

“Our goal is to accelerate … and to outperform city charter, county average, state average,” Vitti said.

Here is how the district is considering spending the money:

More students would receive help from academic interventionists

The district had originally anticipated spending some of the money to offer a summer school program, but a grant from Ballmer Group is covering the cost of that program at a number of schools.

That is freeing up settlement money to be used in part to hire more academic interventionists who work closely with students in grades K-4, Vitti said. Academic interventionists can work with small groups of students or one-on-one.

“That is central to improving the foundational skills that students lack in the early grades.”

This is the current proposal Detroit Public Schools Community District officials are considering for spending $94.4 million in literacy lawsuit settlement money. The school board will discuss the proposal at an April 15 meeting.

The district is already using federal and grant dollars to place academic interventionists at some schools. The literacy lawsuit money will allow the district to expand to all elementary schools. There are nearly 80 schools that have K-4 grades.

Board member Sonya Mays, who chairs the finance committee, questioned whether the district would have to lay off the academic interventionists when the money runs out.

The settlement requires the district to spend the $94.4 million over a three year period.

It’s a reality, Vitti said. But he believes the district will be able to take advantage of other funding sources. He also said that “natural attrition” could be a factor in the district’s favor, as well as some academic interventionists opting to transition into a teaching position.

“I don’t think we will be in a chaotic situation,” Vitti said.

The bigger challenge is whether the district will be able to hire enough academic interventionists. The pool has been shrinking, Vitti said.

In addition to academic interventionists, the literacy lawsuit money will also be used for online tutoring, to expand City Year, a program that provides tutoring for students and support to teachers in many district schools, and to provide stipends for Let’s Read tutors, who currently volunteer their time to help students with literacy.

Teachers would get more training and support

For staff, the proposals revolve around providing more training, some bonuses, and improving the working environment to improve learning. Some of the efforts would need to be bargained with the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

Here are some of the top items:

Providing more pay for teachers who attend enhanced literacy training
Paying teachers to earn an English as a Second Language certificate
Providing additional coaching and support
Reducing class sizes
Providing bonuses for teaching in hard-to-staff schools
Creating a merit pay system that would provide bonuses to the district’s top literacy teachers, based on student achievement

District would provide books for home, literacy events, and parent education

Families would also benefit from the literacy lawsuit money. Among the proposals the district is considering:

Providing culturally responsive books for students to take home
Involving parents in culture of literacy events in schools
Providing stipends for parents who participate in literacy-focused sessions

Chronic absenteeism remains a barrier, even with settlement money

Mays questioned how the literacy lawsuit money could be spent on addressing chronic absenteeism, saying all the initiatives that are part of the proposal can be diminished if the district’s rates of chronic absenteeism remain high.

During the 2022-23 school year, 66% of the district’s students were chronically absent, meaning they have missed 18 or more days.

Vitti said the strict requirements of spending the lawsuit settlement money bars using the money directly on chronic absenteeism initiatives, such as hiring more attendance agents. But some of the district’s proposals, such as lowering class sizes, providing incentives for students to read books and participate in academic contests, and paying parents to attend education classes, may increase engagement.

“You know that’s not very satisfying, right?” Mays responded.

“Yes, I agree. But that was the condition of the settlement,” Vitti said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit principal under fire from staff over hostile work environment

2024-03-21T21:23:11+00:00

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Detroit school district officials will be interviewing staff at Thirkell Elementary-Middle School to address complaints against the principal from staff members who say she has created an abusive and retaliatory atmosphere at the school.

Many of the complaints against Principal Stephanie Gaines were aired by staff members Tuesday during the public comment session of a Detroit school board meeting. Staff had previously presented the district with a letter of no confidence they said was signed by every staff member. At least one staff member, though, told Chalkbeat Friday morning that she did not sign the letter. Later in the day, that staff member and six others signed a statement of support for Gaines.

“I have never been in such a toxic environment,” Mitzi Davis, a Thirkell teacher, told school board members. “We are tired of coming to work in an environment of hostility, intimidation, discrimination, and retaliation.”

Among the allegations aired by staff Tuesday and in the no-confidence letter: They said Gaines retaliates against staff who raise concerns about her actions, has made homophobic comments, keeps student bathrooms locked — allowing only scheduled bathroom breaks — and does not allow recess.

The staff members say that Gaines recently told a Muslim teacher that she could resign if she didn’t like being denied accommodations during Ramadan; that she frequently assigns the dean and assistant principal lunch duty, making it difficult for them to carry out their duties; and that she has made it clear to parents and community partners that they are not welcome in the school.

The names of the staff members who signed the no-confidence letter were withheld because most of the employees fear further retaliation, the letter said. Supporting information with the letter included testimonies from current and former Thirkell employees. It also included a list of community partners that the letter writers say will no longer work with Thirkell.

The lack of names on the letter, though, makes it difficult to investigate those specific allegations, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during Tuesday’s meeting.

The allegations “will be investigated by human resources if individuals put their name to the allegations, so the individual can be interviewed about the allegation,” Vitti said.

None of the allegations, Vitti said, would be investigated by the district’s inspector general, because they are not linked to fraud. Nor, Vitti said, do the allegations rise to the level of requiring the district to remove Gaines or put her on administrative leave.

Still, he said “there are certainly concerns about general climate and culture, interpersonal engagement, overall feedback, but again, we need people to put their names to the allegation.”

In the meantime, Vitti said, the district is interviewing Thirkell staff “to gain their sense individually of the climate and culture of the building.”

Board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo also said she is concerned about the number of complaints and questioned how the district could not see it as a “hostile work environment.”

“It’s insulting to have that many educators — white, Black and everything in between — all saying the same thing about the leadership at Thirkell,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “That’s a problem. I’m hopeful that we don’t just brush this under the rug, that we get some timeline in place of how long staff has to deal with that.”

In a statement to Chalkbeat, Gaines said: “If I have offended anyone as I have pushed for higher expectations for students, then I deeply apologize. I look forward to listening and reflecting upon how anyone has been disrespected by my leadership and look forward to working together to continue our improvement.”

Gaines said that when she arrived at Thirkell in 2019, “there wasn’t a focus on student teaching and learning.” She said the school was once slated for closure, and was identified as part of the state’s intervention program for the worst-performing schools in the state. The school has since exited that status.

On Friday afternoon, seven teachers sent a letter to Vitti challenging the allegations about a hostile work environment at Thirkell. In the letter, Kelly Townsel, the school’s math master teacher, said one of the union building representatives who spoke out against Gaines decorated the principal’s office for her birthday. She said the school has had a family atmosphere until the allegations were made.

“Principal Gaines has turned around our school for students, staff, families, and the community. She is data driven, passionate for the students and collaborative with the staff,” she and the six others said in the letter. “Change is hard and uncomfortable for some people. We believe the disgruntled staff are harboring bitter feelings because the former principal was asked to leave. We have been welcomed by Principal Gaines since we have been at Thirkell. We may not agree with every decision that she has made but we trust and respect her leadership at Thirkell.:

On Tuesday, Thirkell teacher Emma Howland-Bolton said that even with the working conditions in the school, “kids and teachers are accomplishing amazing things.”

“I wish I was here today to regale you with those tales. Instead, I’m here to ask you to just remove some of the roadblocks in our way,” Howland-Bolton said. “The conditions at Thirkell are not just the result of the principal’s pattern of retaliation and abuse or her lack of training or her lack of understanding of childhood development, but they are a product of the district’s neglect.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include new information about the number of staff who signed the letter of no-confidence, and after a new letter was sent to the district by teachers who say they support Gaines.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

DPSCD Superintendent Vitti’s contract extended until 2028

2024-03-20T17:16:03+00:00

The Detroit school board voted Tuesday to extend Superintendent Nikolai Vitti’s contract until 2028, cementing him as one of the longest serving superintendents in the district’s history.

Vitti was hired in 2017 for a five-year term, and his contract was set to expire in 2025 after the board extended it in 2020. Six of the seven board members approved the new extension. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo was the lone dissenting vote.

“I just think the timing is wrong,” Gay-Dagnogo said, noting that the district must address some culture and climate issues in the district. Gay-Dagnogo also pointed to November’s school board election, in which three seats are on the ballot. She said the board should wait until it is clear who will run for reelection and until new members are elected. The terms for Gay-Dagnogo, as well as Vice President Misha Stallworth and member Sonya Mays, expire at the end of the year.

“I have a problem voting on this. I understand stabilizing the district, keeping the district with the proper leadership. I just think timing is the issue,” she said.

Gay-Dagnogo told BridgeDetroit that since Vitti’s contract was set to expire next year, it should not be a priority at this time. She also said that board members were being inconsiderate of the audience, which had to wait two hours for the group to come out of closed session before they could give comment.

There are several climate and culture issues the district should be concerned about, Gay-Dagnogo said, such as the delays students with disabilities are experiencing with receiving Individualized Education Programs and widespread complaints aired at Tuesday’s meeting alleging that the principal of a district elementary school has created a toxic work environment.

“Who are we elected to serve? We’re elected to serve the people. Our priority should be the people and our staff,” she said. “So, to make that (the contract) a priority last night without even any discussion in any prior conversation … was very insensitive.”

There was no other discussion, aside from board chair Angelique Peterson-Mayberry telling Gay-Dagnogo that her feedback was “duly noted.”

The vote followed a two-hour closed session that riled some in the audience who had to wait until after the session to speak during the public comment period.

Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, the president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said the board’s decision to move the closed session ahead of public comment “discourages our participation and minimizes our voices.”

“You attempt to vote to adjust your agenda so you can get done early at our expense and then vote to extend the superintendent’s contract well before its expiration date,” said Wilson-Lumpkins, who added that it “is parallel to all the shenanigans we encounter at the negotiating table and in many of our schools. We do not have confidence in you.”

Vitti currently earns a base salary of $354,973. The contract amendment the board approved Tuesday calls for him to receive a salary increase based on the percentage of teacher union pay increases. The district is in negotiations with the union, which is in the final year of its contract.

When he took over, Vitti had the task of turning around one of the most troubled school districts in the nation, following a 2016 legislative initiative that addressed massive debt and restored local control after years of state oversight. The district had the worst test scores among big city districts in the nation on a rigorous national exam.

Under his leadership, the district adopted a new curriculum to replace one that Vitti called an “injustice to the children of Detroit” because it was outdated and inadequate. He set out to reform the district’s high schools in part by giving students opportunities to explore careers. And he has made increasing salaries, particularly for teachers, a priority. In 2022, Vitti was named Urban Educator of the Year.

Before the pandemic, the district had begun to see small gains in enrollment, test scores, and reduced absenteeism. Post-pandemic, though, enrollment is down by 2,000 students, and chronic absenteeism remains incredibly high — 66% of the district’s students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. Test scores remain low, but a recent study found the district is showing strong signs of recovery from the pandemic.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.

Bill would make kindergarten mandatory for Michigan children

2024-03-12T22:22:12+00:00

Lawmakers want to make kindergarten attendance mandatory in Michigan to improve academic achievement — and the head of the state’s largest district says such a requirement could also help address chronic absenteeism.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat from Livonia who introduced a bill to make kindergarten mandatory, said it’s necessary “if we’re serious about improving academics.”

Students in the state currently don’t have to attend school until first grade, though many do attend kindergarten and most districts offer it.

Detroit school Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, who supports the legislation, said Tuesday during a legislative hearing that requiring kindergarten will improve attendance and student academic outcomes.

Vitti said more than 70% of the kindergarten students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District last year were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days in the school year. The rates, he said, were lower for first, second, and third grades.

“We want to start as early as possible, creating a culture and an expectation that school is important every day,” Vitti said.

The district has long struggled with chronic absenteeism. During the 2021-22 school year, 77% of the students were chronically absent, in part because of quarantining rules during the pandemic. That rate improved to 66% during the 2022-23 school year.

Vitti pointed out that at the beginning of the school year, about 6% of kindergarten students typically perform at or above grade level on district tests. That number soars to 58% by the end of the year.

“We actually believe that the 58% number would be higher if kindergarten was mandatory. It just sets the stage and the expectations the right way.”

Polehanki, who chairs the education committee, said the impetus of her bill had been to create a continuum from preschool through postsecondary education. She said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s push to provide free preschool for all, regardless of income, is an important initiative. But she said in order to do that, kindergarten must not be optional.

After hearing from Vitti, she said the bill would address academic achievement, but also “do quite a bit to remedy” chronic absenteeism in kindergarten. She said she wants lawmakers to have a broader discussion about addressing chronic absenteeism. Nearly a third of the students in the state were considered chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year.

Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat from Bay City, said the kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate in Detroit “is the most compelling case to say this is the right thing to do.”

Sheryl Kennedy, legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Education, said the MDE supports making kindergarten mandatory. But she said the department would like to see some changes, such as funding to help districts that might see increased costs from the requirement. She said 17 states and the District of Columbia already have mandatory kindergarten laws.

There was also a back-and-forth between Kennedy and Sen. John Damoose, a Republican from Harbor Springs over language in a slide that accompanied her presentation that said “Demonstrated enrollment in private, parochial, charter, or home school meets the requirements of this bill.”

Damoose questioned the home school language, asking “Can you describe what demonstrated enrollment looks like especially if we’re talking about home schools?”

In Michigan, home-schooled children aren’t required to register with the state, so officials have no idea how many kids are being educated at home. There has been considerable debate recently because State Superintendent Michael Rice and some lawmakers have called on changing the law to require parents who home-school their children to register with the state.

Polehanki said the intent of the legislation is not to demonstrate enrollment among home-schoolers.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan’s high school graduation rate increases for the second year in a row

2024-02-23T23:19:03+00:00

Michigan’s high school graduation rate was 81.77% in 2023, the second year in a row the rates have increased and a promising sign that students are continuing to recover from the disruptive pandemic.

Last year’s graduation rate was 81.01%.

The dropout rate declined slightly to 8.13%, from 8.19% in 2022.

The four-year graduation rate represents the portion of students who entered high school in 2019 and graduated in 2023. The state released the data Friday.

The state also calculates five- and six-year rates, recognizing that some students are enrolled in early middle college programs in which they earn a high school diploma and an associate degree or other advanced certificate. Those rates also reflect students who need more time to graduate from traditional programs.

Students are counted as dropouts if they leave school permanently at any time in high school.

The state noted in a news release that graduation rates rose in all 17 categories, including for Black and Hispanic students, students from low-income homes, youth experiencing homelessness, and those in foster care.

The rising rates “are a welcome sign that student achievement is rebounding and a tribute to the hard work of Michigan students, educators, support staff, and communities,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement.

Despite the increases, stubborn and wide gaps continue to exist. The graduation rate for white students was 85%, and for Asian American students, it was 93.5%. For Black students, though, the rate was 71.3% and for Hispanic students, it was 76.8%.

The rates were dramatically lower for some of the most vulnerable students in the state. The rate was 59.6% for students with disabilities, 44% for students in foster care, and 58.3% for students experiencing homelessness.

Rice acknowledged that more work must be done to address the gaps.

Lansing district ‘overwhelmingly impressed’

Improving graduation rates has been a key goal in the Lansing School District, and the work to increase the numbers appears to be paying off. The graduation rate for 2023 was 76.37%, a 14 percentage point increase from 2021, when the rate was 62.10%. The 2023 rate is the highest the district has ever seen, Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said.

“We are overwhelmingly impressed by the hard work and dedication of our educators, our students, and our families,” Shuldiner said.

Among the initiatives that have led to the improvement, he said, is the hiring of graduation specialists at the high school and district levels. Their goal is to ensure that every student graduates.

“They’re checking in with students every day, making sure they’re coming to school and passing classes. They’re doing everything they can to make sure students are getting the support they need,” Shuldiner said.

That could mean ensuring they have tutoring, after-school help, a math class required for graduation, or a roof over their head.

Many other districts also saw gains. At Ypsilanti Community Schools, the four-year rate was 78.33% compared to 73.79% in 2022. In 2019, the rate was 68.53%.

Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross said the district has improved its rate because of gains at the districts’ alternative high schools.

Students at these high schools were typically behind in course credits.

“That team really focused last year on academic tutoring, after-school and acceleration during the Grizzly Learning Camp,” Zachery-Ross said. “And we really saw that those two differences and what’s happening in the classroom really made a difference.”

The district’s summer camp includes college visits, connecting students to community resources, and project-based learning.

Here’s what the rates looked like in several other Michigan districts:

Detroit Public Schools Community District’s four-year graduation rate was 74.26% compared to 71.06% in 2022. The district had a 75.84% rate in 2019.
Ann Arbor Public Schools’ four-year rate was 90.57%, which is up slightly from 89.23% in 2022 and 89.46% in 2019.
Grand Rapids Public Schools’ four-year rate was 82.39% in 2023, up from 80.53% in 2022 and 76.2% in 2019.

Traverse City Area Public Schools’ 2023 rate was lower than the previous year. The four-year graduation rate was 84.04% in 2023, down from 86.47% in 2022 and 84.97% in 2019. The district had a 90.51% rate in 2020.

Superintendent John VanWagoner said the four-year rate is misleading because the district has two high schools where some students are enrolled in early middle college, and they graduate in five years with both a diploma and associate degree or technical certificate.

Plus, the district has a large alternative high school, where many students take an extra year or two to complete their high school diploma.

For example, the five-year graduation rate at one of the high schools with an early middle college program, Traverse City Central High School, was 96.36%.

Still, VanWagoner said he wants to see graduation rates improve.

“Having one kid not graduate is too many; we want to make sure that every kid that is in our schools, that we set them up for the future, and a high school diploma is a must these days.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org

Isabel Lohman is a reporter for Bridge Michigan. You can reach her at ilohman@bridgemi.com.

Start with first graders: How a task force says Detroit literacy lawsuit money should be spent

2024-02-14T23:50:39+00:00

First grade students should be the target of a large chunk of the $94.4 million the Detroit school district received from the state as a lawsuit settlement, according to a key recommendation from a task force that was created to provide guidance.

That recommendation would have the district spend 60% of the settlement on “initiatives tailored for 1st-grade students, ensuring these funds are dedicated to programs that follow and support these students’ progress,” as they move to second and third grades.

The remaining money would go toward tutoring for older students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

The money is part of the settlement of a 2016 lawsuit filed against the state of Michigan by Detroit students who alleged they were denied access to a basic reading education while the district was controlled by state-appointed emergency managers. The lawsuit outlined poor academic and physical conditions in district schools.

A 2020 settlement in the case called for the creation of a Detroit education task force and reserved $94.4 million in state money for DPSCD to support evidence-based literacy interventions. The Michigan legislature, which was under Democratic control last year for the first time in decades, included the money in this year’s budget after previous attempts failed.

The task force had 23 recommendations from 200 gathered during community meetings held over several months. Many common themes emerged within the ideas provided by the community, said Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, who chaired the task force.

“Parents wanted to see more tutoring. They wanted parent family workshops. They wanted to see culturally-responsive literature materials,” said Wilson-Lumpkins, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

Seven of the recommendations were identified as priorities, in part because they were vetted through the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse, which provides “scientific evidence on education programs, products, practices, and policies,” according to its website.

In addition to the focus on first grade, the recommendations include:

Adopt more reading intervention programs across all grade levels.
Adopt a supplemental reading program that is aligned with the science of reading.
Increase the number of reading interventionists who work with English language learners.
Increase access to culturally-responsive reading materials.
Increase one-on-one tutoring through various existing programs.
Expand literacy programming that personalizes and enhances students’ aspirational learning journeys.

The task force, which included more than a dozen educators, literacy experts, district and union officials, students, parents, and community members, delivered the recommendations to district leaders and school board members Tuesday, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during the board’s monthly meeting.

Their recommendations far exceeded the $94.4 million, totaling well over $200 million for one year. The seven priorities alone total $70 million for one year, based on the DPSCD chief financial officer’s cost estimates.

Task force member Rev. Larry Simmons, who co-founded advocacy group 482Forward, said it was challenging to pare down the recommendations.

“Even as we disagreed, we disagreed about method, not outcome,” said Simmons, a retired pastor who is executive director of the Brightmoor Alliance. “There was a very strong commitment and recognition that this was a unique, maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We had to be very careful not to squander it.”

Vitti told Chalkbeat Wednesday that district staff will provide an analysis of the recommendations to school board members.

“From there the Board and I will offer final recommendations on how to use the funding and then engage the community on those recommendations,” Vitti said in an email. “After that the Board will vote in April or May on their official use.”

Vitti said the recommendations align with the district’s own literacy priorities. The district is not required to adopt any of the task force’s recommendations.

There is much at stake in Detroit schools. Though the district has shown signs of recovery from the pandemic, reading performance on the state standardized exam remains low. And on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a national exam given to a representative sample of students in each state, Detroit students have posted some of the worst reading scores in the nation since 2009.

The first-grade recommendation, which would cost $94 million over three years, should be a priority, Simmons said. The money could go toward teacher training, family engagement, and interventions regarding attendance, the task force said in its report.

First grade “is the first opportunity we have for every child who’s required to come to school to address this. By staying with these children through the third grade, we get some longevity,” Simmons said.

The reality, though, is that while $94.4 million sounds like a lot of money it will only go so far in a district with more than 48,000 students, Simmons said.

The district must spend the money by Sept. 30, 2027. It is one-time funding and there is no indication lawmakers will provide additional money specifically for literacy efforts in the Detroit district. But Simmons said groups like 482Forward will continue advocating for more money because of the importance of literacy.

“Literacy is liberation,” Simmons said.

Wilson-Lumpkins described the work of the task force as “a beautiful process,” and said she is hoping for one thing now that it’s up to the district to determine what recommendations to adopt.

“That these community meetings were not in vain, and the community has spoken resoundingly. The injury {that prompted the lawsuit} was to the community and so what we’re hopeful for is that these recommendations are taken very seriously. This was hard work. But parents wanted their voices heard. Kids wanted their voices heard.” Wilson-Lumpkins said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s what it would cost in Michigan for free preschool, community college, and school meals

2024-02-07T21:14:32+00:00

At a time when academic recovery from the pandemic has been slow, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a plan Wednesday to increase spending on Michigan’s most vulnerable students.

In her budget proposal, Whitmer also said she wants to invest more in preschool, provide child care workers with payments to enroll their own children in the kinds of programs in which they work, and expands the state’s scholarship program to ensure all high school graduates can enroll in community college, for free, if they choose.

The new investments in the $80.7 billion state budget amount to hundreds of millions of dollars of additional funding for education initiatives at a time when research shows Michigan students overall are still far behind where they were academically before the pandemic. It also comes as school districts across the state face the loss later this year of the federal COVID relief money that has helped boost tutoring and mental health services students have sorely needed.

And it’s possible, Whitmer said, because the state paid off billions in debt in the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System. Those debt payments, she said, freed up $670 million.

“We have the resources to invest in our people,” said Whitmer, who first outlined her proposals during her State of the State address last month.

Negotiations will now begin. Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, but until elections can be held in April for two open seats, the House is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Those two seats are in heavily Democratic districts.

Republican leaders were critical of the governor’s budget proposal.

“Last year, Democrats blew through a $9.2 billion surplus and fought for a $700 million income tax hike,” Sen. Jon Bumstead, a Republican from North Muskegon, said in a statement. Bumstead is the minority vice chair of the Senate Appropriations committee. “Now they are presenting an unsustainable budget that spends more money, bloats the size of government, and offers crumbs for average Michigan families still coping with higher costs on virtually everything.”

Here’s what Whitmer is proposing for schools, students, and families:

Increase in per-pupil aid for schools, including for the neediest students

The minimum amount school districts would receive per pupil would be $9,849, an 2.5% increase of $241 per student over this year’s level.

Meanwhile, Whitmer proposed continuing a practice she started several years ago of weighting funding for districts based on the needs of some students. That means schools receive additional money for students who are “academically at risk,” English language learners, career and technical education students, and rural students.

The budget calls for increasing funding by $125 million for those groups of students, which amounts to a 5% increase over the $118 million spent this year.

Community college guarantee for high school graduates

Whitmer’s budget calls for a $30 million increase in funding for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which would allow the program to expand to ensure every high school graduate in the state could receive an associate degree or skilled certificate at a community college for free.

With the community college proposal, more than 18,000 students would each save up to $4,820 on tuition each year, according to the budget proposal.

In her remarks to lawmakers Wednesday, Whitmer said the community college proposal would also help the state move closer to a goal to have 60% of the state’s working-age residents have a postsecondary certificate or college degree by 2030. When Whitmer took office in 2018, just 45% had achieved a certificate or college degree. That percentage is now at 51%.

“This would be a transformational opportunity for our students,” she said.

“Investments in community college are key to Michigan’s overall prosperity, as these degrees and certifications bolster the workforce across the state and help meet emerging talent needs of employers,” Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association, said in a statement.

Expanding free preschool for all

Whitmer’s budget includes making the state’s free preschool available to all 4-year-olds regardless of family income – two years ahead of schedule. She had previously proposed phasing in the expansion.

The expansion would cost an additional $159 million, including $63.5 million to allow the Great Start Readiness Program to enroll an additional 6,800 children. The rest of the increased cost would cover increasing the per-student allocation, opening new classrooms in underserved areas, and to help pay for the cost of transportation.

Child care workers would get free care for their children

Whitmer also plans to invest more in the child care sector.

The state would spend $60 million to create a pilot program to provide these workers with benefits to pay for child care for their own children. Budget documents say the median child care worker pay is $13.71 an hour.

“The average cost for child care for one child is $10,600 annually, which means the average child care worker would need to dedicate over 37% of their gross salary to child care costs if they want their child to receive the same care they provide for other children on a daily basis,” the document says.

Expansion of free school meals

Public school students across the state would continue to receive free school meals with $200 million Whitmer proposes including in the budget. Lawmakers included money in the current budget to ensure that each of the state’s 1.4 million children would have access to a free breakfast and lunch.

She said the free meals save families $850 a year on grocery bills and eliminates the struggle of ensuring children get out the door in the mornings with their lunch.

“Knowing that your child will eat no matter what is a huge relief,” Whitmer said.

The free meals have been criticized by Republicans because it is only for public school students, not for children enrolled in private schools or children being home-schooled.

“Why are they left hungry?” Sarah Lightner, a Republican from Springport, asked during the budget presentation.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan could be headed for more school closures as COVID relief aid dries up

2024-01-30T20:54:41+00:00

As school boards across Michigan begin developing their district budgets for the 2024-25 school year, they’ll likely be confronted with some tough decisions about how to deal with enrollment losses.

School closures could be on the horizon.

A report this month from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan predicts the state’s population declines (and subsequent school enrollment losses) and the late September deadline for schools to have spent federal COVID relief money will lead to school closures.

That’s because the federal money, which amounted to about $6 billion for Michigan schools, provided a financial cushion that allowed district leaders to put off some tough decisions about enrollment declines. Their budgets, which must be adopted by June 30, must account for the loss of that money.

“When those federal resources go away, districts are going to have to right size their budgets,” said Craig Thiel, research director at the nonpartisan research organization.

Michigan’s population is rapidly aging, while the number of students enrolled in public schools has declined dramatically in the last two decades. The state has lost 16% of the public school population since 2003. Enrollment during the 2022-23 school year was 1.4 million students.

The pandemic brought more significant challenges. Many districts lost students as some families chose to home-school their children and others enrolled their children in private schools. Enrollment in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, the state’s largest, is down 2,000 students, for a total of nearly 49,000 this school year.

Thiel recently talked to Chalkbeat about the report, for a conversation that was recorded for the research organization’s Facts Matter podcast. You can find that podcast, which also discusses another CRC report on debt relief the state provided for some financially troubled school districts, here. The below conversation was edited for length and clarity.

What is happening with Michigan’s population and how is that affecting students?

While the population is stagnant, within that broad population, there are some substantial changes. And what we’re seeing is that we’re becoming an older state. So our aging population is increasing, and it’s projected to continue to increase while our younger age cohorts decline, specifically our school-age population. So as we look forward, what we see is a continuation of the aging of our population. And so when we kind of focus into what that means … public schools are going to continue to deal with this declining enrollment challenge that they’ve been dealing with going back to about 2003. At that time, the state had about 1.7 million public school students enrolled. Today, we have less than 1.4 million. The vast majority of [Michigan’s 800 plus school districts] have dealt with some degree of declining enrollment, some to much greater degree than others.

Which areas of the state are seeing the biggest declines?

We’ve seen some hollowing out of our urban areas with people moving out of urban areas into ring suburbs and suburban areas. I’d also point out in our rural communities as well, population growth has been stagnant and also aging. So the number of school-aged children has been declining in those communities as well. So it’s not a geographic specific area of the state. It’s kind of across the state.

Should school closures be the answer to declining enrollment?

School buildings are physical infrastructures. They’re designed to accommodate a certain size of the student body in terms of the number of classrooms, the square footage. As enrollments decline, the cost of maintaining those facilities becomes much more expensive on a per student level. And, you know, that’s important because we largely fund school districts in the state based on the number of students who enroll. So as declining enrollment happens, there’s fewer resources, and then those resources have to be stretched further across larger physical footprints in the school district.

To what extent has the federal COVID relief {which directed about $6 billion to Michigan schools as part of pandemic recovery efforts}, delayed some of these difficult conversations in districts that have experienced steady enrollment losses.

The federal government has stepped in with this large infusion of resources to help districts manage through the challenges of keeping schools open, and then pivoting to helping students recover from the learning loss when schools were closed. And those dollars, you know, to some degree papered over these long-term trends of depressing state resources coming in. And when those federal resources go away, districts are going to have to right size their budgets. And when they do so they’re going to find out well, the declining enrollment has also reduced our ability to bring in resources. So it’s kind of a confluence of both factors, the long-term declining enrollment trend and the expiration of these federal resources that are going to bring some serious financial decisions to bear for local districts. There’s going to be this funding cliff that districts have to face in fairly short order when these federal dollars expire at the end of 2024 here.

You’re predicting school closures will be a necessity, but do you think schools will actually begin closing buildings?

It’s really difficult [for] decision-makers running schools because the effects are quite wide. Closing schools, especially when students aren’t redistributed to better schools can affect student learning and their progress, their educational attainment. They’re disruptive to families, as well as staff in those schools having to develop new relationships with new teachers, and new school personnel. And the broader community is affected because schools, as we know, serve a larger purpose than just providing educational services. They serve as a civic and social and cultural space for gathering. But the finances are really what are driving the need to look at school closures. And we’ve seen over the period of declining enrollment that districts have been closing buildings. We’ve seen about a 16% decline in the number of K-12 students in the last decade or so. And we’ve seen a similar reduction in the number of buildings of about 12% in the traditional public schools sector. So they are closing schools to meet the financial realities. Our report here suggests that, you know, while the federal resources have kind of put those decisions on the back burner, they’re going to bring them to the fore in the near term when the federal resources expire.

What about a district like the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where school closures historically have resulted in even more enrollment losses. In a city like Detroit, where parents have a number of options, can the district afford to close schools?

Detroit is probably a good example of where … there’s a number of other alternative service providers in the city who are situated nearby the traditional public school buildings. And with the challenges of transportation in the city, families are going to look to what’s nearby for enrolling their students. When the declining enrollment is hitting and school closures hit, there’s no guarantee that those students are going to re-enroll in the same public school district. They’re likely to look at an alternative provider, so then it’s going to likely be a larger net loss to the district in this instance. So there’s going to be some pressure to maintain the operation of that building. But the reality is that it’s going to be more expensive to run that building.

So how does a school board make that trade-off of deciding what’s more costly?

It’s going to take some very strategic thinking and looking at what’s happened in the past. it’s also going to require that district to make its case [about] the competitive effects.

Will the declining enrollment trend, coupled with the loss of the federal dollars, take us back to the days when many districts were in heavy competition with each other for students?

It does strike me as kind of an odd proposition if we were to see an expansion of competition back to what we saw maybe 10-20 years ago. If that happens, there’ll be some real efforts to quote unquote, steal students, because you’re chasing after a shrinking pie. I don’t have my crystal ball. So I’m not entirely sure what’s going to happen in terms of new actors coming in, in competing. I do know that, you know, about 50% of the resident student population in Detroit, is attending something other than the traditional public school district in Detroit. And that’s been about the same, more or less for a number of years. The competition is there right now. And I think it’s going to continue to stay there regardless of the declining enrollment trend here that we’re projecting for the next few decades.

Michigan has a number of small school districts. Can the state continue to sustain that if enrollment continues to decline?

School district consolidations have been very rare relative to school closures. But those discussions are going to have to come to the fore in [suburban communities], but in rural communities as well. The state has encouraged districts to look at this as an option. It hasn’t mandated it. We’re a local control state; I don’t foresee a day when we’re going to mandate that. But the state has been encouraging it and incentivizing districts with some state dollars to at least investigate that. The other option that doesn’t get as much attention is kind of service sharing and service consolidation, where districts will still exist on paper and look like they always have, but really the services that are being provided are being done so jointly by the same personnel. So think of back office services that school districts provide like food and administration, curriculum development, transportation. Those aren’t as visible to the public.

Detroit and Flint school districts have made some tough decisions approaching the deadline. Would you have expected to see more widespread discussions across the state?

To some degree, the federal dollars have given decision-makers an opportunity to put these tougher decisions on the back burner, and haven’t brought them to the fore. Schools are going to be sitting down here and drafting their budgets for the 2024-25 school year in the next month or so. This declining enrollment, loss of federal funds need to be front and center for more school districts in the state, especially in terms of bringing in other voices to the decision-making process in schools.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

From preschool to community college tuition: What Whitmer wants to give away free

2024-01-25T14:57:45+00:00

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised Wednesday to make the state’s free preschool available to all 4-year-olds regardless of family income, two years ahead of schedule.

In her annual State of the State address, Whitmer also said she would urge lawmakers to expand an existing program that provides free tuition to community colleges. The current program is for people ages 21 and up; Whitmer wants to make it available to students graduating from high school.

Those were two of the biggest ideas Whitmer pushed during a speech that was heavy on ideas but no specifics on how the proposals would be funded. More details are expected when she presents her budget proposal to lawmakers, likely in February.

Until then, here’s what you need to know about what she proposed Wednesday:

Expanding preschool program to reach more students

It was a year ago that Whitmer announced plans to make the Great Start Readiness Program, a free preschool program that targets students mostly from low-income families, available to all 4-year-olds in the state. The plan then was to phase in the expansion until 2026. But in her address Thursday, she announced a new timeline.

“In our next budget, let’s deliver pre-K for every single 4-year-old in Michigan, two years ahead of schedule,” Whitmer said to applause.

She said the universal free program would save families $10,000 each year. Preschool can be expensive, and a fact sheet that accompanied Whitmer’s speech said 40% of Michigan’s 4-year-olds do not attend a preschool program.

But expanding it to serve all 4-year-olds may prove difficult. Early childhood program providers have said they have difficulty finding teachers, and the funding they receive doesn’t allow them to pay teachers and other staff a livable wage.

Still, Whitmer says the expansion is needed to give students a good start in their education journey. She said it is key to improving academic performance, which has lagged for years.

“Four-year-olds who go to pre-K arrive at kindergarten better prepared to learn,” she said. “They are more likely to graduate, go to college, and earn more over their lifetime. And we know higher education or skills training leads to higher incomes.”

Free community college for all high school graduates

Whitmer, who is pushing to increase the number of Michigan residents who have a postsecondary degree or certificate, proposes providing free tuition for high school graduates to attend one of Michigan’s 28 community colleges.

The proposal has been lauded since it was first reported Tuesday by the Associated Press.

Free community college tuition “has the potential to attract and retain newcomers to the Great Lakes State,” Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest, said in a statement. “Though it will take time to fund such a grand vision, it’s important to set strategic goals for the state to work toward over time.

Whitmer said those pursuing an associates degree or skills certificate at a community college “can save an average of $4,000 on tuition.”

“This is a transformational opportunity for graduating seniors and will help us achieve our Sixty by 30 goal of having 60% of adults earn a post-secondary degree or skills training by 2030,” she said.

Michigan already provides free community college for residents who are 21 years old or older and pursuing an associates degree or an eligible skills certificate.

Whitmer to push to extend free school meals

This school year, the state invested millions of dollars to provide access to free school breakfasts and lunches for every student, regardless of income. The Michigan Department of Education said in November that every district in the state is participating in the program, meaning nearly 1.4 million children have access to free meals.

But the funding was available for just one year, and there are efforts to ensure these free meals are available for future school years. Whitmer said Wednesday that she planned to include the meals in her budget proposal.

Whitmer said the initiative allows students to “focus on learning and so their parents save $850 a year on groceries, per student.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach Lori at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit students getting limited food options due to strike at distributor

2024-01-11T18:18:30+00:00

Meal options will be limited for students in the Detroit school district for the next week or two because an employee strike against the district’s main food distributor is causing disruptions in service.

Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, told district families about the disruption on Wednesday.

“All students in all schools at all grade levels will continue to be fed breakfast and lunch,” Vitti said Thursday morning during a policy conference in Detroit.

“The menu will be lighter, but we’ll continue to feed everyone,” Vitti said.

The disruption to school meals is particularly important in a district like Detroit, where a significant proportion of students come from low-income homes and rely on the breakfasts and lunches they receive at school.

US Foods is a national company that distributes food to schools, restaurants, health care facilities, and hospitality businesses such as hotels. The company has a distribution center in Wixom.

Officials from the company could not be reached for comment.

Angela Angeles’ four children, who attend Maybury Elementary and Priest Elementary in southwest Detroit, began complaining earlier in the week that their portion sizes for lunch have gotten smaller.

The district notified parents about the US Foods strike Thursday morning via text message, she said.

As a former parent outreach coordinator for DPSCD, Angeles said she had seen school cafeterias run short of certain items.

“Sometimes it’d be like, pizza and french fries (for lunch) and then some kids would just get pizza and no french fries, because they will run out of french fries, so we offer them something else,” Angeles said. “Once they run out of french fries or chicken nuggets, they substitute it with corn or stuff like that for different grades.”

Until US Foods is able to resume normal deliveries, Angeles said she will make sure her children eat breakfast before going to school and have them bring a packed lunch.

Vitti said the strike by the company’s truck drivers is “preventing the district from receiving the volume of food regularly received to feed students.” He said the district was exploring other food vendors in order to provide basic food options to students.

Vitti said the closest strike affecting Detroit schools was in Wixom and was resolved Wednesday.

“There are still some lingering supply chain issues, but we will continue to feed all children breakfast and lunch.”

Detroit isn’t the only school district affected. In Indiana, WTHR reported that some districts were experiencing delays in food deliveries.

BridgeDetroit reporter Micah Walker contributed to this report.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach Lori at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Orlando Bailey is the engagement director for BridgeDetroit. You can reach him at obailey@bridgedetroit.com

Eight key Michigan education stories we’ll be watching in 2024

2024-01-05T19:41:50+00:00

With elections that could alter the state’s political balance, a new agency getting involved in education issues, debates over funding and budgets, and numerous policy changes taking effect, 2024 will be an eventful year for education in Michigan.

Educators and advocates who recorded big victories for their reform agenda in 2023 will look to keep their momentum in 2024 and tackle what they see as some unfinished business — specifically, dealing with staffing needs and locking in more equitable and sustainable funding for public schools.

But they face a number of obstacles and uncertainties, including the potential for economic and political shifts.

“I think a lot of us will be looking at the budget in 2024,” said Bob McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, which advocates for public schools. “We put really good building blocks in place in 2023. But can we find a long-term, sustainable solution for funding?”

“When looking at things like social workers, we can’t make the hires we need without knowing there is long-term funding in place,” McCann added. “We need to find ways to make sure these programs will be funded, even in leaner budget years. Those are the critical next steps.”

Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, said it’s essential that reasonable increases in per-pupil funding continue.

“It will depend on state revenue and the economy, so it’s hard to say what it will look like moving forward,” she said. “I’m hopeful about where we’re at now and that it is only going to increase. But history tells us otherwise, and that’s always concerning.”

Here is a preview of some of the top stories Chalkbeat Detroit will be watching in 2024.

School funding: The push for equity continues

The end of federal COVID relief aid for education has increased the pressure on school district finances this year and reignited the conversation about equity in school funding.

Michigan has historically been among the worst states in the nation for big gaps in school funding between wealthy and impoverished communities. Educators and advocates have criticized the state’s current method of funding schools for decades and pushed for an overhaul of the system.

Last year, the state passed a historic $21.5 billion school aid budget that provided gains for the students with the most needs. An “opportunity index” measure in the budget allocates more weighted funding to districts with higher concentrations of poverty. Previously, the state gave the same amount of per-pupil dollars to all students considered to be at risk, regardless of the poverty levels in their districts.

Advocates say this type of funding boost would have to continue for decades in order to correct imbalances for districts that historically were underfunded.

2024 elections: Fate of Whitmer’s agenda at stake

Just over a year ago, Democrats solidified their power in Michigan by retaining the governor’s office and winning control of both chambers of the Legislature by slim margins. As a result, a number of education policy changes and priorities they fought years for became a reality in 2023.

This year’s elections will test the Democrats’ strength. Already, their legislative power is diminished: Two Democratic House members won mayoral races at the end of 2023, and their departure leaves the House with a 54-54 partisan split, at least until new members are chosen in an April 16 special election.

Both seats are in heavily Democratic districts. But given the stakes of the election — potential control of the House and the power to advance or thwart Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s agenda — political analysts are waiting to see if Republicans will make an aggressive push to flip the seats in their favor. A total of 12 candidates have filed to run in a Jan. 30 primary for those seats.

Voters cast ballots at the Robert Bowens Senior Citizens Center in Pontiac during the August 2022 primary. This year's elections will be a test of the political strength Democrats gained in the 2022 election.

Another test will come in the November general election, when the entire House will be up for election.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District will have contests for three school board seats in November, with the potential to alter the dynamic of the seven-seat board.

The Michigan State Board of Education will also have seats up for grabs in 2024, and other potential changes tied to the elections. The only two Republican-held seats on the board are up for election, and Republicans will likely fight hard to keep them.

One of the Republican members, Nikki Snyder, is currently campaigning in the Aug. 5 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Debbie Stabenbow. And Board President Pamela Pugh, a Democrat whose term expires at the start of 2031, said she plans to run for an open U.S. House seat in 2024.

Candidates for the board are typically announced at party nominating conventions, usually in the summer. The primary elections for the U.S. House and Senate seats will be Aug. 6.

Of course, 2024 is also a presidential election year, and debates over school choice, teacher pay, student mental health, and curriculum have already begun to play out in the campaigns ahead of primary contests beginning this month. Candidates vying for the Republican nomination have also made an issue of learning materials and library books containing mentions of racism as well as sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ matters.

Student health: Bills and health centers in the works

Amid the continuing recovery from the pandemic, more legislators from both parties are acknowledging the mental health struggles students are experiencing, and they’re supporting bills to improve access to mental health services. Several more bills were introduced in 2023 and we expect to see movement on them in 2024.

One bill would allow K-12 public school students to take up to five mental-health days a school year as excused absences. State Sen. Sarah Anthony, a Democrat from Lansing who introduced the bill, said she will advocate for it to move quickly through the education committee when the legislative session begins.

Many advocates are still pushing for Michigan to add more counselors to its public schools. The state reported last year it added over 1,300 mental health professionals to schools since 2018, but it’s still short of the average student-to-counselor ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association.

The 2024 school aid budget includes $33 million for school-based health centers and another $45 million to upgrade existing centers. Watch for the impact of that spending to appear this year.

DPSCD is set to open a total of 12 high school-based health hubs over the next three years with $4.5 million in philanthropic grants. Some of the hubs have already opened, offering medical, dental, and mental health care.

Legislators from both parties are supporting bills to improve access to mental health services. One bill introduced last year would allow K-12 public school students to take up to five mental-health days a school year as excused absences.

Special education: How will the state deal with staffing shortages?

School staffing shortages have been a problem in Michigan schools for years, and they’re particularly pronounced in special education. The state’s list of critical shortage areas for schools includes special education administrators, teachers, and support staff in every disability and role. These shortages can make it difficult to comply with state and federal rules on serving students with disabilities.

Much of the discussion regarding special education shortages has been focused on teachers, and not as much on the support staff whose roles are critical to ensuring that students are evaluated and receive the services they are entitled to. This was highlighted during a meeting of the Detroit school board last month, when a handful of special education support staff urged board members to address the shortages they say have led to increased caseloads.

How schools address shortages in special education and other areas is critical to ensuring that students receive a quality education. Though many efforts are underway to address the problem — including training programs that give aspiring teachers a quicker route to the classroom and programs that aim to get high school students interested in teaching — they won’t provide the solution schools and students need now.

MiLEAP: New agency will take on some education functions

Whitmer in July issued an executive order establishing the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, which focuses on improving educational outcomes for students in preschool through postsecondary programs. Michelle Richard, who was the governor’s senior education adviser, will lead the department, known as MiLEAP.

With the new agency under a cabinet-level leader, the governor’s office will be more directly accountable for educational performance in the state. That is something critics of the state’s current system have demanded for years. Some education stakeholders hope this will allow the governor to make faster changes in education policy.

The department moves forward in 2024 with work on issues such as child care licensing, before- and after-school programming, and college scholarships. Meanwhile, educators, administrators, and policy makers will be watching whether MiLEAP leads to more efficiency or more bureaucracy.

The department is made up of three offices: early childhood education, higher education, and education partnerships. It takes over several functions previously handled by the Michigan Department of Education, including the Office of Great Start, which serves the educational needs of children up to age 8.

‘Right to literacy’ settlement: How will DPSCD allocate $94.4 million?

DPSCD has a big new pile of state money to help address problems with reading and literacy for students in the district, thanks to a settlement in the 2020 “right to literacy” lawsuit.

The state appropriated $94.4 million under the settlement, and DPSCD has until 2027 to spend the money. But big decisions will come this year on how the money can best be used to improve student achievement.

A task force is working on recommendations to the district on how to spend the money, based on community input. Its recommendations are due by June 30. The district doesn’t have to adopt the recommendations, but Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has said the district will consider them.

District officials have been previewing their own ideas for how the money might be spent, including hiring more academic interventionists, increasing literacy support for high school students, and expanding teacher training on how to help students who are several grades below reading level. At a school board retreat in November, school board members brainstormed solutions that included training high schoolers to teach basic reading to young children, and partnerships with maternal health programs and early childhood centers to help educate families about literacy before their children enter school.

One thing to keep an eye on is whether the solutions meet the terms of the legal settlement requiring that the money be invested in programs that follow evidence-based literacy strategies. The money can also be used to reduce class sizes for K-3 students, upgrade school facilities, and provide students with more reading materials.

School safety: Proposals respond to Oxford killings

Legislation and reform aimed at preventing school shootings will remain a top priority for lawmakers in 2024.

Since the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School, where a 15-year-old killed four students and injured seven others, Michigan has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into improving school safety.

The 2024 school aid budget allocated $328 million to improving student safety and mental health.

Numerous bills addressing school safety were also introduced last year, including one that would mandate that all school buildings be equipped with panic alarms, one that would create a state office of school safety, and one that would require an emergency safety manager in each district.

In November, Snyder, the State Board of Education member, proposed a resolution calling for stricter safety training requirements for school staff and increased accountability for school employees and administrators for safety lapses. The proposal came after an independent report on the Oxford H.S. shooting found multiple failures by school administrators to take steps to prevent the killings.

The board didn’t adopt the resolution, but many members expressed interest in revisiting it after more input from state officials.

Chronic absenteeism: Will schools succeed in improving attendance?

Last year brought some encouraging news with small declines in chronic absenteeism. But even with those dips, large numbers of students in the Detroit district and across the state are missing far too much school.

A sign at Samuel Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit promotes regular attendance. Chronic absenteeism rates have improved in Detroit and across the state, but they remain high.

We’ll have our eye on this issue, because efforts to improve student achievement won’t work when classrooms are missing students on a regular basis, and teachers are constantly having to reteach material that students missed.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 18 or more days in a school year. During the last school year, nearly 31% of Michigan students were chronically absent. In the Detroit Public Schools Community District, the rate was 66%.

Important issues to watch in 2024: Will schools find innovative ways to improve attendance? What happens to students whose frequent absences trigger punitive acti on? And will communities band together to address the causes of chronic absenteeism?

Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

These are the 6 storylines that defined Michigan education news in 2023

2023-12-21T16:16:06+00:00

This was a transformative year for education in Michigan. Democrats took control of the state Legislature and rolled back some of the reforms enacted during Republican control.

Gone are the requirements for holding back struggling readers, using test scores to evaluate teachers, and giving letter grades to schools.

A new state education department was launched with an eye on improving outcomes for students. The state education budget invested historic amounts of money in the most vulnerable children.

The news went beyond Lansing, of course. Schools in Detroit dealt with budget cuts precipitated by the loss of federal COVID relief funding, which dried up in the district. They also tried to address high rates of chronic absenteeism.

As we head into the holidays and into a new year, here’s a look back at six big story themes from 2023:

Chronic absenteeism continues to threaten pandemic recovery

All the education reforms in the world won’t make a difference if students aren’t coming to school every day. That poses a particular problem in Michigan, where low achievement levels have driven calls for improving the way students are educated and schools are funded.

Those efforts have bumped up against data showing nearly a third of Michigan students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year, meaning they missed 18 or more school days; in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, two-thirds were chronically absent.

Chalkbeat Detroit has made reporting on chronic absenteeism a priority, because it’s important for readers to understand the consequences of frequent absences, the reasons students miss school, and the broader factors that are fueling absenteeism.

During 2023, we wrote about how Detroit’s spotty transportation options for students make it difficult for some to get to school every day. We also wrote about a state law enacted in 2015 that punishes parents of chronically absent students. If those parents receive public assistance, the state has the option of yanking that aid. Family poverty is a leading contributor to student absenteeism, and as Chalkbeat reported, some research has found that punitive approaches to chronic absenteeism don’t work. Critics argued the state shouldn’t take away assistance from the very families who need it the most.

Chalkbeat took readers inside Gompers Elementary-Middle School to capture efforts to improve chronic absenteeism. We introduced you to Effie Harris, an attendance agent whose work is at the center of those efforts, and students such as Jay’Sean who were benefiting from a mentoring program that paired students at risk for chronic absence with an adult in the school. We also reported on community efforts to boost attendance.

Finally, we reported on some positive developments after after the dramatic increases in chronic absenteeism during the pandemic. The state’s 30% rate in 2022-23 was down from 38% in 2021-22, and DPSCD’s 66% rate was down from 80% in the previous year.

Democrats take control of Lansing, roll back GOP school reforms

For the first time in decades, Democrats had control of the Michigan Legislature and the governor’s office. They didn’t waste any time flexing that power, and applied much of it to the state’s schools.

Among the big moves lawmakers made during 2023: They repealed Michigan’s A-F letter grade accountability system for schools. They repealed the portion of the Read by Grade 3 law that requires schools hold back third graders who are a year or more behind in reading. They passed legislation that restores the collective bargaining rights of teachers — rights that were removed under Republican control more than a decade ago. Legislation was also enacted to remove student test scores as a factor in evaluating teachers.

Perhaps the biggest move was in the passage of a state K-12 budget that was lauded by many education experts and advocacy groups as groundbreaking, because it reflected an aggressive approach to addressing learning that was lost during the pandemic, and because it allocated more money to some of the most vulnerable students in the state.

Much of the Democratic-led education legislation passed along party lines, with Republicans largely opposed. Some of the opponents told Chalkbeat for a recent story that they believe accountability and transparency have been removed from classrooms.

New state education department launched

Among the other big political issues that grabbed headlines in Michigan was Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement in July that she was creating a new education department focused on improving outcomes for students in preschool through postsecondary programs.

The new department is the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, or MiLEAP. It is taking on some functions previously handled by the Michigan Department of Education, such as early childhood education.

Some cheered the announcement, saying it would give the governor more direct control over some important functions. But others worried that a new department would create more layers of bureaucracy. The State Board of Education, which oversees the MDE, asked the state attorney general’s office to rule on the legitimacy of the department.

The department launched this month with Michelle Richard, a Whitmer adviser, as its acting director.

Federal relief aid is on its way out in Michigan schools

As we’ve reported for more than a year, federal COVID relief funding has helped school districts pay for expanded tutoring, mental health services for students, and other resources needed to recover from the pandemic. It has also helped school districts, particularly those that are financially troubled, become more secure.

But that money has already dried up in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which undertook the difficult task of cutting positions and laying off some staff during the spring. The federal funds don’t run out until September 2024, but because the district allocated more than half of its nearly $1.3 billion allocation toward a massive facility plan, the district hit what experts have described as a fiscal cliff sooner than most other districts in the state.

Early in the year, Chalkbeat reported on whether school districts are ready for the impending loss of the federal aid. And throughout the spring, we provided consistent coverage of the debate over cuts in the Detroit school district, as some in the community worried that the district could return to the days of state control, when financial crises led to routine cutbacks and school closures.

Detroit district finally gets literacy lawsuit money

The 2016 Detroit “right to literacy” lawsuit was finally fully resolved this year when the Michigan Legislature allocated $94.4 million to support literacy efforts in the Detroit school district. As part of the settlement in that suit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had committed to including the funding in her budget proposals, but it wasn’t until Democrats took control of the Legislature that her proposal became a reality.

Now, the focus turns to how that money will be spent. There is no shortage of opinions on how that money will benefit students most. A task force required by the settlement held meetings this fall to hear from residents and is required to deliver recommendations to the district. Detroit school board members discussed options during a November retreat.

The money comes at a crucial time. Improving reading skills among Detroit schoolchildren has been a large concern for decades. Reading scores for Detroit students have ranked among the lowest in the nation over the past decade and a half.

Mixed news on early childhood education

State officials have made early childhood education a priority for years now, and this year, lawmakers took a step toward ensuring that any child, regardless of family income, is eligible to enroll in the state’s free preschool program. And Whitmer has also pushed to expand access to child care programs. Meanwhile, a report released this summer said Michigan is improving outcomes for early childhood health and education.

But the early childhood education industry in Michigan is still unstable. Staffing shortages will make expansion efforts difficult. Child care providers have demanded more funding so they can pay their workers competitive wages. And federal COVID relief money that was intended to keep child care centers open during the pandemic dried up in September, leaving some predicting the loss of the money will result in programs closing or increasing costs.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

In their words: The students, teachers, and advocates we heard from in 2023

2023-12-19T21:22:56+00:00

At Chalkbeat Detroit, we take seriously our mission to inform readers about efforts to improve public education in Michigan and explain how inequities create barriers to learning.

Crucial to our work is ensuring that the voices of the people who have the most at stake — students, parents, advocates, teachers, and other school staff — are front and center.

That’s part of our regular reporting. But we also elevate these voices with special features, such as first-person essays, How I Teach features, interview Q&As, and other formats.

As we wrap up 2023, we’re looking back at some of the voices we showcased over the last 12 months. Below, you’ll see highlights of those pieces.

And as always, if you have a story you’d like to share, or know of a voice that deserves to be heard, please reach out to us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Confronting racial violence with tenderness

I am required to teach Abraham Lincoln and how he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but not about the felony disenfranchisement that keeps many of my students’ families from experiencing true freedom.
N’Kengé Robertson

Detroit teacher N’Kengé Robertson tackled issues of racial violence and identity in this first-person piece. She explains that learning materials often leave out “critical conversations of race, gender, religion, language, and sexuality,” and fail to capture the lived experiences of students they’re supposed to reach. To address that, she said, she worked with her high school students to “improve the situation by compiling new resources, reshaping our lessons, and moving away from Eurocentric narratives in our classroom.”

Detroit students shed light on the need for self-love, inner peace

The pandemic has done a number on me. I don’t and can’t go anywhere, can’t sleep some nights, always see the negative before the positive, and I doubt almost everything and everyone around me.
TaMyra Smith

Detroit teen TaMyra Smith wrote about mental health and depression as part of Local Circles, a nonprofit that works with youth to research issues that are important to them.

In February, we published excerpts of student-written pieces about mental health that shed light on some of the post-pandemic struggles students are facing. The writing was part of a project of an organization called Local Circles. The participants included one student who said she struggled with depression, and another who urged students to seek help when they need it. For the most part, they agreed that self-love and inner peace are important for their healing. There is still widespread concern about the mental health challenges of students who are grappling with the after-effects of the pandemic. Adults trying to address this must listen to what young people are saying they need.

A Detroit man’s passion for getting kids to school every day

It was heartbreaking to me to see these children squandering an opportunity that later in life they’ll have to pay to get.
Larry Simmons

Chronic absenteeism has been a major storyline for Chalkbeat Detroit for more than a year. We’ve given readers a close-up view of one Detroit school’s efforts to get students to school regularly, the role community agencies have played, and barriers to improving attendance, such as spotty transportation and a state policy that punishes the parents of chronically absent students. In this interview Q&A, retired pastor Larry Simmons talked about what drove his years-long effort to help get kids in school regularly, and what it felt like to see children walking around his neighborhood when they should have been in school.

Looking at the world through a similar lens at Michigan camp

Detroit teen Torrance Johnson wrote a first-person essay about attending a Michigan camp for children with muscular dystrophy.

I rejoice in thoughts that my lost friends are running around happy and alive in the afterlife; at the same time, my heart aches, because they are no longer by my side.
Torrance Johnson

Detroit teen Torrance Johnson wrote a first-person piece, a version of which was initially published by the Detroit Writing Room, about how a camp in Lexington, Michigan, for children with muscular dystrophy changed his life. Going to this camp each year gave him an opportunity to be around other children like him who have muscular dystrophy. He wrote of the joys that brought, but also the sadness of losing friends.

Adults failed her when she was a kid. Now she is a watchdog for children.

No adults ever took the time to ask what was behind my surface-level behavioral issues … despite best practices and what research tells us about kids who “act up.”
Hannah Dellinger

Chalkbeat Detroit reporter Hannah Dellinger wrote a first-person essay about overcoming childhood trauma.

Chalkbeat Detroit reporter Hannah Dellinger, who joined our team in June, wrote an intensely personal essay about her experiences overcoming trauma. The sexual abuse she suffered as a young child led to behavior problems in school — signs of the trauma that adults ignored. Hannah’s piece illustrates not only the importance of having school staff trained to meet the needs of students struggling with trauma, but also how important it is for adults to be able to act on telltale signs that a student isn’t just acting out, but perhaps exhibiting the effects of trauma.

This Detroit teacher’s mission: Bring back school libraries

I really need to impress and stress how important going to school is and the work that students do there, not only because they’re young and they’re learning, but also because it has long-term ramifications for their life. The absence of libraries is an atrocity.
Josie Silver

Josie Silver teaches early elementary grades in the Detroit school district, and one thing she’s passionate about is equipping her children with books that will fuel their love of learning. Chalkbeat highlighted Silver as part of its regular How I Teach column, in part because the educator had been named a Michigan Collaborative Teacher Leader. Silver talked about the need for school libraries, and the challenges she has faced teaching students who are still struggling to rebound academically from the pandemic.

Detroit student who fought for ‘right to literacy’ is still in the fight

We obligate children to go to schools, but we don’t obligate schools to teach.
Jamarria Hall

Jamarria Hall was the lead plaintiff in the historic lawsuit that claimed state officials had deprived Detroit students of a right to literacy.

Jamarria Hall was the face of the historic 2016 “right to read” lawsuit that argued state officials failed to provide a basic reading education when they oversaw the Detroit school district between 2009 and 2016 under emergency management. Hall was a high school student when that lawsuit was filed, and became the lead plaintiff. Now 23, he told Chalkbeat in this interview that he sees the $94 million the state allocated this year to the district — part of a 2021 settlement of the case — as a way for young people to have a say in their future.

Michigan’s History Teacher of the Year helps educators combat racist myths

The world is such a fascinating place. Each student has passion and curiosity inside them, and I am so honored whenever I can play a small part in igniting these things.
Matt Vriesman

Teacher Matt Vriesman was named Michigan History Teacher of the Year.

In 2020, as the nation was undergoing a racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd, an administrator asked social studies teacher Matt Vriesman to share resources with other teachers. Vriesman had already adapted his own classroom lessons after realizing that state standards don’t always provide an accurate view of race, slavery, and injustice. That request turned into something bigger than his East Kentwood High School building. Vriesman, whom Chalkbeat featured in a How I Teach piece after he was named Michigan History Teacher of the Year, created a website that provides antiracism resources for Advanced Placement teachers across the nation. This work is important to Vriesman, who teaches at one of the most diverse schools in the state. “We are always looking for new ways to bring in the knowledge and experience of our students into the classroom,” he said. “It makes world history so much more ‘real’ for students.”

Michigan’s top teacher wants more focus on mental health, learning recovery

Many children are dealing with mental health issues themselves or dealing with the mental health issue of a parent or caregiver. In Michigan, we need to put as much time, resources, and funding into meeting the students’ mental needs as we do their physical and educational needs.
Candice Jackson

Detroit educator Candice Jackson was named Michigan Teacher of the Year.

Soon after being named Michigan’s Teacher of the Year, Candice Jackson used her new platform to push for schools to address the academic and mental health needs that have lingered as schools attempt to help students recover from the pandemic. Williams, the first Detroit district teacher to be recognized as the state’s top teacher since the 2006-07 school year, told Chalkbeat that students need counseling services and social-emotional learning programs to get back on track. That will pay off academically, she said, because stronger mental health “enhances academic performance, supports overall well-being, enables early interventions, and has short-term and long-term positive outcomes for students.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit district staff raise concerns about shortages and delays in special education evaluations

2023-12-13T22:05:44+00:00

Heavy caseloads and staff shortages are leaving some Detroit students still waiting to be evaluated for special education services, multiple school employees and advocates said during a school board meeting Tuesday.

Their concerns, particularly comments about students whose lack of services had been brought to the board before but remain unresolved, prompted board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo to demand the district fix the problem and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to say he would more actively hold staff accountable for addressing the complaints.

The issues underscore the challenges facing the Detroit Public Schools Community District and its efforts to serve some of the most vulnerable children. Nearly 14% of the population in the district are students with disabilities, and like many school districts across the nation, the Detroit district struggles to hire qualified special education staff. Most of its academic vacancies are in the special education department (called the exceptional student education department in the Detroit district).

Board members heard from a speech language pathologist who said that as of Nov. 30, 73 students needed her support, but she described herself as powerless because “there are not enough of us.”

She urged the district to “do anything you can to recruit and retain excellent speech pathologists,” and noted that children with speech challenges “have a right to communicate to their God-given potential.”

The board heard from other ancillary staff (including speech pathologists, social workers, and occupational therapists) who said delays in providing an Individualized Education Program, which federal law requires for students with disabilities, is a problem in the district.

Parent and advocate Melissa Redman, a frequent speaker at board meetings and critic of the district, said the parent of a child whose delays she had previously brought to the board is still waiting for an IEP.

“It’s been a month,” Redman said.”She still hasn’t heard anything.”

The delays are putting pressure on existing staff, said Janice Smith, a district social worker. That’s difficult given their job duties have expanded since COVID, as there’s been concern about the mental health challenges of students. She said staff feel overworked and undervalued.

“School social workers give out hearty hugs and high fives while also providing grief counseling to students, families, and staff,” Smith said.

Vitti, after hearing from the public, responded to the comments, saying “I’m actually discouraged by the number of examples that were named tonight from ESE ancillary staff of the lack of follow up.”

He said he would begin to regularly attend monthly meetings between ancillary staff and central office staff. He said he would also make sure staff respond to concerns raised by staff in writing to him

One thing that was unclear Tuesday is just how widespread the district’s issue with IEP delays are. Federal law requires that schools convene an IEP team within 30 days of a parent request to determine eligibility for their child.

“Without a doubt, we will not be in compliance with IEPs if we’re not fully staffed,” Vitti said.

That will be a tough problem to solve. He said the district has vacancies of 18 social workers, 34 speech language pathologists, and 10 occupational therapists.

Gay-Dagnogo said she’s received ongoing complaints for months about the IEP process.

“This is a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen,” she said.

Vitti said the district will need to dramatically increase salaries.

“We’re competing with not only surrounding school districts that aren’t dealing with the larger concentration of students (with disabilities), but we’re also competing with private companies,” Vitti said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach Lori at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan lawmakers OK debt relief for some districts, and a change in teacher evaluations

2023-11-03T21:50:57+00:00

Another round of education legislation is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk after Michigan lawmakers passed a budget bill that will provide debt relief for some of the most financially troubled districts in the state, as well as a bill that will change how teachers are evaluated.

The bills are further illustration of how Democrats’ rise to power this year in the Michigan Legislature has changed the education landscape in the state. In addition to the bills that passed this week, the Democratic majority has halted key GOP-backed education initiatives of the past decade and a half, such as state laws that required schools hold back some struggling third graders, required the state to assign letter grades to schools, and weakened teacher bargaining rights.

The bills were forwarded to Whitmer during a busy week for education news in Michigan: Lawmakers in the House discussed a new bill that would require charter schools to post teacher salary information on their websites. A new report on the deadly Oxford High School shooting in 2021 left some asking for more information. And state officials released new information about school districts providing free meals for students.

Here is more on the new legislation:

Struggling school districts get debt relief

Advocates for months have pushed lawmakers to provide debt relief for a handful of school districts, several of which had been under emergency management by the state. That paid off Thursday when lawmakers approved a supplemental budget bill that in part will whittle down debt for districts in Benton Harbor, Pontiac, Muskegon Heights, and Ypsilanti.

“Fixing the debt is going to help out everybody,” Seven Green, a fifth grader in Benton Harbor, said in a statement from the Michigan Education Justice Coalition, which had pushed for the debt relief. “It helps the teachers, the staff, the buildings, and the students would get more attention.”

Also benefiting are homeowners in the former Inkster Public Schools district, which was dissolved by the state in 2013 because of its massive debt. Even though the district closed, taxpayers were on the hook for millions of dollars in debt. Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat from Livonia, said in testimony Thursday that without the aid, the debt wouldn’t be paid off until 2032. The supplemental bill erases that $12 million debt.

“My constituents in Inkster need this relief, they deserve this relief, and if they choose to try and resurrect their school district, it can’t happen without remaining debt forgiveness,” Polehanki said.

Here’s how the debt relief will benefit the other districts:

The Pontiac School District will receive up to $18.4 million to pay an outstanding emergency loan balance.
Benton Harbor Area Schools will receive up to $10 million to pay an outstanding emergency loan balance.
The Muskegon Heights School District will receive up to $31.3 million to pay an outstanding emergency loan balance, outstanding school bond loan fund balances, school loan revolving fund balances, associated general obligation unlimited tax debt, or costs associated with the payoff of debt.
Ypsilanti Community Schools will receive up to $5.5 million to pay the outstanding long-term limited tax debt held by the Michigan Finance Authority.
The former Willow Run Community Schools (which consolidated with the Ypsilanti district in 2013) will receive up to $19.36 million to pay outstanding school bond loan fund balances or school loan revolving fund balances.

The bill passed in the House and Senate along party lines, with Republicans opposed to the spending plans.

A statement from the Benton Harbor district described the debt relief as a “vital lifeline.”

“This relief is not just a financial reprieve but a moral support to our entire school community,” Superintendent Kelvin Butts said in the statement. “It stands as a testament to the faith that the State of Michigan and our local representatives have in our future.”

Millions allocated to ensure safe drinking water in schools

Schools and child care centers can get financial help from the state to ensure their drinking water is safe.

The supplemental bill that passed Thursday allocates $50 million for the purchase of drinking water filtration devices for schools and child care centers.

This comes just weeks after Michigan lawmakers passed new laws that Whitmer described in a statement at the time as protecting children. The laws now require schools and child care centers to install filtered faucets, develop a drinking water management plan, and conduct routine sampling and testing to ensure safe and accessible drinking water for children, the statement said.

Teacher evaluation legislation gets final passage

The Legislature this week passed a bill that would eliminate test scores as a factor in how teachers are evaluated. The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans opposed.

Current state law requires that student scores on standardized tests count for 40% of a teacher’s performance rating.

The bill that passed Wednesday eliminates that requirement and allows districts to use their own criteria for evaluating teachers, such as classroom observations, samples of student work, rubrics, and lesson plans.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

‘Child care disaster’ looms in Michigan after COVID aid expires, advocates say

2023-10-03T19:32:11+00:00

Nina Hodge is willing to forgo some of her salary to make sure she can continue paying her employees at the Above and Beyond Learning Childcare Center in Detroit.

“They deserve a living wage,” said Hodge, the director and owner of the center.

She and other child care providers in Michigan are preparing to take drastic measures now that federal COVID relief funds that helped keep many centers afloat during the pandemic ran out Sept. 24. That relief came in the form of increased reimbursement rates providers received for low-income families who receive child care subsidies from the state.

Those higher rates were considered temporary during the course of the pandemic because they were funded with federal dollars that would eventually expire. Although the new rates are higher than they were before COVID, providers will still see a big reduction from what they became used to during the pandemic.

“Child care reimbursement rates may not fully support the true cost of quality, including offering competitive wages to attract and retain child care workers,” the Michigan Department of Education said in a letter to providers and families about the end of the temporary rates.

Early childhood advocates have been sounding the alarm about the loss of this money and the consequences for providers and the families who rely on their services. Without state intervention, they say, some providers will close, leaving child care workers out of work and the neediest families without child care services. Other providers, they say, will reduce services or increase their rates, or both.

A handful of organizations sent a letter last week to every Michigan lawmaker, urging them to “prevent an approaching child care disaster” by approving a supplemental budget that would maintain the funding levels that recently expired. In the letter, they said rates are declining by 26%. Department officials said they had not calculated such a percentage.

“We need new state investment now more than ever to help stabilize child care operations in Michigan. Without needed new investment, it is certain more child care businesses will close leaving a projected 56,000 young children without stable care outside the home,” the letter said.

The organizations that signed on to the letter were Michigan’s Children, Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children, Think Babies Michigan, and Michigan League for Public Policy.

The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, projected in a report earlier this year that nearly 56,700 children would lose child care services due to the drop in reimbursement rates.” That report predicted the child care funding cliff would cause 1,261 Michigan child care facilities to close. Nationwide, the foundation projected 3.2 million children to lose services and more than 70,000 facilities to close.

Some national early childhood experts, however, have taken a more conservative tone. They told Vox they don’t expect the impact to be as great, in part because some states have invested heavily in child care in recent years.

Michigan’s child care system already struggling

But if the dire predictions become true in Michigan, it would further destabilize an already troubled early childhood system.

A 2022 Muckrock investigation concluded Michigan’s child care system was in crisis, with far more so-called deserts — areas of the state where demand far outweighs available slots — than policymakers had estimated. Meanwhile, staffing challenges have made it difficult to hire staff, and low wages have providers competing with other industries for workers.

In May, more than 100 people picketed and chanted outside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Detroit office, hoping to raise awareness of challenges in the industry and demanding more funding than lawmakers had already proposed in the state budget.

“This industry is broken to begin with,” said Matt Gillard, president and CEO of Michigan’s Children, a nonprofit advocacy organization. “It’s going to require increased public investment at both the state and federal level to solve the child care problem.”

Gillard said he hopes Michigan lawmakers act on the message in the letter his group and others sent last week. He said Michigan is “the only state that has Democratic control that has not really moved significantly to offset the reduction of the reimbursement rates with increased state resources.

“There’s a real fear out there that we’re going to see a significant number of providers either go out of business or maybe stop taking children that are eligible for a subsidy and focus their efforts on families who are able to pay higher amounts,” he said.

Michigan has done some good things, Gillard said, including a plan to transition the state to provide universal free preschool to 4-year-olds, regardless of income. Michigan has also gone to a system of reimbursing providers based on enrollment, not attendance, which would provide guaranteed funding.

Stacey LaRouche, a spokeswoman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, cited the recent investments, including the expansion to universal preschool, in a statement to Chalkbeat. But she didn’t say whether Whitmer would push to maintain the pandemic-era rates. LaRouche said Whitmer also set a goal to open 1,000 new child care programs, and the state is 90% of the way to that goal.

“We will continue to closely monitor childcare access and strengthen our economy by helping parents return to work knowing their children are safe and learning,” LaRouche said.

For now, providers such as Hodge are planning for the worst. She had a recent meeting with her accountant in which she discussed plans to reduce the salary she pays herself from $50,000 to $30,000. Reducing the wages of her employees isn’t an option, Hodge said.

“These are the people who keep our economy going, who keep our economy thriving,” she said.

That’s precisely why there was so much effort to keep child care centers afloat during the pandemic, because essential workers needed places to send their children while they worked on the front lines of the health crisis.

Up north in Traverse City, Anna Fryer is the director and co-owner of Teddy Bear Day Care and Preschool, which has three locations in the city. Starting in 2020, the federal relief money helped subsidize salaries for workers during a delicate time when “our bank accounts were dwindling.”

To address the loss of the money and rising costs, the business recently raised its rates by between 5% and 6%. It was not an ideal decision, she said, “because we don’t want to tuition ourselves out of business.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. Reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit students are heading back to school. Here’s what you need to know.

2023-08-25T19:51:24+00:00

Monday marks new beginnings as nearly 49,000 students in the Detroit school district return to class.

Classes will start just a few days after members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers ratified a new one-year contract deal that provides pay raises and bonuses for members.

The year begins with big questions about how Detroit will manage its enrollment challenges and protect students from the impact of budget cuts.

The new year also marks a stepped-up campaign against chronic absenteeism, as the district plans new health hubs to help kids attend school regularly and reassigns attendance agents to maximize their impact.

Here is what you need to know about some key issues facing in the district:

How will budget cuts affect students?

Detroit district officials made some strategic, but painful and controversial, cuts in the spring to balance the budget and account for enrollment losses and the depletion of federal COVID relief money.

The cuts have already hit hard, as summer school was scaled down significantly, leaving parents who wanted summer learning for their children scrambling for other options.

The big question for this school year is how the cuts will affect student learning. We already know that high school students will feel the cuts with the elimination of college transition advisers, whose job was to help students with the transition from high school to college or careers. Without that help, students may struggle to evaluate their postsecondary options and navigate the college selection process.

The district also eliminated several hundred administrative positions, including assistant principals, deans, and school culture facilitators in some schools. Some staff were able to switch to other positions in the district.

Enrollment challenges continue in Detroit

Nearly 49,000 students are enrolled in the Detroit district, down from nearly 51,000 before the pandemic.

Enrollment declines in Michigan schools can be dire financially. Schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, so the loss of each student in Detroit means about $9,600 less funding this school year.

For the last few years, the district was able to use federal COVID relief money to fill in gaps created by the enrollment loss. But that money is no longer available.

The question this school year is whether the district will see enough growth to stabilize its enrollment. Vitti shared some promising news at a recent school board meeting: As of Aug. 4, more than 2,500 new students had enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, compared with 1,626 at this time last year.

But he has also faced questions from the community and some board members about whether the district is doing enough, and whether its strategy to target preschool enrollment growth will work.

New chronic absenteeism strategies in place

The chronic absenteeism rate was 68% at the end of the last school year. That’s better than the 77% rate from the year before, but the rate of students missing a significant number of days is still high.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 18 or more days in a school year.

This school year, the district is employing new strategies, and getting tougher on chronically absent students.

The district has shifted many of its attendance agents who were assigned to individual schools to work in the central office to provide districtwide attendance outreach. Schools with the highest rates of chronic absenteeism will retain their agents; some will receive an additional agent.

Meanwhile, the district is considering a new policy that would force chronically absent students enrolled in a school outside their neighborhood to attend a school closer to their home. Vitti has also proposed a policy that would force students who missed more than 50% of the school year to repeat a grade.

Lawsuit settlement means more literacy help for students

Michigan lawmakers approved a budget that provided the Detroit district with $94.4 million to settle a 2016 lawsuit over the quality of reading instruction. The suit alleged the state was complicit in poor education outcomes for students while the district was under the control of state-appointed emergency managers.

The lawsuit was settled in 2020, with the stipulation that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would propose the $94.4 million. It took three years to get it through the Legislature.

The district now has additional resources to address longstanding challenges with literacy. DPSCD officials have already shared proposals to use the money to hire academic interventionists to provide one-on-one support to students struggling with reading.

The Detroit Literacy Equity Task Force was created after the settlement agreement was signed and includes representation from teachers, district administrators, students, support staff, and the community. It is tasked with holding a series of community meetings to get input from the public on how the money should be spent and with developing recommendations to the district based on the input. Those recommendations are due by June 30.

The group held its first community meeting Monday.

Student and families to get help at health hubs

The district will open five health hubs at high schools this school year. The hubs are designed to provide students and families with the medical resources and services they need to ensure that students attend school regularly.

Twelve health hubs in total will open in the district over a three years.

Funding comes from a $2.76 million grant from the Ballmer Group and a combined $1.8 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and Children’s Foundation. (The Kellogg and Kresge foundations are Chalkbeat funders.)

School leaders have increased flexibility to suspend students

School leaders in the Detroit district have broader authority to deal with discipline problems thanks to a change in the district’s code of conduct.

Under revisions approved by the school board, deans and principals have greater flexibility to impose out-of-school suspensions, and could suspend a student after just the first instance of fighting. It marks a sharp reversal from less punitive policies the district adopted just five years ago.

The changes have drawn criticism from some students and advocates who fear school officials will use suspensions in place of other interventions and strategies.

But they are in line with what’s been happening across the country as lawmakers make it easier to kick disruptive students out of school. The pivot toward stricter discipline reflects growing concerns about student behavior and school violence.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach Lori at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

It’s a new school year in Michigan. What’s the biggest issue at your school?

2023-08-23T12:00:00+00:00

Over the next few weeks, students in school districts and charter schools across Michigan will return to the classroom for the 2023-24 school year. Some have already started.

At Chalkbeat Detroit, our team of reporters and editors began preparing for the new school year weeks ago, with discussions about our reporting and engagement priorities.

Our work isn’t done though. We need input from our readers, because you are often the eyes and ears that help us ensure that our reporting is relevant and captures the voices of those who have the most at stake in decisions made at the district and state levels.

We’ll continue to home in on chronic absenteeism, which is a problem not just in Detroit — where many district and charter schools have high rates of students missing school — but also across Michigan.

Last school year, we reported on how persistent transportation woes have fueled absenteeism. We also took a look at a Michigan law that punishes poor parents for their children’s absenteeism by withholding public assistance. Recently, we shared some promising news: The chronic absenteeism rate in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which soared to around 77% at the height of the pandemic, declined during the last school year. And soon, we’ll provide an inside look at one school’s quest to reduce its high chronic absenteeism rate.

The Chalkbeat Detroit team is ready to hear what education issues are important to our readers. Our Detroit-based team, clockwise from far left, are Hannah Dellinger, K-12 reporter; Emiliana Sandoval, managing editor for style and standards; Ethan Bakuli, Detroit schools reporter; Elaine Cromie, photo editor; Krishnan Anantharaman, story editor; and Lori Higgins, bureau chief.

We’ll also be keeping an eye on how students are affected as federal COVID relief dries up in school districts across the country. We’ve already covered how that has played out in DPSCD, which made painful budget cuts in the spring. We’ll also be monitoring continued efforts to help students recover from the pandemic.

Please take a few minutes to take the survey below and share your thoughts on what you’re most interested in, what questions you have, and what topics need more coverage. Your feedback is invaluable to us.

This isn’t your only opportunity to reach out. You can contact the bureau anytime at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

If you are having trouble viewing this form, go here.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief at Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan’s History Teacher of the Year helps educators combat racist myths

2023-08-15T21:55:36+00:00

Matt Vriesman was studying the work of leading professional historians during graduate school when he noticed over and over that there was a big gap between what historians have proven about race, slavery, and injustice, and what gets printed in state standards.

One textbook, for example, said Black Americans switched their allegiance from Republicans to Democrats because of relief checks during the Great Depression.

“The sentence that I found suspect was not only not true, it was not even debatable,” said Vriesman, a history teacher at East Kentwood High School who was recently named Michigan History Teacher of the Year. “It was a pure myth that served a purpose of minimizing racial injustice and Black agency.”

Vriesman teaches in one of the most diverse high schools in the state, and what he found during graduate school inspired changes to his own teaching lessons. But as much of the country was undergoing a racial reckoning after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, a school administrator asked him to provide resources for other district educators.

That led to the creation of a website that includes 40 lesson plans that are tied to U.S. History content standards created by the College Board, which oversees advanced placement classes. Vriesman teaches Advanced Placement classes in U.S. History, African American Studies, and World History at East Kentwood High.

The website antiracistapush.com (the “apush” stands for AP U.S. History) helps teachers “go beyond notoriously softened high school text narratives,” Vriesman says on the page.

Matt Vriesman was recently named Michigan History Teacher of the Year.

Vriesman came across that language, and other “shameful” gaps, while working on his graduate degree in history online. At the time, he was traveling in the Middle East and Asia for several years, teaching in Seoul and Kuwait City.

“They were some of the best years of my life,” said Vriesman, of his travels and teaching in the Middle East and Asia. “Why did I go? Adventure and to experience and learn as much about the world as possible.”

Now, he’s inspiring an appreciation of history and the world in Kentwood Public Schools, a west Michigan district near Grand Rapids. During a 16-year teaching career, Vriesman has found success connecting with students and inspiring them through their interests.

“It’s so exciting,” he says about seeing that interest sparked. “The world is such a fascinating place. Each student has passion and curiosity inside them, and I am so honored whenever I can play a small part in igniting these things.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

I realized when I was 14 and not starting on the JV baseball team that I probably would never become shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. Therefore I pursued my “fallback” career choice in education. Haha, no seriously, I have never wanted to be anything other than a history teacher.

How do you get to know your students?

It’s certainly not easy when you see 130 students every day. You need to make a concerted effort. Aside from common beginning-of-the-year “get to know you” activities, I try to greet students at the door every day and set aside class time for one-on-one meetings. I try to create a general class atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and valued. When students feel welcomed and free to be themselves, they tend to share a lot more, and these relationships are key for their growth as scholars.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

The first is the “Gunpowder Empires” game. I created a mixture of [the games] Monopoly and Risk. Students are in teams surrounding a map with a grid. The teams represent either the Ottomans, Safavid, or Mughal empires. Not only do they need to strategize the best use of the new gunpowder technology, they must also engineer great architectural or cultural wonders (Taj Mahal, Shah Mosque, Miniature Paintings, etc.). This game was created after living in the Middle East for a few years and traveling throughout Turkey and India.

The second is “The Trial of King George” I created this after completing a fascinating class on the American Revolution in graduate school. Students use the charges found in the Declaration of Independence to accuse or defend King George. To the students’ surprise each year, the case becomes a lot closer than they originally thought. Some of Thomas Jefferson’s charges are quite flimsy to say the least. It always gets very heated. So fun!

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your class?

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to teach World History in one of the most diverse school district in the state. Over 90 languages are spoken by our students. We are always looking for new ways to bring in the knowledge and experience of our students into the classroom. It makes world history so much more “real” for students. We aren’t just teaching a subject, we are teaching people.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

I remember my first set of conferences the best, the first semester I taught, 16 years ago. One student was giving me quite a bit of trouble and my strategy basically devolved into trying to isolate him as much as possible so I could get on teaching the other 30 students. This student seemed to have no desire to learn about history, and I reasoned that I’d tried my best and now I just needed to survive the semester. In a way, I’d given up on him.

Then I met his mom who was working her tail off and believed in her son but seemed to be overwhelmed and exasperated by his struggles at school. I saw she was looking to me to do something. Me, the one with the college degree and training, the one who signed up to get into this work because I said that I believed in every student’s potential. She was looking at me to do my job, and I realized that I just needed to be better. I realized that “giving up” and surviving was not an option. I needed to start each day new and greet every student with the belief that they could succeed.

I don’t think the rest of the semester changed his life or anything. But we did end the year on solid terms, and he passed. When I saw him as a problem student, I was ineffective. When I saw him as somebody’s son, someone who deserved the best public education that I could deliver, I instantly became more effective.

What part of your job is most difficult?

There are so many good times in the classroom. But not every second of every lesson is as inspiring and engaging as I want it to be. In those times, even after 16 years, I still find it very easy to start to question my ability to do this job. It’s hard, and we need to continue to affirm one another. It’s not going to look like you planned it every day, but in the end, sometimes you need to evaluate yourself based on effort and intention and cannot beat yourself up by outcomes. Adjust and move on!

Speaking of challenges, how have current debates about the teaching of historical events affected you in the classroom?

They have only empowered me and made my classes more interesting! It used to be harder to convince students that history class matters. The adults are doing a good job of proving that, and they are also giving us wonderfully relevant fodder to dissect and discuss.

Recommend a book that has helped you become a better teacher, and say why.

A love of reading is one of the key things that makes me a good teacher. I love to learn new things about how the world works, and I update my curriculum every year because of it. I don’t actually read many books about teaching, but I am typically reading two books about history at all times. The books I read this summer that have most helped to revive and sustain my love of learning are “The Black Count” by Tom Reiss and “Thomas Sankara: A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa” by Brian Peterson.

A book about teaching I would recommend is “Teaching Black History to White People” by Dr. Leonard Moore. I highly recommend it to all citizens, not just history teachers. The book starts with this line, “All white people should take a Black history class … although this seems like a radical statement, it is actually rooted in reason and practicality…”

A proper understanding of Black America’s struggle for liberty is key for “racial reparations, racial healing, and racial reconciliation,” the book says.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?

If you have a high AP passing rate, but your classroom does not look like your hallways (meaning the demographics of your AP classroom do not represent the diversity of your community) then you are not doing a good job. You are perpetuating the racial opportunity gap and you need to do better. Fueling your ego with impressive “score report stats” may lead to unintentional “gate keeping” where you push students into your class because you think they will help your score but advise other students to avoid the class. Instead, reach out to all learners, specially looking for students who may have never had a friend or family member take an AP class. Open up opportunities and do your part to shrink the shameful racial opportunity gap in American education. Your career can have a higher and more meaningful purpose.

What are some techniques you use to get students excited about history?

No. 1 You have to be evidently interested in the topic and understand why this lesson is important for student’s humanity, personal development, and future health of our community and democracy. If you are not into it, there is no chance that the teenagers will be.

No. 2 Memorizing dates and names is boring and not what historians actually do. I hear people say that they don’t like history, and it makes me sad. History is exhilarating. It is the very act of challenging common notions about why our reality is the way that it is. Historians don’t read books to memorize them, they read books to challenge them. We read books like a detective leaning over the suspect and challenging every claim. That’s exciting.

No. 3 You can turn almost any topic into a choose your own adventure game/debate.

What topics in history do you find your students are most interested in? What inspires them?

Students are most inspired when they feel called into the work of making our society live up to its original stated values. If you ask students what they think is required from a society to make it a good one to live in, just about every student will describe the basic classic liberal values that are described in the founding documents of this country. I find that the most engaging social studies class, while critical of the past and present institutions, makes students much more likely to want to become civically engaged.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. She can be reached at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

With Democrats in control in Michigan, teachers win back key bargaining rights

2023-07-26T20:43:46+00:00

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Wednesday that restores teacher bargaining rights that were legislated away more than a decade ago. It’s a big win for unions that have argued the laws put in place under Republican control limited the voices of school employees.

The governor’s signing comes during a year in which Democrats took control of both the Michigan Legislature and the governor’s office. And it came a week after Whitmer signed legislation that invested heavily in Michigan schools, especially in the state’s most vulnerable students.

The legislation, which received widespread support from teachers unions but was largely opposed by groups representing school administrators and school boards, would allow teachers to once again be able to bargain on issues such as performance evaluations, staff reductions, teacher placements, discipline, and classroom observations.

“We are sending a clear message that we value and respect them,” said Michigan Rep. Regina Weiss, a Democrat from Oak Park. “Teachers in Michigan will now once again have a voice in determining important employment conditions that impact their jobs and their classrooms, which will lead to stronger schools and improved student outcomes.”

Among the groups that advocated against the legislation was the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, which represents school districts in southeast Michigan. In a statement last month, the organization urged Whitmer to veto the legislation, saying it “makes it difficult for school administrators to effectively staff their schools and ultimately hurts students.”

House Republican Leader Matt Hall called the legislation “radical” in a statement after Whitmer endorsed it.

“Democrats are dismantling accountability metrics that help parents and teachers keep kids on track,” said Hall, a Republican from Richland Township. “They’re giving union bosses free rein to lord over the most important decisions at our schools. Teacher placement, performance evaluations, and communication with parents are all vital to creating an effective learning environment and fostering good working relationships with families.”

Whitmer also signed a handful of additional bills that are related to teachers. In a statement, she said that as a whole, all of the bills signed Wednesday will help Michigan recruit and retain skilled educators and counselors.

Here’s a breakdown of what several of those bills will do:

It will be easier for teachers from other states to be eligible to teach in Michigan. They would need to have met certain requirements, such as teaching successfully for three years in the state from which they’re moving. Another bill makes it easier for out-of-state counselors to receive licenses in Michigan.
Language requiring teachers in the Detroit Public Schools Community District to be evaluated solely based on student performance, was struck. Advocates had argued that DPSCD teachers should be held to the same criteria as other teachers in the state whose evaluations are based on several factors, one of which is student performance.
While seniority cannot be used as a sole factor in decisions regarding filling vacancies, it can be used as a tie-breaker if a personnel decision involves two or more employees for the position and “all other factors distinguishing those employees from each other are equal.” The legislation also requires “clear and transparent procedures” for all personnel decisions.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Audit criticizes Michigan education officials’ oversight of fingerprinting for school workers

2023-06-27T19:52:51+00:00

The Michigan Department of Education has no procedures in place to ensure school districts aren’t employing people who’ve been convicted of criminal offenses that prohibit them from working in schools, according to a state audit released Tuesday morning.

The report from the state Office of the Auditor General criticized MDE’s oversight of the fingerprinting and background check process for contract workers. These are people who perform functions such as substitute teaching, food service, and custodial and maintenance services.

State laws require Michigan school districts to ensure that all their employees and contract workers are fingerprinted and undergo background checks. Those laws were part of a sweeping package of legislation that went into effect in 2006 and were aimed at ensuring the safety of children in schools.

The laws bar schools from employing anyone who is on the sex offender registry. For those convicted of any felony or certain misdemeanors — such as criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree, child abuse in the third or fourth degree, and any misdemeanor involving cruelty, torture, or indecent exposure involving a child — a school board and superintendent must decide whether to employ or continue employing the person.

The audit found that some contract workers were hired without being fingerprinted, and some worked weeks, months, or even years before being fingerprinted.

The number of workers found to have been hired without the required fingerprinting was relatively small, but the audit report said “the deficiencies noted within this report would extend to all individuals regularly working in schools, regardless of their employment arrangement.”

The findings matter, the audit report said, because ineffective oversight by the state education department means there could be a significant threat to child safety “if individuals with unsuitable criminal convictions are provided direct and/or continued access to children through school employment.”

The auditors called for the department to implement procedures to help ensure that contracted staff are fingerprinted and that employment determinations are made for those with criminal convictions that require school boards and superintendents to decide on their continued employment. Department officials pushed back on that recommendation, saying in part that state law doesn’t require MDE to oversee or monitor the fingerprinting process. However, the department said that “in the interests of ensuring the safety of students,” MDE would work with the Michigan State Police to “enhance the monitoring process.”

The total number of contract workers in Michigan schools is unknown. But the audit says a statewide survey found that 91% of the districts in Michigan used contract workers. The 41 school districts sampled for the audit employed 5,010 contract workers.

Here are some of the additional findings in the audit:

An estimated 220 of 5,010 contract workers were never fingerprinted prior to employment.
Fingerprinting did not happen “in a timely manner” for three of 45 sampled workers. They were fingerprinted 23 days, 16 months, and 10 years, respectively, after being employed.
In some cases, MDE received conviction alerts about workers, but did not notify their school districts.
MDE routinely used outdated and incomplete employment data as part of its notification process.

Martin Ackley, spokesman for the education department, said in a statement to Chalkbeat that student safety is a priority and the MDE relies on its partners to ensure students are secure.

“School districts should not be hiring individuals whose criminal history demonstrates the potential to jeopardize the safety of children and other school staff. We do this in partnership with the Michigan State Police to ensure the safety of all Michigan children,” Ackley said.

He said MDE will discuss the auditor recommendations with the state Center for Educational Performance and Information “to have local school districts report employment changes more frequently during a school year.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief of Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan’s top teacher wants more focus on mental health, learning recovery

2023-06-15T18:40:41+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Like most teachers across the country, Candice Jackson has intensely felt the impact the pandemic has had on the academic and mental well-being of her third grade students.

Gaps in learning, she noted, “are still readily apparent,” and mental health concerns “are an overlooked issue in the classroom.”

These are issues Jackson, who was named Michigan Teacher of the Year during a surprise announcement last month, says are crucial to resolve. She will have a big platform to push for improvement as the state’s top teacher, representing teachers at State Board of Education monthly meetings and presenting on her learnings.

Jackson said students need counseling services and social-emotional learning programs to get back on track.

“This would involve increasing access to and funding for mental health services, reducing stigma, and providing adequate training to educators on how to recognize and respond to mental health concerns,” she said.

That work would pay off academically as well, she said, because stronger mental health “enhances academic performance, supports overall well-being, enables early interventions, and has short-term and long-term positive outcomes for students.”

Jackson teaches at Mann Learning Community in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and is the first district teacher to win the state honor since the 2006-07 school year. She will now represent Michigan in the National Teacher of the Year contest. Jackson spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

Candice Jackson is Michigan’s Teacher of the Year for 2023-24.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was an accounting major going into college. Freshman year, I was involved in a program where I was teaching basic accounting and economic principles to children in the community. I immediately loved the interaction with the children and their eagerness to learn the subject area. After I wrestled with the fact that I would make far less money teaching, switching majors was a no-brainer.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I am a math teacher, and I love teaching any math lesson that inspires that “Eureka” moment — that moment when students connect the dots and discover the learning. For third graders, it usually happens early in the year when they realize that multiplication is all about making equal groups.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

The effects of COVID are still very real and affect the classroom even in 2023. I am wrapping up my first uninterrupted school year since 2018-19. The gaps in learning are still readily apparent. My current third-grade students missed those informative years. Years where they learn not only basic skills but how to “do school” — how to walk in a line, how to hold a pencil, how to take turns, etc.

What will it take for students to catch up, not just in Detroit but across Michigan?

Schools need to provide targeted and intensive support to students who have fallen behind. This could involve additional tutoring, small-group instruction, or personalized learning plans to help them catch up on missed concepts. DPSCD has done a great job of this by using academic interventionists to provide targeted intervention. Schools also could consider creating extended learning opportunities such as summer programs, after-school programs, or weekend classes to provide extra instructional time. These programs can focus on essential skills and concepts to bridge the gaps in learning.

Schools also need to engage parents and the wider community in supporting students’ educational recovery. This school year, my school, Mann Learning Community, offered several make-and-take parent engagement events [projects that the family “makes” at the event and then “takes” home as a tool to support essential learning skills], which encouraged parental involvement and provided resources for at-home learning.

How do you approach news events in your classroom? Please provide an example.

Luckily, the average third grader is not keeping up with current events. I tend to leave hard conversations for the parents. But sometimes a conversation needs to be had. Most recently, with the school shooting at Michigan State University, the children had questions about school safety, and I had a candid conversation with them about the incident, including the fact that one of the victims was a former student at another DPSCD school I had taught at. I was able to show them a video I had saved of her from when she was their age.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I grew up in Macomb County, and I had very few teachers that looked like me. My third grade teacher Mrs. Harrington was African American, and she was the epitome of grace, poise, and sophistication. Unfortunately, that was one of the few encounters I had with a teacher that looked like me. That made me want to be what I did not have. Only 7.3% of Michigan’s teaching force is African American, and it is so important for children to see people that look like them in these positions.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

My first year teaching the principal told me, “Every parent is sending their absolute best to this school. That child who seems unlovable, unruly, and out of control, is the entire world to someone.” Keeping this in mind has helped ground my thinking when dealing with a hard-to-manage child and when communicating with parents. It helps me be less judgmental and more understanding of the story of the children that I teach. You never know what a child or a parent is dealing with, and under the circumstances, this may be their best.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“The Growth Mindset Playbook: A Teacher’s Guide to Promoting Student Success,” by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley was a game changer. When teachers make an adaptive change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, student growth is limitless. It is the difference between a child saying, “I can’t do this,” and a child saying, “I can’t do this yet.”

What new issues arose at your school and in your classroom during the 2022-23 school year? How did you address them?

Many children are dealing with mental health issues themselves or dealing with the mental health issue of a parent or caregiver. In Michigan, we need to put as much time, resources, and funding into meeting the students’ mental needs as we do their physical and educational needs. Increasing the number of mental health care professionals in education would be a great start.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

Self-care is of utmost importance. I like the quote, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” Having a work-life balance is important, and carving out time to do things that make you happy is essential. For me, that looks like travel, exercise, and yoga. I especially like hot yoga; if working out in 104 degrees does not make you connect with yourself, I don’t know what will.

What are some of the biggest issues facing the teaching profession right now? What do you want Michigan residents to know about what it’s like to be a teacher today?

One challenge facing education right now is the loss of COVID relief funds given to help mitigate learning loss. Schools must decide which initiatives to throw away and which to keep. Many fear this will lead to loss of traction in many areas.

I would like residents, lawmakers, parents, and stakeholders to understand the delicate balance that is involved in teaching. As educators, we must weave together many pieces to put on the show that is teaching. There is art and science to teaching. Our challenge this next year will be to take the reduced number of pieces we are given, “live” those pieces out, and weave them with best practices to produce productive and thoughtful little people.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit charter school to offer $100,000 teacher salaries

2023-05-25T18:44:38+00:00

A Detroit charter school is offering $100,000 annual salaries to certain teachers with five or more years of experience, in a bold bid to increase the number of certified teachers at the school.

The Detroit Academy of Arts & Sciences, which serves a little over 1,000 K-8 students, made the announcement Thursday morning. The school said the six-figure salary offer is part of an effort to improve student outcomes and to attract what it calls “best in class” teachers.

Teachers must meet a set of criteria in order to be eligible for the $100,000 pay.

They must have at least five or more years of experience as a classroom teacher or a lead teacher.
They must be rated highly effective in two of the last three years.
They must be fully certified.
They must demonstrate an impact on student outcomes, professionalism, commitment to equity, and family and community engagement.

“Revolutionary” is how Krystal Thomas, a 7th grade science teacher at DAAS, described the salary offer, according to the release.

“When you give teachers a livable wage, it makes the profession important,” said Thomas, who plans to pursue becoming a model teacher. “I’m really excited about this opportunity.”

Said Ja’Myrea Jones, an eighth-grader and the school’s valedictorian: “I think it is great that DAAS is committed to ensuring that our students have the best teachers in the classroom. Having highly effective teachers will help us become stronger scholars and future leaders.”

The district expects to hire 18 teachers with the $100,000 salary in time for the start of the 2023-24 school year. The new hires would receive a three-year contract, and would be required to maintain their ratings during that time.

Current staff are also eligible, though they would have to apply, and it’s unclear how many would qualify, a spokesperson for the school said Thursday.

At DAAS, 35% of the teachers aren’t fully certified, though many are going through the steps to earn certification. Seven years ago, 95% of the teachers were certified.

“Every child deserves to be taught by a best-in-class teacher,” Maurice Morton, CEO of the district, said during a news conference held at the school Thursday, according to a press release.

“By creating strong criteria to measure excellence for teachers and investing in their growth with a best-in-class compensation plan, we believe that we will have a profound impact on the educational outcomes for the children we serve.”

It’s not unheard of for teachers to make $100,000, but generally teachers earning at that level have many years of experience and/or are often receiving additional compensation for coaching or leading other extracurricular activities. Michigan ranks 16th in the nation for teacher pay, with an average of $64,884, according to the 2023 review of salaries by the National Education Association.

At DAAS, current teachers make salaries of between $49,000 to $72,000. The school will cover the higher salaries by reallocating portions of its budget.

The DAAS offer is one of many initiatives Michigan schools are using to address teaching shortages that are affecting districts across the state. A new program to recruit, retain, and develop teachers in five Michigan districts was announced Thursday by Teach for America Detroit.

Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, has made increasing staff salaries a critical budget initiative for the next school year, even as the district seeks to make budget cuts to account for the loss of federal COVID relief funding.

Battle Creek Public Schools on Wednesday announced an agreement with its union to provide a $10,000 increase to base pay, on average. District officials say the pay increase will make it one of the highest paying districts for new teachers in southwest Michigan.

“Everything that we do for our students begins with teachers, and we will continue to invest in them to ensure that together we are creating the conditions for success that our students need and deserve,” Battle Creek Superintendent Kimberly Carter said in a news release from the district.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief of Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Teach for America Detroit to help 5 Michigan districts retain and develop teachers

2023-05-25T04:02:00+00:00

An organization that has drawn hundreds of people into the teaching profession in Detroit by giving them a faster path into the classroom is expanding to five other Michigan communities with an initiative to recruit, retain, and develop more than 700 teachers.

The focus is on developing teachers in high-poverty schools, providing support and training, and thus improving outcomes for some of the most vulnerable students in Michigan.

Teach for America Detroit is launching Teach Michigan, which is partnering with Benzie County Central Schools, Kentwood Public Schools, Saginaw Public Schools, Sault Ste. Marie Area Public Schools, and Traverse City Area Public Schools to recruit educators on their staff who will earn stipends of $35,000 each over three years.

Those who apply and are accepted receive a $5,000 signing bonus, a $5,000 completion bonus after the first year, a $10,000 bonus after the end of the second year, and a $15,000 bonus after the final year.

The program offers three paths for educators: One focuses on early-career educators and is aimed at helping them strengthen their teaching skills. Another is focused on teachers who want to achieve the rigorous National Board Certification. And the third is for experienced teachers who want to take on administrative or supervisory roles.

In addition to the stipend, teachers selected will receive intense training during the three years.

Teach Michigan debuts at a time when many districts across Michigan are struggling to fill teaching jobs, and education leaders and policymakers are looking for ways to address that challenge. But recruiting more people into the profession only addresses part of a systemic problem, said Armen Hratchian, executive director of TFA Detroit.

“All of the talk is about the pipelines. But what are we doing to keep the ones who are already here?” he said.

It’s a question that has informed the organization’s work since 2019, when it began providing support in Detroit to help retain and develop teachers.

“There are really great people teaching every day in our schools, and in particular, in our under-resourced or high poverty communities across the state,” Hratchian said. “Roughly 400,000 students every day go to a school that would be considered high-poverty … . We know that we’re losing teachers at a faster rate in those schools.”

The new initiative will be tracked by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University, which has done comprehensive research on the state’s Read by Grade 3 law and other education issues.

Among the questions the EPIC researchers will seek to answer, Hratchian said, is whether this type of investment works, whether it increases retention, whether it improves student outcomes, and whether the educators who participate create better conditions for other educators around them.

TFA Detroit is part of Teach for America, a national organization that recently experienced some challenges that have resulted in layoffs. In Detroit, though, the local arm has been buoyed by a $30 million grant from the state of Michigan. The $60 million initiative has received grants from the Skillman Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Detroit Children’s Fund, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, AmeriCorps Michigan, Masco Corp., Ford Motor Co. Fund and Bank of America.

Skillman, Kellogg, and the United Way are Chalkbeat funders. Click here for a list of our supporters.

The five districts in the Teach Michigan program were chosen because they have strong, stable leadership, good relationships between the administration and school board, and strong district-union relationships, Hratchian said.

Saginaw Public Schools launched a “grow your own” program more than a year ago and helps existing staff earn teacher certification in two phases — one for employees with a bachelor’s degree and another for those with a high school diploma and/or an associate’s degree. The first group of more than 20 educators recently graduated from the program, said Superintendent Ramont Roberts, who has led the district for five years.

Teach Michigan fits into those efforts because of its focus on retention and development, Roberts said.

“We’re working hard to retain our current staff that we know are effective or highly effective instructors, so they don’t seek opportunities elsewhere,” he said. That can be a struggle in an urban district that has to compete with suburban schools that may be able to offer higher salaries.

The district is in the process of selecting the 30 educators who will be part of the first year of Teach Michigan. More than 70 people applied, Roberts said.

“It’s been an overwhelming response,” he said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Battle Creek scholarship program to pay up to 100% of college tuition for grads

2023-05-17T20:49:10+00:00

The Battle Creek high school seniors walked across the stage to enthusiastic applause as they formally announced their post-high school plans, but that couldn’t hold a candle to the big announcement that came after: A new scholarship program will pay for up to 100% of their college tuition and fees.

The Bearcat Advantage, part of a partnership between Battle Creek Public Schools and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will ensure that district graduates have an opportunity to attend college. The scholarships begin with the Class of 2023, who graduate next week, Superintendent Kimberly Carter said during a decision day event — one of many held across the country during the month of May that celebrate the post-graduation plans of high school seniors. The district enrolls 3,753 students, including 279 seniors.

At this event, which was live streamed on YouTube, the scholarship announcement overshadowed those decisions. Students learned that if they have been enrolled in the district since kindergarten, they will have 100% of their tuition and fees covered. The amount decreases depending on how many years a student has been enrolled. For instance, a student enrolled for just the four years of high school will have 65% of their tuition and fees covered.

It was unclear Wednesday afternoon how much the foundation had provided to launch the scholarship program.

“It’s amazing,” said Kapree Richardson, a sophomore at Battle Creek High School. “This is like a good side door to a lot of things people can’t do. A lot of people want to go to college, but a lot of people can’t afford the terms of going to college.”

Kapree was uncertain himself. “This right here, it helps me out a lot.”

The scholarships cover tuition and fees at Michigan public or private colleges and universities. It is also eligible to be used at nearly 100 historically Black colleges and universities.

“This will change your life,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. (The foundation is a Chalkbeat funder. Click here for a list of our supporters.)

The program is similar to the Kalamazoo Promise, which also covers up to 100% of tuition and fees for district graduates. Since it was announced in 2005, many other “promise” type scholarship programs have been created, including in Detroit, where eligible students can have their tuition costs covered through the Detroit Promise.

“This is our promise to this community,” Tabron said. “It’s our promise to all of you.”

The district and foundation have partnered for years. In 2017, the foundation gave the district a $51 million grant that was aimed at improving academic outcomes in the district. Carter said the grant helped the district create new academic and extracurricular programs for students, including career academies, dual enrollment programs, International Baccalaureate programs, and programs focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

“Over the last few years, our goal has been to use every resource, partnership and strategy available to make sure that each and every one of you succeeds,” Carter said. “For us, failure is not an option.”

The most recent data show that for the Class of 2022, the four-year graduation rate of the district was 58%, which is down from the pre-pandemic rate of 72% in 2018-19. For those who graduated in 2021 and enrolled in college, whether it was a four-year college or a community college, nearly 18% had to enroll in a remedial course because they needed an academic boost before taking more challenging college classes.

When the announcement came Wednesday afternoon, Carter was met with a loud round of applause. But Kapree said some students didn’t fully understand the magnitude of what they heard. But the adults knew. You could see many of them standing in ovation. Many were crying. “It was an emotional moment,” district spokesman Nate Hunt said.

“That is a blessing,” said Christina Taylor, who teaches high school geometry. “People should have been dropping to their knees. We are blessed beyond measurement. The only thing these children do is make sure they get to college. The resources are now there. That barrier has been lifted. Go home and let mom and dad know … the ball is in their court.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan Senate lawmakers spar before passing $21 billion school aid budget

2023-05-11T21:16:32+00:00

Lawmakers in the Michigan Senate sparred Thursday over a nearly $21 billion school spending plan that was hailed by Democrats as putting students and teachers first and derided by Republicans as sending too much money to initiatives that won’t improve learning.

The plan ultimately passed in the Senate on a 20-17 vote.

Like a Michigan House plan that was approved a day before, the Senate plan includes increased per-pupil funding, plus major spending to provide school meals to all students, and to increase funding for at-risk students and students with special education needs. The budgets also include significant increases in spending for early childhood education, programs to help students get back on track academically, mental health programs, and career and technical education.

Sen. Darrin Camilleri, a Democrat from Trenton, lauded the proposal’s inclusion of a 6% increase in the per-pupil foundation amount, which would bring it up to $9,700. The plan approved by the House would bring that amount up to $9,516. He also noted that the budget fully funds special education.

“We set out to create a budget with students and teachers at the forefront,” said Camilleri, who chairs the Senate Pre-K12 appropriations subcommittee. “And I am proud to say that we delivered on that promise.”

Sen. Lana Theis, a Republican from Brighton who voted no, said the budget ignored what she called a “crisis” in the education system.

“Student achievement is lacking. Parents are being ignored. Teachers are fleeing the profession. Time-tested solutions to strengthening school security and response are being ignored. Unfortunately, this budget doesn’t do much to address or resolve these problems,” Theis said.

She specifically called out a proposal in the Senate budget for $160 million to provide free breakfasts and lunches to all public school children. Currently, only students from low-income homes receive free school meals. Federal funding during the first two years of the pandemic that covered meals for all students has dried up.

Democrats rejected a Theis amendment that would have extended the universal meal access to private schools. It was one of more than two dozen amendments Republicans suggested to the school aid budget that failed.

“Every student in a public school is going to be eligible for a free lunch, even if mom and dad make millions,” Theis said. “But if mom and dad are scraping by so their children can go to a nonpublic school, well, their kids’ lunches are on them.”

Responding to Theis’ criticism, Camilleri said many wealthy parents send their children to private schools, so he sees no problem with providing meals to all public school students.

The House and Senate budget proposals attempt to move the state closer to a more equitable funding system that acknowledges that some students are more expensive to educate than others. Currently, a district’s per-pupil amount is increased by 11.5% for each at-risk student. Under the Senate plan, schools would continue to receive the additional 11.5%, but for those with the largest concentrations of children from low-income homes, the added payment would be as much as 15.3%. The House proposal would give districts an increase of 35% for at-risk students.

Students are identified as at risk based on a number of factors, including if they come from low-income families, are English language learners, are chronically absent, or are a victim of child abuse or neglect.

A number of studies in recent years have called out Michigan’s school funding system as being inadequate, particularly for the most vulnerable children. Earlier this year, the Education Trust-Midwest, an education research and advocacy organization based in Royal Oak, proposed a system that would provide even bigger increases than the last few budgets have for districts with large concentrations of children from low-income families and children who are English language learners.

Amber Arellano, executive director of the organization, said she supports the historic nature of the Senate proposal, including the way it provides additional funding for the most vulnerable children.

But she said the proposals “should be considered the beginning — not the end — of a conversation on overhauling Michigan’s unfair school funding system so that Michigan moves in the direction of a system that provides opportunity and access for all groups of students to achieve at high levels.”

Among the other Republican proposals that failed Thursday were restoring funding that helps schools hire school resource officers, eliminating funding for electric school buses, and eliminating funding to the Eastpointe school district that would pay for a new swimming pool.

Senate Republicans also pushed to restore funding for cyber charter schools. Cyber charters, where students attend school fully online, receive the same base amount of per-pupil funding as brick-and-mortar schools. But some have objected to that — including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her Republican predecessor, Rick Snyder — because cyber charters don’t have the same building, transportation, and other costs as schools that educate students in person. Charter school advocates have successfully pushed back attempts to reduce their funding — until this year.

The House proposal would keep funding for Michigan’s online charter schools at the current amount of $9,150 per pupil, while the Senate budget would cut their funding to $7,760 per pupil.

Sen. Joseph Bellino, a Republican from Monroe, said cyber charter schools provide an important option for some students.

“They’re children … Some have been bullied, some of them have disabilities, a high percentage come from low-income families, some only feel comfortable with an online setting,” Belllino said. “I urge my members to support all types of learning.”

Senate Democrats and Republicans sparred Thursday over an amendment Theis recommended that would allow schools to use their safety funding to purchase automated external defibrillators and trauma kits. The latter suggestion rankled Dems.

A typical school trauma kit is an advanced first aid kit containing equipment and supplies to treat a person with major injuries.

Sen. Sarah Anthony, a Democrat from Lansing, called the amendment “disingenuous” and said “school safety is a real and serious issue and should not be politicized.”

Both Democrats and Republicans pointed to reports of a third-grader in Grand Rapids bringing a gun to school this week, the fourth child to do so this school year. The latest incident prompted the district to announce it is banning backpacks.

Sen. Ed McBroom, a Republican from Waucedah Township, said he was puzzled by the discussion over safety funding.

“Why are we shouting at each other over defibrillators and the ability to have trauma kits in school?” he asked.

Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat from Royal Oak, noted that Republicans had earlier this year opposed legislation to require the safe storage of firearms. The legislation passed and Whitmer signed it into law.

“Providing trauma kits acknowledges that you accept a reality in which kids have to be prepared to be shot,” McMorrow said.

Because there are considerable differences in the Senate and House plans, a conference committee will have to work on bridging the gaps.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief of Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan schools would get funding boost under House and Senate budget proposals

2023-05-10T22:08:15+00:00

Michigan school districts would receive funding increases of between $366 and $550 per student, school breakfasts would be free for all, at-risk students would receive record funding, and the state would help cover some school transportation costs.

Those are some of the school funding proposals currently making their way through the Democratic-controlled Michigan Legislature.

The Michigan House on Wednesday approved a spending plan for public schools that would increase the per-pupil foundation amount to $9,516. That’s up 4% from the current amount of $9,150. The vote was 56-52, along party lines.

The Michigan Senate version of the school aid budget, likely to get a vote Thursday, would increase the per-pupil foundation amount to $9,700.

In the House, Democrats lauded its version of the budget, with some calling it “transformational.”

“This budget proposal does amazing things for every student in our state,” said Rep. Matt Koleszar, a Democrat from Plymouth who leads the House Education Committee.

Once both chambers have approved their respective budgets, a conference committee will iron out the differences, which are wide in some cases.

For example, they are far apart on how much to increase spending for students who are considered at risk. Students are identified as at risk based on a number of factors, including if they come from low-income families, are English language learners, are chronically absent, or are a victim of child abuse or neglect.

Currently, a district’s per-pupil amount is increased by 11.5% for each at-risk student.

Under the Senate plan, schools would continue to receive the additional 11.5%, but for those with the largest concentrations of children from low-income homes, the added payment would be as much as 15.3%.

The House proposal would give districts an increase of 35% for at-risk students.

Rep. Regina Weiss, a Democrat from Oak Park, said the House proposal would be the most the state has invested in the state’s neediest students.

Republican Rep. Brad Paquette, from Niles, voted no on the spending plan. He said that while there are some positive spending proposals, such as the foundation amount and increased spending on mental health, he is concerned about the increased spending on at-risk students, among other issues.

“The increase in at risk sounds like a noble increase. Ultimately these dollars become a slush fund for districts, where dollars do not track with the actual student that is in need,” Paquette said. “How can we ensure that these dollars actually follow those students who are deemed at risk?”

Paquette spoke against several other provisions of the budget, but he was cut off by the House member who was presiding over the chamber at the time while detailing his concerns over funding implicit-bias training after being told he was veering too far off the topic of the budget.

Democrats praised a proposal that would have the state spend $160 million to reimburse school districts for the cost of providing free breakfasts and lunches to all students. During the first two years of the pandemic, federal funding helped pay for free meals, but that funding ended.

“No one deserves to go hungry while they are attending school,” Koleszar said. “Students should focus on what they’re learning, not worry about where their next meal will come from.”

The Senate plan also allocates $160 million for meals.

The budget proposals also include $300 million for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Kids Back on Track program, which is aimed at helping students recover academically after pandemic-era declines in achievement; $94.4 million for the Detroit Public Schools Community District for the settlement of a literacy lawsuit; and $75 million to expand the Great Start Readiness Program, Michigan’s free preschool program for 4-year-olds.

Some other features of the budget proposals:

The House proposal includes $150 million in new funding for school transportation.
The House would keep funding for Michigan’s online charter schools to current per-pupil levels, while the Senate would cut their funding to $7,760 per pupil.
The House proposal includes one-time funding of $300 million over two years to provide public schools with per-pupil grants to improve mental health. The Senate plan includes $310 million for public schools and $17.5 million for private schools.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief of Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan child care providers demand more money to provide a livable wage

2023-05-08T18:37:13+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy.

The child care providers marched up and down Grand Boulevard in Detroit, chanting “No child care, no work” and other messages they hope will reach state officials with the power to address their demands.

“What do we want?” the woman with the megaphone asked the crowd.

“More money!” the crowd shouted.

“When do we want it? the leader asked.

“Now.”

The “Day Without Childcare Rally,” which took place outside the Cadillac Building, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a Detroit office, was held with the hope that state officials would include even more money for child care than has already been proposed in budget negotiations.

More than 100 people showed up for the Detroit protest. Similar demonstrations were happening across the U.S.

The demonstrators — a mix of child care and preschool providers, educators, and parents — say they appreciate Whitmer’s efforts to invest more heavily in child care, but they say it’s not enough. Whitmer’s budget proposal includes a tax credit of $1,000 to $3,000 for early childhood educators who work in child care, preschool, and after-school settings.

Whitmer has also proposed expanding the Great Start Readiness Program, the state’s free preschool program that currently serves mostly children from low-income families. The expansion would give thousands more 4-year-olds access to the program.

Among the demonstrators’ demands is additional funding so they can pay workers a living wage and an end to the state’s rating system for child care programs that assigns a star rating based on quality.

The national effort is pushing for an equitable child care system, thriving wages for providers, and affordable child care for all families.

Protesters advocating for more funding for child care programs in Michigan picket outside the Cadillac Building in Detroit.

Protesters in Detroit say providers struggle to pay their staff and themselves a living wage.

“In this line of work, I have to get paid in hugs and kisses because my families can’t afford to pay me adequate money to sustain myself,” said Makese Taylor, a licensed child care provider who operates Twins Hands with her sister.

“It leaves me part of the working poor,” Taylor said.

Another common message: Michigan’s economy can’t recover from the pandemic if the state’s system for providing care for children while their parents are at work isn’t healthy.

“Without child care, the economy can’t go,” Hodge said. “We should never be an afterthought.”

Bobby Leddy, spokesman for Whitmer, said in a statement that the governor “is using every tool in her toolbox to lower the cost of child care for Michigan families and address decades of disinvestment in child care.”

Leddy said Whitmer has already worked with Republican lawmakers, who controlled the Legislature until this year, to make child care more affordable for working families, stabilize child care businesses, and expand access to child care. In addition, the state is three-quarters of the way toward meeting a Whitmer goal to open 1,000 new child care programs.

“As a mom, the governor knows how important it is for parents to know their kids are safe while they’re at work,” Leddy said.

Michigan’s child care system has struggled to provide quality care for parents who need it, and to recruit and retain staff. A 2022 Muckrock report found that Michigan has far more child care deserts — regions of the state with too few facilities to meet demand — than policymakers estimated.

Earlier this year, a Chalkbeat story noted that Whitmer’s proposal to expand the free preschool program would need to address staffing shortages. Low wages are at the heart of the staffing challenges.

Symone Wilkes, a parent of two boys, came to a demonstration of child care providers because she said she wanted her voice to be heard.

Symone Wilkes, a single mother of two small boys, has experienced the child care desert problem firsthand. She said there are 16 providers in her neighborhood, but none had a slot available for her 1-year-old son. That meant having to travel well outside her neighborhood to find care, which has created its own set of challenges.

Wilkes came to the protest Monday because “our voices need to be heard” and so state officials understand the need for all families to have access to child care.

Many of the providers who participated in the protest shut down their facilities for the day, hoping that action would also send a message.

“We need them to hear us,” Taylor said.

Tichina Sanders, a child care teacher at Hodge’s facility, wants lawmakers to understand how essential her work is.

“We’re not just babysitters to kids,” said Sanders, who makes $13 an hour. “I’m helping them learn.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Mysterious illness at Detroit elementary school sickens students, prompts school closure

2023-05-04T17:41:08+00:00

Flu-like illnesses among a number of students at Marcus Garvey Academy prompted school administrators to shut down the school until Monday so the building can be cleaned and parents can monitor their children’s symptoms.

A district official said one student at the school, a kindergartener, has died. But it’s unclear whether the death is connected to the mysterious illness.

“At this time, the medical examiner has not determined the cause of death,” Chrystal Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, said in a statement.

Wilson said that this week, “the school has experienced an unusually high rate of flu-like symptoms including student fevers, and vomiting, namely at the early grade levels.

“We have been actively communicating with the Detroit Health Department about these cases and we have mutually agreed that the best course of action right now is to close the school until Monday,” Wilson said.

The health department said in a news release Wednesday night that its officials are working closely with DPSCD and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services “to monitor and trace all reported illnesses among students at that location.

“We do not yet have confirmation on the cause of the illness, and will share that information with Detroiters once that information has been confirmed,” the health department’s statement said.

The department urged parents of children ages 4-7 to seek medical care promptly if their child experiences fever, headache, lethargy, nausea/vomiting, or abdominal pain.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit Renaissance H.S. chess team captures a top prize at national competition

2023-04-04T19:30:35+00:00

The road to a national chess prize began in the fifth grade for Karrington Cobb, a senior at Detroit’s Renaissance High School whose team helped cement its legacy during a competition over the weekend.

She was an elementary student leaving school one day when she saw a signup table for a chess club. Enamored, Karrington begged her mother to let her join. It was then she met “Coach Robert,” who seven years later would lead Karrington and 12 other Renaissance students to the big prize.

“It’s great that I can go out like this with my team,” Karrington said Monday afternoon in an interview over Zoom, as her team stood around her in the background holding up their giant trophy. The students, still euphoric a day after the competition ended, spoke during a break in Ohio from their trip back to Detroit from Washington.

It was the first national win for the Renaissance team at the U.S. Chess Federation National High School Championship, where they finished above 67 other teams competing in the “under 800” category. That number is based on a team’s chess rating, with 100 being the beginning level and 3,000 being the top rating, said Daniel Lucas, spokesman for the chess federation.The overall national champion was from The Dalton School, a private school in New York.

Several other teams from the Detroit Public Schools Community District — Bates Academy, Cass Technical High School, and The School at Marygrove — also competed.

It was 2014 when the last district team, Chrysler Elementary School, won its category at the competition. In recent years, though, the district has invested resources and money in chess.

Renaissance coach Robert Taliaferro, who was inducted into the Detroit City Chess Club’s Harold Steen Hall of Fame in 2021, said he’s noticed an upswing in participation among Detroit students. It’s becoming more noticeable on the national stage.

“Usually it’s New York and California that have the big teams. Now, we’re bringing them,” Taliaferro said.

That’s partly due to the adults who give their time as adults and instructors. But it’s also due to the support from the district.

The number of teams and clubs in the district has grown from fewer than 20 in 2018 to 38 today. And the district now pays for the top three district teams, determined through city contests, to go to the national championship. Previously, teams had to fund their own way to the competition.

“That’s the only way they got here,” said LaRhonda Warren-McCann, director of the Metro Detroit Scholastic Chess League and a district employee.

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti tweeted Monday: “What an accomplishment for the players, coaches, families, and school! We have been rebuilding K-8 chess programs throughout the District so this means so much!!!”

In 2019, he told Chalkbeat that chess is also providing a perfect outlet for the kind of skills some students already possess.

“So many of our students are natural critical thinkers,” Vitti said then. “They are constantly having to strategically think through their daily lives to overcome challenges and barriers.”

Corey Boyce, a Renaissance sophomore on the team, began playing the game when he was in elementary school, because it was something his brother was interested in. But the game became more than just an opportunity to bond with his sibling. He said so much of what he learns in chess is about strategy.

“Chess is a great hobby to get into,” Corey said. “It’s not just a game. It teaches you life. When you look at things from a different angle … it just helps you navigate life.”

The students competed in seven rounds of competition over three days before they won in their division. It was grueling, tiring work, Corey said, but it was worth it.

“You got to keep going, and keep winning,” Corey said. “You have to have the right mindset to keep going and push forward to be the best chess players we can be.”

The Renaissance team includes 25 students, 13 of whom competed in Washington. Eight of them are seniors.

To keep the momentum going, Taliaferro said, he’ll be getting the word out, recruiting students in the school lunchroom and elsewhere and “letting them know what we did.”

For seniors like Carrington, one of the best things about winning this year “is leaving them with this legacy.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Tackling Michigan youth mental health crisis: Detroit teens say it takes self-love, inner peace

2023-03-02T16:45:48+00:00

About 20 Detroit teens last summer set out to answer some important questions about how their peers are dealing with mental health struggles.

These high school students, part of a city youth organization called Local Circles, wanted to know two things about their peers: How they practice self-love, and how they find peace in a world in which they constantly feel judged.

They are relevant questions. Schools across Michigan are struggling to address the mental health needs of students. Those troubles existed before the pandemic, but the isolation, lingering effects of remote learning, and challenges coping in the midst of a global health crisis have deepened them.

The Detroit teens detailed their findings, and in some cases confronted their own mental health worries, in written pieces. Chalkbeat is publishing excerpts of those pieces today.

Local Circles is an organization that employs young people to research issues that are important to them. Nicole Jurek, the executive director of the organization, wrote in her own piece that adults too often think of young people in terms of what they can do in the future. But they have a voice today, she said.

“Young people have value (intrinsically, as we all do) for what they can do now, in their youth,” she wrote.

Read the pieces below from high school students TaMyra Smith, Torrance Johnson, Amaya Nard, Drew Smith Jr., and Stephanie Haney.

When depression takes control

TaMyra Smith is a sophomore at the DPSCD Virtual Academy in Detroit.

There was a time in my life where the bad days outweighed the good days. Depression took control over my emotions, school became more depressing by the minute, I faced personal problems at home, and, worst of all, COVID had just come out. I could see that I wasn’t the only kid dealing with these issues, yet since 2020, our tears have been hidden in the crowd, and there are fake smiles everywhere.

I’ve heard people say, “Life isn’t all that bad,” and that might be right. But if that were true, we would have more mentally stable teens in this world. Unfortunately, it is the other way around. It has gotten to the point where we’ve all become distant from one another, with no one to talk to, so that pain is just sitting within. A friend of mine once said, “The world feels like a ton of bricks have just landed on my chest, and the load won’t get any lighter.” Why should we have to live like this if we’re the future? What are we supposed to do in order to make life a bit easier for us?

“The pandemic has done a number on me. I don’t and can’t go anywhere, can’t sleep some nights, always see the negative before the positive, and I doubt almost everything and everyone around me.” — TaMyra Smith

About six months ago, a few of my old friends from middle school and I got back in touch via Instagram. Man, oh man, did it feel like we were getting to know one another all over again, and the energy wasn’t the same at all. By the way they talked, I could feel and hear the sadness in their voices while trying to hide what was deep down. I’m not the smartest, but I can tell when something is wrong.

The pandemic has done a number on me. I don’t and can’t go anywhere, can’t sleep some nights, always see the negative before the positive, and I doubt almost everything and everyone around me. Just recently, I had five assignments from four different classes that had to be completed the same day. I convinced myself that all of it wouldn’t get done, and I was right. And then I received a C in three of those classes since the work was turned in late. See what I mean?

Just the thought of school makes you wish it was already Friday again. More work, more engaging with your classmates, sometimes I don’t even want to talk. Many of my peers say that they’re being overworked, as if this is college, and I agree.

There is only so much teens can take before we begin to not care and want to give up. You never know what goes on in our heads. It could be built up stress and anger that will soon be released. Us teens need to come together, build our own safe environment and stop going against one another.

TaMyra Smith is a sophomore at the DPSCD Virtual Academy in Detroit.

Music as love and therapy

Torrance Johnson is a junior at Clarenceville High School in Livonia.

What makes me feel the most like myself? If you were to look at me, the first thing you would see is the bulky power chair I’m in. For me, my power chair, or rather my disability, is a key part of my being, as the chair and I operate as one. The chair is the first thing most people notice, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I feel it’s one of my defining characteristics.

Beyond seeing it, whenever I move you can hear the whirring of my chair as my wheels go around. Once someone gets to know me, the chair will become what I use to go from one place to the next. However, this can cause me to struggle to view myself as an individual separate from my chair. I have found a way to remedy this, and I’ve found it in music.

“You don’t have to play like Bach or Beethoven to make something beautiful or something that allows you to let feelings out.” — Torrance Johnson

When I’m creating music there’s no wheelchair, no disability, there’s just me and a piano keyboard where I’m free to let my heart and soul create. Music is my love, my therapist, my peace, my freedom. To explain why I feel such relief and freedom in making music to express myself, I asked music therapist Matthew Bessette. “When you’re creating music, you connect with your emotions and express them on a different level of understanding and connection,” he said.

When using music to express yourself, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. You don’t have to play like Bach or Beethoven to make something beautiful or something that allows you to let feelings out. Since I started playing the piano in February, it has become a passion of mine and something I love to do.

While crafting the survey, my peers and I would meet once a week at a facility in Detroit. I couldn’t wait to go there and was typically the first to arrive. In the facility, there was a piano I would play while I anxiously awaited the arrival of my cohort.

I’d begin by playing a single note which can sometimes be the beginning step in describing how you feel. I’d glide my fingers across key by key, letting the anxiety flow from me into the piano, and what came to exist was beauty and freedom. The piano from left to right goes from low to high. As you might guess, a person who is sad would play slow, somber notes compared to a happy person playing upbeat lively notes. I typically experiment with different notes and chords that I don’t always know will reflect the emotion of my heart, brain and soul.

For however long I play, I feel safe and unjudged. I simply feel peace! And that is more than okay with me. Playing allowed me to give my burdens away and be able to enjoy being there in the moment with my cohort.

Torrance Johnson is a junior at Clarenceville High School in Livonia.

Families must practice and model self-love

Amaya Nard is a senior at My Virtual Academy.

One of the findings that stood out to me from the students we surveyed last summer was that people who said they had a positive view on self-love also had someone older in their life who told them the importance of self-love.

My experience with self-love was different. The importance of self-love was a foreign concept for me growing up. Things like rest and relaxation were not allowed for children in my environment. I often saw adults using unhealthy forms of coping, like substances, instead of practicing self-love. I didn’t follow their example. But I can’t say the same for other children in my family. That’s not to say I wasn’t affected. Self image issues are something that I struggle with a lot. According to our survey, the older people got, their view on self-love became more positive. This makes me think that your environment as well as the people around you growing up can affect your view on self-love.

“Everyone should understand that children needing rest isn’t laziness and parents taking care of themselves is not selfishness.” - Amaya Nard

As children we follow the adults in our lives. Learning the importance of self-love in your most formative years will have an effect on how you view yourself then and in the future. Having positive influences in your family can reduce stress and conflict, according to a 2022 study in the journal Wellbeing, Space and Society. Besides family, your environment also plays a role in your well-being. Things like stable housing, food security and overall safety can affect if you practice self-care. That being said, while family and your environment can play a role in how you care for yourself, the main thing is really how you feel about yourself.

Everyone should understand that children needing rest isn’t laziness, and parents taking care of themselves is not selfishness. Learning how to love yourself can be challenging, but having supportive people in your life can help a lot. Even if you don’t have people in your life like that, you can be that person for yourself.

Amaya Nard is a senior at My Virtual Academy.

‘Alarming’ data on youth depression

Drew Smith Jr. is a junior at Metropolitan Junior Academy in Plymouth.

Teens go through a lot, and have been especially impacted by COVID. Sometimes adults might brush off what teens say and feel, and think that we don’t know better. We have the same feelings they do, and we wanted teens to know that they are heard and important.

A 2022 report from Mental Health America found that in Michigan, nearly 17% of youth ages 12-17 had a major depressive episode in the previous year. That’s higher than the national average, which was around 15%, or 3.7 million youths.

The data are alarming.

Here’s what we found after surveying our peers:

A lot of teens practice self-care by relaxing, there were a lot more people who had good relationships with self-love than people who didn’t, and more younger kids had negative relationships with self-love than the older ones. We concluded that as people grow older, they learn to love themselves more.

When practicing self-love, females will say motivating quotes about their beauty and looks, while males did not really have anything motivating to say other than, “You got this.” Female teens had deeper responses to the open-ended questions. Ultimately, we learned self-love impacts what you do in a day, how you react to people, and how much confidence you have.

“Respondents said things like, “I am loved,” “I am worthy” and “I am beautiful/handsome.” Ever since then, I’ve tried to implement “I am” statements into my everyday life to let myself know what I am.” — Drew Smith Jr.

These findings really made me think about myself and how I practice self-love. What I do to calm down and relax is lay down in my bed and watch a TV show that I enjoy. I never really thought about that being self-love until then. Spending time with my friends and family is also a way I practice self-love.

I started to ask myself, “What can I do to improve love for myself?” Then I remembered one of the questions we asked in the survey: “What are some motivational things you say to yourself?” Respondents said things like, “I am loved,” “I am worthy” and “I am beautiful/handsome.” Ever since then, I’ve tried to implement “I am” statements into my everyday life to let myself know what I am.

I’m so grateful for this experience, memories and knowledge learned this summer. And if any teens are reading this in the Detroit area, I want you to know that you are loved and you are heard and that Local Circles cares about you.

Drew Smith Jr. is a junior at Metropolitan Junior Academy in Plymouth.

Seek help when you need it

At times you may not have the best mental health or you won’t love yourself as much as you would like to, but that doesn’t have to stop you from being you.

“If there is no bright side, make one.” — Stephanie Haney

Over time you will go on a self discovery to understand yourself better and what makes you happy. Keep negative things out of your life, and if they keep coming back, take a different route to keep them away. There are going to be SO many ups and downs in your life. Try to look at the bright side of things and see how it will make you better. If there is no bright side, make one. Think of a positive situation and stick with it.

If you need help, call or text the mental health hotline at the number 988 (Michigan’s access line to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline).

Stephanie Haney is a junior at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan students are struggling. A new report calls for fair funding to reverse slide.

2023-01-10T15:25:15+00:00

A new report on Michigan’s struggling education system says dramatic change is needed to stem academic declines and ensure all students are receiving a quality education.

Among the top recommendations in the report: Michigan should adopt a school funding system that is more fair and equitable than the current one, which distributes state funding on a per-pupil basis but has provisions that still allow for wide disparities in spending between poorer and wealthier districts.

In the report released Tuesday, the Education Trust-Midwest, an education research and advocacy organization, predicts that Michigan’s academic rankings will decline or stagnate by 2030 in some key areas. The rankings are based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam taken by a representative sample of students in each state.

Michigan’s rankings on this exam have slid over the last decade. And there are troubling signs of what could come, after scores on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress and the NAEP showed sharp declines from pre-pandemic levels. On the NAEP, Michigan’s eighth-grade math scores ranked 26th in the country. By 2030, if current patterns hold, Michigan would fall to 29th. In fourth-grade reading, the state ranks 43rd and is projected to remain there in 2030.

As additional evidence of the need for urgent action, the organization points to an October report from researchers at Harvard University and Stanford University that shows how much learning loss occurred in individual districts across the nation since the pandemic. In Michigan school districts with high concentrations of students from low-income homes (Detroit, Saginaw, and Lansing), students lost the equivalent of about a year or more of learning. By comparison, students in wealthier districts such as Northville and Bloomfield Hills lost the equivalent of less than 10% of a school year.

The Education Trust-Midwest report recommends a big shift in how schools are funded, but that would require a big investment by the state. The organization is suggesting, for instance, that the state adopt a funding system that provides between 35% and 100% more in state funding for students from low-income homes, with the higher amounts going to districts with the most vulnerable students. The state funding system already provides additional money for such students, but not nearly as much as the report recommends.

The proposed system for funding schools would address “profound inequities” in Michigan’s current school funding system, said Jen DeNeal, director of policy and research at the organization.

“We know that the experience of being a low-income student in Okemos and Birmingham is different than the experience in the Upper Peninsula or in Lansing,” the report said.

The report also recommends additional funding for students who are English language learners, and students who receive special education services.

The report doesn’t provide a cost estimate, but officials from the organization point to past estimates that suggest such a system could cost an additional $3 billion.

Hours after the Education Trust-Midwest report was released, members of the State Board of Education heard a report from Michigan Department of Education staff and superintendents about why it’s important to move to a funding system that provides more funding for some students, including those from low-income homes and those who receive special education services.

“Even with the recent historic state investments in public education, Michigan schools continue to be underfunded by $2 billion to $5.5 billion annually,” Kyle Guerrant, a deputy superintendent with the state education department, told board members.

Schools receive state and federal funding for special education students, but it doesn’t fully fund those costs. That leaves schools shifting money out of their general fund budgets to help cover the cost of their special education programs.

Wanda Cook-Robinson, superintendent of the Oakland Schools intermediate school district, which provides a range of educational services to local districts, said schools in communities such as Pontiac and Hazel Park have higher needs.

“If you’re a local district and you happen to have a higher number of students who have challenges, you go to your general education budget and you fill that gap,” she said.

In addition to the funding recommendations, the Education Trust-Midwest researchers are also calling for using federal COVID relief dollars to provide intensive tutoring and extended learning time; strengthening early childhood for the most needy children; prioritizing teacher recruitment and retention; ensuring all students have access to rigorous coursework; and identifying students with dyslexia so they have the support they need.

You can read all of the recommendations and the full report here.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief at Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Tough year for Michigan schools: A Chalkbeat Detroit year in review

2022-12-20T21:11:43+00:00

The year 2022 was another difficult one for education in Michigan. Educators, parents, and students were still dealing with the academic and emotional turmoil from multiple years of pandemic learning. And there was sobering evidence of just how much work must go into getting students back on track, despite billions of federal relief dollars that were designed to ease that process.

Through it all, the Chalkbeat Detroit team (get to know us here) was there for readers, asking the right questions, digging into the data, cutting through the noise, and helping readers understand what it all means. As the year comes to a close, it’s a good time to look back at what we accomplished.

Here’s a look at the stories (and photos) that reflect our best, most important work of the year on some key topics:

Chronic absenteeism causes alarm

At the end of the last school year in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, nearly 80% of the students were chronically absent. Such a high rate of absenteeism is costly, both financially and academically, and it is hurting efforts to help students recover from the pandemic. This issue isn’t just affecting Detroit. As Chalkbeat reporters Koby Levin and Ethan Bakuli reported, chronic absenteeism is reaching alarming levels across Michigan.

Chalkbeat will be diving even deeper into this issue in the coming year. If you or someone you know is struggling with school absenteeism, or if you’re an educator in a school that is working to get kids to school more consistently, you can fill out this survey or reach out to us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

A group of kindergarten students run around their after school tutoring class in Ecorse during a lesson on counting. Many Michigan school districts used federal COVID relief funding to expand tutoring programs.

COVID relief cash courses through Michigan

Michigan’s K-12 education system received $6 billion in federal COVID relief funds that were aimed at helping students and staff recover from the pandemic. That’s a lot of cash, and Chalkbeat partnered with Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press to shine a light on how school leaders are spending the money, and whether the money is doing what it was designed to do.

Here’s what we found: Koby teamed up with Isabel Lohman from Bridge to report that while tutoring is a key piece of efforts to accelerate students academically, a lack of state leadership created a patchwork of programs that struggled to address learning loss. As districts invested more money in mental health services for students, Koby’s reporting identified a major challenge: A tight labor market was hampering districts’ efforts to hire additional staff. But they found some help among furry, four-legged friends. Meanwhile, Koby and Ethan wrote about how the COVID aid became a lifeline for financially troubled Michigan districts.

You can read all of our COVID aid spending coverage at this page, including about how the Detroit school district is investing $700 million to address its longstanding facility problems.

Student teacher Destelle Keller embraces Stella Wielopolski, 9, at Willow Run Middle School in Ypsilanti in July. Keller is part of an alternative certification program, one of a growing number that have been created to provide an expedited route to the classroom.

Teacher shortages draw multilevel response

Chalkbeat reporter Tracie Mauriello spent much of the year writing about a teacher shortage many Michigan school districts are experiencing, and what Michigan K-12 schools and colleges are doing to attract more people to the profession. In August, Tracie wrote about alternative certification programs that are providing an expedited route to the classroom, amid concerns about whether the route is rigorous enough. There were also stories about schools that were trying the “grow your own” route to promote teaching as a career, as well as a legislative effort that was supposed to ease substitute teacher shortages by allowing some support staff to become subs. Few took advantage of it.

Voucher-like initiative stalls

Betsy DeVos waded back into Michigan education policy this year by pushing the Let MI Kids Learn voucher-like initiative, which would have given tax credits to donors who contributed to so-called opportunity scholarships to help families to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, or other educational resources. DeVos, who was U.S. education secretary in the Trump administration, has long been a big proponent of school choice, including vouchers.

Backers of the proposal sought to put the initiative to voters in a ballot proposal — sometimes using misleading messaging — but didn’t turn in signatures in time to get it on the November ballot. A plan to have the GOP-led Legislature approve the proposal on its own during the lame duck session that ended earlier this month fizzled, because the state had not yet certified the petitions. Tracie and Koby noted that the proposal’s chances are slim for now, and with Democrats poised to take control of the Legislature in January, DeVos’ influence in the Legislature has dimmed.

COVID roils the classroom

The year 2022 began in the midst of a surge in COVID cases, thanks to the emergence of the omicron variant. The Detroit and Flint school districts canceled in-person classes for most of January, leaving students to learn online. Schools that kept their buildings open struggled with low attendance among students and staff who were affected by the virus. In a team story in January, Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti explained the difficult decisions he had to make. Later in the winter, Chalkbeat reporters in multiple cities, including Detroit, teamed up for a story on how the lingering pandemic was taking a toll on teachers in the classroom.

Early childhood education faces setbacks

Koby wrote several important pieces on early childhood education, including a look at how Detroit isn’t dedicating any of its COVID relief money to early childhood education. He also wrote about a pilot preschool program for 3-year olds that was at risk of ending, and the state’s $100 million plan to open new child care programs. Meanwhile, Chalkbeat co-published a Muckrock investigation that found Michigan’s child care crisis is worse than official statistics suggested.

2022 was another tough year for education, but students and parents were all smiles on the first day of school in Detroit.

Students, parents and teachers speak out

At Chalkbeat, we’re invested in elevating the voices of students, teachers, and parents who have a huge stake in the policy decisions that are made by administrators and lawmakers. In December, we published a question-and-answer piece from Ethan on Perriel Pace, an outspoken student activist who sits on the boards of more than a dozen youth-led organizations. Koby tapped into the joy students feel in elective classes like choir in a back-to-school piece. We highlighted multiple teachers and school leaders in How I Teach and How I Lead features, including an adult educator, the state’s teacher of the year, an art teacher, an English teacher, a principal, and two nutrition leaders. And we published first-person pieces from a Detroit high school student who urged the school district to recognize Pride Month, a Michigan middle schooler who wrote about the need for diverse books, a teen who wrote about social media use, and a teacher who wrote about the importance of school libraries.

Do you have a story to tell (or know someone else who does)? Reach out to us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org or lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Parents’ rights, book bans draw spotlight

Schools in Michigan, and across the nation, were frequently challenged this year by groups advocating for parents’ rights, and groups pushing to ban books that touched on LGBTQ themes and race. The issues heated up during election season, as Koby and Tracie noted in a story that looked at how Michigan school boards were facing a wave of culture war debates. After the election, Koby and Isabel from Bridge wrote an analysis that showed that conservative activists who were pushing parental rights lost far more local school board races than they won.

Students continue to struggle academically

The year brought more sobering data showing just how damaging the pandemic has been for Michigan’s students. Koby, Tracie, and Isabel from Bridge teamed up to write about the results of the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, which not surprisingly found scores were down sharply from before the pandemic. Tracie wrote about an uptick in the number of third graders whose reading scores on the state exam were poor enough that they could be held back (few were), thanks to the state’s Read by Grade 3 law. The disappointment continued this fall with the release of scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which found similar declines in achievement, particularly in Detroit.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

This Detroit art teacher loved animation as a kid. Now he’s inspiring his students with it.

2022-12-14T05:00:05+00:00

Illya Tolbert loved art so much growing up that he and his brother Yul would often race around their Detroit home searching for something — anything — they could draw on.

When he wasn’t finding inspiration at home, he was finding it in the classroom, learning from the art teachers who became his favorite instructors in Detroit Public Schools.

“There are lessons that I learned from my art teacher, back in the seventh grade that I’m now teaching, which I think is kind of cool,” said Tolbert. That teacher was Mary Kay Shelton, and the lessons Tolbert adapted for his own classrooms at Bates Academy include learning concepts such as linear perspective and optical illusions.

Over the course of an art teaching career that has spanned 26 years, Tolbert — Michigan’s middle school Art Educator of the Year for 2022 — has sought to inspire students with art forms such as painting, weaving, and animation.

“Me and my brother loved animation,” he said. “We used to make these little flip books at home and the process of making things move, to get that illusion of movement, it just intrigues me. I love it.”

Tolbert has decorated the walls of his classroom with his students’ pieces, but you would have to search to find his own artwork. He says he only has one piece hanging.

“Maybe it’s modesty. I don’t know,” Tolbert said. “I would rather show [the work of] a former student or a famous artist.”

Chalkbeat recently caught up with Tolbert to talk about art, his career, and the popular YouTube videos he created for his students during COVID closures.

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

My art teachers were always like my favorite teachers. And I always considered going into art teaching. I had a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from Wayne State University, and I was out of school for a year or so when I said, ‘Let’s go back and do the thing I always wanted to do — become a teacher.’

What was drawing you to teach art?

I’ve always loved art. Me and my brother, we always drew cartoons. We made our own characters. As a kid, nothing was more fun than sitting down and drawing. I always remember what I learned in art when I went to Detroit Public Schools, and I feel like I could have learned so much more. I knew that my teachers in Detroit didn’t have all the materials and things, and I just always wanted to be able to give kids what I wanted as a student.

What is something you always wanted to learn in art classes as a student?

Animation. I teach animation now, and my classes are … obsessed with cartoons. I can teach it now because it’s so much easier. The technology is so much easier to teach now than it was back when I was a kid. I also like teaching painting. I feel like we didn’t paint enough when I was in school. And now, I probably paint every day in my classroom. Painting is what I do as an artist. I’ve just felt that kids in Detroit should have exposure to other things like that in art.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I’m going to go with weaving. Every year I teach weaving on a cardboard loom. When I say we’re weaving, the class will applaud. The kids are happy. “We’re weaving!” When I first started teaching it, I was like, ‘Why is this so popular?’ I didn’t think the kids would like it that much. I also enjoy it. I learned weaving in school at Wayne State in a fibers class. It was stitching and sewing, and that was okay. But weaving, I just loved weaving, I was drawn to it. I think somewhere in my ancestry, one of my ancestors in Africa must have been a weaver.

How do you inspire your students?

I very rarely show them my own personal art, but I will show them what other students have done. My walls are covered with former students’ artwork. A lot of times they give you their work, and sometimes they just leave it, and I end up keeping it. When they discover I put their artwork on the wall, they get so excited. [The artwork] is a good way to show students what can be done. I like to have it intermixed — like, I have a Van Gogh that’s right next to one of my student’s art. I have an example of work done by Monet next to my student’s art. Just to show, hey, there’s this famous artist, and here’s an artist who used to go here.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I like to paint. I like to spend time with my wife. And I do enjoy playing computer games. Not so much your video system games, but strategy games, like SimCity, where you’re building a civilization — those kinds of games that take hours to play.

Tell me about the YouTube channel you created to help students learn remotely.

The way that I teach art is I always stay in front of the class and do the project with them.— especially elementary level, but even middle school. I’ll do it with them to show them step-by-step how it’s done. Or, with middle school, I’ll just sit there and do the project and say, ‘OK, now you do it.’ This was hard to do virtually. So I started making these movies. And they worked out really well to show them step-by-step how to do various projects. I mean, they were so popular, the kids would go straight to the video before I even started talking. I’d be like, ‘Wait, let me at least talk about it first.’

Under Michigan’s 3rd-grade reading law, Black students are far more likely to be held back

2022-12-06T20:05:07+00:00

Black students and students from low-income homes were more than twice as likely in Michigan to have to repeat the third grade compared with their white and wealthier peers who also were identified for retention because they struggled with reading.

The gap in who gets held back is one of the details contained in the latest research report on Michigan’s Read by Grade 3 law, which requires that schools hold back students who are a grade level or more behind in reading.

The law provides so many ways a student can get an exemption that only 545 students who were third graders in the 2021-22 school year are repeating the grade this year. But the racial and income gaps among those students suggest that there may be variations in how the exemptions are being applied.

Overall, Black students and students from low-income homes are more likely to be flagged for retention based on their reading test scores. But researchers with the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University found that greater proportions of them are actually repeating third grade. The report shows that 13.6% of the Black students who were flagged were held back, while just 5.7% of white students who were flagged were held back. Similarly, 10.5% of eligible students from low-income families were held back, compared with 4.3% of students who are not from low-income families.

“Those are pretty big disparities,” said Katharine Strunk, EPIC director. “Those suggest to me that retention is being implemented differentially for different kinds of students.”

The gaps are growing, too. During the 2020-21 school year 9.8% of Black students who tested at least a year behind grade level were retained, compared with 4.9% of white students; and 7.3% of eligible students from low-income homes were retained, compared with 3.6% of wealthier students.

Michigan’s Read by Grade 3 law, enacted in 2016, required schools identify struggling readers and provide intervention. The rule requiring that students be held back was part of the law, but didn’t kick in until the 2020-21 school year. Exemptions are available based on many factors, such as a student’s special education or English language learner status, if they’ve previously been held back, and if the parent and superintendent agree that retention isn’t in the child’s best interest.

EPIC has been working with researchers from the University of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Education, and the state Center for Educational Performance and Information to research the impact of the law, according to the report.

Here are a couple of other highlights from the latest report, which was released Tuesday:

While the number of students who were held back rose in the last year, from 228 to 545, that number is a tiny fraction of the students who were flagged for retention — just 0.6% during the 2021-22 school year. Nearly 5,700 of last year’s third-graders scored low enough to be identified for retention. That’s 5.8% of all third-graders, up from 4.8% the previous year.
Teachers and principals in districts that retained at least one student were more likely than their peers in schools that promoted all students to believe retention was an effective intervention. That suggests districts are more likely to retain students if they believe it is effective, the report said. But Strunk cautioned that even though these educators were more likely to be optimistic about retention, overall the majority of them were opposed to retention as a strategy.

The Read by Grade 3 law was controversial from the beginning, with many education groups and Democrats in the Michigan Legislature opposed, particularly to the retention rule. Now, as Democrats prepare to assume control of both houses of the legislature and the governor’s office for the first time in decades, it is likely that parts or all of the law could be on the chopping block.

Strunk said it would be a mistake to kill the law entirely.

“There’s a lot more to the law than just retention,” Strunk said. “We have data from prior to the pandemic that actually shows this seems to be improving student achievement in early literacy. So, it would be a shame to throw the baby out with the bathwater and get rid of the entire law.”

That doesn’t mean the law doesn’t have some parts that need to be amended, Strunk said, but “there are a lot of good things in this law, like a real focus on instructional coaching, like the real focus on professional development, like the focus on training teachers about literacy essentials. … We want those things to continue. As policymakers think about how and where to go next with literacy policy, it’s important to think about this.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

MacKenzie Scott to give Detroit school district $20 million

2022-11-16T11:30:00+00:00

The Detroit school district will receive $20 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, money that will be used to support academic improvement efforts.

“The district intends to use the funds to raise student achievement by implementing its literacy and math intervention model at scale, especially targeting lower grade levels,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a statement.

The money will allow the district to hire more academic interventionists who will work one on one and in small groups with students. Vitti said the plan will be reviewed and discussed with the district’s school board in January.

The gift comes at a critical time in the district. Academic achievement, which had been falling short for years prior to the COVID pandemic, has deteriorated as students struggled with many months spent learning remotely. The district is using some of its federal COVID relief money to expand tutoring efforts to struggling students. But that money will run out soon, while the needs will remain.

Scott on Monday released a list of 343 organizations that had received recent gifts. She said the full amount totaled nearly $2 billion over the past seven months. Schools have been a big beneficiary: Chalkbeat reported that Scott has given $150 million to public school districts across the country.

New Paradigm for Education, which operates charter schools in the city, also received a gift — of about $2 million. The money will support academic offerings, as well as teacher and leader development.

“We are incredibly grateful to Ms. Scott for seeking us out for investment,” said Ralph Bland, founder and president of New Paradigm. “Our team works tirelessly to ensure that all of our scholars have access to an excellent education — and this gift is a true affirmation of that commitment and relentlessness.”

Several Detroit area youth institutions are also benefiting. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit received a gift, as did Friends of the Children Detroit, Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, and Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan. It was unclear how much those entities received.

Vitti said the gift from Scott “speaks to our improvement over the past five years as a district, especially through strategic planning tied to fiscal management.”

“We will ensure the funds are used to improve the performance of our students and address other challenges that impact the outcomes of our students,” he said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

East English Village, Ben Carson high schools in Detroit to get new names

2022-11-16T03:50:38+00:00

The Detroit school board struck a compromise between students at East English Village Preparatory Academy and the alumni of the closed Finney High School, in a debate over whether to change the former’s name.

The school, which sits on the grounds that once housed Finney High, will now be named East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney.

The board voted 5-2 to change the name, rejecting an administrative recommendation to keep the name as is.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said he recommended keeping the name because 59% of the students who responded to a survey were opposed to a name change at the school. But he acknowledged that overall, 80% of the 1,500 people surveyed — alumni, students, parents, staff, and community members — said they want the school renamed Finney High. The alumni voice has been strong throughout the debate leading up to Tuesday’s vote.

“This recommendation was a difficult one, probably one of the most difficult ones I’ve been involved in,” Vitti said. “On the one hand, I believe in history. I believe history should always be recognized, and that there’s an opportunity to make up for the mistakes of the past.”

But he said he was uncomfortable recommending a name change when most students who completed the survey were opposed to it.

Board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo suggested a compromise, blending the two names into one.

“We don’t want to do the same thing to students that was done to the alumni,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “But erasing history is really criminal.”

The discussion was part of a broader effort by district officials and community members to revisit naming decisions that were made when the district was overseen by state-appointed emergency managers, sometimes without community input. Last school year, at the urging of alumni, the board approved a decision to restore the name of Northwestern High School, which had been renamed the Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern in 2013 under an emergency manager.

Keenann Knox, senior pastor of Detroit’s Impact Church and a 1989 Finney alum, was critical before the vote of Vitti’s recommendation to favor the student voice.

“We’re told to let our voices be heard. Overwhelmingly, 80% of the people said to change the name,” Knox said. The recommendation, he said, sent a message that “80% wasn’t good enough.”

Also Tuesday night, the board approved changing the name of the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine to Crockett Midtown High School of Science and Medicine. The push to change the name came as its namesake — a renowned neurosurgeon — courted controversy during his tenure as housing secretary in the Trump administration. There was no debate about the name change at Tuesday’s meeting. An overwhelming majority of students, alumni, staff, parents, and community favored a name change.

The new name recognizes Dr. Ethelene Crockett, the first African American woman in Michigan to become board certified in obstetrics and gynecology.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti named nation’s top urban educator

2022-10-21T01:00:00+00:00

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti was named Urban Educator of the Year Thursday night — a big award that comes with an equally big gift for a district student: A $10,000 college scholarship.

Vitti, who has led the Detroit Public Schools Community District since 2017, was named the top urban educator by the Council of the Great City Schools and Scholastic during a ceremony in Florida. Vitti was among nine finalists for the award, which the council described in a news release as “the nation’s highest honor in urban education leadership.”

Vitti, previously a finalist in 2020, was in competition for the award with superintendents from districts in Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Among the finalists: Diane Green, superintendent in Florida’s Duval County Public Schools, the district Vitti led for five years before he became superintendent in Detroit.

As part of the award, Vitti will receive $10,000 to provide a college scholarship to a DPSCD student.

“What an amazing accomplishment,” Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, president of the Detroit school board, said in a congratulatory video that played during the ceremony.

Peterson-Mayberry praised Vitti for making staff a priority and for beginning the current school year nearly fully staffed with teachers.

“That’s a commitment. A commitment to our educators, a commitment to our families, and a commitment to our staff,” Peterson-Mayberry said.

Beth Correa, director of corporate responsibility at Flagstar Bank, said in the video that what makes Vitti effective “is he really understands the key ingredients to success for students, and one of those things is building that plan around the whole child.” Correa cited Vitti’s push to expand parent and community engagement, mental health programs, and arts education.

“He’s built his team and his plan around those needs,” she said.

Vitti, who was raised in Dearborn Heights, became Detroit’s superintendent during a precarious time for the district. After years of state control that saw enrollment plummet and dozens of schools close, the district was in financial shambles. A legislative deal in 2016 split Detroit Public Schools into two — the current district to educate students and the old district to collect property tax revenue and pay off a mountain of debt.

A new board was elected in 2016, and one of its primary functions in 2017 was to hire a superintendent. Vitti, who had spent much of his career in Florida, was seen as an urban educator with a track record for turning around schools who would do the same in Detroit.

He stepped in and immediately made big changes. He brought arts and music education back to schools and revamped a curriculum he said was “an injustice to the children of Detroit.” He pushed for additional pay, often in the form of bonuses, for teachers who had seen their pay cut during state control.

During his first two years, enrollment stabilized, test scores increased slightly, and chronic absenteeism declined. Vitti became a fervent advocate for children in the city, telling an audience at the annual Mackinac Conference, which attracts business, legislative, and philanthropic leaders, that “I want the same thing that your child wants. I may not have your privilege ... but I want the exact same thing.”

The pandemic, though, disrupted the district’s momentum. Vitti led the district through efforts to feed children who suddenly were being educated at home. He sought help from the business and philanthropic community that led to a program that provided tablets and internet access for every student in the district. The district has knocked on more than 60,000 doors since the pandemic began, part of an ongoing effort to connect with students and families, particularly those who haven’t been engaged.

But the pandemic also brought other challenges. High COVID rates in Detroit meant most students learned online during the 2020-21 school year. Last school year, COVID surges forced the district to shut down in-person learning, including for the entire month of January.

Remote learning took a toll, as academic achievement suffered and chronic absenteeism soared. And Vitti has increasingly fielded complaints from critics who say the district hasn’t done enough to improve academic achievement.

In the video that played during Thursday’s ceremony, Dave Meador, former vice chairman of DTE Energy, said the corporate community in Detroit was skeptical about whether they would be able to meaningfully help when Vitti arrived in 2017.

“That concern was put to an end very quickly,” Meador said “He brings deep experience, the ability to establish relationships, trust and the willingness to ask for help, with a small ego and a big heart.”

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Chronic absenteeism in Detroit schools demands urgent solution, board candidates say

2022-10-14T23:35:53+00:00

Many of the candidates running to fill four seats on the Detroit school board agree that there is no issue more important than getting students to school consistently. But the candidates have varying thoughts on how to solve the chronic absenteeism problem in city schools.

The issue came up repeatedly Thursday in a candidate’s forum that gave Detroit residents an opportunity to hear directly from 15 of the 18 people who are vying for four seats with four-year terms on the Detroit Public Schools Community District board of education. The forum was hosted by Chalkbeat Detroit and WDET 101.9 FM.

Nearly 80% of the students in the Detroit district were identified as chronically absent at the end of last school year — meaning they missed 10% or more of their school days. The rate has surged since the start of the pandemic, thanks in part to quarantining rules that required many students to stay home if they were exposed to COVID-19.

High rates of chronic absenteeism have been a perennial problem in the district, and school leaders have tried a number of solutions, such as hiring attendance agents to visit homes and find children. But after the pandemic disrupted education and led to learning loss, the problem has become more urgent. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has said over and over that the district’s broader reform efforts won’t work if kids aren’t consistently coming to school.

During a lightning round in Thursday’s forum, Chalkbeat and WDET asked the candidates what one thing should be done that the district isn’t doing to address chronic absenteeism. Below is a recap of how candidates answered the question in the 30 seconds they had to respond.

You can watch the full video to hear what they had to say on issues such as learning loss, teacher retention, transportation, and more. You can learn more about their views on other issues by reading our voter guide.

The forum included two separate panel discussions because of the large number of candidates. Moderators included Ethan Bakuli, a reporter who covers the Detroit district for Chalkbeat Detroit; Hafiza Khalique, a senior at Cass Technical High School and a community organizer; Mi’Joy Reed-Nash, a senior at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School who is also a student journalist and musical artist; and Sascha Raiyn, an education reporter for WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s NPR station.

Two candidates — incumbent Georgia Lemmons and Reba Neely — did not RSVP for the forum. Candidate Patrice Douglas was too ill to attend.

Learning why students aren’t coming to school

Regina Ann Campbell, president and CEO of Build Institute, said it’s “important to understand the root causes.” The district, she said, needs to do that “to determine what is the best solution or path forward.”

“We have data,” said Bessie Harris, a retired educator. “We know where those students are. We know the ones who have the problem with coming to school. Let’s go out and find out why.”

The reasons students miss school are varied and include everything from lack of consistent transportation to housing instability. The idea that parents don’t want their children in school or don’t care about attendance “could not be further from the truth,” researcher Sarah Lenhoff, an associate professor at Wayne State University’s College of Education, told Chalkbeat this summer, adding: “Families want their kids to be in school.”

Knocking on doors to find students

Some of the ideas offered by the board candidates mirrored initiatives the district already has in place, such as a door-knocking campaign that was ramped up during the pandemic.

“Right now we have to have an urgency around getting to the students that are missing,” said Latrice McClendon, a district parent and the community president for Huntington Bank in Detroit.

“We need to go to their last known address, we need to get to their last known phone number, we need to get in communication with whoever we can … to understand where our students are. We just need to get this work done in this area,” McClendon said.

“We need to have a parent and community corps that goes out door to door,” said Lamar Lemmons, chief of staff for a state senator and former school board member. “We have to know where our students are and what conditions they’re living under and how to remediate those conditions. We have to move rapidly into doing so.”

Ridgeley Hudson said that during the pandemic, “I was one of those individuals that went out to canvass and knock on doors to ask individuals: Were they OK? We should revisit that.”

Hudson said that while meeting families in their homes and finding out why students are absent, the district must also determine “the needs of those students and provide wraparound services to ensure that we could close that gap so we can ensure our students are in school and are actually learning.”

Giving families the help they need

Candidates said that the district should work to ensure students and their families have access to resources that will help get kids to school.

“We also need to have more wraparound services, not just for the student himself or herself, but for the entire family,” said Ida Simmons Short, an educator and former school board member.

Iris Taylor, a health consultant and administrator of clinical services for the Detroit Health Department, suggested a health hub to provide physical, mental health, and dental health services as needed.

In addition, schools need a parent advocate “and someone who can reach out to help facilitate resources in the community to connect with families,” said Taylor, a former school board member. That kind of help, she said, “will prevent some of the things that from occurring that are deterrents to kids coming to school.”

Transportation is an area the district must invest in, said Jamaal Muhammad, an attendance agent in the district who has also been an elementary teacher.

Attendance agents, he said, need to be able to “assist parents with transportation (via vans) and gas cards and the resources they need to make sure their students get to school.”

Investing more in attendance efforts

Some of the candidates said the district’s attendance office needs more staffing. Richard Clement, an educator, suggested the district needs to fund its efforts “a little bit better than we’re doing now” to decrease absences.

“We need to strengthen the attendance department, obviously,” said John Telford, the DPSCD poet in residence and a longtime educator. “We need to hire more attendance officers … . We need a wraparound program that encompasses the entire school and families. This is a serious, serious problem, because you can’t teach an empty chair. We’ve got to motivate kids too, particularly at the secondary level.”

Aliya Moore, a district parent and a vocal critic of the district’s board and administration, said that instead of spending $700 million on facilities (as the district plans to do to address longstanding problems with school buildings), the district should have spent more on attendance officers. Moore raised a concern that enrollment losses might force the district to lay off some of its attendance agents.

Incumbent Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, the board president, said attendance agents “are doing an amazing job of going to identify where these young people are. I was at a school the other day, and the attendance agents were going to homes and picking students up.”

Getting creative, and reinforcing the value of education

Another incumbent, Deborah Hunter-Harvill, called for new solutions.

“I would say at this time that maybe we need to have a little more creativity as it relates to getting students to come to school. We have vans and buses. We’re doing that part right,” said Hunter-Harvill, an education consultant and longtime educator. “We’re trying to enable our kids and get them here. But back in the day, we used to give incentives like movie passes or family Dairy Queen tickets.”

Many of the suggestions made during the forum cost money, said incumbent Corletta Vaughn, a bishop who leads the Go Tell It Ministry and the Holy Ghost Cathedral Church.. That raises a key issue about equity, she said.

Monique Bryant, executive director of the Triangle Society, didn’t say specifically what she would do to decrease chronic absenteeism. But her message was simple:

“We need to reestablish the value of a quality education.”

Lori Higgins is bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

‘We all know what we need’: Detroit youth work to boost mental well-being

2022-10-03T21:47:09+00:00

Across Detroit, young people responded to an ambitious pitch this spring: Come up with a strong idea for a program that would address the emotional and mental well-being of their peers, and possibly earn thousands of dollars to pull it off.

The result was scores of ideas that were as diverse as the young people themselves: A wellness room with Zen and calming activities. A spa day for male youth with incarcerated parents. A kitchen renovation so youth can come together for dinner and fellowship. A safe haven for LGBTQ students.

Those are just a few of the 40 ideas, proposed by people ages 9 to 23, that have received a piece of a $544,000 pot of money provided by the Skillman Foundation (a Chalkbeat funder), part of a new grant program aimed at addressing mental health and wellness. The awardees received between $5,000 and $20,000 to develop their plans.

The one thread through all of these concepts is that even though there are adult allies helping, the students were in charge. They came up with the ideas, they decide how the money is spent, and they decide how to turn their ideas into reality.

“We all know what we want. We all know what we need,” said Charles Patterson, 16, a junior at Davis Aerospace Technical High School.

What they need, Charles said, is connection with one another.

Charles is part of a youth group at the Eastside Community Network whose grant will go in part toward renovating a kitchen at the center and turning it into a place where young people can go to cook, eat meals, and spend time together.

Young people like Charles “are ready and capable leaders,” who are “enriched with lots of ideas,” said Lindsey Barrett, an associate program officer at Skillman who led the effort.

Charles said the pandemic left him feeling isolated, and turned him into an introvert because he spent so much time learning remotely. Things are better for students now that they’re learning in person, he said, but not all young people have re-engaged.

“You have to consider that maybe certain students went through something over the pandemic, maybe they had a family member pass away,” Charles said. “For me, three of my family members passed away during the pandemic and it was hard for my family, and for me personally.”

Report after report has highlighted the heightened mental health and emotional needs of students due to the pandemic. Long stretches of remote learning left students feeling isolated and disconnected from school and their classmates. Educators are trying to address that by investing COVID relief money into mental health, but staffing challenges have hampered efforts.

In Detroit, young people have been telling officials at Skillman that they need safe spaces to connect with their peers and the community. They also said they wanted to use physical activity, the arts, and creative expression to create these safe spaces, Barrett said.

“We know that these bright young people are really prioritizing their wellness, and they’re doing it by leading their own solutions,” Barrett said

On a recent Saturday, dozens of the grantees gathered in a room at the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit to receive training on project planning that was facilitated by the Neutral Zone, an Ann Arbor youth-led organization. They spread out on the floor, working in groups as they plotted their goals and the steps they need to take to accomplish those goals.

The young men from Developing Despite Distance, a program for males ages 10-24 who have a parent who is incarcerated, already knew one of their signature ideas was to take the group out for a spa day. Their adult leader, Tiffany Brown, guided them through the steps they would need to take to get there, like finding a spa and booking it in advance.

“We passed one coming up here,” Michael Glenn said as the group tossed around spa ideas. Michael, 16, is a junior at the School at Marygrove, and he’s looking forward to the spa day to help him nurse an old back injury from football.

Getting young people involved in addressing their mental health needs is important, Michael said, because many of them would otherwise stay silent about their struggles.

“Young adults don’t really express themselves,” he said. “It’s not that we’re afraid to. I guess it feels uncomfortable or unnatural. We don’t want to be a burden to others. So … this really helps out.”

Developing Despite Distance provides group counseling to the young men. The organization also works with them to connect with their incarcerated parents and helps them with visits.

The grant program “is a blessing,” said Brown. Not only will it allow for the spa day, but it will also pay for fitness training, more counseling, and a stipend for the young men for participating in Saturday counseling sessions. It’s the first time the participants will receive pay.

“When we have money in our pockets, we feel better, and that is really a form of self care,” Brown said.

Brown has often talked to the youth about her own self-care practices, which include getting massages. It gave the students the idea to do the same for themselves. Society, Brown said, doesn’t always give Black boys and men “the space to act like their wellness matters.”

“They’re often just putting on this mask like they’re OK. And so places where we can intentionally make them pause and really identify how they’re feeling in a safe, non-judgmental way, and provide support so that they can refill and recharge — that’s the root of what we do.”

Having an incarcerated parent means these young men have challenges that go beyond the pandemic.

“My biggest challenge is that they’re in schools, community centers, on our sports teams, and we’re not acknowledging that they even exist as a community … as a system. So the biggest challenge is that they are often suffering silently,” Brown said.

Over at the Eastside Community Network, cooking was the most popular program before the pandemic. Students would come together, cook, and then dine together.

“The students have said that … builds community,” said Tanya Aho, the adult leader for the group. But the kitchen was in need of a remodel, so the cooking sessions ended.

“This is completely student-led,” Aho said of the kitchen remodel. “They did the budget, they did all the research of the cabinets and the stove. They’ve done the design. They did the demo. They’ll be painting the cabinets.”

Charles, who has relied on sports and drawing to stay connected, wasn’t there for the demolition. But he’s involved in all of the planning and helping choose the finish on the cabinets, the color of the floors, and the type of countertops. He said bringing back the cooking program will be good, in particular, for students who feel disconnected.

“It brings a family atmosphere to our youth group,” he said.

What we’re watching as Detroit district students return to school

2022-08-29T11:00:00+00:00

Happy first day of school!

The Detroit Public Schools Community District will reopen classrooms to students Monday morning for another year of learning amid a pandemic. This will be a critical year for efforts to address enrollment losses, chronic absenteeism, and facilities. The year will also feature a school board election in which a majority of the seats are up for grabs.

The Chalkbeat Detroit team will be following these issues and more. Here’s a closer look at them:

Will students return to the district?

Students have left the Detroit school district in large numbers, wiping out some of the small enrollment gains the district had experienced in the years before the pandemic. It raises important questions about the district’s future.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti puts the loss at nearly 3,000 since the pandemic began. During the 2019-20 school year, the district enrolled nearly 51,000.

A slimmed down district has some dire consequences. In Michigan, state funding for schools is based largely on enrollment. The district will receive $9,150 in state per-pupil funding this school year, which means a decline of 3,000 students could add up to about $27 million in lost revenue.

The district has managed to weather the declines so far, because a big injection of federal COVID relief money has helped fill in the gaps. But that money will run out, and the district could soon face a reality in which it must operate with much less money. In the district’s past, steep enrollment declines forced major budget cuts, led to numerous schools closing, and put the district under state control.

District officials have been urgently attacking this issue with initiatives that include a door-knocking campaign and fun events designed to attract parents back to the district. But will they be enough? What will it take to get parents to bring their children back? And where are they, for that matter? Are they being homeschooled? Are they enrolled in charter schools? Did they flee for suburban districts? Are they attending virtual schools? These are all questions Chalkbeat Detroit will be seeking to answer this school year.

Can new initiatives address chronic absenteeism?

The pandemic has created or worsened a number of challenges. Among the top ones in the Detroit school district is chronic absenteeism, which has surged.

The district had seen a reduction in its chronic absenteeism rate in the year before the pandemic, when about 62% of the students had missed 10% or more of the school year (the definition of chronic absence). In July, Vitti reported the rate had risen to 77%.

That rise has district officials planning more aggressive efforts. Vitti has repeatedly said that if the district can’t get kids back in school consistently, efforts to recover from the pandemic won’t succeed.

These new plans involve broadening the circle of district and school officials with responsibility for monitoring student attendance, using data to understand the challenges that prevent students from coming to school, and resolving them.

Chalkbeat Detroit has identified chronic absenteeism as a crucial storyline to follow this year. We want to write about efforts, in Detroit and beyond, to get students in school, explore reasons why students aren’t coming to school, and highlight success stories.

Wayne State researcher Sarah Lenhoff told Chalkbeat recently that the district’s plans to beef up its attendance teams is a start, but she believes fixing chronic absenteeism will require coordinating with city agencies to address employment, health, transportation, and housing inequities.

When Detroit’s kids don’t make it to school, Lenhoff said, “it really speaks to the need for the city to invest more in employment, invest more in stabilized housing, (and) make sure that families have the food and the health care that they need, so that they can give their children what they want to give them … get them into school.”

How will the school board election affect the district?

November’s general election could be a pivotal one for the Detroit school district.

Four of the school board’s seven seats are up for election, and 18 people are running for those four-year terms. Among the candidates are the four incumbents, several former school board members, a couple of parents, a few former educators, and a recent graduate.

Why are we watching this race? Because a change in the makeup of the school board could affect turnaround efforts in the district. Relations between the school board and superintendent are a key part of a district’s success, and Vitti and the current board have had a seemingly strong relationship since he was hired in 2017.

If any of the district detractors — and there are some among the candidates — is elected, that may change the dynamic on the board.

Stay tuned for Chalkbeat Detroit coverage. We’ll be profiling the candidates and holding an event so you can hear from the candidates directly.

Will a $700 million investment transform school buildings?

The Detroit school district has had longstanding facility problems, but lacked enough cash to fix them. COVID relief money is changing that. The district is investing $700 million of the nearly $1.3 billion of COVID relief funds it received to address its facilities.

What to keep an eye on this year: Work is expected to begin this fall on some of the projects. Work overall will continue through 2025.

The district will spend $281 million to rebuild five schools, $296 million to renovate buildings, and $128 million to reopen previously closed school buildings, expand pre-K, build additions onto existing schools, and demolish or sell some vacant buildings.

Earlier this year, Vitti said the district “has been using a bandage approach to our facilities districtwide.”

Vitti, who was hired in 2017, inherited a district that after years of state control had a number of schools that were in poor condition. When he interviewed for the job in 2017, he told reporters he was enraged that “our children have to go to schools where there are holes in the wall, tiles that are not replaced.” He has made investments since being hired, but the district has had limited funds.

“One of the most repugnant examples of the injustices our students and staff face is having to learn and work in school buildings that do not meet the standards of wealthier cities and school districts,” Vitti said in a statement in May, after the Detroit school board approved a facility plan.

A feature of the facility plan that will please students and teachers? When all the projects are finally done, nearly every school building will have air conditioning. That will make learning conditions better and it will mean the district won’t have to shorten school days because of stifling heat.

Will the district be fully staffed?

Two weeks ago, the district expected to begin the school year fully staffed with teachers, with some openings among support staff. But last minute resignations have put that in jeopardy.

“We have had about 30 unexpected teacher vacancies surface over the last two weeks,” Vitti told Chalkbeat Friday. “Most of these vacancies are related to teachers leaving the district for suburban districts for additional pay.”

As of Friday morning, he added, “about 80% of our schools are still fully staffed with teachers.”

As we noted Friday, the district is still in a better position than it was in previous years. In 2017, for instance, the district had 200 vacancies in the month leading up to the school year.

We’re your Chalkbeat Detroit team, and we’re ready for the new school year

2022-08-29T11:00:00+00:00

It’s been well over 30 years since I had a first day of school, but I still get excited around this time of year. As an education journalist for ages, I’ve always seen the new year as a time for a reset — a time to develop new goals and set new priorities for the kind of stories I want to write.

Our team at Chalkbeat Detroit has been talking a lot about goals lately. We know schools are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and our coverage plans are aimed at tracking how educators are tackling these challenges. There are some weighty issues at the forefront, such as chronic absenteeism, enrollment losses, learning difficulties, mental health strains, school funding inequities, and staffing shortages. (Read more about the issues we’ll be watching this school year in Detroit)

But we also want to have fun. We want to write stories that make you smile. We want to track progress and write about promising initiatives that are helping students succeed. We want to visit more classrooms (please invite us!). We want to elevate the voices of students, teachers, and parents — the folks who have the most at stake in policy decisions made at the district and state levels. If you have a story to tell, reach out to us.

In the spirit of having fun, read below for an introduction to the members of our team, with old childhood photos and some fun facts about us.

We want to get to know our Chalkbeat Detroit readers, too, so be sure to save our individual email addresses and reach out to us. You can reach the whole team by emailing us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Also, be sure to sign up for our newsletter here.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. She has never gotten over her mother sending her to school on picture day with lopsided ponytails.

Lori Higgins, bureau chief

Where I’ve been: I’m a Chicago native, spent nearly 19 years as an education reporter for the Detroit Free Press, and did stints writing about education in Wisconsin and Kansas. I’ve been at Chalkbeat nearly four years.

What I do: As bureau chief, I lead a group of three reporters, helping them develop and execute story ideas, editing their work for accuracy and proper context. I lead our goal-setting, keep us organized (mostly), and ensure we have a steady pace of stories for our readers, and I manage our relationships in the community.

Fun facts to know about me: In high school, I was a championship typist and a baton twirler (not at the same time). I love to sew bags and other fun items. I know the joys and pains of being a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. I have a cat, Lucy, who runs my house and my life.

How to reach me: lhiggins@chalkbeat.org

What I’m looking forward to the most about the 22-23 school year: I’m looking forward to giving students, parents, and teachers a voice in a big way in our coverage.

Ethan Bakuli covers the Detroit Public Schools Community District and is an avid Boston Celtics fan.

Ethan Bakuli, reporter

Where I’ve been: I moved to the east side of Detroit in 2021. Before that I worked at a local paper in Burlington, Vermont. I grew up in western Massachusetts.

What I do: I cover Detroit public schools for its students, families, and teachers.

Fun facts to know about me: I’m an avid reader and record collector, alongside being a loyal Boston Celtics and Arsenal F.C. fan.

How to reach me: ebakuli@chalkbeat.org

What I’m looking forward to the most about the 22-23 school year: The chance to visit classrooms and connect with students and families out in the community.

Koby Levin covers early childhood education and K-12 education issues and is looking forward to visiting a lot of classrooms this school year.

Koby Levin, reporter

Where I’ve been: On the east side of Detroit for the last four years. Before that, I worked for a community newspaper in southwest Missouri. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Bloomfield Township, Michigan.

What I do: I inform Michiganders about inequities in our education system. I also write about early childhood education and school choice.

Fun facts to know about me: I speak fluent Spanish because I attended a language immersion program at a public school in Maryland. I played soccer in college and still play soccer and hockey whenever I get the chance.

How to reach me: klevin@chalkbeat.org

What I’m looking forward to the most about the 22-23 school year: I’m hoping to visit a lot of classrooms. One of the joys of my job is watching teaching and learning up close.

Tracie Mauriello covers state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit and Bridge Michigan. She loves to volunteer at a cat cafe.

Tracie Mauriello, state education policy reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit and Bridge Michigan.

Where I’ve been: I came here three years ago for a Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan and fell in love with the state. Previously, I worked in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, covering state and federal politics and policy for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where I was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. Before that I was an education writer for newspapers in Ohio and in my home state of Connecticut.

What I do: I help Chalkbeat readers understand how laws affect them. I spend a lot of time trying to understand the nuances of policies, but what I really like to do is visit schools to see how decisions made in Lansing change what happens in classrooms.

Fun facts to know about me: I volunteer at a cat cafe. I directed a children’s theater company. I have performed on stage in front of three presidents, once in a beaver suit. I can beat you at Ms. Pac-Man.

How to reach me: tmauriello@chalkbeat.org

What I’m looking forward to the most about the 22-23 school year: I’m looking forward to a close-up look at some of the innovative uses that districts find for federal COVID-relief money. I also hope this year to learn more about the particular challenges facing rural districts.

Krishnan Anantharaman never took a drum lesson, but spent four years on the drumline for the very competitive South Brunswick H.S. Viking Marching Band in New Jersey, working his way up from cymbals to snare.

Krishnan Anantharaman, story editor

Where I’ve been: I grew up in New York City and New Jersey, and worked at The Wall Street Journal, Automotive News and PolitiFact. I’ve lived in suburban Detroit for two decades.

What I do: I work with the reporters and bureau chiefs in Detroit and Tennessee to develop and refine story ideas; edit stories for mechanics, clarity and structure; and prepare stories for publication.

Fun facts to know about me: I help administer free and fair elections for the City of Pontiac as a poll inspector and precinct co-chair. And I’m fond of vintage “Sesame Street.”

How to reach me: kanantharaman@chalkbeat.org

What I’m looking forward to the most about the 22-23 school year: Watching the youngest of my three children go through his last year of high school and discover what’s next.

Michigan’s teacher shortage: What’s causing it, how serious is it, and what can be done?

2022-05-13T12:00:00+00:00

At a state school board meeting earlier this year, a Muskegon teacher told a story that underscored why education leaders, lawmakers, and the governor are pushing hard to address Michigan’s teacher shortage problem.

Danielle Groendyk, an English language arts teacher at Oakridge High School who is in her third year of teaching, told members of the Michigan Board of Education that when she graduated from a teacher prep program just a few years ago, she was part of a cohort of 10 people.

Today, only three of them are teaching.

Others left, “to pursue careers in other fields where they’re better compensated for positions that have a better work-life balance,” Groendyk told board members in March.

There are many more stories like this across Michigan.

Beginning long before the pandemic started, school administrators have struggled to hire and retain teachers, for a vast number of reasons. The number of people entering teacher preparation programs, which was slightly up over the last two years for which data is available, is still well below levels from a decade ago. Teacher turnover is high. Morale is low. And retirements are up.

There’s a lot at stake for Michigan schools, and there are signs the shortage could get even worse. Shortages used to be largely focused on areas such as math and science, but state officials say they’re now seeing shortages in areas that used to be flush with applicants, such as elementary school and social studies. Meanwhile, the bulk of Michigan’s teaching workforce is over the age of 40, meaning retirements could drive up job openings.

The pandemic, which has upended education since 2020, has worsened years of poor academic outcomes for Michigan students, and brought renewed attention to the social and emotional needs of students that have made learning more difficult and increased the demands on teachers.

“The challenges of being an educator these days are different than they were 10 or 15 years ago,” Michael Behrmann, superintendent of the Harbor Springs Public Schools district, said in an interview. “Students bring more complexities to the school and more issues than ever before.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers are searching for solutions. State Superintendent Michael Rice has urged the state to invest as much as $500 million in strategies to address shortages. And the state board of education has taken a particular interest in the issue, discussing it at nearly every meeting in the last six months.

How bad is Michigan’s teacher shortage?

The number of public K-12 teachers has grown by 2% over the last decade while the student population has shrunk 9%, state data shows.

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story about the difficulties districts are having filling teaching positions.

The statistics are more nuanced than they appear, said Leah Breen, director of the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Educator Excellence.

For example, the numbers don’t differentiate between certified educators and uncertified substitutes working under full-year temporary permits, and they don’t account for difficulties in hiring for specific positions such as special education, or in remote districts that have more trouble attracting candidates.

Just ask superintendents like Alan Tulppo of Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District in the westernmost part of the Upper Peninsula. It’s been harder than ever to hire there, he told the state Board of Education during a November meeting. Principals have had to rely on their last-resort solution, hiring uncertified educators who have temporary waivers, he said.

Even districts that used to get a lot of applications are having trouble finding teachers now.

“Fifteen years ago we’d get hundreds of applications for an elementary position,” Behrmann said. “Now we’re lucky if we get three or four.”

Administrators often find themselves hiring from neighboring districts, creating new problems in other places. That’s what Superintendent Chuck North did when a few openings cropped up in the middle of this school year in Reading Community Schools just north of the Ohio border.

“There are no new teacher candidates out there,” North said. “School districts basically have to try to steal from each other.”

Craig Thiel, director of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a public affairs research group, said he doesn’t perceive a statewide crisis the way Rice and other state officials do. But he acknowledged that shortages represent a pressing problem for many communities.

“Any time a student is sitting in front of a teacher that doesn’t have the credential to teach the class, that’s concerning,” Thiel said. “And if that’s happening more often, it is a growing concern that requires public attention.”

Nationwide, there were 386,000 teacher vacancies in February 2022, according to the latest data available from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. A decade earlier there were 108,000 openings.

The bureau doesn’t report vacancies by state, and Michigan doesn’t track them in real time. Breen said the department follows state law, which requires it to collect personnel data from school districts twice a year.

Researchers at the Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, known as EPIC, say that’s too infrequent to capture rapidly changing conditions within districts. They also say the data isn’t detailed enough to be useful. They recommend a new law requiring more frequent reporting of data that captures new hires, terminations, reassignments, job openings, and start and end dates of each vacancy.

Other researchers find the data lacking, too.

“We did a report to try to suss this out in 2019,” Thiel said, and the main finding was that in Michigan, “we’re doing a very bad job of trying to get our arms around the nature of this problem. If there’s a problem, what are the nuances of it?”

What is causing Michigan’s teacher shortage problems?

For many Michigan districts, a teacher shortage crisis has been brewing for years, beginning with the Great Recession of 2008-09, which left many schools reeling financially and caused widespread job uncertainty for staff. It continued as lawmakers enacted laws unpopular with educators that made it easier for school districts to fire teachers, weakened teacher tenure laws, and made test scores an important part of teacher evaluations.

Meanwhile, fewer people were choosing the profession to begin with. Suddenly Michigan, which used to be a state that overproduced teachers, was seeing big holes in its pipeline. In 2014-15, there were 14,749 people enrolled in teacher preparation programs. In 2018-19, the latest year the data is available, the number was 10,168.

Although average teacher salaries in Michigan are around $64,000 a year, the pay for new teachers is low. Beginning teachers average $37,320 annually, according to the Michigan Education Association. It can take years for a new teacher to reach the top of the pay scale, and those who have in-demand skills in areas such as math and science can command much higher salaries in the private sector.

Factor in an aging workforce — 62% of teachers in Michigan are over age 40 — and the challenges become more clear.

The pandemic has only exacerbated this problem. Teachers are working longer hours, often filling in for colleagues who’ve become ill with COVID. Online teaching has been difficult, as have the challenges of dealing with learning loss, mental health concerns, and inconsistent modes of learning over the years. Some teachers have had enough and are considering leaving the profession.

“Teachers are exhausted,” Leah Porter, a Holt teacher who was named Michigan’s Teacher of the Year in 2021, said during a recent meeting of the Michigan Board of Education. “The stakes have never been higher on teachers, and they feel that pressure. They are just burned out beyond belief.”

The pandemic has often put teachers on the front lines of conflicts over whether schools should be in person or remote. A raging debate about curriculum, including how topics such as Black history and racism are taught, hasn’t helped.

The MEA, the state’s largest teacher’s union with affiliates across Michigan, earlier this year released the results of a survey that show 1 in 5 Michigan teachers who responded expect to change careers in the next two to three years, while 14% said they plan to retire. That doesn’t mean they’ll all leave, and national data show that similar survey responses haven’t resulted in a huge exodus, but it is concerning for local and state education officials.

Where is the shortage worst?

It’s difficult for researchers to say which districts are struggling the most to hire teachers. The answer isn’t captured clearly in the data the state collects, said Katharine Strunk, director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University.

Districts in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula, for example, have the highest ratio of teachers to students. Yet teachers in those districts are the least likely to have permanent certificates in the grade or subject they are teaching.

Turnover is highest in urban districts with the highest poverty and the most Black students, according to EPIC. That means some of the state’s most disadvantaged students have the least experienced teachers. A Chalkbeat analysis last year shed light on the disproportionate effect of teacher turnover on students of color and students from low-income families.

“This kind of teacher churn can have substantial deleterious effects on students, and on schools’ and districts’ abilities to operate effectively and efficiently,” EPIC researchers said in a 2021 report.

How have the shortage areas changed?

Michigan, like many other states, has long had trouble finding enough teachers certified to teach special education, math, world languages, the sciences, English as a second language, and career and technical education courses.

Recently, hiring difficulties reached elementary schools, where principals at one time had their pick of hundreds of applicants for each open position. In 2018, elementary teachers appeared on the U.S. Department of Education’s critical shortage area list for Michigan.

That’s startling in a state that once produced so many teachers that the State Board of Education in 2005 stopped authorizing new college and university teacher preparation programs.

There are currently 26 disciplines on Michigan’s critical shortage list, twice as many as a decade ago. Recently added disciplines include physical education, art, music, elementary education, language arts, psychology, and social studies.

How does the struggle to hire qualified teachers affect students?

Students are in larger classes and are sometimes being taught by uncertified long-term substitutes or educators teaching outside the grade levels and subject areas they trained for. Other students are being taught by educators who are stressed from the burden of covering for absent colleagues because of a troubling shortage of substitute teachers, Breen said.

Despite staffing challenges, most Michigan schools are finding ways to still offer electives and advanced courses, Breen said. Doing that sometimes requires assigning teachers who don’t feel prepared to teach in those content areas or who haven’t taught those courses in 12 or more years, Breen said.

Will there be money in next year’s state school aid budget to help?

The governor, House and Senate agree there’s a problem, but they have vastly different ideas for how to address it and how much to spend on it. They have until July 1 — when school districts’ fiscal years begin — to hammer out the differences in their disparate spending plans.

Whitmer’s plan is the most expensive, most complicated, and most controversial.

Her proposed budget calls for $1.5 billion to cover bonuses for teachers who remain in their districts or transfer to high-poverty schools. The bonuses would gradually increase from $2,000 to $4,000 over four school years.

Teachers unions support the plan, but government watchdogs like Thiel say the bonuses should be more targeted.

“Rather than sprinkle the infield, maybe we should provide greater retention bonuses to those who are in special education classrooms or middle school science classrooms,” Thiel said. “If these are the classrooms where we’re having a problem with retention, where we’re seeing teachers leaving, let’s tailor the retention bonuses to those classrooms and those districts.”

Whitmer also wants to invest $150 million in scholarships, tuition reimbursement, and mentorship programs for new teachers.

Teacher recruitment and retention are a much lower priority for Michigan senators who budgeted just $25 million for it in the spending plan they passed last week. That money would be used to provide scholarships to student teachers.

House lawmakers want to invest much more. They budgeted $529 million for recruitment and retention efforts including scholarships, compensation for student teachers, and support for programs that offer pathways for school support staff and high school students to become educators.

That’s in line with what Rice, the state superintendent, has said it will cost to alleviate the state’s teacher hiring problem. He has been calling for a variety of changes including raising teacher pay, forgiving teachers’ student loans, paying child care costs for parents enrolled in education programs, and providing stipends to defray student teachers’ living costs.

Won’t federal COVID relief money help?

Michigan schools received a $6 billion windfall as part of the federal government’s COVID relief package. Districts are using it for tutoring programs, summer school, computers, ventilation systems, and much more.

Superintendents are reluctant to use it to hire staff because they would have to maintain the salaries for new hires after the three years of federal COVID money runs out.

What is the Michigan Department of Education doing to mitigate the problem?

Last summer, the MDE launched the Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educators Campaign to help former teachers with lapsed credentials return to the profession. The program also provides the necessary professional development to open pathways to Michigan education majors who completed their programs but never became teachers.

Last year, Rice approved new alternative-route teacher certification programs created by New Paradigm for Education, a charter school network, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Alternative-route programs are an important part of the solution but not a replacement for college and university programs, Breen said. Alternative-route candidates need to already have bachelor’s degrees before they enroll, she said. Much of the recent growth in enrollment in teacher preparation programs was fueled by alternative programs.

Rice is also using his bully pulpit to encourage local school districts to boost teacher salaries, and to press the Legislature to fund recruitment strategies and — especially — retention efforts such as Whitmer’s proposed bonuses.

Tracie Mauriello covers state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit and Bridge Michigan. Reach her at tmauriello@chalkbeat.org.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. Reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Too few metro Detroiters are earning post-high school degrees, report says

2022-04-06T18:48:54+00:00

The number of metro Detroiters enrolling in college or post-high school training programs was already declining pre-COVID, but now it’s falling even lower. The number of residents earning degrees is also declining, raising concerns that employers will continue to struggle to find qualified workers.

The Detroit Regional Chamber raised those concerns in a State of Education report released Wednesday. The report uses regional, state, and national data to paint a grim outlook for metro Detroit and students who are Black or Latino or come from low-income homes. The report also says that efforts to get more residents, particularly adults, to earn degrees or certificates have stalled

Currently, just half of the 11-county region’s residents have a postsecondary credential, which includes two-year and four-year college degrees or a certificate in fields such as nursing or welding. The goal is to get that number up to 60%, but that won’t happen if enrollment continues to decline or those in college don’t finish.

“COVID has taken a toll and has made a bad situation even worse,” said Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the chamber.

If the percentage doesn’t improve, the implications aren’t just dire for employers trying to fill jobs, Baruah told reporters this week.

“One of the reasons this issue is so important is (that) the level of educational attainment has a direct impact on an individual and a family’s economic security,” Baruah said. An individual’s financial stability is also directly related to the financial stability of a community. And “employers will go where the talent is,” he said.

Here are some of the concerning statistics the report highlights:

Even before the pandemic, there were concerns about regional postsecondary enrollment, particularly for students graduating from Detroit schools. The report shows that from 2018 to 2019, the percentage of high school graduates who didn’t enroll in college or a certificate program grew from 28% to 34% for the region. The number rose from 38% to 53% in Detroit.
Undergraduate enrollment in Michigan dropped by 8.9% between 2019 and 2021. That compares to a drop of 8% for the nation. The report says that fewer students enrolling in postsecondary education will mean employers won’t have enough qualified workers to fill jobs that pay middle class or higher wages.
The undergraduate enrollment data is even worse for students who graduate from schools with a large number of students from low-income homes. Their enrollment rate fell by 10% nationally between 2019 and 2020. Regional data was not available.
Nationally, 74% of students who started college in the fall of 2019 returned in the fall of 2020. For Black students, it was 65%, and for Latino students, it was 69%.

There were a few bright spots in the data. The percentage of students who graduated from high school in 2014 and are on track to graduate from a postsecondary institution within six years is on the rise. Postsecondary graduation rates are also on the rise.

The chamber is involved in or leading a number of initiatives to boost postsecondary numbers, including the Detroit Promise, which provides scholarships for students in the city to attend a community college or four-year institution. The chamber is also a member of Launch Michigan, a nonpartisan advocacy group that has pushed for changes to the state’s education system that will ensure more students graduate prepared for postsecondary success.

The Chamber’s Detroit Reconnect initiative is aimed at helping adults enroll in a higher education. In 2019, there were more than 676,000 adults in the region with some college credits, but they had not earned a degree or credential.

“If we can get a big chunk of them, that could make a big difference, you know, right away,” Baruah said.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. Contact her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

As schools try to recover, COVID’s toll lingers: ‘We haven’t seen fine, ever’

2022-03-19T10:00:00+00:00

This story is being co-published with The New York Times Sunday Review.

As class ended on a recent Tuesday, Ana Barros, a middle school teacher, signaled for a seventh grader wearing Crocs to hang back. Minutes earlier, he’d stormed into the hallway, slamming the door in her face.

“Walk me through that moment you just had,” she said.

Ana Barros, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, says more students are asking to see the counselor at her Tulsa school this year.

Barros, who teaches social studies at an Oklahoma charter school, listened with patience. The student had struggled to manage his emotions before the pandemic. A year spent at home when classes were fully remote without the neutral ground that school provided had intensified his anger.

“When you’re mad, when you’re feeling that rage,” she said, “you can’t slam the door.”

“Sorry,” the student replied softly, trying to keep his feelings in check.

“It’s OK,” Barros said. “But we’ve gotta find a way to channel those moments when you’ve got rage. We’re on the same team. I’m not against you. I want to help you.”

In some ways, this is typical middle school teaching. But the pandemic has upped the volume and intensity of students’ needs and raised the stakes for schools trying to meet them.

The cascade of new challenges started with the onset of the coronavirus in 2020, which closed school buildings and plunged teachers and families into the unknowns of remote learning. The year that followed was a patchwork of remote and in-person instruction, with school districts around the country varying wildly in their policies.

Many hoped this would be the comeback school year, when schools would focus on recovery. The last schools that had been operating remotely fully reopened. COVID relief dollars poured into districts. The availability of vaccines for teens, and then children over 5, created hope.

But just as the pandemic’s emotional and academic toll on students grew clearer last fall, staff shortages hobbled schools. When the virus seemed like it was under control, the omicron wave of cases brought half-empty classrooms or temporary returns to virtual learning. It’s been a year of survival and triage for teachers, school leaders, students, and their families.

Now a shift is underway. Mask mandates have largely lifted, and more Americans say they are ready to leave the pandemic in the rearview mirror. But teachers like Barros are still grappling daily with issues that COVID has left in its wake, most of which defy easy solutions.

“I really feel scared to say that we’ve turned a corner,” she said. “The things that we were struggling with, even outside of COVID, are just still there.”

Barros found herself scrolling through job listings earlier this winter, but like most teachers, she’s sticking it out. “I’m choosing to stay because I love this,” she said.

In Barros’ classroom at the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, many students require intensive support. One boy didn’t attend a single virtual class as a sixth grader or return when the school building reopened last spring. It’s her job to keep him tethered to school.

When another student started clutching a stuffed toy shaped like an avocado, Barros didn’t press her for a reason. And when one of Barros’ top students started having panic attacks in class, she helped come up with a plan to calm her heavy breathing. Her school has noticed an uptick in thoughts of self-harm, negative self-talk, and meltdowns. More students are asking to see the counselor.

Two years into the upheaval, teachers are depleted. On top of the needs in their classrooms, teachers and their unions have faced scrutiny over school shutdowns, vaccine and mask mandates, and COVID safety protocols, leading to labor strife in Chicago and elsewhere.

Some teachers have begun having doubts about their ability to keep going. As three colleagues departed midyear for higher-paying jobs outside the classroom, Barros, who has taught for four years in Tulsa, found herself scrolling job listings earlier this winter. Like most, she’s sticking it out. “For a while, I was in that victim mentality of ‘woe is me,’ but I do have choices,” she said. “And I’m choosing to stay because I love this.”

But America’s schools remain fragile. As teachers catch their breath after the latest wave of COVID cases, many are teetering between cautious optimism and lingering exhaustion.

Across the country, teachers like Neelah Ali are trying to help students who are struggling emotionally and keep them on track academically after two years of stop-and-start learning.

Ali teaches freshman biology at Denver’s South High School, where she is also a teacher coach, an assistant track coach, and a sponsor of the dance team, Jewish Club, and Black Student Alliance. She’s the kind of teacher who knows nearly everyone and will hop up on a table to help students understand a lesson.

Ali much prefers in-person teaching to what she called “the abyss” of virtual learning. Students had the option to return to classrooms part-time last spring and have been learning in-person all of this school year, though COVID cases meant attendance was spotty until recently. There are signs of genuine joy in school: students giggling together in class, cranking pump-up music in the weight room, and eating pizza off trays in the hallways.

But Ali says her students have less academic stamina than she is used to. Before the pandemic, all of her freshmen would most likely have finished their lab, which involved flipping pennies to determine the odds that two parents’ offspring would have dark hair or freckles, in a 50-minute class period. This year, only one pair of students did. More students are asking for breaks during class, too.

“I’m having more conversations with kids about not liking school,” Ali said.

Neelah Ali, a biology teacher at South High School in Denver, has noticed that her students have less academic stamina than they typically did pre-pandemic.

Students also seem more attached to the digital world. Despite posted signs prohibiting cellphone use, nearly all of Ali’s students on a recent day had their phones out at some point. A few used them in ways that were arguably academic, walking up to the white board and snapping a photo of the lesson on chromosomes and meiosis to copy it onto paper. For others, the phones were a distraction.

Ali knows that taking a student’s phone is likely to upset them deeply. That wasn’t as true before the pandemic, she said.

“Now it’s like, if I take the phone, it threatens their identity,” she said. “If I take it, that’s going to damage our relationship so much that I don’t even broach the topic.”

Despite the difficulties, Ali said she was getting through the curriculum, partly because the pandemic meant fewer guest speakers and field trips. But student absences because of COVID or COVID exposure have been another complication. In each of her classes, several students were on their laptops doing makeup work instead of the penny lab.

The absences, a national challenge this year especially during the omicron wave, pose a daily dilemma. When should teachers reteach a lesson that some students missed and when should they move on? The answers matter, as ninth-grade success is seen as a key predictor of whether a student will graduate from high school in four years. Last year, graduation rates dipped nationwide and more ninth graders fell behind on credits in some states.

“A lot of teachers are struggling with: Do we make it up or do we not make it up?” Ali said.

The little boy arrived in Kendra Barclay’s kindergarten classroom on a chilly Detroit morning wearing a white mask so big it was hanging off his face.

“You need a kid’s mask!” she told him, scurrying off to find one.

Mask adjustment is still part of the job for Barclay, who spent much of that morning transitioning from lessons on letter sounds to gentle, and at times stern, reminders about classroom COVID safety.

“Ch says chuh, chuh, chuh,” Barclay said as she surveyed the students sitting on the rug in front of her. “Kamryn, you’ve got to cover your nose.”

Though schools in most of the country have lifted their mask mandates, Detroit district leaders are still weighing a potential change. For now, Barclay continues navigating the physical logistics as well as the emotional toll of teaching in a community that lost thousands to COVID.

“How do you keep 5-year-olds socially distanced?” she said. “They love being near each other. A lot of them need that contact. They need to feel nurtured.”

At Detroit’s Spain Elementary-Middle School, kindergarten teacher Kendra Barclay navigates the physical logistics of social distancing with young children that long for close contact with their classmates.

Barclay finds a way to do both, and her classroom at Spain Elementary-Middle School in the city’s Midtown neighborhood includes plenty of dancing and singing. When she needed her students to see how their tongues should sit between their teeth as they make the “th” sound, she moved to the far side of the room and pulled her two masks down for a few seconds.

Back in September, the stress of wanting to serve the students who needed her while avoiding getting sick herself got the best of Barclay, a South Carolina native who has taught in Detroit since 1999. On the school’s first in-person day, the principal, Frederick Cannon, popped his head in her classroom door before the kids arrived and asked how she was doing. Barclay burst into tears. “It was just the fear,” she says.

Barclay is optimistic about the progress of her kindergartners, though she worries if enough of them will be prepared for first grade.

Months later, as she was beginning to feel more comfortable, a new wave of cases disrupted everyone’s lives again. Schools in the district went remote for weeks as the omicron variant spread and again for winter storms, briefly severing the connection between Barclay and some of her students. A couple of children signed in daily, but never turned their cameras on or responded when she called on them.

Barclay remains optimistic about her students’ progress and was grateful recently to be among a group of teachers who received recognition from the district for their work during the pandemic. She knows her students aren’t all where they should be academically, though. She has found herself reteaching lessons from the fall, like how to write words on the correct lines of their handwriting practice paper.

“I’m still committed to coming in every day, trying to push and pull the greatness in and out of them,” she said. “I just still worry. How many of them are going to be prepared for first grade?”

“I have to realize this is just what it is in the world right now, and I am doing all I can.”

After a winter of emotions that rose and fell with COVID case rates, the nation’s teachers and families are looking to what comes next. Whether their fatigue will stretch on through the spring and even fall. Whether their schools can turn a fragile grip on stability into a firm grasp.

This pandemic may become less acute, but its effects on schools will linger: the children coping with the death of their caregivers, the fissures that remain over how to keep kids healthy and safe, the kindergartners struggling with their ABCs, the seventh graders tamping down anxiety, the high schoolers fretting over their diplomas.

Schools are now spending big on mental health programs, tutoring, and other academic recovery efforts — work that is likely to stretch past the three years they have to use their federal relief funds. “Our hardest and most important work lies ahead,” the U.S. education secretary, Miguel Cardona, said recently.

For Ali in Denver, that work looks like a full school day followed by a three-hour virtual training on a new science curriculum that’s more inclusive and culturally relevant. The changes are important to her, but “burnout feels like it’s a lot closer than it used to be,” she said.

It’s the same for a lot of teachers she talks to, she said. The rising stress “feels like it’s more at our chest than at our feet.”

For Barclay in Detroit, the work means connecting with her students — whether by listening intently to a retelling of the plot of a “Transformers” movie or offering hugs even when they go against social distancing guidelines.

“I figure, you wouldn’t ask for a hug or a high five if you really didn’t need it,” she said.

Barclay helps one of her kindergartners with letter writing. She’s had to reteach some handwriting lessons from the fall as she works to keep her students on track.

And for Barros in Tulsa, the work looks like this: grading assignments on Sundays, spending her planning periods in meetings with families whose children are struggling, and mentoring a new teacher partly to supplement her comparatively low Oklahoma teacher’s salary.

She hopes she’s pushed past the worst of her exhaustion — when she was out sick for seven school days with COVID in January, wracked with guilt, waking up each morning to record a video lesson so her students wouldn’t fall behind.

Now the end of the school year feels within reach. Come fall, she won’t be as in the dark about where her students are, academically and emotionally, as she was this year.

Other challenges aren’t going away. Barros goes without adequate staffing support even in a normal year, helping translate for the school’s Spanish-speaking families as one of the few bilingual staff members. Her school also serves a disproportionately high share of students with disabilities. Without other teachers or aides in the room to help, it’s Barros who slips a pillow under the foot of a student with autism to soften the sound of his tapping foot, and Barros who pulls aside a student with dyslexia to read tricky passages aloud.

After months back together in the school building, she’s seen her students make real progress — reading full chapter books, building friendships with classmates. But they’re still dealing with the ramifications of the COVID years. It will take a wider network of support to truly give her students what they need, Barros says. To her, that includes greater investment in Tulsa’s under-resourced neighborhoods, stronger bonds between schools and families, and more counselors and therapists.

“We haven’t seen fine, ever,” she said. Pre-pandemic, many of the students with disabilities and students of color at her school were “already so underserved.”

“I feel like I’m a piece of the puzzle, and I see myself as a piece of the puzzle,” Barros said. “And sometimes it’s like, damn, some of those pieces are taking a long time to get here.”

Kalyn Belsha is a national reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org. Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. Contact her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org. Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering Denver Public Schools. Contact her at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

This Hamtramck principal wants to prepare students for life

2022-03-16T15:19:01+00:00

To understand what drives Alvin Ward as principal of Hamtramck Academy, you might have to go back to his days as a teacher of students with learning disabilities.

Back then, while some teachers shied away from this population of students, “I thought it was the greatest opportunity to help students who need it the most.” He calls it the highlight of his teaching career.

Ward wasn’t just focused on helping students achieve academically so they could move on to the next grade. He was determined to help them to succeed in life well after they completed their K-12 education.

“For some kids, we determine whether they’re going to stay at home with their family or whether they’re going to live an independent … life,” he said. “We have to equip students with skills. That made it much more than a job. It was a moral duty for me.”

Alvin Ward is the principal at Hamtramck Academy, a charter school that was one of four in Michigan recently recognized by the Education Trust-Midwest for academic success.

Fast forward to 2021, when the Education Trust-Midwest named Hamtramck Academy one of its first four “Building the Hope” schools (see below for more information), largely because of the success the school has seen improving academic achievement for its students, many of whom are immigrants from Bangladesh, and many of whom are from low-income homes.

Ward, who has led the school for six years after a few years as a principal in Lansing, is as inspired as ever, noting: “We’re molding kids to move on and become adults. That’s the motivator for me — to see kids come and they learn and they can have fun and they can be safe. It’s more than just a school.”

He spoke recently with Chalkbeat Detroit.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What is it about this school that stands out?

We think we have embraced and put into practice some of the best strategies that can help K-8 students everywhere, but particularly in communities with many less affluent, minority, and English-learner students.

We are a National Heritage Academy charter school serving about 550 students in grades K-8. Our school was recognized as a “Building the Hope School” because multiple student groups, including Asian students and students from low-income backgrounds, showed exceptional academic progress, exceeding the statewide proficiency rate in both English language arts and math for three consecutive years.

But we don’t do this work for awards. We do it because making sure every child succeeds is central to our mission.

We strongly believe that having real-time data combined with individualized learning are critical — but we start first by creating a culture where students feel comfortable being themselves, regardless of their backgrounds, family income, ZIP code, or home language.

Why is it so crucial to build relationships with students and their families?

Many of our students come from families who are recent immigrants and speak another language at home, and many are Muslim. Our education team members, who often do not share those characteristics, take care to embrace our students’ diversity. That includes working hard to embed their culture into our classroom instruction, diverse reading materials and in the images of people whose faces line the walls of our classrooms and hallways. We also offer Arabic and Bengali translators and make sure our communications are accessible to our families.

Honoring our students’ and families’ culture is a big part of who we are – and something we know is also a significant contributing factor to our growth and progress.

How do you involve families in the school?

We have found our families have a true passion for learning. We feed on that hunger, provide a safe, fun environment – and from there we can apply the teaching tools that meet our students’ needs.

Every classroom works to create a “social contract,” where students agree to how they want to treat their teacher and fellow students. The students themselves then hold each other accountable in a classroom that is managed by them.

Our teachers also meet students where they are academically and then tailor instruction to their needs. That means really taking active steps to create plans and set goals based on the individual child.

To truly individualize instruction, we track and monitor student data regularly to inform how we teach, making adjustments where needed. Based on what we learn, our students may then receive intervention and support or small group instruction with other students who could also benefit from additional support on a subject.

Beyond providing ongoing instructional support for students who need it, we are passionate about creating a learning environment to encourage students to accelerate. For instance, we recently launched EXCEL-ERATE, our new advanced learning program to provide learning opportunities for top-performing students who are ready to learn at an accelerated pace beyond grade level.

Four Michigan schools that show promise

Hamtramck Academy is one of four schools singled out by the Education Trust-Midwest for helping traditionally underserved students progress academically.

The others are Bennett Elementary School in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Discovery Elementary in Kentwood, and Thomas Jefferson Elementary in South Redford.

They were selected to receive the inaugural Building the Hope Schools awards for demonstrating that students from all backgrounds can learn at high levels despite challenges at home and school.

All of them predominantly serve students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, and all performed in the top 25% of Michigan schools for academic proficiency or showed above average academic growth.

Here’s why each school was selected:.

Hamtramck: Multiple groups, including Asian students and students from low-income backgrounds, progressed academically and exceeded statewide proficiency rates on standardized tests for three consecutive years. Hamtramck faculty and staff use diverse reading materials, culturally responsive communication, and Arabic and Bengali translators to meet the needs of their community.
Bennett: English language learners improved substantially on state standardized tests for three straight years. The school uses a translation app to communicate with parents and caregivers who are not fluent in English.
Discovery: Most subgroups of students progressed academically and exceeded statewide proficiency rates for math and English language arts for three consecutive years. Discovery uses small learning groups to support struggling students.
Thomas Jefferson: Black students and students from low-income homes showed improvement on state standardized tests for three straight years. The school has decreased suspension and discipline rates, and aligned instruction with individual student needs.

The Education Trust-Midwest is a nonpartisan research organization that advocates for improved education for all Michigan students.

Detroit schools could lift mask mandate after spring break

2022-03-01T00:26:15+00:00

The Detroit school district could lift its mask mandate sometime after its weeklong spring break ends April 3, provided the pandemic doesn’t surge after break and all students learning indoors are being tested weekly.

“We plan to consider the removal of the mask requirement between mid-March and mid-April,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told Chalkbeat Monday.

Detroit’s move would come well after many school districts in Michigan have already lifted their mask mandates. At the beginning of the school year, a majority of students were attending schools that required them to wear masks.

After an omicron-fueled surge of COVID cases in January caused schools to close campuses, Detroit’s case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID have steadily decreased. Last week, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines that said schools should mandate masks only when COVID cases and hospitalizations are categorized as high. Currently, Wayne County falls in the“medium” tier of case rates that the CDC does not recommend for mask mandates.

But in Detroit, even though case rates have declined, the district has other considerations.

“We currently agree with the Detroit Health Department that due to the city’s lower vaccination rates our mask removal date will be later than other districts’,” Vitti said.

Currently, about 48% of city residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, compared with 66% statewide.

Two factors will help the district determine if it makes sense to lift its mask requirement. One has to do with student testing. On Jan. 31, a new rule went into place requiring students to be tested weekly for COVID, with their parents’ consent. The district will move students who lack parental consent for testing to the district’s virtual school. That move hasn’t happened yet.

“We are reaching nearly 100% of students consenting to COVID testing and when that occurs, and non-consenting students are transferred to the virtual school, we will be in a better position to allow for optional mask wearing for employees and students,” Vitti said.

The district will also be looking closely at what happens after spring break, which lasts from March 28 to April 3.

“We also want to ensure that the city does not experience another surge after spring break,” Vitti said in a statement. “It would be difficult to remove the mask requirement and then enforce it once again if a surge occurs near spring break when staff and students are not in school. Once those two obstacles are cleared we would consider lifting the mask requirement.”

The district’s letter of agreement with the Detroit Federation of Teachers, which established mutual guidelines for the reopening of school buildings for the current school year, says the district will “abide with the most current legally required” orders, recommendations, and guidelines from the CDC and the state health department.

Six things to know as Detroit schools’ COVID testing deadline looms

2022-01-27T22:28:35+00:00

On Monday, thousands of Detroit students will do something they haven’t been able to do since the middle of December — head to their school buildings to learn in person.

Monday also marks the deadline for parents in the Detroit Public Schools Community District to consent to COVID testing for their children.

During a parent listening session Wednesday night, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said 91% of parents have turned in the forms. That’s way up from December, when the percentage hovered in the 60s. Data from early January showed some schools have a long way to go to get their numbers up.

District officials want 100% of students signed up for the weekly testing. The district will transfer students who don’t have consent forms on file to the virtual school.

Here are six things that are important to know as that deadline looms:

Detroit is one of the few districts in Michigan requiring student testing

The district’s student testing policy appears to be the most aggressive effort in Michigan schools to stem the spread of COVID. In addition to the student mandate, employees must be vaccinated against the virus by Feb. 18. That’s a step up from the policy that’s been in place thus far in the district, which has required staff to test weekly, unless they were fully vaccinated.

Across the nation, some schools are testing students regularly, but not requiring it. In Chicago, the district and teachers union — as part of an agreement that allowed classes to resume after the winter break — agreed to push for 100% student testing in each school. In Los Angeles, the school district requires weekly student and employee testing.

In Detroit, the student testing mandate is influenced largely by the high infection rates and low vaccination rates in the city.

“This is the second to last COVID safety strategy that we can implement in order to keep students in schools consistently, Monday through Friday,” Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a recent interview. The last strategy, he said, would be a student vaccine requirement, which he is considering for the next school year.

It’s legal to require COVID testing, district leader has said

Vitti said recently that the district researched the legality of requiring COVID testing before announcing the policy change Dec. 31.

“Our legal review on this one is that we can require the test as long as we do not prevent a student from accessing an education through the district. That is still happening through the virtual school.”

A mandatory transfer to the virtual school won’t be automatic

At Wednesday’s listening session, Vitti reiterated something he’s said before — that students who don’t have a consent form on file won’t be automatically sent to the virtual school. That transfer is likely to happen by the end of February. Before then, district employees will do everything they can to get consent.

“Until we have tried with phone calls, even a home visit, we’re not going to just move a child out of in-person learning into the virtual school, simply because we don’t have a consent on file yet,” Vitti said. “But by the end of February, middle of February, if we can’t reach you and your child is not coming to school, then we’re going to move you to the virtual school.”

If parents give their consent verbally, over the phone, “then we’ll initial the consent form and we’re fine and we move forward,” Vitti said.

The virtual school opened in September and enrolls about 2,000 students. It has been an option for parents reluctant to send their children to school for face-to-face learning.

A spit is all it takes to test

The Detroit school board last May approved a contract with LynxDX to provide weekly saliva PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing. The total cost is about $71 million, a huge investment, thanks to federal COVID relief funding.

The use of saliva tests means students only need to spend a few seconds weekly to get tested and don’t have to stick a nasal swab up their nose.

Protecting student saliva collections is important

During a recent school board meeting and in an earlier interview with Chalkbeat, Vitti stressed that the saliva students provide for the COVID testing should not be used for anything else.

“We have an agreement with LynxDX that it can’t be used for any other tests, or, you know, DNA. Nothing like that. That’s specifically in the contract,” Vitti said.

Exemptions are available, but likely will be limited

Parents can ask for an exemption for medical or religious reasons. There are some circumstances in which a student might need a medical exemption from testing. One of them, Vitti said, is in the case of a student who can’t produce enough saliva. There are also some students who cognitively “can’t understand the concept and the process of saliva testing,” Vitti said.

“So they are exempt as well,” Vitti said.

Overall, though, he said it will be difficult for students to qualify for medical or religious exemptions.

He said Wednesday that a small number of parents — about 40 to 50 — have indicated they object to the saliva test.

“We’re hoping to reduce the number … to a couple dozen, if possible. We just want to make sure that everyone understands clearly that we have to keep everyone safe. And the best way to be safe right now is testing.”

Why low COVID vax rates in Detroit led to more online learning

2022-01-25T23:59:08+00:00

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti sees the school buses rolling down the streets of Detroit, transporting students he doesn’t serve to schools he doesn’t lead. It’s hard to watch, given the difficult decisions Vitti has had to make in the last month to delay the return to in-person instruction.

“Every time I have to make these decisions, I lose a piece of my professional soul because it’s not always the right decision for kids, because you can’t get it completely right, because there are still families that just want online learning and there are still kids that want to stay home and learn from home.”

Like some big city school districts in the U.S., the Detroit Public Schools Community District had to grapple with community infection rates of 30%-40% at the beginning of the year, when students were set to return from winter break. But while students in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and beyond have returned to face-to-face instruction in the midst of an omicron-fueled surge, Detroit kids have remained at home, learning online since Jan. 6.

Detroit isn’t the only Michigan district where students have been stuck in remote learning all year. Flint Community Schools announced last week that it would extend remote learning “until further notice.”

Across the nation, most schools have returned to in-person learning following the winter break. But chaos has ensued. Some schools have had to shut down because so many teachers and students were out sick. In Chicago, there were public battles between administrators and union leaders that cancelled classes for days. The surge has forced some school districts to strengthen their COVID protocols, including in Los Angeles, which told students over the weekend they must now wear surgical or higher quality masks, rather than cloth masks.

Taylor Johnson-King, a senior at Cass Technical High School, supported the switch to virtual learning in January. She, too, was worried about high infection rates in the city and felt a delay would give the numbers a chance to drop.

But the extended remote instruction is starting to take its toll on her and others. Attendance has been down on a number of days, and there’s been extensive research that illustrates that remote learning isn’t the best for all students.

“I wanted to go virtual because of the cases, and I had already prepared myself. But I don’t know if I prepared myself enough for this,” Taylor said.

In Detroit, the biggest pressure has come from some vocal employees and families advocating to shut down buildings they believe aren’t safe. Ultimately, Vitti says the city’s high case numbers and low vaccination rates would have made running in-person schools impossible this month.

“Knowing all of the factors that needed to be weighed and considered, I know I made the best decision to postpone an in-person learning return after winter break and I hope I do not have to make that decision again,” Vitti said. “Someone loses every time I do. It was the best overall decision for DPSCD.”

In Detroit, while 80% of district employees are fully vaccinated, just 38% of city residents are fully vaccinated. Among those, 5% of 5-11-year-olds have been fully vaccinated. Twelve-to-15-year-olds are 22% vaccinated. Twenty-eight percent of 16-19-year-olds have been fully vaccinated.

The contrast between Detroit’s vaccination numbers and those in some other big cities is stark. Take New York City, for instance, where 74% of residents are fully vaccinated, including 33% of 5-12-year-olds and 75% of 13-17-year-olds. Schools there fully opened after winter break.

Many other communities have much higher vaccination rates, particularly for children. In Newark, 58% of 12-17-year-olds are fully vaccinated. In Kansas City, 33% of children 5-17 are fully vaccinated, and in St. Louis, the percentage for 5-17-year-olds is 35%.

Vitti said the vast differences in vaccination rates means it’s impossible to adequately compare Detroit with other school districts and their decisions to reopen. The low vaccination rates are a problem for a number of reasons. Those who are unvaccinated are more likely to be infected, and more likely to have more serious illnesses as a result of infection, Vitti said.

Vaccination rates will almost certainly remain low on Jan. 31, when students are set to return to the classroom. But the district will have a new key strategy in its efforts to reduce COVID spread: a COVID testing requirement for students. Students whose parents don’t consent to weekly, mandatory testing will automatically be transferred to the district’s virtual school.

In addition, a mandate for employee vaccinations goes into effect Feb. 18, and the district is considering a vaccination mandate for students. Vitti has been vocal on the latter issue, urging state officials to require student vaccines or “get out of the way” of districts that want to move in that direction.

The low vaccination rates and high infection rates in the city in early January meant the district “would not have been able to manage the amount of inevitable positive cases” that would have led to staff absences, student absences and operational disruptions, Vitti said. He compared it with the struggles airlines had before winter break, saying, “if you don’t have pilots, if you don’t have flight attendants, you can’t fly planes.”

“So, for a school, if you don’t have custodians, you can’t clean. If you don’t have your cafeteria staff, you can’t cook food. If you don’t have noon-hour aides, you can’t supervise students in the cafeteria. If you don’t have security guards, you don’t have people to monitor students as they move to and from class. Most importantly, if you don’t have teachers, you can’t have in-person instruction.”

‘Vast majority’ of big city schools are open

Bree Dusseault, who leads research at the Center for Reinventing Public Education on how COVID is affecting student learning, said schools across the nation are struggling with how to operate and keep classrooms staffed in the midst of the latest surge.

The Seattle-based organization’s ongoing analysis of 100 large and urban U.S. districts has found “the vast majority of schools are staying open.” Detroit, she said, is the only district in the analysis that has been remote since January.

For those that have remained open, the disruptions caused by COVID in January raise questions about how much students are learning and “whether the quality of that learning experience would be equal to in-person learning in December or November,” Dusseault said.

She said she understands the complex issues facing districts in cities like Detroit that were hit hard in the early days of the pandemic and are still experiencing the aftershocks.

“To some degree Detroit is actually responding to its very local context. I do think a lot of communities were hit hard. But the way that gets … processed in a family, in a community is different from place to place,” Dusseault said.

Even before the high infection rates in January led to a delay, the district had shifted to remote learning on Fridays in December because of staff and parent concerns about rising COVID cases and the cleanliness of buildings.

The extended remote learning is starting to wear on Ausar Inaede, a senior at Renaissance High School.

“When you’re on the computer, the energy is dead,” said Ausar, who struggled with online learning last school year. “You can’t just go up to your teachers and ask them questions and they’ll help you out.”

Chaos for schools across the U.S.

Infection rates in the city have declined since the first week of the year, to about 25% last week, Vitti said. That’s still far above the 8% rate the city saw in December. Vitti is hoping the rate gets to between 10% and 20% by Jan. 31, when students are scheduled to return to school buildings for the first time since Dec. 16.

“It’s allowing the number to go down a little bit more — and the trend is moving in that direction — and it’ll just lead to fewer positive cases, not an elimination of positive cases,” Vitti said.

A number of districts have reopened in these conditions. But the COVID surge has created chaotic conditions. In Michigan, some districts, including Beecher and Tecumseh, have suspended in-person classes for days or a week because there have been too many student and staff absences due to illness.

Similar storylines are playing out across the U.S. In Philadelphia, the school district has struggled to keep schools open. Earlier this month, more than half of its buildings were shifted to remote learning. Two weeks ago, 15 buildings were closed for face-to-face classes. Monday marked the first day this year that all schools were open for face-to-face learning.

The district’s leadership has asked families to be flexible and prepare for the possibility of a switch to remote learning at any time. But some teachers have complained that the sudden switches from in-person to remote learning make it difficult to plan lessons and teach.

Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest district, announced last week it would shift 16 of its schools to virtual learning, “In the interest of the overall school community’s health and safety”

In Oakland, Calif., three schools were closed last week when teachers called in sick en masse. Students also staged a boycott. In both cases, they were protesting COVID safety conditions.

Though New York City campuses have remained open since the return from break, many schools have had acute staffing shortages as well as abysmal student attendance. For the first two weeks following the break, more than 200,000 children each day were out.

Remote attendance a challenge

Despite remaining remote, attendance has been an issue in Detroit. The district has fallen below state attendance guidelines on multiple days during remote instruction. The state requires attendance of 75%. Districts that fall below risk losing some state funding.

LaWanda King, whose three children attend Detroit district schools, has noticed the attendance issue. She makes sure her children are in school every day, even making them wear their school uniforms. But she can see that’s not happening in every home.

“I’m looking at my son’s classroom because I have [Microsoft Teams] logged in on my phone…there’s only six or seven students in the classroom, and it’s really supposed to be 25 of them in there…so where are all these kids?” she wondered.

“All they have to do is log on and they’re not even doing that.”

She’s not concerned about her children returning to their school buildings later this month because she thinks the safety measures the district has in place — including weekly testing for students and staff — should be enough.

Jan. 31 is the deadline for parents to turn in consent forms allowing their students to be tested for COVID. Those who object or don’t turn in their forms will be automatically transferred to the district’s virtual school, unless they have a religious or medical exemption from the district.

The percentage of children whose parents have consented to the testing has risen from 74% two weeks ago to 90% last week. The goal is 100%. But even then, Vitti stresses that there will be positive cases.

“I think that we will have to become more comfortable with learning center situations in certain schools during certain times,” Vitti said. That means that if there are a large number of teachers absent because of COVID, “we may see students go into an auditorium or go into the media center,” where they can use some online learning programs.

“There’s a benefit to that, versus students not having access to school.”

Chalkbeat staffers Johann Calhoun, Catherine Carrera, and Amy Zimmer contributed to this report.

Michigan rushing more rapid COVID tests to schools

2022-01-20T23:25:41+00:00

State officials are rushing to get 300,000 more rapid COVID test kits to schools and other facilities, reacting to concerns that the crucial tests are difficult, if not impossible, to find.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Thursday afternoon that she’s asked the state health department to fast track the distribution of 200,000 test kits “to schools and other priority groups.” Those tests will go out in the next two days. Another 100,000 tests had been slated to be distributed this week.

Whitmer said the tests are critical to “keeping Michiganders safe and controlling the spread of COVID-19.”

The tests are going to schools, long-term care facilities, jails, homeless shelters, and seasonal workers.

Earlier Thursday, Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told Chalkbeat that the district has been unable to order the rapid tests. The district has its own testing program, but the saliva tests students and staff take weekly are not rapid; it takes about 24 hours to get results.

The rapid tests are critical as the district maps out its plan to return to in-person instruction on Jan. 31. New state quarantine rules require unvaccinated students and staff quarantine for five days after being in close contact with someone who tested positive. In order to return to school, they must have a negative rapid test result.

“We have the infrastructure to test … Our issue is access to the test,” Vitti said. “This is where policy and infrastructure and resources do not align.”

Bridge Michigan reported Wednesday that some Michigan districts are close to running out of the rapid tests.

In November, the state launched the MI Backpack Home Tests program, which has provided 175,000 free, at-home COVID antigen tests to parents, students and staff.

At the federal level, the Biden administration announced earlier this month that it would be providing 5 million free rapid COVID tests to schools monthly. States can now begin requesting these extra tests, which should arrive sometime this month, federal officials said.

“Testing is a really important strategy to make sure that [schools] can remain open and prevent transmission,” Mary Wall, an advisor to the White House COVID response team, said Thursday. “We really hope that all schools and all states will take advantage of these resources.”

Chalkbeat national reporter Matt Barnum contributed to this report

Detroit district students won’t return to the classroom until Jan. 31

2022-01-20T03:47:47+00:00

The Detroit school district has extended virtual learning by another week, but officials say students and staff should expect to return to in-person instruction on Jan. 31.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti announced the plans on the Detroit Public Schools Community District website Wednesday evening and on social media.

High infection rates and low vaccination rates in the city prompted the district to first cancel classes for three days after winter break, then switch to virtual learning. Testing done that first week after break — the week of Jan. 3 — found hundreds of staff members likely would have shown up for classes that week infected with COVID, Vitti told Chalkbeat during a recent interview.

School districts across Michigan and the nation have struggled to keep classrooms open during a COVID surge that has been fueled by the omicron variant. Some Michigan districts that returned from the winter break as scheduled have since had to switch to virtual learning because of staff and student infections. Flint Community Schools announced Wednesday that its return would be delayed “until further notice.”

The Jan. 31 return to in-person learning is a significant date in the district, because it also marks the deadline for students to sign up for mandatory COVID testing in order to learn face to face. Those who don’t turn in consent forms must transfer to the district’s virtual school.

“This is the second-to-last COVID safety strategy that we can implement in order to keep students in schools consistently, Monday through Friday,” Vitti said in that interview.

The last strategy, he said, would be a student vaccine requirement, which he is considering for the next school year.

Teachers in the district must be vaccinated against COVID by Feb. 18 to keep their jobs, thanks to a new policy the Detroit school board approved in December. There are exemptions for medical and religious reasons, as there are for the student COVID testing requirement.

These are the big Michigan education issues we’re watching in 2022

2022-01-10T23:08:12+00:00

With COVID surging and a growing number of schools shifting to virtual learning, the first seven days of 2022 have provided an unsettling preview of what’s to come in education this year, when the continued struggle to recover from the pandemic will dominate.

COVID, and its effects on schools, is by far the top education issue of 2022. It permeates every aspect of how students learn, teachers teach, and schools operate.

So far this year, more than a dozen Michigan school districts have temporarily shifted to online learning as the more contagious omicron variant has fueled big increases in positive cases. While most districts returned to in-person learning as scheduled after the break, there is growing uncertainty about whether they’ll be forced online in the near future. And, the surge is refueling debates about policies making the wearing of masks optional or required in school buildings.

Chalkbeat talked to Michigan education policy experts, educators, and researchers to help identify the top education issues of 2022. Here are topics we’ll be closely following.

Anything missing? Tell us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Can students rebound?

As we head into the second half of the school year, the biggest question is: Will the current surge slow or stall efforts to help students recover from the previous school year, when some students spent much of the time learning online, and many others bounced between virtual and in-person learning?

Michigan reduces school quarantine and isolation guidelines

Michigan school employees and students who test positive or are exposed to a positive person will only have to isolate or quarantine for five days under most circumstances.

That’s according to new recommendations from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which aligns with new federal guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week.

Here’s an overview of the new state recommendations officials are urging schools to adopt:

Students and employees who test positive and/or display COVID symptoms must isolate for five days, regardless of their vaccination status. If symptoms improve or disappear, they can return to school as long as they wear a well-fitted mask. Those unwilling or unable to wear a mask must stay home for days 6-10.
Anyone who is in close contact with someone who tests positive won’t need to quarantine if they had COVID in the previous 90 days, or if they are up to date on all recommended COVID vaccinations. They must wear a mask in school for 10 days.
Anyone who is a close contact of someone who tests positive, but isn’t fully vaccinated and hasn’t had COVID in the last 90 days must quarantine for five days or “test to stay” to return to school. Test to stay means they must be tested every other day for six days following the exposure.Those who opt to quarantine can return to school after five days and must wear a mask for days 6-10. They must quarantine for the entire 10 days if they are unwilling or unable to wear a mask.

Pandemic learning has been particularly difficult for some groups of students, including those with disabilities who didn’t receive all the services they require to learn, and students from low-income homes, who were more likely to learn online. Research has found students who learned online, including those from low-income homes, didn’t learn as much as those who were in person.

A key test will be whether educators are able to help students get back on track who fell behind.

“The stakes are high,” and include “the future of each and every student’s job opportunities and life outcomes, as well as states’ economic futures and talent workforce,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest, an education research and advocacy organization based in Royal Oak.

Just as much is at stake in addressing the mental health and social challenges students have experienced while living through the pandemic. Students have spent so much time separated from their friends, experienced loss, and most recently, dealt with the threat of school violence that emerged after the deadly shooting at Oxford High School in November.

“If we don’t help kids to recover socially and emotionally in our schools, they’re not going to get those services elsewhere, at least not equitably,” said Katharine Strunk, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. “Families who can afford help will get it, but those who can’t, won’t, and that will exacerbate inequities.”

It’s a “huge, defining moment,” said Strunk, because “if we don’t help kids to feel safe again, we could really be seeing long-term problems, not just for these kids, but for society.”

Will COVID relief money help?

Another big test of the year will be whether district leaders are able to use $6.1 billion in federal COVID relief money to help students catch up academically, address the mental health challenges, and confront a number of issues related to students and staff.

Many are using the money to hire teachers and pay them more in order to retain them. Others are investing in heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems. A lot are expanding summer school and after-school programs and investing in tutoring, technology, and counselors to help students with the pandemic’s social and emotional effects.

Reporters from Chalkbeat and the Detroit Free Press have teamed up to track how Michigan school districts are spending the money. In December, we reported that many districts haven’t clearly and publicly articulated their plans. That is concerning to education experts who say transparency, accountability, and community engagement are paramount.

“It was a mistake for the [U.S.] Department of Education not to build in a way to simplify the tracking of the monies being spent and make it available so the public can understand,” Strunk said. “The department had the opportunity to do it, and they didn’t.”

Although that spending is largely controlled by school districts, the governor has some role in steering it, and people will be watching, said Sarah Reckhow, a Michigan State University assistant professor of political science who specializes in education politics.

“(Gov. Gretchen) Whitmer can be proactive in her bully-pulpit role in pointing out examples of districts that spend recovery dollars wisely,” Reckhow said. “She can get guidance out to school districts to encourage them” to spend it on her priorities.

Equitable school funding

How well schools spend federal money, and how transparent they are, could impact perennial efforts to address Michigan’s school funding system. Several high-profile reports in recent years have concluded that the way the state funds schools isn’t adequate, and creates inequities between wealthy and poor districts. Whitmer has pushed for a more weighted funding system that would give additional state funds to the most vulnerable students. But a full-scale reform hasn’t happened. Could this be the year?

Arellano said that before the pandemic, national research showed Michigan ranked as one of the worst states in the country for gaps in funding equity.

“Fair funding is one of the most important enabling conditions for districts to create high-caliber, rigorous pathways of opportunity to learn at high levels,” she said. “As a state, we have failed tragically at creating these conditions for all children.”

Staffing woes continue to be a factor

Schools across Michigan have been strained by labor shortages - from teachers to support staff. Substitute teacher shortages, a problem before the pandemic, worsened so much this school year that lawmakers enacted new rules that make it easier for support staff such as bus drivers and school secretaries to cover classes. Meanwhile, school nutrition officials report shortages are making it tough to ensure students have access to quality meals on a regular basis.

The current COVID surge will only worsen the problems, because staff who are exposed to the virus or who contract it must be out of school buildings for at least five days or more.

The overall shortages are “going to plague us for at least four to five years and perhaps longer if the teacher incentives being proposed by a number of groups are not moved forward,” said Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals.

“With wages rising in many other industries, along with better benefits and flexible working conditions, schools just can’t compete for workers,” Zdeb said. “This is going to cause serious staffing issues and it will require schools to function differently in the future.”

Education in the governor’s race

It’s unclear how big an issue education will be in the Michigan governor’s race. It wasn’t expected to factor heavily in the Virginia governor’s race last year but it ended up being key to Republican Glenn Youngkin’s win after a long campaign centered on energy, economy, and public safety. In the end, Youngkin rode a wave of conservative frustration over school mask mandates, delayed return to in-person learning, and instruction about race.

“If we read the tea leaves from Virginia, there are reasons to expect that education will be prominent” in the Michigan governor’s race as well, Reckhow said.

Whitmer, the incumbent Democrat, will likely take heat from Republicans who blame her for widespread school shifts to virtual instruction in the wake of the pandemic, even though she has only twice ordered schools shut down - at the start of the pandemic, and in the fall of 2020, when she ordered high schools closed for in-person instruction because of surges in positive cases. She and lawmakers negotiated in 2020 to give districts the flexibility to move learning online.

She is likely to tout her record of investment in schools including a massive expansion of the Great Start Readiness Program, the state’s free preschool program that now serves far more students thanks to federal COVID relief money.

Republicans, though, are likely to attack her veto of a plan to give tax breaks to reimburse donors for contributions to Opportunity Scholarships for private school tuition. Democrats oppose the scholarships, saying the scholarships open the door to school vouchers and circumvent a state ban on using public funds for private schools.

With voters frustrated over pandemic-related school closures, Whitmer’s veto provides a point of attack for James Craig, the former Detroit police chief and current frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Reckhow said.

“Republicans’ answer for a long time has been choice – choice in terms of vouchers, choice in terms of charters, choice in terms of home school,” she said. “The Opportunity Scholarship debate is a particular opening for Craig to advocate for more choice.”

Other key issues

Here are a few more issues we’ll be paying attention to this year:

Mask mandates may continue to be a controversial political issue, as some school districts relax their mandates now that vaccines are available for children over 5. In districts that don’t have a mask mandate, we expect to see some parents push for a requirement in the wake of the COVID surge.
Lawmakers likely will continue trying to push legislation that would ban critical race theory in the state’s K-12 schools. The theory is a college-level academic framework that explores the lingering effects of centuries of white supremacy and racist policies that disadvantage people of color. Though there is little evidence it is being taught in K-12 schools, Republican lawmakers in Michigan and in many other states across the country have made banning it a priority.
The surging omicron variant will likely bring more discussions about whether schools should try more aggressive ways to keep buildings open. Already, there is more regular testing of students and staff in schools. Some districts have instituted test-to-stay programs, which require students be tested for COVID in order to remain in the classroom. One such new initiative goes into effect in Detroit on Jan. 31. There also will likely be debate about whether schools can require students to be vaccinated. In the Detroit district, staff are required to be vaccinated by Feb. 18 and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti wants to extend that mandate to students. He told Chalkbeat last week that if state lawmakers won’t require vaccines, then they should “get out of the way” of districts that want to implement such policies on their own. “Don’t put us in a straitjacket to do what we need to do to allow school to move forward with greater consistency.”

COVID testing in nearly 20% of Detroit district schools far short of goal

2022-01-07T23:09:53+00:00

More than half of the students enrolled in 19 schools in the Detroit district don’t have consent forms on file allowing them to be tested weekly for COVID, illustrating how far some buildings must go to meet the district’s new test-to-learn-in-person policy.

Regular testing has become a crucial part of strategies schools employ to fight COVID spread and keep buildings open, particularly as the omicron variant has led to a post-holiday break surge in infections. In the Detroit Public Schools Community District, students have had to opt in for weekly saliva testing (it is required of employees). But that changes Jan. 31, when parents must consent to student testing in the district’s 104 buildings, or enroll their children in the district’s virtual school.

The looming deadline is why the district is launching an aggressive effort to get parents to sign the consent forms. Parent meetings will be held. Robocalls will be sent. Everyone from teachers to clerical staff and attendance agents will be talking to parents about it. Home visits are possible.

“This is going to be a full out blitz between now and Jan. 31,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said. “It will be hard for parents to not know this is an expectation.”

Overall, the district has the OK to test about 68% of its nearly 50,000 students. But the school-by-school COVID testing data, obtained by Chalkbeat this week, shows how difficult that will be in some buildings. Among those with low consent rates are Fisher Magnet Upper Academy and Keidan Special Education Center, both with just 20% of their students having consent forms.

That’s in stark contrast to five schools (Chrysler Elementary, Coleman Young Elementary, Detroit Lions Academy, Diann Banks-Williamson Educational Center, and Gardner Elementary) where 100% of the students have consent forms on file.

(Scroll down for a full list of each school’s parent consent rate.)

Christen Jefferson, a DPSCD parent and health care worker, said she understands why testing is so important. Jefferson’s daughters attend Mumford High School, which has a consent rate of 43.1 percent.

“We do need to test weekly, because you have a lot of kids that are asymptomatic, they’re walking around, they don’t know they’re carrying it, and then it’s taking it to other kids,” she said. Jefferson added that she overheard a teacher in one of her daughters’ virtual classes on Thursday “stressing the importance of parents signing” consent forms.

Vitti wants a 100% consent rate in each building and is optimistic the district will get there during the next two weeks. He doesn’t believe ideological opposition to testing is at play. Instead, he said, “it’s just a matter of getting the forms in.”

Still, there is “going to be a group of parents that object, unfortunately. But logically, there is absolutely no reason why a student can’t put a little bit of saliva in a test tube. It takes literally two seconds to do.”

Vitti spoke on a wide variety of topics related to the pandemic during a Thursday afternoon interview with Chalkbeat. Here are some highlights of that interview:

Vitti said he will announce by Tuesday or Wednesday whether students will return to in-person instruction on Jan. 18. Right now, a return seems unlikely. The city’s positivity rate hovers around 40%. Vitti said there would have to be a significant drop in that rate. The city’s high infection rate and relatively low percentage of people who are fully vaccinated (around 37%) make it difficult to operate in person when there are a number of students and staff infected or exposed, and thus needing to quarantine.
Testing conducted by the district this week (required for employees and recommended for students) shows how widespread the virus is. He said Thursday that with some test results outstanding, about 10% of staff and almost 14% of students were testing positive. “If we had opened up school on Monday, we would have had at least 600 employees … testing positive or coming to schools positive. And you could imagine the spread that would have happened with that.”
Vitti has been vocal about what he says is a need for a student vaccine mandate. The district has already adopted a new policy requiring employees to be vaccinated by Feb. 18. He has said the district is looking at implementing a student mandate by the beginning of the school year. The lack of a vaccine mandate, he said, “is leading to operational chaos and dysfunction in school.” He said state guidelines that require quarantine for unvaccinated individuals in certain circumstances are a clear indication that the best way to protect against the virus, or serious effects of the virus, is vaccination. Republican lawmakers aren’t likely to require vaccines, he said. Neither is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “I think she believes that that might be the best way to go. But politically, she won’t go there because she’s worried about reelection,” Vitti said. If state lawmakers won’t require vaccines, then they should “get out of the way” of districts that want to implement such policies on their own. “Don’t put us in a straitjacket to do what we need to do to allow school to move forward with greater consistency.”

Latrese Taylor, a DPSCD parent, said she doesn’t support a vaccine mandate. But she backs the testing requirement. Taylor has children enrolled at Ronald Brown Academy, which has a rate of 41.2 percent

“My kids get tested weekly and it should be required. I’ve said this for a while, even inquired on one of the virtual calls with Dr. Vitti before school was back in session,” Taylor said.

She said she gets her sons tested even though they rarely leave home.

“It’s the right thing to do.”

School Name	% of Students Consented
A.L. Holmes Academy of Blended Learning	78%
Academy of the Americas K-3 (Cicotte)	80%
Academy of the Americas Pre-K-4-12 (Konkel)	76%
Ann Arbor Trail Magnet School	64%
Bagley Elementary School of Journalism and Technology	82%
Barton Elementary School	82%
Bates Academy	81%
Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine	61%
Bennett Elementary School	88%
Blackwell Institute	88%
Bow Elementary-Middle School	44%
Brenda Scott Academy for Theatre Arts	53%
Brewer Academy	51%
Bunche Preparatory Academy	68%
Burns Elementary-Middle School	86%
Burton International Academy	74%
Carleton Elementary School	72%
Carstens Elementary-Middle School	63%
Carver STEM Academy	74%
Cass Technical High School	71%
Central High School	69%
Charles R. Drew Transition Center	68%
Charles Wright Academy of Arts and Science	70%
Chrysler Elementary School	100%
Clippert Academy	86%
Cody High School	39%
Coleman A. Young Elementary School	100%
Communication and Media Arts High School	73%
Cooke STEM Academy	56%
Davis Aerospace Technical High School at Golightly	49%
Davison Elementary-Middle School	79%
Denby High School	39%
Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School at Northwestern	53%
Detroit International Academy for Young Women	76%
Detroit Lions Academy	100%
Detroit School of Arts	46%
Diann Banks-Williamson Educational Center	100%
Dixon Elementary School	58%
Dossin Elementary-Middle School	85%
Durfee Elementary-Middle School	80%
Earhart Elementary-Middle School	76%
East English Village Preparatory Academy	38%
Edison Elementary School	60%
Edmonson Elementary School	75%
Edward Duke Ellington at Beckham	71%
Emerson Elementary-Middle School	38%
Fisher Magnet Lower Academy	46%
Fisher Magnet Upper Academy	20%
Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies	78%
Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men	81%
Gardner Elementary School	100%
Garvey Academy	66%
Golightly Education Center	58%
Gompers Elementary-Middle School	66%
Greenfield Union Elementary-Middle School	72%
Hamilton Elementary-Middle School	70%
Harms Elementary School	83%
Henderson Academy	62%
Henry Ford High School	41%
Hutchinson Elementary-Middle School	69%
J. E. Clark Preparatory Academy	67%
Jerry L. White Center	47%
John R. King Academic and Performing Arts Academy	56%
Keidan Special Education Center	20%
Legacy Academy	79%
Ludington Magnet Middle School	61%
Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School	50%
Mann Learning Community	67%
Marion Law Academy	62%
Mark Twain Elementary-Middle School	61%
Marquette Elementary-Middle School	49%
Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School	44%
Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary-Middle School	59%
Mason Academy	57%
Maybury Elementary School	59%
Moses Field Center	55%
Mumford High School	43%
Munger Elementary-Middle School	63%
Neinas Dual Language Learning Academy	77%
Nichols Elementary-Middle School	44%
Noble Elementary-Middle School	66%
Nolan Elementary-Middle School	68%
Osborn High School	62%
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy	68%
Pasteur Elementary School	62%
Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy	81%
Pershing High School	83%
Priest Elementary-Middle School	50%
Pulaski Elementary-Middle School	77%
Renaissance High School	99%
Roberto Clemente Learning Academy	91%
Ronald Brown Academy	41%
Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy	77%
Schulze Academy for Technology and Arts	99%
Southeastern High School	71%
Spain Elementary-Middle School	83%
The School at Marygrove	56%
Thirkell Elementary-Middle School	54%
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School	61%
Turning Point Academy	58%
Vernor Elementary School	72%
Wayne Elementary School	67%
West Side Academy of IT and Cyber Security	40%
Western International High School	47%

Search the testing consent rates at your school

How I Lead: These Detroit school nutrition leaders are passionate about getting kids fed

2022-01-03T20:19:56+00:00

Carl Williams and Skyla Butts aren’t just leaders in the office of school nutrition in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Sometimes, they are also cooks. Or servers. And when the team needs an extra dose of encouragement, they’re also motivators.

Williams is the executive director of the school nutrition office. Butts is the communications and marketing manager. Recently, they were honored by the School Nutrition Association of Michigan as director of the year and manager of the year, respectively.

It’s been a tough year for school employees tasked with ensuring students get the healthy meals they need. Initiatives aimed at increasing lunch participation and putting chefs in schools to teach students about healthy eating have been stalled. Staffing and supply shortages caused by the pandemic have created immense challenges. Sometimes, it means people in administrative roles must lend a hand.

“Everyone in the central office is out in the field, hands on,” Williams said. “I spent several weeks cooking, cleaning, and serving food in the kitchen, because we were so short-staffed.”

These two, however, are part of a team that has been relentless in making sure students have a quality dining experience. The district recently was featured in a No Kid Hungry video for its efforts during the pandemic to get meals to students, especially those who are medically fragile. In the video, Williams says food service employees were essential before the term “essential workers” was coined to refer to workers whose jobs were vital during the pandemic.

“The pandemic changed how we did things, but it didn’t change what we did,” Williams said.

“When this pandemic happened, it was like, ‘OK, we’ve been doing this, this [has been] a dress rehearsal. We know what to do,” Butts said.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve encountered since the pandemic began, and how are you combating them?

Williams: Our challenges have been in three categories: staffing, logistics or procurement of items … and perception of the program. With staffing, when the pandemic came, we lost some employees who chose to retire and not return. So a third of my staffing is vacant.. We were trying to maintain our standards, meaning, variety of food, variety of options on a daily basis, maintaining the quality of food, maintaining the safety of our food and operations with less employees. {During the pandemic and to this day,} we greatly increased our communication, how we communicate, and how often we communicate. We had the leadership team communicate every day at 2:30 p.m.on a call. It lasts about an hour and a half. We talk about the issues of the day, strategize about tomorrow. As we’re short staffed, our manufacturers are short as well. So the challenge of getting enough of the same products to keep the menu consistent throughout the district is relatively impossible. You may have some schools serving barbecued chicken today, and another school serving pizza, and a third set of schools serving chicken nuggets. Manufacturers that have a COVID outbreak are sometimes unable to deliver because they have no delivery drivers to work that day. So we’re missing delivery day. And we’re finding ourselves driving out to our supplier to pick up our own food.

Carl Williams is the executive director of the school nutrition office for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

During the pandemic, a lot of students were at home and they went back to eating a lot of unhealthy food. We had been making some very good progress with the reducing the sodium and controlling the calorie intake and removing high-fructose corn syrup and all the harmful seven ingredients from the food. We’re proud to be a district {where} 95% of our product does not have the harmful 7. Unfortunately those are the items in the food that tastes really good.

So for a whole year students were eating all that high-fructose corn syrup food and all this McDonald’s burgers that got all this crap in it and now they back to eating our food and their taste buds have changed a little bit so now we got to get their taste buds back to being used to eating healthier, more nutritious food.

What motivated the district to make this big push toward more healthy products?

Butts: The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was the push we needed to go in a direction that was healthier, had less processed foods, more whole foods. With [the Detroit school district] having a two-acre farm and 84 school gardens, that was right up our alley.

Williams: Also … when you’re fueling your body with food that’s good for your body it helps combat a lot of our social diseases that we have — diabetes and obesity. Also, I was at a conference, and I listened to a professor show how your brain reacts to certain nutrients, when you eat it for breakfast in the morning, and how it fires certain areas in the brain for learning. There’s so much data that when your body is fueled properly it eliminates absenteeism because you’re sick less often (and) able to concentrate when you’re in school.

How has the pandemic affected some of the district’s efforts to improve school nutrition programs?

Skyla Butts is the communications and marketing manager in the school nutrition office for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Butts: I have this board … that I keep all my tasks on. And a lot of it has the word “paused” next to it because of the marketing initiatives that we were rolling out or were doing very well, and then COVID hit. I had been on this bandwagon — I needed to have food trucks in the district. We were asked to put together a proposal and do a write-up on why we should have them. And then the board voted on it and voted for two. And then we were all set, and doing some of our soft openings. Then, of course, you know what happened in March of 2020. So we had these two beautiful food trucks just sitting. We’ve had opportunities here and there to take them out to different schools. But we’ve never had the opportunity to use them as intended. We wanted to bring these vehicles into the schools, we wanted to offer additional lunch items that aren’t on the current lunch menu to excite the students, get them excited about lunch again, and increase our lunch participation.

How have you kept staff motivated through a difficult time?

Butts: We know that this pandemic has hit our staff, hit our team so hard. We know we have to keep motivating our staff. We acknowledge them when we go to the schools and we say, hey, I’m just dropping by and just want to say, ‘You’re doing a great job.’ We have great partnerships with some organizations, some industries, who’ve given us some gift cards that we were able to go to our staff and say, you know, “I see you, I see what you’re doing, I know that you’re putting in that extra, you know, oomph.”

The pandemic helped a lot of people see how hard school nutrition employees had to work to ensure students received their meals. What was that time like for the department?

Williams: Honestly, food service workers are used to dealing with challenges and working in that manner and putting out fires every single day. That’s kind of what we do as an industry. We’ve got to be ready to feed [students], no matter who called off for the day, or what food shortage we got because at one o’clock, the doors got to open and we got to feed kids. So when all of this happened and it just got a lot worse and our staffing got shorted, nobody whined. We just went to work.

Butts: It’s just what we do. If a kid needs to be fed, we’re going to do what we need to do to get them fed.

You both received big honors recently from the state nutrition association. What does it mean to be recognized by your peers?

Williams: I was very happy that individuals see what we’re doing here is making a difference. And I’m very humbled and thankful. But internally, I gotta be honest, what I see is, how much more I have to do, and tomorrow, what I want to accomplish. I’m just focused on that.

Butts: We’re the type of people that are more comfortable behind the scenes. We are so team focused within our department, and I know that there are plenty of managers who do just as good or a better job in their roles. I look at it like this: I was selected to represent us as a team because nothing — and I mean nothing — that I do is singular. We need each other to make it happen.

Detroit district delays return, will require COVID testing for in-person learning

2021-12-31T19:48:02+00:00

The Detroit school district announced Friday that it would delay a return to school as COVID cases in the city and state continue to surge, and that it would begin requiring students receiving in-person learning to get tested for COVID.

Under the new testing policy, students who do not submit to testing by Jan. 31 will be enrolled in the district’s virtual school.

There will be no in-person or virtual learning Monday through Wednesday, and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said he will be providing more direction next week on the remaining days of the week.

The new policy on student testing comes after months of discussion at the district level and research on whether it would be legal to require students to be tested. The district now says that by Jan. 31, students must have a consent form on file to be tested. If they don’t, they must enroll in the virtual school. The virtual school enrolled about 2,000 students during the first half of the school year.

“Currently, 65% of students have submitted their consent to COVID test through their families. We need this number to be 100%,” Vitti said in a letter posted to the district’s website.

The new policy was welcome news to Shelly Baker, a district parent who has tested positive for COVID. She contracted it from her daughter and while she’s not certain, she believes her daughter may have picked it up at school. Now, at least six members of her family have the virus.

“Kids should be tested,” Baker said. “I feel strongly that if they don’t get their kids tested, they should leave them at home.”

Employees will be required to test Monday and Tuesday, and students also are encouraged to test. The district has set up 10 free testing sites. You can find those locations at the above link.

The district announced the change just three days before students were set to return to school buildings after a two-week holiday break.

“The city’s infection rate is at an all-time high of 36%,” Vitti said in a letter posted to the district’s website. “Infection rates at the county, tri-county, and state levels are also high. In fact, with several employees voluntarily testing through the district this week, our infection rate is nearly 20%.”

Vitti said a high rate of infection “will inevitably mean that a return to in person learning on … will lead to extensive COVID spread placing employees, students, and families at risk along with excessive staff shortages due to positive and close contact scenarios. This is especially the case with an overall low rate of vaccination within the city and among students.”

The announcement comes as the nation experiences a COVID rise that has been fueled by the more contagious omicron variant. It also comes as school officials across the nation evaluate their reopening plans for January. Newark Public Schools on Thursday announced it would begin the school year remote until Jan. 18. Some Michigan school districts have made similar decisions.

State officials, in a letter to superintendents Thursday, urged schools “to reinforce actions that can help alleviate the risks associated with this COVID-19 pandemic.”

The leaders of the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are urging schools to require masks to be worn in school buildings by anyone over the age of 2, and they’re urging schools to encourage students and staff to get vaccinated.

When the school year began months ago, more than half of the students in the state were attending a school where wearing a mask was required. But some districts have since switched to a mask optional policy now that vaccines are available for children 5 and up.

The Detroit school board recently adopted a policy requiring staff be vaccinated by Feb. 18, and officials are considering a vaccine mandate for students as well. Staff already must submit to weekly COVID tests. Tests are also available for students, but parents must consent. About 60% of students have been cleared for testing.

In November, the district announced Fridays in December would be virtual learning days, in part because of rising COVID cases.

Elsewhere in metro Detroit, the Pontiac School District said on Thursday it would switch to fully remote learning until Jan. 18.

“The safety and wellbeing of our entire school district family is critical,” Pontiac Superintendent Kelley Williams said in a letter to parents posted on the district’s website. “We are hopeful this short-term pause to face-to-face learning will play a positive role in slowing the spread of this disease.”

The Hamtramck Public Schools also will be remote next week, and is offering multiple dates and locations for people to get COVID tests.

On social media, some Detroit district parents have been pushing leaders to switch to online learning for the first week or two of the year, saying they’re worried that many students and employees would bring COVID into school buildings.

Danielle Dunn was already planning to keep her daughter home from school next week whether the district made an announcement or not.

“The numbers are just so high,” said Dunn, a parent, alum, and volunteer in the district. Her daughter attends a pre-kindergarten Montessori program.

Dunn said she understands parents who don’t want their children vaccinated. But she doesn’t understand why parents are opposed to testing. She has been comfortable with her daughter’s classroom because they learn and eat in the same classroom and because most of the students are being tested regularly. But the recent surge in COVID cases has raised her worries.

And she’s not sure when she’ll feel comfortable sending her daughter back.

“I would have to know the numbers are down.”

What we know about the shooting at a Michigan high school

2021-12-01T21:17:36+00:00

Four students have died after a shooting Tuesday afternoon at Oxford High School in metro Detroit. Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old student who was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, is in custody and now faces adult charges that include terrorism, first-degree murder, and intent to murder.

Although the circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear, in recent weeks students, staff, and parents across the nation have been feeling considerable pressure during a difficult school year.

Oxford is about 45 miles north of Detroit. The shooting is the 23rd incident involving gunfire on Michigan K-12 and college school grounds since 2013, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group.

Nationwide, there have been 28 shootings this year, according to the publication Education Week. Twenty of them have occurred since August.

Shootings involving students — including incidents on campuses and off — have shaken school communities and in some cases prompted action. In Chicago, two students from one high school were killed in separate off-campus shootings in September. A teenage girl and a security guard were wounded by gunfire on the steps of another Chicago school a month later.

A Memphis student was hospitalized and another student was arrested after a school shooting, prompting the superintendent to plead for help from the community. Students in Aurora, Colorado, were injured in two separate shootings this month on or near school property, leading to impassioned pleas from school leaders and the deployment of crisis teams.

Here’s what we know about the Oxford shooting, based on news reports and police statements:

Four people were killed and six others wounded by the alleged perpetrator, a 15-year-old student who is now in police custody.

‘Mountain of digital evidence’ suspect planned shooting

The suspected shooter was identified in a news conference Wednesday afternoon as 15-year-old Oxford High School sophomore Ethan Crumbley.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is charging Crumbley with one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

“We have watched school shootings unfold in this country for far too long,” she said. “Sadly, the national spotlight is shining today on our community.”

McDonald stated that there was a “mountain of digital evidence” suggesting the shooting was planned in advance, and that more charges are potentially forthcoming against Crumbley or his parents.

“We have to do better,” McDonald added, in a plea toward gun control legislation. “How many times does this have to happen? We have become desensitized by school shootings.”

Students remain in critical condition

Three students were killed in the shooting on Tuesday, police said, and a fourth died on Wednesday. Seven more people were injured, including a teacher. Six of the seven injured are students.

The students who were killed included Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 15, according to media reports. When police arrived at the school, a deputy loaded Myre, an Oxford High football player, in his car to take him to the hospital because of his severe injuries, “but sadly that child died in the car,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during a late evening news conference.

At the time of that news briefing, a 15-year-old boy was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head, a 17-year-old girl was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest, and a 14-year-old girl was in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.

The 14-year-old girl “is currently on a ventilator,” Bouchard said. “It’s looking very tough for this young girl.”

Bouchard said there were multiple other injuries as students and staff tried to escape the school.

Suspect’s father purchased weapon on Friday

Police said Crumbley was taken into custody without injury. He is being housed at Children’s Village, Oakland County’s juvenile detention center. Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said Tuesday night that the teen is on suicide watch and in isolation.

Bouchard said the gun the suspect used in the shooting was purchased four days ago by his father. Bouchard confirmed reports of social media posts by the suspect showing him target shooting with the gun. He said the suspect’s parents have hired an attorney and are not allowing deputies to talk to the teen. A motive for the shooting is unknown, though some news reports said he may have been bullied. Bouchard said a search warrant has been executed on the suspect’s home and among the items seized was the teen’s phone.

He said the suspect cannot be identified by authorities because he’s a juvenile and hasn’t been charged as an adult. Prosecutors, he said, will decide how the suspect is charged.

About 15 to 20 shots were fired and about 100 calls were placed to 911, Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said during an earlier news conference. The shooter, he said, appears to have acted alone.

“There were no other guns, no other shooters,” McCabe added, “as far as we know.”

Bouchard said deputies who rushed into the school and toward the shots encountered the suspect in a hallway.

“As they were coming down the hall, they saw him. He put his hands up. They took the gun and took him into custody,” Bouchard said.

How to report warning signs and rumors

Bouchard stressed Tuesday night that if parents or students hear or see something concerning, they should report it. The state has a hotline, called OK2Say, that allows students to make anonymous tips. Bouchard said there are other avenues, such as calling the sheriff’s office at 248-858-4911 or emailing ocso@oakgov.com, to report a threat.

“We need to know what you see and hear in case there is some credible information. Just in this past week, we’ve intervened in three different events. They were deemed to not be credible. [But] that’s not a burden to us. It’s something we want you to do.”

Oxford High School parent Robin Redding told the Associated Press that her son, a senior, alerted her to threats he overheard ahead of the Tuesday shooting.

“This couldn’t be just random,” she said. Redding let her son stay home on Tuesday, but didn’t provide specifics about what her son had heard.

Bouchard said the sheriff’s department had not received any reports of threats at Oxford High.

“We’re hearing there were rumors. None of that came to us prior to today. If we find out there was info, that’s exactly the kind of thing we need to get and get looped into,” Bouchard said.

Deputies saved lives, sheriff says

Bouchard said extensive training over the years meant first responders and school staff were well-prepared for what to do in the case of an active shooter. He said law enforcement officers saved lives.

He referred to the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where deputies were criticized for not entering the school building where a former student went on a shooting rampage and killed 17 people.

At the time, Bouchard said he made it clear to his staff that “if they get there first, their job is to neutralize. There will be no staging. I’m proud to say that’s exactly what happened today. They went in and searched out the threats. They went towards the gunshots.”

He said that if the district training on what to do in an active shooter situation was critically important.

“Tragically we’ve lost lives and we’ve had people seriously hurt,” Bouchard said. But, it’s possible that without the training and the quick response to lock down the building and classrooms, it could have been “a worse situation.”

School district leader responds

Tim Throne, Superintendent of Oxford Community Schools, expressed shock over the shooting and asked for the public to “pray for our families” as students, staff, and community members continued to process the day’s events.

State education leader: Support mental health efforts

“This shooting underscores the need to focus on supporting our children’s mental health needs during devastating times like these,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement.

“Oxford High School students and staff will need a lot more care and support in the coming months. State and federal funds have been allocated this past year for districts to help address social and emotional needs, especially during such emergencies. I am confident that Superintendent Throne and the other leaders of Oxford Community Schools will do what needs to be done to quickly and gently tend to their students and the school community to work through this tragedy.”

Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association, and Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, also pushed for attention to mental health support in this joint statement:

“Addressing the mental health needs of our students and the physical safety of everyone in our schools is not a partisan issue and must be something we work together to achieve. Each of today’s victims – and every student, parent, educator, and first responder – deserves that commitment from us all.”

Governor Whitmer and President Biden react

A visibly emotional Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, during a late afternoon press conference, became tearful answering a question from a reporter.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Whitmer, who has two daughters.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Whitmer said her “heart breaks for the students, teachers, staff, and families of Oxford High School.

“The death of multiple students and the shooting of many others, including a teacher, is horrific. I want to thank the first responders on the ground working hard to keep people safe as law enforcement officials investigate this shooting and get the community the help it needs right now.”

Whitmer said Michigan residents have a responsibility to protect each other from gun violence.

“No one should be afraid to go to school, work, a house of worship, or even their own home. Gun violence is a public health crisis that claims lives every day. We have the tools to reduce gun violence in Michigan. This is a time for us to come together and help our children feel safe at school.”

Whitmer ordered state the U.S. flags lowered until further notice “to honor and remember the victims of the shooting at Oxford High School,” according to a statement from her office.

President Joe Biden, before making remarks at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, said he also was heartbroken.

“My heart goes out to the families during an unimaginable grief of losing a loved one,” Biden said.

Detroit district moves to virtual learning three Fridays in December

2021-11-17T20:55:26+00:00

The Detroit school district is moving to remote instruction for three Fridays in December, a decision district officials attributed to concerns about mental health, COVID cases, and school cleanliness.

The move was announced Wednesday on the district’s website. It comes as the state is leading the nation in new COVID cases. Students and teachers are expected to show up online for remote learning on those days.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in that statement that he and the school board made the decision “after listening and reflecting on the concerns of school-based leaders, teachers, support staff, students, and families regarding the need for mental health relief, rising COVID cases, and time to more thoroughly clean schools.”

Learning will move online on Dec. 3, Dec. 10, and Dec. 17. The district’s holiday break begins Dec. 20.

Attendance on those days is vital, Vitti said. The district enrolls about 49,000 students.

“We must all work hard to ensure that we meet or exceed 75% district wide student attendance on these three days or districtwide online learning days will not be a viable option for us the rest of the school year.”

Districts lose a portion of their state aid if they don’t hit the 75% attendance target.

Meanwhile, classes are already moving online for students and staff at Renaissance High School. They’ll be remote until Nov. 29.

“In partnership with the Detroit Health Department we suspended in person learning because we had multiple outbreaks identified in multiple grade levels,” Vitti said in a statement Wednesday evening.

It’s the latest school to be affected. Multiple schools have had to close this school year because of COVID outbreaks. During the week of Nov. 5, the district reported 367 student and staff cases, with 857 students in quarantine.

The Detroit decision is similar to an earlier decision by Southfield Public Schools, which announced last month that it would go to remote learning on Fridays partially in response to staffing shortages.

The federal Centers for Disease Control has guidelines for when cleaning is necessary in facilities, for instance, recommending that “if a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 has been in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean and disinfect the spaces they occupied.” However, the federal agency makes it clear that the risk of infection from touching surfaces is low.

Machion Jackson, assistant superintendent of operations, told board members during a committee meeting Monday that the district is continuing to adhere to “regular” and “deep” cleaning practices that use federally recognized disinfectants instead of household products as well as using federal COVID money to provide overtime pay for custodial staff.

“Our custodians go through all the occupied classrooms, as well as offices, common areas throughout the day,” Jackson said.

“Deep cleaning is akin to your spring cleaning: when you open the windows of your home, when you dust those high and low surfaces, when you wash your curtains or dry-clean them.”

“Deep cleaning is traditionally completed during our summer months. We take more time to do that however because of the onset of COVID we have changed the practices and there are very highly concentrated areas we focus on in the event that there is a COVID case in the building.”

The district has no plans to shift to a hybrid schedule in which some learning takes place in person and some online.

“Long-term we will accelerate the conversation about a vaccine mandate for employees and students knowing that this is the best strategy to keep students safe and in schools,” Vitti said.

Terrence Martin, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said the union negotiated with the district to provide virtual days once a week in December.

“With the increase in cases around the state, we have to start somewhere,” Martin said.

“We’ll try this for the month of December to see if it makes a difference and if not we’ll have to try something else.”

Across the district, he added, numerous schools have had issues with following COVID protocols that prompted teacher concerns. The goal, Martin says, is not to continue “opening and closing schools” every month.

During a school board meeting last week, members asked Vitti a number of questions about the district’s cleaning protocols, including how often schools are cleaned and whether there are enough disinfectant products available to individual teachers. Vitti responded that the school district is fully stocked with supplies and has increased its allotment of teacher stipend through federal COVID relief money.

During the public comment period of the meeting, the board heard concerns from teachers and parents about whether the district was adequately following COVID protocols.

Marnina Falk, a teacher in the district who addressed the board during the meeting, said she was doubly concerned about the district’s reporting of COVID cases.

“I think that the way we are informed about cases, and track quarantined students, needs to be improved,” Falk said. “It’s simply not sustainable. Right now it’s too much to keep up with and I’m becoming drained and it’s becoming dangerous.”

Martin said the teachers union is additionally investigating concerns of underreported COVID cases across district schools.

The announcement followed a mass walkout at Martin Luther King High School, in which students and staff stood outside the school building Wednesday to critique the school’s COVID protocols. The school had reported six new cases as of Wednesday.

King Principal Damian Perry, in a statement provided to Chalkbeat, said school leaders share the concerns of staff members and believes the December remote instruction is a step in the right direction.

“We will continue to follow the safety guidance of the district, participate in weekly testing, and report positive cases as required,” said Perry in the statement.

The district has an email address that parents, students and staff members can use to anonymously report any violation of COVID safety protocols inside their school building.

‘Detroit needs help’: District invests $34 million in mental health support for students, parents, and staff

2021-11-11T17:02:19+00:00

Six women were seated in a circle in a trendy coffee shop in the Rosedale neighborhood in Detroit, their eyes closed while they centered their thoughts on their breath — and not their everyday challenges.

“I am everything I need,” they silently told themselves as the soothing music that accompanied their meditation competed with the coffee shop music and the churn of drinks being made. “I am what I’ve been searching for.”

Like many school districts across the nation, the Detroit Public Schools Community District is investing a significant amount of its COVID relief funds ($34 million out of $1.3 billion) to address the mental health needs of students, staff, and families.

Parents are learning ways to help their kids and address their own mental health needs. The district is working with its insurance providers so staff can take classes on topics such as emotional wellness, resilience, and well-being. The money has also allowed the district to give students what they sorely need: more one-on-one and small group support.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said earlier this school year that the biggest challenge to providing that level of support has been not having “the people or the resources.”

The COVID relief funding, he said, “is going to allow us to do this this year, next year, and maybe a third year.”

The funding is also allowing the district to provide mental health initiatives like the one at the coffee shop: A women’s support group that has met a handful of times. The investment is a recognition that everyone — students, staff, parents — is struggling after a year and a half of the pandemic. A men’s group has also formed.

“Detroit needs help,” said Kaitlynn Blaylock, one of the parents who came to the support group on Oct. 27. “There’s too much suffering.”

The federal money means the district’s Family and Community Engagement office can hold meetings like the coffee shop gathering, covering the cost of a drink and pastry for each participant, and hiring Erin Julianna Ellison, who provides meditation and mindfulness services.

Ellison, her voice as soothing as the music she was playing, guided the women through a nearly hour-long meditation exercise. She had them imagine themselves in front of a lake, with a box, pen, and paper in their hand. They were to write down something that no longer serves them, so they could put it in the box and release it in the lake. Later, she had them imagine writing on a piece of paper “one thing that you love and appreciate most about you.”

“Brag on yourself,” she told them.

In the Detroit district, the Family and Community Engagement officer built its catalog of parent academy offerings around mental health. There have been classes on mental health awareness, as well as trauma-informed parenting. A mental health guide gives parents tips and tools for self-care and advice for talking to their children.

Detroit was hit hard by the pandemic in 2020 and continues to suffer. Many students, parents, and staff lost a loved one to COVID. Many also have struggled with the challenges of pandemic learning. Shortly before the session began, one parent expressed concern that her own stress was affecting her son’s ability to learn.

“As a community we have all been through something,” said Sharlonda Buckman, the assistant superintendent who oversees family and community engagement. “We’re still going through stuff and still navigating and still we rise, as Maya Angelou would say.”

Buckman, who was part of the group session, said part of that rise “has to be acknowledging that we all have had losses that have been insurmountable … and we find a way to keep going.

“Part of recovery has to be some intentional work in spaces like this, so we can be there for our kids,” she said.

At the end of the meditation, Ellison asked the group to share what they had released into that imaginary lake.

“I put anger and resentment in the box,” Blaylock said. “I just let it go.”

Throughout the meditation, Ellison repeated one phrase over and over: “We can’t always control the things around us, but we can control our breath.” She told them that during a typical day, people have 50,000 to 80,000 thoughts.

“That can be exhausting,” she said. So the meditation was designed to take their thoughts from a 10 to a 2.

At one point, she had them place their right hand over their left chest, and their left hand over their right chest. Then, she told them to squeeze themselves and “give ourselves a hug.”

Parents who attended said they got a lot out of the meditation.

“You leave here with more than you came with,” said parent Amber Hunt.

Chalkbeat Detroit reporter Ethan Bakuli contributed to this report.

Detroit teen: ‘Dig deeper’ to find and help homeless students

2021-10-19T18:33:39+00:00

There’s a lot Azaria Terrell wants to tell adults about how they can help students who, like her, have experienced homelessness. She’d start with a few simple tips: Listen to them, develop relationships with them, and give them some grace.

Too often, she said, school staff place too much academic pressure on students who are homeless.

“Making sure I’m OK and getting a good night’s sleep … that’s way more important than making sure I’m turning in my assignments,” said Azaria, who is 17 and a senior at Pershing High School in Detroit.

“At the end of the day you can go home and lay in your bed and maybe grade students’ work, but that child has to stay on the streets that night. Not everybody is lucky enough to have friends to go stay with or family to go stay with. Sometimes they’re in abusive households and they literally have nowhere else to go. So, patience is really key.”

Azaria, who has experienced homelessness during her high school years, shared her story during a panel discussion Tuesday co-hosted by Chalkbeat Detroit and the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions (Watch the conversation in full at the bottom of this story).

The discussion was held in the wake of new research that shows schools in Detroit are struggling to identify students who are homeless and entitled to federally required services, such as transportation.

Azaria was joined on the panel by representatives of local schools, a researcher, and the founder of a Detroit nonprofit that works with young people like Azaria.

Here’s who joined her on the panel, and a snippet of what they had to say.

Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, an initiative that partners with communities and policymakers to prevent and alleviate poverty. Erb-Downward explained that the federal definition of a homeless student is any child who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. That includes children living in shelters or on the streets, but it also includes students living temporarily in a motel or hotel as well as children living doubled up in another person’s home because of economic hardship. “The reason that definition is important to focus on is that what the research shows is that from an educational perspective, it’s really the instability that children are experiencing that has educational consequences,” Erb-Downward said.
Courtney Smith, founder and CEO of the Detroit Phoenix Center, which provides services to homeless students. Smith said the center began as a drop-in center for students to hang out, take a shower, wash their clothes, access a food pantry, get bus tickets, and participate in recreational activities. Now, there is also an after-school program that provides tutoring and other services, such as counseling. Smith said the programming was built around what students said they needed. Listening to their wants and needs was important, she said. Adults “often create programs without young people being at the table.”
Iranetta Wright, deputy superintendent of schools at Detroit Public Schools Community District, which has expanded its services to better identify and serve students who are homeless. In 2017, when the district’s current administration took the helm, there were only 600 students — out of about 47,000 — identified as homeless. There was no doubt that number was too low, she said. So the district revamped its efforts, ensuring every school identified someone to serve homeless students, and provided staff training. At the end of the 2020-21 school year, the number of identified students had grown to 1,900. Training has been an important part of helping staff understand what it means to be a homeless student, and also how to talk to students who confide in them. “Awareness is important for everyone, from our teachers to our custodians to our cafeteria workers, to our noon hour assistants. Everyone needs to be empowered with the right language,” Wright said.
Terrence George, superintendent at Covenant House Academies, which were founded to help at-risk students obtain their high school diplomas. The academies especially help those living in shelters operated by Covenant House, which the school is affiliated with. “Homelessness isn’t always about staying in a shelter. It can be bouncing around. We have so many kids in our school that couch surf. It’s … now not where do you live, but where are you staying tonight is the question,” George said. The school provides a range of services, and is working to ensure all of its three locations have showers, laundry machines, and close access to a child care facility.

The event began with a documentary clip currently being produced by Sofa Stories Detroit, a community arts program that uses live performance and theater to tell the stories of Detroit youth who have experienced homelessness and housing insecurity. The name of the production company acknowledges that for many youth, surfing on the couches of friends or relatives is common. The full film will be streamed live in November, during National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, said Andrew Morton, director of the project. Find more information here.

Azaria, the Pershing High student, said identifying students who are homeless isn’t always easy. Educators can look out for students who repeatedly wear the same outfits, or students who start secluding themselves from others, she said. But many homeless youth become good at hiding their struggles.

“They’re hiding it not only from the world, but from themselves. They’re trying to erase that part of themselves and build a new character at school so they’re not judged, so they’re not looked at wrongly, so that their family isn’t criticized.”

It’s something Azaria knows really well. She said she’s a different person at school, known there as someone on the right track and on her way to college. At home, she said, she could be struggling. She cited her connection with Smith and the Detroit Phoenix Center with giving her a voice to tell her story. Smith, she said, was “the kindest person” she’d ever met.

“I meet a lot of kind people who really only want to hear your story to benefit them. And that’s sad. Ms. Courtney — she’s kind. She really listened to me. She gave me opportunities to use my voice.”

She wants teachers and other school staff to care not just about how students are doing academically, but how they’re doing outside school. She said they need to “dig deeper, build a relationship with their students, and really see how their life is going.”

New Detroit program puts support staff on the fast track to become teachers

2021-10-13T23:17:00+00:00

The inspirational words were written with large letters and taped to the tops of the light wood desks, a fitting backdrop for an activity that had new teacher Will Cannon connecting with a group of sixth graders he was meeting for the first time.

“You are a champion,” said one of the cards. “Triumph,” “Fabulous,” “Conquer,” and “Passionate,” said others.

“Tell me what that word on your desk means to you,” asked Cannon, who had taped the cards to the desks hoping they would inspire his students.

“A lot,” called back one girl, whose desk displayed the phrase “You are amazing.”

Cannon is among 55 people who entered classrooms in the Detroit Public Schools Community District for the first time this school year through a new program — the first of its kind in Michigan — that trains them during a summer academy tailored to the particular challenges of teaching in Detroit.

On a recent day with a group of sixth graders, Cannon had them talk about inspirational words he’d written on cards and taped to their desks.

This program, called the On the Rise Academy, represents the first time a district has developed its own alternative teacher certification program, which the Michigan Department of Education approved in January. And in May, the department approved a second certification program for New Paradigm for Education, which manages the Detroit Edison Public School Academy network of charter schools.

Around the nation, alternative programs operating outside higher education institutions are growing as districts like Detroit seek to train their own, more diverse, workforce. School districts in cities such as Boston and Dallas already operate similar programs. Indiana lawmakers are weighing whether to allow districts to certify their own teachers to ease shortages.

In the Detroit district, about three-quarters of the fellows, as they’re called, previously worked in support positions such as paraprofessionals, attendance agents, and academic interventionists.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during a recent school board meeting that the district decided to apply to run its own program because there are talented people in those positions who need an opportunity to put them on a path toward certification. The district is planning to launch another component of the academy next year, this one focused on current teachers who want to become recertified in an area of critical need, such as math and science.

“It makes complete sense to develop your own … because those employees know our students,” Vitti said.

The aspiring teachers — who must have bachelor’s degrees and pass the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification — undergo a hiring process that includes conducting a sample lesson before interviewers and taking feedback on that lesson, then conducting the lesson again.

Once selected, fellows are required to attend a six-week summer institute. There is coursework, but a key part is teaching summer school supervised by a high-performing teacher. Those who make it through the summer institute receive an initial teaching certificate before entering classrooms full time. They earn the same $51,000 salary as beginning teachers in the district.

The fellows receive individual and group coaching throughout the school year. They also are required to take more coursework in addition to teaching full time. Tuition is $6,000 but is waived if fellows teach in the district for six years. Fellows are required to teach in the district for three years.

Damarcus James, a former college transition advisor, is one of dozens of people who are part of an inaugural program to provide an alternative path towards becoming a teacher in the Detroit school district.

All of this was worth it for Damarco James, who previously worked as a college transition advisor at Osborn High School. James grew up in Benton Harbor, a district with similar academic struggles as DPSCD, and he said he’s motivated by a desire to help students who are growing up in impoverished communities like he did. He’s especially motivated knowing how much students have struggled academically during the pandemic.

“You truly have a chance to make an impact,” James said.

Would-be teachers need support and practice

Traditional teacher preparation programs operated by colleges and universities remain the most common way for aspiring teachers to get certified, accounting for 75% of all enrollment in 2019.

But Shannon Holston, chief of policy and programs at the National Council on Teacher Quality, said alternative certification programs are growing quickly, particularly those operated by non-higher education institutions such as school districts.

She attributes the growth to several factors: The decline in enrollment in traditional preparation programs has disrupted the routes school districts traditionally relied upon for new teachers. Some people interested in teaching see the alternative programs as a better option, because it’s a quicker and cheaper route to the classroom.

Just as important: Some local districts “just haven’t been having their needs met” by traditional routes, Holston said. “To ensure that they have teachers that are prepared in the way they want them to be prepared, they start their own program.”

Holston said research on alternative certification programs has been difficult to analyze because the programs are so different.

“There is some data on some programs that are effective. There are other programs that are on probation because they’re not meeting certain outcomes.”

She said successful programs offer strong coaching that helps the new teachers grow, but also have mechanisms in place to dismiss those that aren’t improving. Programs also should have rigorous admissions requirements and a teaching experience similar to student teaching so that fellows get to work with students. Programs vary on the length of such experiences. In some cases, it lasts a year. In others, it’s a summer school program.

In some programs, attendees come in with no classroom experience, and that concerns Holston. It’s imperative that these aspiring teachers spend extended time teaching in a classroom to gauge if this is the career for them.

“Sometimes people figure out that’s not what they want to do. We’d rather them figure that out in July rather than September.”

Holston, who reviewed online information about the Detroit district program, said she’s encouraged by several features, including requiring fellows to take a science of reading course and calling for two coaching visits and an administrative visit each month.

“That ongoing support is really important,” Holston said.

Program seeks to mirror district demographics

Cannon, a Detroit and district native whose path to the classroom came after a 20-year career as an engineer and a few more years exploring social work, is big on creating a positive atmosphere in his classroom. He introduced the sixth graders to a South African word that is central to his teaching philosophy: Ubuntu. Loosely, it means, “I am because we are.”

For a first-year teacher, Cannon seemed comfortable leading a classroom of middle school students. He told them about his background, played a video that showed young people persevering against incredible odds, and emphasized that he was connected with them and they have to work together for everyone to succeed.

“You’re all going to teach me a lot more than I’m going to teach you.”

Cannon came into teaching after a 20-year career as an engineer and after a few years in social work.

In Cassandra Tapia’s second grade summer school classroom, students participatedT in a “me too” game that revealed some common interests.

“I like robots,” one girl stood up and said.

“Me too,” responded most of her classmates.

“I like soccer,” said another.

“Me too,” the class responded.

Before she became a fellow teaching at Munger Elementary-Middle School, Tapia spent a year there as an academic interventionist, tutoring students who needed the most help.

Tapia said that one year working with Munger students was enough to “completely change my perspective” of what she wanted to do as a career.

Chalkbeat sat down with Tapia, Cannon, and James on one of the last days of summer school as the fellows were looking ahead to the beginning of the school year. They said they felt the academy prepared them for the challenges they would face in the classroom.

“I’m excited,” Tapia said. “I feel like I have a good support system. Teaching summer school has given us a glimpse of what to expect.”

“This program gives us everything that a brand-new teacher who went through a teacher prep program wishes that they had,” James added. “That’s the best way I can describe it.”

Cassandra Tapia was an academic interventionist before she entered a program that provides an alternative path towards becoming a teacher in the Detroit school district.

Tamara Johnson, director of the On the Rise Academy, said selecting candidates who are willing to grow and understand the culture of Detroit and its residents is what will make the program successful. The summer institute focuses on the history of the city and district. At one point, the fellows teamed up for a scavenger hunt downtown.. They also learned about the students they’ll be teaching.

“You want to be a part of that community and not have preconceived notions and ideas about where our students come from,” said Johnson, who is also the district’s senior director of talent pipelines. “You want to be able to learn with them, build relationships with them. That’s important in any classroom and in order to be able to do that, you have to be willing to learn who they are.”

“We pick people who view our students in a strength based way as opposed to a deficit-based way,” said Jessica Haynes, program supervisor of talent pipelines in the district. “We sought to have our demographics in On the Rise Academy mirror the demographics of our students in the district.”

Alternative certification programs have done what traditional programs have struggled to accomplish: Recruit diverse candidates into the profession. Just 30% of students enrolled in traditional programs are non-white, while more than half of those in alternative certification programs are non-white, according to data Vitti shared during the recent school board meeting. In the Detroit program, about 90% of those enrolled are non-white.

Meanwhile, the program could help boost the number of black male teachers, something districts across the country are trying to achieve. About 23% of those enrolled in On the Rise are black men. The district’s current population of black male teachers is 13%, Vitti said.

Ready to teach — and to learn

Two weeks into the beginning of the school year, Cannon was feeling good about his decision to teach. He was developing good relationships with his students, and he felt that the lessons he learned about creating a positive classroom culture were paying off. The fellows learned that community circles — when students and their teacher come together in a circle to talk — is one way they can build that positive culture.

A positive classroom culture and strong classroom management skills are crucial skills for success and were key focuses of the summer academy. Poor classroom management skills is one of the reasons new teachers leave the profession too soon, Johnson said.

“We know if the teachers can run a really well-managed room, all of the academic parts are going to come so much easier. And then we can keep them in the district, in classrooms, and make them better academic teachers because they have the management part together.”

Tapia agreed.

“Your lesson can be perfect but if you can’t manage that class, you can’t have 100% participation,” Tapia said. “If students can’t respect and trust you, you’re not going to teach them.”

For Cannon, the biggest challenge has been trying to help students who are far behind academically.

“It’s hard for me to see it. I feel this responsibility to catch you up immediately and it’s not going to happen that way.”

At that point in the school year, he had spent a lot of time focused on classroom rules and procedures and seeing where students stood academically.

On a recent day when Chalkbeat visited with Cannon and the group of sixth graders, he spent some time emphasizing what he hopes to see from students. He showed a short video about a boy who had persevered against a lot of odds. And then he turned to the students.

A large challenge for new teachers like Cannon is helping students who are struggling to catch up academically.

“That’s the kind of perseverance we’re looking for from all of you,” he told them. “We all have to find a way to make it through.

“Who is it up to?” he asked the students. The responses were varied.

“Us.”

“And me,” Cannon replied, which prompted this response from a student:

“All of us.”

Worried about funding and court battles, some Michigan health departments nix school mask mandates

2021-10-01T22:28:33+00:00

School mask mandates in Wayne and Oakland counties remain in place, but similar orders have been rescinded for schools in six other Michigan counties as local health officers worry that language in the state budget could cost them important funding or lead to a court battle.

Language in the budget, which went into effect Friday, requires the state health department to withhold funding for essential services to local health departments that have a public health order in place on Oct. 1 that includes a mask mandate to fight COVID.

The move to rescind the orders in these counties comes in the midst of a politically polarizing debate in Michigan — and across the country — about whether students and staff should have to wear masks in schools. The issue has been debated vigorously in many school districts and health departments, and has led to protests and threats against some local health officers. In Michigan now, there are 11 health departments, covering 15 counties, that continue to have school mask mandates.

The health departments that got rid of their orders cover Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Dickinson, Eaton, and Iron counties.

The Berrien County Health Department, in a statement Thursday, said it would face the “loss of nearly $1.5 million in budget,” if it didn’t rescind the order it issued in August.

The funding covers a number of essential local health services, including vaccinations, restaurant inspections, and septic system regulation, said Norm Hess, executive director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health.

“That would be a whopping big hit for these health departments,” Hess said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, when signing the budget on Wednesday, sought to address the concerns about the language, saying it is unconstitutional and unenforceable. In addition to the language calling for funding to be withheld, the budget also restricts state and local health departments from issuing mask mandates for anyone under the age of 18.

“The legislature cannot unwind the Public Health Code in a budget bill or un-appropriate funds because they take issue with the actions of local health departments,” Whitmer said in a letter to the lawmakers.

“Budget boilerplate that purports to prohibit state or local health officials from issuing mask and quarantine orders or to penalize local health departments for issuing their powers under the Public Health Code violates the Michigan Constitution. … I will not allow unconstitutional budget language to take effect.”

Her words, though, were not enough for the health officials that rescinded their orders. Hess said. Different attorneys have had different interpretations of the language.

“So, our advice to local health departments is to listen to your own corporate counsel. The governor’s statement was very reassuring to most and we’re glad she did that. In the end, we believe this will all pass away and the money will come out and everyone will be whole.”

But, Hess said, there is still a chance that the issue of the enforceability of the legislature’s language “could end up being decided by a court.” And for some local health officials, “that risk is just too much for them at this time.”

In a statement, officials with the Berrien County health department said they are being forced to take the action.

“When this unconstitutional language is deemed as illegal in a court of law, and if the data still supports the need for a public health order requiring masks in pre-K through grade 12 settings because of ongoing high transmission, the Board of Health fully supports the local health officer to reinstate this order to keep students and teachers in the classroom,” said Peg Kohring, chair of the Berrien County Board of Health.

The pressure is now on local school districts to decide whether to maintain a mask order or make the face coverings optional.

“None of the health departments who rescinded the mask mandates wanted to,” Hess said. They absolutely know what this does to schools.”

‘Tiny’ bathrooms, big curriculum: New Marygrove early childhood center boosts Detroit neighborhood

2021-09-17T21:33:42+00:00

When Ariyah Small came home after the first day of school last week at the new, highly touted Marygrove Early Education Center, there was one small thing that had her excited.

“I love my new school,” Ariyah, 3, told her mother, Antoinette Reid, who recounted the conversation Friday as she spoke during the grand opening of the new center.

“I’m like, ‘What about it do you love?’” Reid recalled asking her daughter. “She said, ‘They got tiny bathrooms and I can use it all by myself.’”

The tiny bathrooms are just small features of this big new center on the campus of the former Marygrove College in northwest Detroit. What is most significant about the new $22 million 28,000-square-foot building, is what it represents.

The early childhood center is part of a unique “cradle to career” initiative that was announced in 2018 and already includes the School at Marygrove, a high school operated by the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The initiative will eventually also include a kindergarten to eighth grade school. Construction on the early childhood center, which is being operated by Starfish Family Services, began in 2019. The Kresge Foundation (a Chalkbeat funder), expects to invest $75 million into the cradle to career project, including for the construction of the new center.

Speakers Friday described the opening of the center as an “historic” moment for Detroit, in part, because it represents a full-scale effort to create quality early childhood options that every child in the city deserves.

“It’s not just about the building,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, the Detroit program managing director at Kresge.

Jackson said “it” is about the curriculum that was developed by Starfish and University of Michigan, about the center serving as a resource for other early childhood providers in the neighborhoods surrounding Marygrove, and about the center providing “essential support for children from birth through higher education and onwards towards a career.”

Principal Celina Byrd poses with student Ariyah Small at the grand opening of Marygrove Early Education Center in Detroit.

The curriculum is focused on literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and social justice.

The cradle to career effort at Marygrove has also spurred development in the surrounding neighborhoods, said Rip Rapson, Kresge president and CEO.

“It is undertakings like these that will define the Detroit of the future, that will give the city’s residents reason to believe that their neighborhood will offer the kinds of opportunities that every citizen has a right to expect and that every citizen deserves,” Rapson said.

Reid toured the new facility in July. It features 12 large classrooms, three interior courtyards that bring in natural light and a connection to the outdoors, and areas dedicated to children’s health and holistic development.

“When I toured the center, I was like finally, someone gets it,” she said. “The building was designed with the whole child in mind, which I’m very appreciative of … Inside is cheerful and just inviting. I like the space for the teachers, for the families. And sometimes it’s the small things that matter, and it was the laundry facilities for me that make the difference.”

The cradle to career initiative is one of the biggest efforts to emerge from Hope Starts Here, an ambitious project publicly launched in 2017 with funding from Kresge and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (also a Chalkbeat funder). The goal of this 10-year project is to ensure that by 2027, Detroit is a city that puts its children first by taking steps such as increasing the number of children in quality preschool programs.

Mayor Mike Duggan, who has been a strong advocate for quality early childhood education programs for all Detroit children, said the Marygrove effort took “what could have been a tragedy for the city,” when the college closed its doors in 2019, and “turned it into a cause for joy.”

He echoed Rapson’s comments about how the effort has spurred growth in the surrounding communities. Duggan said property values in the Marygrove neighborhood and the adjacent Fitzgerald neighborhood have grown faster than any others in the city. Storefronts that were once boarded up are now open for business.

It “has helped the rebirth of northwest Detroit,” Duggan said.

The first week in Detroit schools: Optimism about enrollment, but complaints about safety

2021-09-15T02:14:26+00:00

Enrollment in the Detroit Public Schools Community District is at 53,000 students, but only 43,500 have shown up for classes, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said Tuesday. He’s actually encouraged by the numbers.

“I think we’re well positioned to meet where we were in the spring,” Vitti said during a school board meeting at Renaissance High School that was marked by complaints from many public speakers about classes with too many students, lack of social distancing, and other challenges during the first week of school.

Vitti said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about enrollment because 53,000 students is more than last year.

The district will begin visiting homes of no-shows this week, hoping to repeat the success they had last school year when the visits helped increase enrollment after an initial drop in the student count.

But enrollment is just one challenge Detroit and districts across the country are confronting. Districts are starting a new year by addressing the academic, social and emotional challenges presented by a year of pandemic learning. In Detroit, most students are learning in person this month after a year in which they were largely virtual.

Dozens of people spoke during the board meeting’s public comment session, most of them critical of how schools have operated during the first week.

“By no means was it perfect,” board President Angelique Peterson Mayberry said of the first week. “We’ve gotten the calls and the emails. Yes there were challenges and challenges were expected. We’re working to address those.”

Complaints about class sizes

N’shan Robinson, lead counselor at Mumford High School, told board members that too many of the classes at her school have too many students for social distancing to occur.

“Staff are calling in by the multitudes daily because they don’t feel safe,” Robinson said. “We don’t have subs, no security, and it seems there is no end in sight.”

She was followed by LaVar Johnson, a teacher at Renaissance High School, who raised similar concerns, saying that each academic department at the school is reporting that they have class sizes with more than 30 students. He said he’s also worried that during lunch, there are hundreds of students in the cafeteria not wearing masks while eating.

“We are not doing this safely,” Johnson said.

Vitti, after the public comment period, addressed the concerns about class sizes.

“This conversation happens at the beginning of every school year and it’s especially heightened because of COVID,” Vitti said.

A letter of agreement with the Detroit Federation of Teachers establishes class size targets. When classes are near, at, or slightly over those targets, he said, “then we look at leveling.” That involves moving students from a class with too many students to a class that doesn’t have as many.

“The principals will start leveling now. Some already have,” Vitti said.

A couple of other speakers raised concerns about large class sizes in the district’s new virtual school, but Vitti said those classes would likely always be larger than in a traditional setting.

‘The worst week of my life’

The board heard from two students from the advocacy group Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan, who raised their own concerns about the safety of school buildings and pushed for remote learning.

Hafiza Khalique said the first week of school “was the worst week of my life.” She said desks were not being sanitized, social distancing was not being followed and “there were no cleaning materials for us to utilize and disinfect our spaces. There was no mandatory testing for students either.”

The district has implemented a robust testing program that is mandatory for staff and student athletes. But for all other students, parents must provide consent.

The district also has a hotline people can call to report unsafe conditions, and a committee that includes district and union representatives who visit schools to inspect how well the district’s safety protocols are being executed.

“This district must come to a realization that reopening schools during a pandemic provides no way to keep everyone safe,” Khalique said. “The only way to keep everyone safe is by being online.”

Air purifiers and fans are on the way

Some teachers and parents have taken to social media to complain that the district hasn’t provided enough fans and air purifiers for teachers who want them. The issue came up during the meeting when Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, executive vice president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said too many of the union’s members were not aware the district offered to provide the devices and too many “do not have what they need to be comfortable.”

The district, which has distributed 1,500 air purifiers and fans, emailed staff in March that they could request either, Vitti said.

“This was not an oversight of central office … it’s not an issue of logistics or planning. We just didn’t get responses,” he said.

Principals have been told to notify the central office by next week how many additional air purifiers or fans are needed. It will take about two weeks for the devices to arrive, Vitti said.

Detroit schools are spending $70M for COVID testing. Could a vaccine mandate be next?

2021-09-10T19:10:39+00:00

The Detroit school district is investing heavily into weekly COVID testing for students and staff as a way to keep schools open. But will it be enough? Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said this week that inevitably, it may become necessary to require COVID vaccines for staff.

On Friday morning Vitti, who helms the Detroit Public Schools Community District, responded to questions from Chalkbeat about the possible mandate. He also discussed it Thursday morning in a CNN interview, hours before President Joe Biden called on states to mandate vaccines for K-12 school staff.

Nine states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington) as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have vaccination requirements for school staff.

The district already is doing a significant amount of testing — spending $70 million of $1.2 billion this year in federal COVID relief money to test staff and students. The testing is required for staff and student athletes, but for all other students, parental consent is needed.

But no decision has been made about requiring vaccines for staff.

“We will continue to balance the positives and negatives of mandating the vaccine and collaboratively arrive at a decision that we believe is best for our students, employees, and the community,” Vitti said.

Terrence Martin, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers — the largest employee union in the district — wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Benjamin Royal, a district teacher who has been active in calling for a shutdown of in-person learning, said “I’m certainly for mandating vaccinations. It’s a protective measure to keep kids healthy, and to keep staff healthy.”

But Royal, an active member of a vocal faction of the union, said the district shouldn’t stop with staff if Vitti decides to mandate vaccines.

“We’ve got to get to a point where it’s mandatory for students to be vaccinated too,” Royal said. “That’s the only way to maximize the protection to people in buildings.”

Currently, there is no vaccine for children under the age of 12.

Here are Vitti’s responses, via email, to questions about testing and vaccines:

Why is mandatory vaccination being considered in the district?

Because it is the most proven way to keep our employees safe, out of the hospital, and from dying. In addition, it is the most cost efficient and most operational efficient way to return to the old normal of schooling and keep our students in school where they learn and develop best. I’m not sure everyone will accept mask wearing, COVID testing, and quarantining over the long term. Lastly, without additional funding similar to COVID relief funding, the district will not be able to continue COVID testing after two years.

Is the idea of mandatory vaccination being negotiated with unions?

No, we are not currently negotiating this with the union. We have checked in with our unions about the idea of a mandate and as of the latest conversation they are not supportive. Keep in mind that we have been largely successful with our $500 incentive for employees to be vaccinated (72% are vaccinated). Most union leaders are still uncomfortable with requiring it.

Would the school board need to approve a vaccine mandate?

Legally, we can mandate it as a condition of employment absent a documented medical or religious exemption. Without that exemption, an employee could be terminated after being provided time to [vaccinate]. This is not something I would impose without the school board’s support regardless of whether I could do it without their vote. The school board and I have collaboratively worked through a series of difficult decisions over the years, most recently throughout the pandemic, and that needs to continue. We will continue to balance the positives and negatives of mandating the vaccine and collaboratively arrive at a decision that we believe is best for our students, employees, and the community.

What is driving the decision by districts to test students and staff?

I’m honestly not aware of other districts testing as we are. This is one reason why I believe our district is keeping our employees and students safer in the context of COVID. Testing assures everyone that asymptomatic cases are being detected and asymptomatic outbreaks are detected. I think it’s also necessary in light of general low vaccination rates in the city and an unavailable vaccine for students younger than 12. It also allows us to communicate an infection rate specific to the district and individual schools. Clearly, [district] infection rates (well below 1%) means our schools are safer than the social interactions in general society. Certainly there is a disruption to learning when we need to test employees and students at a school weekly but that disruption is minor compared to numerous cases, outbreaks, and quarantining where in person learning can be disrupted for 14 days.

What challenges have you faced in doing weekly testing?

The challenge is that we need families to consent to testing (completing the paperwork). We can mandate it for employees, which we have, but legally we cannot for students.

Detroit students hustle into class, masked up and temperature checked

2021-09-07T23:04:05+00:00

Tears were flowing and the music was bumping Tuesday morning at the entrance to Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy.

Emotional moms and dads dropped their children off at school for the first time and students who hadn’t been in a classroom in over a year nervously entered the school, where joyous staff greeted families for the first day of school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Parents shared goodbye kisses through tear-soaked masks and teachers, who hadn’t seen their students in-person in over a year, greeted students with arms wide open.

“I am overwhelmed right now,” said Tiaris Patrick, who cried as she and Jazmere Hicks waved goodbye to their son on his first day of kindergarten.

The day began much the way it did a year ago: with students wearing masks, and with parents, teachers, and other school staff nervous about the spread of COVID-19, which has taken a toll on the city. But after a difficult school year in which most students learned online, most students and teachers braved their anxiety Tuesday to do what district leaders say is crucial: learn in person and in a classroom with their teachers and peers.

About 50,000 Detroit Public Schools Community District students enrolled for in-person learning in the fall 2021 semester, according to school officials.

DPSCD received $1.2 billion in coronavirus aid relief, some of which went toward purchasing personal protective equipment. Administrators have assured safety measures are in place through the district’s reopening plan and a mask mandate the school board approved weeks before it became required across Wayne County. The Detroit district has encouraged members of the community to get vaccinated, but children under age 12 remain unvaccinated.

For other safety measures, the district is conducting weekly testing of employees and students whose parents provide consent. Weekly testing is required for athletes. The latter is significant given the outbreak that occurred at Renaissance High School last week, when about a dozen football players tested positive for the coronavirus.

“We knew coming in this year that our vaccination rates are low among our student-athletes, unfortunately,” Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told reporters Tuesday morning. “Our sports teams are going to be more susceptible to positive cases. That’s a risk that our coaches, our players, and their families are willing to take.”

It’s also why the district is requiring weekly testing of the athletes.

Alexis Williams, a sixth grader at Priest Elementary-Middle School, said she doesn’t mind wearing a mask because she’s worried about whether the virus will continue to spread.

“I just want to stay safe,” she said.

Alexis stood with her grandmother in a line outside Priest, waiting to enter a school building to learn for the first time since March 2020. Her big goal for the year: “Get my grades up.”

She said she had good grades before the pandemic. But last year, while enrolled at a Detroit charter school, she struggled, especially with math. Worse, she went a month without school because she didn’t have a laptop or tablet.

“It was horrible,” Alexis said, adding, “I think I only need to catch up in math.”

Dr. Jeffery Robinson, the principal of Paul Robeson Malcom X Academy in Detroit, on the first day of the fall 2021 semester.

Dr. Jeffery Robinson, principal at Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy, said, “The value of in-person learning is being underestimated.”

Robinson shut down the academy’s in-person instruction last school year, and all students became virtual learners. This year, he says, he’s conflicted and optimistic because he believes in the benefit of in-person instruction for child development.

On Tuesday, a disc jockey the school hired played hustle music every 30 minutes for elementary students to dance to on the first day. Robinson said fewer parents than usual were present for the first day of school, and he suspects more parents will choose virtual learning once again.

One such parent, Aliya Moore, left her daughter at home on Tuesday while she “checked out the scene.” As president of the Parent Teacher Association at the academy, Moore said she wants to help bring a sense of “normality” back to the student body, and plans to be on campus throughout the week to welcome students.

Students at the Paul Robeson Malcom X Academy danced to hustle music every 30 minutes on their first day.

However, Moore said her sixth grader will begin the academic year in virtual school. She’s heard other parents’ concerns about returning to the classroom and their collective questions around keeping students, staff, and families safe during the pandemic.

Nicole Devezin, the guidance counselor at the academy, said she’s both nervous and optimistic about the return to in-person learning.

“I’m so happy to see so many of the children,” Devezin said. “I miss them.

“I believe we can be successful as long as we trust each other’s space and honor each other’s space.”

Devezin will lead the academy’s efforts to address the social and emotional needs of students who spent the entire school year isolated and learning at home. The efforts include activities in which in-person students will participate during the first two weeks of school followed by at least one activity each day led by teachers.

Devezin said school staff need to build trusting relationships with students before formal learning can begin.

“Right now, this year, so many have been in such a state of anxiety, a state of depression, a state of hopelessness,” she said. “Even though we are back in school, you still have to figure out your mind, your thoughts and your emotions.”

While some parents and staff have shared their worries about the return to in-person instruction, more students are enthusiastic about returning to the classroom.

“How many of you are excited to be here?” Vitti asked a group of sixth-graders at Priest Elementary-Middle. Vitti, along with school board President Angelique Peterson-Mayberry and Principal Justin Hauser, spent time at the school, visiting classrooms, talking with students and staff, and posing for photographs.

Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti and Detroit Public Schools Board President Angelique Peterson-Mayberry speak with students about how excited they are to be back in school this year.

In most of the classes, students appeared eager to be back, and many said they were done with online learning. In teacher Jason Stewart’s class, Santiago Monrreal Jimenez said he was most excited for his science lessons.

“It’s one of my best subjects,” Santiago said.

Jamari Austin said he was most excited about math because, well, he just likes the subject.

The students’ answers, during Stewart’s English language arts class, had the teacher realizing he’ll need to get the kids engaged in his subject.

“I’m just going to work extra hard,” Stewart told the students.

In just about every class she visited, Peterson-Mayberry, the school board president, told students she was glad to see their faces, even if she could see only their eyes.

“We missed you, so we’re glad you’re back,” she told them.

Vitti told reporters that about 50,000 students had enrolled for the fall semester. If they all show up, he said, the district’s student count will be at pre-pandemic levels after taking a dip last school year. Enrollment dips occurred across Michigan, where schools lost more than 50,000 students.

To get Detroit students back into school, the district will be restarting it’s home visit program to canvass for students that have not enrolled.

To get kids in school, the district is planning to restart its home visit program, in which parents and district employees knock on doors. The program was a key part of the district’s outreach efforts during the last year of pandemic learning.

At Clippert Multicultural Magnet Honors Academy, Vitti and Principal Micaela Escamilla stopped outside a sixth-grade science classroom to talk about enrollment. Escamilla told Vitti that the school has 384 students enrolled, down from a little over 400 last year.

“We had about five applications that came in overnight,” she told him. “Our goal is 420.”

“You’ll get them back,” Vitti said.

Michigan will release M-STEP results soon. Here’s what to expect.

2021-08-30T18:36:00+00:00

Michigan officials will soon release standardized test results, and the data will likely tell us what we’ve witnessed during the last 18 months: Pandemic learning has hurt students’ academic progress.

We already know this from what local educators have seen in the classroom, from national assessment results, and from reports from educators. What they’ve told us: Student engagement was down, chronic absenteeism was up, and more young people struggled with emotional and mental challenges.

The results, to be released by the Michigan Department of Education, will provide the first statewide look at how well students have met academic expectations since March 2020, when the pandemic first began to disrupt learning. Students took the exams that are part of the M-STEP in the spring.

But the results come with big limitations that will make it difficult to make strong comparisons with previous years. Here, we break down what to expect, what the results will tell us and what they won’t, and explain why they’ll be difficult to analyze.

Who took the exam?

It is all but certain that the number of students who took the M-STEP in the spring was down — likely by large numbers in some districts — than in previous years. That’s largely because the exam could not be given remotely and those learning online had to be present inside a school building to take the test. The State Board of Education, which oversees the state education department, adopted a resolution that said students learning remotely did not have to go into a school building to take the exam.

So who didn’t get tested? Largely, “it is economically disadvantaged, Black students, students with disabilities are the three biggest groups not testing,” said Marianne Perie, a testing expert who advises states on assessments. “Those groups also tend to be lower scoring.

“If anything, we’re saying to some of our state leaders, your scores may be even worse than what this looks like, because you don’t have some of those students in there.”

In a typical year, federal rules require 95% of students to be tested across all subjects and grades. But that rule was relaxed last school year. And it’s a good thing, considering other states have also seen their participation rates drop.

If Michigan’s participation rates are anything like other states, only about 70% of students took the exams, said Katharine Strunk, director of the Education Policy Initiative Collaborative at Michigan State University. The Department of Education is expected to release participation rates at the same time as test scores.

“If those patterns hold in Michigan … we want to think about what the test scores would have been if everyone took the test,” Strunk said.

In Colorado, the participation rates ranged from 60% to 76%. In Georgia, the rates ranged from 60% to 80%. And in Delaware, 60% of students took the exams in grades 3-8.

The expected decline in test takers is the reason Strunk cautions against comparing districts with each other. There might be wide disparities in participation rates from district to district, Strunk said.

Brace yourself for disappointing results

We don’t know yet how good or bad the results will be in Michigan. But other states that have already released their own test scores provide a grim preview. In Colorado, Indiana, and Tennessee, student scores declined across the board. Math was particularly difficult for students.

In all three states, the drops were particularly steep for groups that historically have struggled — Black and Hispanic students, as well as students from low-income homes.

Similar trends are playing out nationwide. Chalkbeat reported in July that the pandemic slowed progress in math and reading for millions of U.S. students who took the NWEA exam, a national exam that measures progress from the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. The results also show the pandemic widened pre-pandemic test score gaps in race and economic status.

A separate analysis by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, based on a different exam, found similar trends. White students, for example, fell four months behind where they should have been in math while Black and Latino students were six months behind, widening an already concerning difference in achievement.

Declines in test scores don’t mean that students didn’t learn, said Strunk. Some of the most important achievements can’t be measured on standardized tests, she said.

“There is a big argument that kids learned resilience. Kids learned flexibility. There’s no way to know that other than through anecdotes and principals’ reports,” said Strunk. “There’s a conversation to be had around what we think is more important for kids to learn.”

State exams were canceled in 2020 because of the emerging pandemic. In 2019 in Michigan, results showed a small amount of promise: The number of students passing the exams either inched up or declined at a slower pace than in previous years.

Parent reports will be useful

The M-STEP results may be difficult to analyze, but there is one feature that will benefit parents: the individual reports they’ll get for their children who took the exam.

Those reports will help parents understand which areas their children did well on and where their child struggled.

“As a parent of a kid who will be getting an individual M-STEP score, I can learn a lot,” Strunk said. “I should be able to tell if my child was at or above grade level. I should be able to see how my student tested two years ago and how that trajectory has changed over time.”

Having that information can help parents better advocate for their children’s education needs, she said.

A department spokesman said parents should receive those reports in September.

High stakes decisions

Despite the challenges that come with this exam, the results are still being used to make important decisions.

One of the biggest will affect students who were third graders last year, took the exam, and had scores in English language arts that indicate they are more than a year behind grade level in reading.

The state’s Read by Grade Three law requires that those third graders who didn’t meet the law’s expectations be held back a grade. There are plenty of exemptions that can prevent retention, and many school leaders said they would use those exemptions liberally because they oppose holding students back during a pandemic.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be some students who end up repeating the third grade because of their reading scores.

Earlier this year, the state board passed a resolution urging lawmakers to rescind the retention rule as well as rules requiring teacher evaluations be tied to test scores, and a law requiring schools receive letter grades based largely on test performance. The Legislature did not address either of the issues.

“We are going to have high stakes accountability requirements associated with [the exams], with small numbers and uneven numbers of our young people testing,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said at the time. “Our legislature really needs to move and move expeditiously on this.”

Masks now required for Wayne County’s K-12 schools and day cares

2021-08-27T17:05:45+00:00

Students across Michigan’s most populous county will have to wear masks inside their school buildings, after Wayne County’s health department on Friday issued an order requiring the face coverings.

The order applies to local school districts, charter schools, and day care centers. It covers grades prekindergarten through the 12th grade.

With that action, Wayne County became the latest in Michigan to order schools to require masks for all or some students and staff. Oakland County’s health department issued an order Tuesday. And in the last two weeks, mandates were issued for schools in Allegan, Kent, Ottawa, Genesee, and Kalamazoo counties. At the same time, a growing number of school districts have reversed earlier decisions to make wearing masks optional in schools and have now made them mandatory.

The school year officially begins Sept. 7, but many districts and charter school start earlier.

The order in the county, which includes Detroit Public Schools Community District, comes during a national firestorm over whether students should wear masks to protect against COVID as its delta variant surges across the country. Across the country, the debate has pitted states against local school boards, and parents against parents.

In Michigan, the state has stayed out of the fray, merely recommending schools adopt policies that require masks be worn by everyone inside school. The lack of action from the state, which issued a mask mandate last year, has angered some school officials who are facing vocal divisions in their communities.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in a statement that followed the Wayne County announcement, applauded districts that have implemented mask mandates.

“As of today, 179 districts totaling over 53% of Michigan students, are covered by mask requirements implemented by their school district or local county health department,” Whitmer said. “That number has increased substantially over the last few weeks, and we expect to see that trend continue as the first day of school approaches.

Protests have followed district decisions to either require masks or to make them optional. Earlier this week, hundreds of people showed up outside the Oakland County building to protest the health department order. That same day, parents protesting in favor of masks showed up outside Macomb County’s health department in Mt. Clemens.

Wayne County enrolls 262,830 students in 33 school districts and 108 charter schools.

Prior to Friday’s order, about a dozen districts in the county had already planned to require masks for all or some students. The Detroit school district, the state’s largest district, was among those with a mask mandate.

Another dozen districts in the county were making masks optional. It is unclear what the mask policies are in the remaining districts because the information isn’t readily available on their websites.

Mask debates, like school reopening debates a year ago, are being driven by U.S. partisan politics, as Republican leaders have sought to prevent school districts from requiring masks and vaccines. That pattern seemingly holds true in Michigan’s latest round of controversy, according to Chalkbeat’s mask policy tracker, which includes current policies for about one third of Michigan’s districts.

Of the 102 traditional public school districts that have made masks optional according to the tracker, 91 are in counties that went for Trump in 2020. Of the 109 districts requiring masks for at least some students, 75 are in counties that went for Biden.

Mask policies have sparked fierce debate among parents in the Plymouth-Canton School District, a Wayne County district that is among the state’s largest.

Anti-mask parents cheered the district’s initial rules, which made masks optional for students. But district leaders reversed course in recent days, saying that masks would be required for all students when cases in Wayne County reached a certain threshold of COVID risk — one that had already been reached amid a surge of new cases.

Jennie Sweet-Cushman, whose two children attend Salem High School in the district, signed a petition calling for a mask requirement.

“The alternative is that it puts at least some students in jeopardy, and some staff in jeopardy of contracting the virus,” she said. “I recognize that parents love to make decisions for their own children, but it goes beyond their own children, it affects all of our children.”

Mike Kompoltowicz was so incensed by Plymouth-Canton’s move to require masks that he began planning to move his kindergartner and third grader to another district. His children don’t like wearing masks all day, he said, and he believes the rules infringe on his parental right to make decisions for them.

With a countywide mandate in place, he would have to travel a long way to find a public district that isn’t requiring masks. He and his wife are reluctantly considering home-schooling their children, which they believe would have negative social consequences for them.

“The right thing to do for kids is to be in a classroom,” he said. “If you want to send your kids to school in a mask, do it. But nobody should be forced to do anything.”

Gabriela Islas knows that wearing a mask at school won’t be easy for her children, ages 14, 9, and 7. That’s one reason she opted to enroll them in Plymouth-Canton’s virtual learning program last year.

But a year of online learning convinced her that the benefits of in-person learning outweigh the challenges of wearing a mask at school.

“It was a shock when (district leaders) were like, ‘Well, it’s only a recommendation,’” she recalled.

Now that the district reversed course, and with the Wayne County mandate in place, her children are ready to go back to school — with masks, which she believes will keep them and other unvaccinated children safe.

“They know that if we want to stay in school that masks will help us avoid any quarantining or going back to virtual,” she said.

Report: Homeless students are undercounted and underserved in Detroit. Schools struggle to find them.

2021-08-23T22:11:32+00:00

Detroit schools for years have severely undercounted the number of homeless students in the city, leaving thousands of children without the crucial services they’re entitled to and need to succeed. The pandemic has made the undercount even worse.

The undercounting is highlighted in a new report released Monday by the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions initiative.

District and charter schools in Detroit identified 1,785 students, or about 2% of the student population, as homeless in 2017. But the researchers said the number is much higher — between 7,000 and 14,000, according to the report.

The undercounting matters profoundly because federal law provides explicit protections and services for homeless students, including transportation to and from school, the right to remain in the school they had been attending, academic support, and the right to enroll in a school even if they lack proper documents. Those services are crucial because homeless students are more likely to be chronically absent, drop out of school, and be suspended or expelled from school.

The undercount estimate is based on two things: One is 2017 data that shows 16% of households with children in Detroit reported being either evicted or forced to move within the previous year, which meets the definition of student homelessness. The number is also based on state guidelines that consider there to be a likely undercount if fewer than 10% of a school’s population of students from low income homes aren’t identified.

Data are from the 2017-18 school year, the most recent for which detailed information about homeless students was available.

The pandemic has put even more emphasis on the need for school officials to identify homeless students. A November report by Schoolhouse Connections and Poverty Solutions found that during the last school year, schools across the country were seeing big declines in the number of identified homeless students. The declines were not because there were fewer homeless students, but because school staff struggled to maintain connections with them during a pandemic that forced many students into remote learning.

“There are going to be a lot of kids who are or have been homeless in the last year, who have been just totally disconnected from school,” said Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions, a UM initiative that does research on poverty, and one of the authors of the report.

How homelessness affects students in Detroit

Here are some of the key takeaways from a University of Michigan Poverty Solutions report, released Monday, that raises concerns about undercounting of Detroit’s homeless student population, and the educational implications of that undercount.

In Detroit, Black students had a greater risk of homelessness than their peers in other races, accounting for 86% of students who were homeless but 82% of students overall.
Homeless students had the highest rates of chronic absenteeism with 3 out of 4 students in Detroit Public Schools Community District and Detroit charters missing 10% or more of school days. On average homeless students attended just 102 days of school during the 2017-18 school year.
Homeless students struggled academically more than their peers who have secure housing. The report notes that these challenges persist after stable housing was found.
Suspensions and expulsions in Detroit accounted for 12% of all disciplinary actions statewide, the report said. Students in Detroit who were formerly homeless face the highest disciplinary action rates with 1 in 4 suspended or expelled during the 2017-18 school year.
Half of Detroit students who were homeless during high school graduated on time, compared with an average graduation rate of 73% for all. Also, 55% of the students who experienced homelessness during middle school graduated after four years of high school, even when students had secure housing during high school.
Statewide, students who were homeless during the 2014-15 school year were 14 times more likely to enter foster care during the 2015-16 school year than students who were not homeless the previous school year.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines homeless students as those “who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” That definition includes students living on the streets and in shelters, but also includes other scenarios such as students who are moving from home to home, living with relatives, or living in motels.

“If a child doesn’t have a stable place to live, it’s impacting their health, it’s impacting their education, and we have the data to show that. So, we have to figure out some way to deal with it,” Erb-Downward said in an interview Friday.

From the beginning of the pandemic until now, advocates for homeless children have scrambled to connect with these students.

“We are definitely concerned as to where the homeless students are at and working on ways to best identify and recapture students,” Julie Ratekin, homeless youth services manager at Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, told Chalkbeat in the spring. In her role she coordinates with the homeless student liaisons at all of the schools in Detroit to train them to support homeless students and connect them with community resources homeless students may need.

Erb-Downward said another pandemic related challenge for homeless students is that families who have struggled financially during the pandemic worry about what the future holds, especially given that an eviction moratorium that has been in place since early in the pandemic will eventually end.

“That fear is very real and there are a lot of families who are likely going to experience homelessness and housing instability.”

Across Detroit, 95% of schools are very likely or likely undercounting homeless students, based on the 2017 data. But it’s not just a Detroit issue. Across Michigan, which has the sixth-highest number of homeless students among other states in the nation, the percentage of schools likely or very likely undercounting was 88%.

The Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal law governing K-12 education in the nation, placed a stronger priority on identification, with state and local school districts required to “provide training and professional development opportunities for staff so that they can identify and meet the needs of homeless children and youths,” according to a 2016 policy letter from the U.S. Department of Education.

Also, schools will benefit from $800 million Congress allocated, through the American Rescue Plan Act, to help homeless students. Finding students is a key part of spending the money. And the federal education department has told schools they can use the money for students to buy cell phones and prepaid debit cards, and pay for short-term temporary housing, such as a few nights in a motel — things that typically aren’t allowed.

“There’s opportunity to really reach kids who are struggling, and to provide them with the support that they need,” Erb-Downward said.

While most Detroit schools are struggling to identify homeless students, there are several charter schools highlighted in the report that are getting it right. At those schools (Cesar Chavez Academy, George Crockett Academy, and Covenant House Academy), determining a student’s housing situation begins during the application and enrollment process.

“Staff find out if students are homeless through enrollment forms, in-person conversations, and just by paying attention to kids and how they show up to school,” the report says. “Schools benefit from building long-standing foundations of trust between administrators and the community, so families will sometimes refer other families in need to staff to get assistance.”

Students generally don’t talk about their housing situation, Margaret Thigpen, homelessness liaison at George Crockett Academy, told Poverty Solutions.

“You just have to ease into it. And you have to build trust. They need to know that you care about them,” Thigpen said.

The report says the Detroit Public Schools Community District has ramped up its efforts to identify homeless students by identifying a homelessness point of contact in each building and increasing training to assist with identification and connection to support services.

“This approach holds potential for improving identification and could be adopted at charter school networks that do not have such a system in place,” the report said.

Ratekin and other experts recommend schools do several things to find students who may be homeless: Posting the rights of homeless students with contact information to support services in public places, adding information and support options to school websites, and creating community partnerships to build awareness. During the last school year, the agency created a 24/7 hotline to connect families to resources.

Sarah Bousley-Crane, the school social worker at Warrendale Charter Academy in Detroit, told Chalkbeat in the spring that homeless students at her school were having more academic struggles during the last school year compared with their peers.

“There’s like the overall struggle that everybody’s dealing with, and then most of our families that are qualified under McKinney-Vento are in doubled up situations,” she said, meaning they are staying at someone else’s house. “Being home, plus being in the home of somebody else is making it more difficult for those students.”

Michigan school mask tracker: Find out which districts are requiring masks and which aren’t

2021-11-12T16:45:51+00:00

The debate over whether to require students and staff to wear masks inside school buildings for the approaching school year is intensifying across Michigan, turning board meetings into battlegrounds and leaving parents pitted against each other.

The state waded into the debate Aug. 13, issuing updated guidance that strongly recommends schools require universal masking inside buildings. But like previous state guidance that urged students and staff to wear masks in schools, officials did not issue an order requiring it.

The guidance is unlikely to change the decision-making process for district leaders, said Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, a school advocacy group. Schools are already adhering to or and in some cases exceeding the state recommendations.

“If MDHHS wants masks to be mandatory, they certainly can issue a new order to require that and our districts would of course reevaluate,” McCann said.

In the two weeks since the state issued the updated guidance, a handful of county health departments (in Kent, Genesee, Ottawa, Kalamazoo, Allegan, and Oakland counties) have issued orders requiring masks in schools. Several more have issued mandates in the weeks since, including Wayne, the state’s most populous county. To date, about 60% of Michigan students are required to wear a mask while attending school.

Some of the county orders mandate the masks for K-6 or K-8 students and staff. Many others require masks for students and staff in grades K-12, as well as early childhood facilities.

Chalkbeat Detroit scoured websites and news articles to provide a glimpse into what decisions district leaders have already made over this volatile issue. This mask policy tracker will continually be updated until the official start of the school year on Sept. 7.

A few things to know as you look at our tracker:

Many districts haven’t yet made decisions about whether or not to require marks. And those that have decided could make changes based on updated local, state, and federal guidance. In the last week, for instance, many districts have changed their optional mask policies and are now requiring them.
Most of the districts that are not requiring masks still strongly recommend masks be worn in schools. Some are particularly urging unvaccinated individuals to wear masks.
Even in districts where masks aren’t required, students and staff must wear them on school buses and other forms of school transportation. That’s due to a federal order requiring masks on public transportation.

Michigan has more than 800 school districts and charter schools. If you have information about a district that isn’t included on our list, send the info to us at detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org.

District	County	Policy (Click for Source)
Allegan Public Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Hopkins Public Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Martin Public Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Otsego Public Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Plainwell Community Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Wayland Union Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Glenn Public School District	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Fennville Public Schools	Allegan	The Allegan County health department has rescinded its health order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts will now have to decide whether to require masks or make them optional.
Atherton Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Beecher Community School District	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Davison Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Genesee School District	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Goodrich Area Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Lake Fenton Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Linden Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Swartz Creek Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Westwood Heights Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Parchment School District	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Schoolcraft Community Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Vicksburg Community Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Gull Lake Community Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Climax-Scotts Community Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them. The district says it is reviewing its options in light of the order.
Comstock Public Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them. The district says it will comply with the order.
Byron Center Public Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Caledonia Community Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Comstock Park Public Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
East Grand Rapids Public Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Lowell Area Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Northview Public School District	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Sparta Area Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Thornapple Kellogg School District	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Wyoming Public Schools	Kent*	Kent County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Mar Lee School District	Calhoun	Masks are not required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
West Iron County Public Schools	Iron	Masks are not required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Harper Creek Community Schools	Calhoun	Masks are not required in school buildings.
Pennfield Schools	Calhoun	Masks are not required in school buildings.
Kelloggsville Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for all inside school buildings.
Ann Arbor Public Schools	Washtenaw	Masks are required for all inside school buildings.
Godwin Heights Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for all students and staff in school buildings and on school buses.
Monroe Public Schools	Monroe	Masks are required for anyone entering an elementary building. Masks are required at secondary schools when the county's COVID transmission rates are "moderate" or higher. The current level is high, which requires masks.
Fenton Area Public Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Mattawan Consolidated School	Van Buren, Kalamazoo	Masks are required for K-6 grades, but optional for grades 7-12. Masks are required for 7-8 grades if students or adults are interacting with 6th graders.
Bessemer Area School District	Gogebic	Masks are required for K-6 students and staff, and optional for grades 7-12. Masks are required for all on school buses.
Bendle Public Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Bentley Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Kearsley Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
LakeVille Community Schools	Genesee	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-12. The mask requirement doesn't apply to Columbiaville Elementary because it is located in Lapeer County and not subject to a mask order from the Genesee County Health Department.
Clio Area School District	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Montrose Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
DeWitt Public Schools	Clinton	Masks are required for K-8 students and staff, and recommended for high school students and staff, based on current COVID transmission levels. Masks are required on school buses.
Flushing Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Grand Blanc Community Schools	Genesee	Genesee County has issued an order requiring masks worn inside school buildings by students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Kent City Community Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-6, and optional for grades 7-8.
Rockford Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-6, and optional for grades 7-8.
Hamilton Community Schools	Ottawa*	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-6, and optional for grades 7-8.
Grandville Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-6, and optional for grrades 7-8. Masks must be worn by all on school buses.
Jenison Public Schools	Ottawa*	Masks are required for students and staff in grades PreK-6, but optional for grades 7-8.
Cedar Springs Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for students and staff in PreK-6th grade, but are optional for grades 7-8 students and staff. Masks must be worn by all on school buses.
Kenowa Hills Public Schools	Kent*	Masks are required for studfents and staff in grades K-6, but optional for grades 7-8. Masks must be worn on school buses.
Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools	Genesee	Masks are required in school buildings
Holt Public Schools	Ingham	Masks are required in school buildings
Fitzgerald Public Schools	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings
School District of the City of Royal Oak	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings
Bloomfield Hills School District	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings
Saginaw City School District	Saginaw	Masks are required in school buildings
Dexter Community School District	Washtenaw	Masks are required in school buildings
Detroit City School District	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings
Ferndale Public Schools	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings and on buses
Eaton Rapids Public Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. The district had previously planned to require masks in school buildings and on buses.
Battle Creek Public Schools	Calhoun	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Haslett Public Schools	Ingham	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Leland Public School District	Leelanau	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Mt. Clemens Community School District	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
East Detroit Public Schools	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
South Lake Schools	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Van Dyke Public Schools	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Oak Park City School District	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Holland City School District	Ottawa	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Spring Lake Public Schools	Ottawa	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Milan Area Schools	Washtenaw	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Lincoln Consolidated School District	Washtenaw	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Melvindale-North Allen Park Schools	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Allen Park Public Schools	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings and on school buses.
Mt. Pleasant City School District	Isabella	Masks are required in school buildings for students 12 and younger, and optional for older students.
Forest Hills Public Schools	Kent	Masks are required in school buildings for students in grades K-6, and any other unvaccinated individuals. Masks must also be worn on school buses.
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings when the county transmission level is "substantial" or "high." The current level is high.
Lansing Public School District	Ingham	Masks are required in school buildings, and on school buses.
Benton Harbor Area Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district had previously required masks for all inside school buildings.
Marshall Public Schools	Calhoun	Masks are required in school buildings.
Grand Ledge Public Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. The district had previously planned to require masks in school buildings.
Warren Consolidated Schools	Macomb	Masks are required in school buildings.
Berkley School District	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings.
Hazel Park City School District	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings.
West Bloomfield School District	Oakland	Masks are required in school buildings.
Grand Haven Area Public Schools	Ottawa	Masks are required in school buildings.
School District of Ypsilanti	Washtenaw	Masks are required in school buildings.
Hamtramck Public Schools	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings.
Riverview Community School District	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings.
Crestwood School District	Wayne	Masks are required in school buildings.
Kalamazoo Public School District	Kalamazoo	Masks are required in school buildings. The mask mandate will be reviewed before the beginning of the second trimester.
Troy School District	Oakland	Masks are required inside school buildings.
Northville Public Schools	Wayne	Masks are required when county transmission levels are considered moderate, substantial or high. The county level is currently high, though the district says it will also take local metrics into consideration.
Watervliet School District	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to require masks based on COVID transmission levels.
South Haven Public Schools	Van Buren	Masks are required when the county transmission level is substantial or high. The current level is high.
Bay City School District	Bay	Masks likely will not be required in school buildings.
Wakefield-Marenisco School District	Gogebic	Masks likely will not be required in school buildings.
Buchanan Community Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Constantine Public School District	St. Joseph	Masks will be required based on the level of transmission of COVID.
Ecorse Public School District	Wayne	Masks will be required in school buildings
Kentwood Public Schools	Kent	Masks will be required in school buildings and on school buses.
Dearborn City School District	Wayne	Masks will be required in school buildings and on school buses.
South Redford School District	Wayne	Masks will be required in school buildings.
Flint City School District	Genesee	Masks will be required in schools and on buses.
New Haven Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required for students in school buildings. Staff must wear masks, unless they show they are fully vaccinated.
Niles Community School District	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Escanaba Area Public Schools	Delta	Masks will not be required in school buildings
Howell Public Schools	Livingston	Masks will not be required in school buildings
Romeo Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings
Ewen-Trout Creek Consolidated School District	Ontonagon	Masks will not be required in school buildings
Cass City Public Schools	Tuscola	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but most be worn on school buses.
Bad Axe Public Schools	Huron	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses
Alpena Public Schools	Alpena	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Standish-Sterling Community Schools	Arenac	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Au Gres-Sims School District	Arenac	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Baraga Area Schools	Baraga	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Delton-Kellogg School District	Barry	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Hastings Area School District	Barry	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Bangor Township Schools	Bay	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Pinconning Area Schools	Bay	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Brandywine Community Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Sodus Township S/D #5	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Union City Community Schools	Branch	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Coldwater Community Schools	Branch	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Homer Community Schools	Calhoun	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Edwardsburg Public Schools	Cass	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Farwell Area Schools	Clare	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Harrison Community Schools	Clare	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
St. Johns Public Schools	Clinton	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Crawford AuSable Schools	Crawford	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Charlotte Public Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Potterville Public Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Bellevue Community Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Traverse City Area Public Schools	Grand Traverse	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Alma Public Schools	Gratiot	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Ithaca Public Schools	Gratiot	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
St. Louis Public Schools	Gratiot	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Ashley Community Schools	Gratiot	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Mason Public Schools (Ingham)	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Ionia Public Schools	Ionia	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Portland Public School District	Ionia	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Shepherd Public School District	Isabella	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Springport Public Schools	Jackson	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Vandercook Lake Public Schools	Jackson	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Portage Public Schools	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades K-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Kalkaska Public Schools	Kalkaska	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Imlay City Community Schools	Lapeer	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Lapeer Community Schools	Lapeer	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
North Branch Area Schools	Lapeer	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Almont Community Schools	Lapeer	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Dryden Community Schools	Lapeer	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Addison Community Schools	Lenawee	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Anchor Bay School District	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Lakeview Public Schools (Macomb)	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Richmond Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Armada Area Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Manistee Area Schools	Manistee	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Big Rapids Public Schools	Mecosta	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Montabella Community Schools	Montcalm	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Mona Shores Public School District	Muskegon	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Holton Public Schools	Muskegon	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
West Branch-Rose City Area Schools	Ogemaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Ontonagon Area Schools	Ontonagon	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Pine River Area Schools	Osceola	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Fairview Area School District	Oscoda	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Mio-AuSable Schools	Oscoda	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Zeeland Public Schools	Ottawa	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Houghton Lake Community Schools	Roscommon	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Roscommon Area Public Schools	Roscommon	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Chesaning Union Schools	Saginaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Hemlock Public School District	Saginaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Merrill Community Schools	Saginaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Birch Run Area School District	Saginaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
New Lothrop Area Public Schools	Shiawassee	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Corunna Public School District	Shiawassee	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Caro Community Schools	Tuscola	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Cadillac Area Public Schools	Wexford	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Jackson Public Schools	Jackson	Masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Alcona Community Schools	Alcona	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Munising Public Schools	Alger	Masks are required in school buildings and on buses.
Burt Township School District	Alger	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Superior Central Schools	Alger	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
L'Anse Area Schools	Baraga	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Essexville-Hampton Public Schools	Bay	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Eau Claire Public Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Lakeshore School District (Berrien)	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Coloma Community Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
River Valley School District	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
St. Joseph Public Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Hagar Township S/D #6	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Berrien Springs Public Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Bronson Community School District	Branch	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Dowagiac Union School District	Cass	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Cassopolis Public Schools	Cass	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Brimley Area Schools	Chippewa	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools	Chippewa	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Whitefish Township Schools	Chippewa	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Clare Public Schools	Clare	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Ovid-Elsie Area Schools	Clinton	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Bark River-Harris School District	Delta	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Breitung Township Schools	Dickinson	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
North Dickinson County Schools	Dickinson	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Norway-Vulcan Area Schools	Dickinson	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Ironwood Area Schools	Gogebic	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Breckenridge Community Schools	Gratiot	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Jonesville Community Schools	Hillsdale	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Waldron Area Schools	Hillsdale	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Adams Township School District	Houghton	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Adrian City School District	Lenawee	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Brighton Area Schools	Livingston	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Clintondale Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Chippewa Valley Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Utica Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
L'Anse Creuse Public Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Lake Shore Public Schools (Macomb)	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Roseville Community Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Warren Woods Public Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Negaunee Public Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for students in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12. Previously, the district was not requiring masks inside school buildings.
Menominee Area Public Schools	Menominee	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
North Central Area Schools	Menominee	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Stephenson Area Public Schools	Menominee	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Newaygo Public School District	Newaygo	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Frankenmuth School District	Saginaw	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Huron School District	Wayne	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Hillsdale Community Schools	Hillsdale	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Fraser Public Schools	Macomb	Masks will not be required in school buildings.
Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic Schools	Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, Monroe, St. Clair, Wayne	Masks are required in Wayne and Oakland county schools. In counties without a mandate, masks will not be required in school buildings. Individual schools may establish policies that go above the Archdiocese guidelines.
Mason County Central Schools	Mason	Masks will not be required unless there is a local or state mandate, or if transmission levels require them. Masks are required on school buses.
West Ottawa Public School District	Ottawa	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Allendale Public School District	Ottawa*	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Coopersville Area Public School District	Ottawa*	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Hudsonville Public School District	Ottawa*	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Saugatuck Public Schools	Ottawa*	Ottawa County has issued an order requiring masks worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make masks optional for grades 7-8 or mandate them.
Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools	Benzie	The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has issued an order requiring masks inside school buildings for students and staff in grades K-12.
Benzie County Central Schools	Benzie	The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has issued an order requiring masks inside school buildings for students and staff in grades K-12.
Suttons Bay Public Schools	Leelanau	The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has issued an order requiring masks inside school buildings for students and staff in grades K-12.
Glen Lake Community Schools	Leelanau	The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has issued an order requiring masks inside school buildings for students and staff in grades K-12.
Northport Public School District	Leelanau	The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department has issued an order requiring masks inside school buildings for students and staff in grades K-12.
Grand Rapids Public Schools	Kent	The district announced Aug. 16 that it would require masks to be worn in school buildings. Previously, the district had a mask optional policy.
Elk Rapids Schools	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Bellaire Public Schools	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Central Lake Public Schools	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
East Jordan Public Schools	Charlevoix	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Beaver Island Community School	Charlevoix	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Charlevoix Public Schools	Charlevoix	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Harbor Springs School District	Emmet	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Mackinaw City Public Schools	Emmet	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Pellston Public Schools	Emmet	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Gaylord Community Schools	Otsego	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools	Otsego	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Vanderbilt Area Schools	Otsego	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County.
Boyne Falls Public School District	Charlevoix	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional for some, required for others.
Ellsworth Community School	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Mancelona Public Schools	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Boyne City Public Schools	Charlevoix	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to make mask wearing optional.
Alba Public Schools	Antrim	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to make masks optional.
Public Schools of Petoskey	Emmet	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to require masks when county COVID transmission levels are substantial or high.
Alanson Public Schools	Emmet	The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has issued an order requiring students and staff in grades K-12 to wear a mask inside school buildings. The order covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego County. The district previously planned to require masks when COVID transmission levels are substantial or high.
Huron Valley Schools	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Lamphere Public Schools	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Pontiac City School District	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Waterford School District	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Avondale School District	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Clawson Public Schools	Oakland	The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12.
Chelsea School District	Washtenaw	The Washtenaw County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn for K-12 students and staff inside school buildings. The district had previously planned to make masks optional.
Manchester Community Schools	Washtenaw	The Washtenaw County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn for K-12 students and staff inside school buildings. The district had previously planned to make masks required only when transmission levels are high.
Saline Area Schools	Washtenaw	The Washtenaw County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn for K-12 students and staff inside school buildings. The district had previously planned to require masks based on grade level and the amount of COVID transmission in the community
Whitmore Lake Public Schools	Washtenaw	The Washtenaw County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn for K-12 students and staff inside school buildings. The district had previously planned to require masks for grades PreK-6.
Southgate Community School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Grosse Pointe Public Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Livonia Public Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Taylor School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Woodhaven-Brownstown School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Wyandotte City School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Flat Rock Community Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Gibraltar School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Grosse Ile Township Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Romulus Community Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Trenton Public Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Van Buren Public Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Wayne-Westland Community School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Clarenceville School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Dearborn Heights School District #7	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Garden City School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Lincoln Park Public Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Redford Union School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
River Rouge School District	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Westwood Community Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Highland Park City Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
City of Harper Woods Schools	Wayne	The Wayne County Health Department has issued an order requiring all K-12 schools and day care facilities to mandate masks for all students and staff.
Holly Area School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previoiusly said masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Farmington Public School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said a decision on whether masks are required will be based on the level of COVID transmission in Oakland County. Currently, the county level is "high," a level that would require masks.
Oxford Community Schools	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said it doesn't intend to require masks in school buildings.
South Lyon Community Schools	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks are not required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Birmingham City School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks are required for students and staff in grades K-8 in school buildings, but that high school students are required to wear masks when Oakland County is in the "substantial" or "high" transmission phase (the current phase is "high.").
Novi Community School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks likely will not be required in school buildings.
Clarkston Community School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Lake Orion Community Schools	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Southfield Public School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required in school buildings, but must be worn on school buses.
Rochester Community School District	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required in school buildings.
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required in school buildings.
Madison Public Schools (Oakland)	Oakland	UPDATE: The Oakland County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be work by all students and staff in grades PreK-12. The district previously said masks will not be required inside school buildings.
Sigel Township S/D #3F	Huron	#N/A
Sigel Township S/D #4F	Huron	#N/A
Verona Township S/D #1F	Huron	#N/A
Church School District	Huron	#N/A
Colfax Township S/D #1F	Huron	#N/A
Port Hope Community Schools	#N/A	#N/A
Sigel Township S/D #6	#N/A	#N/A
AuTrain-Onota Public Schools	Alger
Arvon Township School District	Baraga
New Buffalo Area Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. Districts will now have to decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Bridgman Public Schools	Berrien	The Berrien County Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for K-12 students and staff. Districts will now have to decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Quincy Community School District	Branch
Lakeview Sch. District (Calhoun)	Calhoun
Tekonsha Community Schools	Calhoun
Athens Area Schools	Calhoun
Marcellus Community Schools	Cass
Inland Lakes Schools	Cheboygan
Cheboygan Area Schools	Cheboygan
Wolverine Community Schools	Cheboygan
Pickford Public Schools	Chippewa
Rudyard Area Schools	Chippewa
DeTour Area Schools	Chippewa
Fowler Public Schools	Clinton
Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools	Clinton
Bath Community Schools	Clinton
Gladstone Area Schools	Delta
Mid Peninsula School District	Delta
Rapid River Public Schools	Delta
Big Bay De Noc School District	Delta
Iron Mountain Public Schools	Dickinson
Maple Valley Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Olivet Community Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Oneida Township S/D #3	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Waverly Community Schools	Eaton	The Barry-Eaton District Health Department has rescinded an order requiring masks for students and staff in K-12 schools. Districts will now decide whether to make masks mandatory or optional.
Gladwin Community Schools	Gladwin
Beaverton Rural Schools	Gladwin
Watersmeet Township School District	Gogebic
Kingsley Area Schools	Grand Traverse
Fulton Schools	Gratiot
Litchfield Community Schools	Hillsdale
Pittsford Area Schools	Hillsdale
Reading Community Schools	Hillsdale
North Adams-Jerome Schools	Hillsdale
Camden-Frontier Schools	Hillsdale
Elm River Township School District	Houghton
Hancock Public Schools	Houghton
Lake Linden-Hubbell School District	Houghton
Stanton Township Public Schools	Houghton
Chassell Township School District	Houghton
Houghton-Portage Township Schools	Houghton
Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Area Schools	Houghton
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Schools	Huron
Harbor Beach Community Schools	Huron
North Huron School District	Huron
Ubly Community Schools	Huron
Caseville Public Schools	Huron
Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools	Huron
Williamston Community Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
East Lansing School District	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Leslie Public Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Okemos Public Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Stockbridge Community Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Webberville Community Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Dansville Schools	Ingham	The Ingham County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks for PreK-12 students and staff inside school buildings.
Easton Township S/D #6	Ionia
Ionia Township S/D #2	Ionia
Lakewood Public Schools	Ionia
Saranac Community Schools	Ionia
Belding Area School District	Ionia
Berlin Township S/D #3	Ionia
Hale Area Schools	Iosco
Oscoda Area Schools	Iosco
Tawas Area Schools	Iosco
Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools	Iosco
Forest Park School District	Iron
Beal City Public Schools	Isabella
Concord Community Schools	Jackson
East Jackson Community Schools	Jackson
Grass Lake Community Schools	Jackson
Michigan Center School District	Jackson
Napoleon Community Schools	Jackson
Northwest Community Schools	Jackson
Western School District	Jackson
Columbia School District	Jackson
Hanover-Horton Schools	Jackson
Excelsior Township S/D #1	Kalkaska
Forest Area Community Schools	Kalkaska
Grant Township S/D #2	Keweenaw
Baldwin Community Schools	Lake
Hudson Area Schools	Lenawee
Madison School District (Lenawee)	Lenawee
Morenci Area Schools	Lenawee
Onsted Community Schools	Lenawee
Sand Creek Community Schools	Lenawee
Tecumseh Public Schools	Lenawee
Blissfield Community Schools	Lenawee
Clinton Community Schools	Lenawee
Britton-Macon Area School District	Lenawee
Fowlerville Community Schools	Livingston
Hartland Consolidated Schools	Livingston
Pinckney Community Schools	Livingston
Tahquamenon Area Schools	Luce
Engadine Consolidated Schools	Mackinac
Les Cheneaux Community Schools	Mackinac
Mackinac Island Public Schools	Mackinac
Moran Township School District	Mackinac
St. Ignace Area Schools	Mackinac
Bois Blanc Pines School District	Mackinac
Center Line Public Schools	Macomb
Kaleva Norman Dickson School District	Manistee
Onekama Consolidated Schools	Manistee
Bear Lake School District	Manistee
Republic-Michigamme Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Gwinn Area Community Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Marquette Area Public Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Powell Township Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Wells Township School District	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Ishpeming Public School District	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
N.I.C.E. Community Schools	Marquette	The Marquette County Health Department has issued an order requiring masks be worn by students and staff in grades PreK-6. Districts can make their own decisions about grades 7-12.
Ludington Area School District	Mason
Mason County Eastern Schools	Mason
Morley Stanwood Community Schools	Mecosta
Chippewa Hills School District	Mecosta
Carney-Nadeau Public Schools	Menominee
Meridian Public Schools	Midland
Midland Public Schools	Midland
Bullock Creek School District	Midland
Coleman Community School District	Midland
Lake City Area School District	Missaukee
McBain Rural Agricultural Schools	Missaukee
Ida Public School District	Monroe
Jefferson Schools (Monroe)	Monroe
Mason Consolidated Schools (Monroe)	Monroe
Bedford Public Schools	Monroe
Dundee Community Schools	Monroe
Summerfield School District	Monroe
Whiteford Agricultural Schools	Monroe
Airport Community School District	Monroe
Greenville Public Schools	Montcalm
Lakeview Community Schools (Montcalm)	Montcalm
Tri County Area Schools	Montcalm
Vestaburg Community Schools	Montcalm
Carson City-Crystal Area Schools	Montcalm
Central Montcalm Public Schools	Montcalm
Hillman Community Schools	Montmorency
Atlanta Community Schools	Montmorency
Fruitport Community Schools	Muskegon
Montague Area Public Schools	Muskegon
North Muskegon Public Schools	Muskegon
Oakridge Public Schools	Muskegon
Orchard View Schools	Muskegon
Ravenna Public Schools	Muskegon
Reeths-Puffer Schools	Muskegon
Whitehall District Schools	Muskegon
Muskegon City School District	Muskegon
Muskegon Heights School District	Muskegon
Fremont Public School District	Newaygo
Grant Public School District	Newaygo
Hesperia Community Schools	Newaygo
White Cloud Public Schools	Newaygo
Big Jackson School District	Newaygo
Brandon School District	Oakland
Hart Public School District	Oceana
Pentwater Public School District	Oceana
Shelby Public Schools	Oceana
Walkerville Public Schools	Oceana
Evart Public Schools	Osceola
Marion Public Schools	Osceola
Reed City Area Public Schools	Osceola
Onaway Area Community School District	Presque Isle
Rogers City Area Schools	Presque Isle
Posen Consolidated School District	Presque Isle
Freeland Community School District	Saginaw
Saginaw Township Community Schools	Saginaw
St. Charles Community Schools	Saginaw
Swan Valley School District	Saginaw
Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District	Saginaw
Croswell-Lexington Community Schools	Sanilac
Marlette Community Schools	Sanilac
Peck Community School District	Sanilac
Sandusky Community School District	Sanilac
Brown City Community Schools	Sanilac
Carsonville-Port Sanilac School District	Sanilac
Deckerville Community School District	Sanilac
Manistique Area Schools	Schoolcraft
Morrice Area Schools	Shiawassee
Owosso Public Schools	Shiawassee
Byron Area Schools	Shiawassee
Durand Area Schools	Shiawassee
Laingsburg Community School District	Shiawassee
Perry Public School District	Shiawassee
Marysville Public Schools	St. Clair
Memphis Community Schools	St. Clair
Port Huron Area School District	St. Clair
Yale Public Schools	St. Clair
Algonac Community School District	St. Clair
East China School District	St. Clair
Capac Community School District	St. Clair
Carrollton School District	St. Clair
Mendon Community School District	St. Joseph
Nottawa Community School	St. Joseph
Sturgis Public Schools	St. Joseph
Three Rivers Community Schools	St. Joseph
White Pigeon Community Schools	St. Joseph
Burr Oak Community School District	St. Joseph
Centreville Public Schools	St. Joseph
Colon Community School District	St. Joseph
Kingston Community School District	Tuscola
Mayville Community School District	Tuscola
Millington Community Schools	Tuscola
Reese Public Schools	Tuscola
Unionville-Sebewaing Area S.D.	Tuscola
Vassar Public Schools	Tuscola
Akron-Fairgrove Schools	Tuscola
Gobles Public School District	Van Buren
Lawton Community School District	Van Buren
Paw Paw Public School District	Van Buren
Bangor Township S/D #8	Van Buren
Bloomingdale Public School District	Van Buren
Covert Public Schools	Van Buren
Decatur Public Schools	Van Buren
Hartford Public School District	Van Buren
Lawrence Public School District	Van Buren
Bangor Public Schools	Van Buren
Manton Consolidated Schools	Wexford
Mesick Consolidated Schools	Wexford
Buckley Community School District	Wexford
Public Schools of Calumet	#N/A
Palo Community School District	#N/A
Arenac Eastern School District	#N/A

Look up your district’s mask policy

*Policy may change due to county order.

Annie Fu, Chalkbeat

The Detroit school board votes to require everyone to wear masks while inside buildings

2021-08-11T01:07:51+00:00

Michigan’s largest school district will require masks be worn inside school buildings by all students and staff during the school year that begins Sept. 7.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District also will require staff to undergo weekly COVID testing. Students also will be tested, but it won’t be mandatory and their parents would have to consent.

The mask mandate and testing are among the COVID safety measures included in the district’s reopening plan, which the Detroit school board approved Tuesday night. Also part of the plan: The district will institute 3 feet of social distancing, and continue with daily symptom checks and rigorous cleaning.

Federal rules already require masks to be worn on public transportation, including school buses.

The board voted hours after an intense debate erupted among members of the State Board of Education, after the two Republican members of the board pushed for a resolution that would bar districts from adopting mask mandates. The effort failed, even after dozens of people spoke in favor of the ban during the meeting’s public comment period.

The vote Tuesday in Detroit comes as school leaders across Michigan struggle with how to reopen safely and appease those who want students and staff to wear masks and those who don’t. It also comes as districts across the state prepare for a school year they expect to include fewer students learning in a virtual setting.

“Everyone agrees … that it’s time for students to go back in greater numbers,” Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said.

The district had previously planned to adopt a mask policy that would allow vaccinated individuals to go without masks if they were in a classroom with other vaccinated people. But Vitti changed that recommendation after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control updated its guidelines two weeks ago. The federal agency urged schools to require masks for all, regardless of their vaccination status.

“We are a responsible district that is going to adhere to the science of experts,” said Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, the board president.

Alaina Larsen, a district teacher, said she appreciated the safety measures.

“I know our plan is probably the most comprehensive mitigation plan in the state.”

Larsen did ask how the district would maintain 3 feet of social distancing in the classroom. She said students often work together in small groups with each other and with their teachers.

“I need some clarification on what that would look like in individual classrooms,” she said.

Vitti responded later that schools would be able to adhere to the 3-foot-rule in most instances.

But, “naturally there is going to be some interaction below 3 feet and that is why the mask is important.”

Two people opposed the district’s mask requirement, including a woman who said she believes masks are “very destructive” to children.

“This is a one size fits all strategy … I’m totally against it,” she said.

Meanwhile, the district heard from teacher Benjamin Royal, who said it isn’t safe to hold face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available for all and is mandatory. He said the pandemic is “far from over,” and the delta variant has brought a “new and more dangerous phase of the pandemic.”

Royal is part of a caucus of the Detroit Federation of Teachers that has opposed in-person learning since last summer. The group is urging the union to take a strike vote.

Two weeks ago, the district and the DFT announced an agreement that would ensure schools would reopen with substantially more teachers in the classroom. As part of that agreement, members of the union will receive up to $2,000 in hazard pay during the school year for teaching in person. They would receive even more if they teach in person and online.

The district will open an independently operated virtual school for students whose parents prefer they continue learning online. Previously, Vitti has said that students who were chronically absent last year or who failed one or more classes would not be able to enroll in the virtual school unless they have a medical condition that requires that mode of learning. The district’s plan now urges those students to learn in person. But if they do enroll in the virtual school, it will be on a probationary basis “and progress will be evaluated during the first semester,” according to information sent to families recently.

“We don’t want to set students up for failure,” Vitti said. “But we do know families are still sensitive to COVID and they may want the virtual option.”

Chalkbeat readers say Michigan schools need masks, social distancing, and vaccine mandates to keep students and staff safe from COVID

2021-08-05T17:44:27+00:00

Masks or no masks. Social distancing or not. Vaccination mandates or not. People in Michigan are divided over what kind of pandemic safety protocols schools should employ for the quickly approaching new school year.

Chalkbeat Detroit asked readers to share their thoughts about what safety measures are essential for the 2021-22 school year. More than four dozen parents, teachers, and community members responded.

We heard from readers who believe masks should be required of all, and those who say no one should have to wear a mask. We heard from readers who spoke of the costs borne by their children who struggled through virtual learning. We also heard from readers who believe some of the safety protocols, such as the use of hand sanitizers, social distancing, and COVID testing programs, should also be part of school plans.

The responses come as school administrators across Michigan weigh what to do to keep everyone safe, but also appease those who want few safety measures. Bob McCann, executive director of the school advocacy group K-12 Alliance of Michigan, said the debate over reopening, which often takes on political tones, has been challenging for school administrators.

“We already have parents telling superintendents that if you make my student wear a mask, I’m not going to send them back. How do we deal with that? Superintendents are put absolutely between a rock and a hard place,” McCann said.

Last week, the federal Centers for Disease Control, concerned by surging cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus, issued guidance urging mask mandates for students and staff inside schools, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated. On Wednesday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance to schools urging they adopt the CDC guidelines.

Among those who responded to Chalkbeat’s reader callout was Dominique Jacques, a Detroit parent with a child attending Cass Technical High School. She backs the CDC recommendations.

“I believe everyone should wear a mask, all adults, all students, to protect those who are not vaccinated,” Jacques said. “The children who are unvaccinated deserve for us to take as many safety precautions as possible.”

Here is a breakdown of what readers had to say about what safety protocols are needed, what safety protocols can be eliminated, virtual learning, and wearing masks.

‘Masks on everyone’

A large majority of the people who responded to a question about what safety measures should be in place said they want universal masking mandates for all students and staff. Others want masks to be worn, but only by those who are unvaccinated.

One parent said she chose a virtual option for her children in Livonia Public Schools. But, she said, if students are required to be in person, “I want masks on everyone.”

In addition to masks, readers overwhelmingly cited social distancing, and vaccination mandates as other safety protocols schools should employ during the school year.

Other safety measures cited include COVID testing, COVID symptom screening, improving air ventilation, deep cleaning of schools, and lower class sizes.

About a handful of people said they don’t want to see any safety protocols in schools.

“Wash your hands. Stay home if you are feeling sick. Same procedure we’ve practiced for years,” said one from Grand Rapids.

“It’s time to go back to normal,” said a parent from Sterling Heights.

‘COVID … still too real’

Most of the readers said they wouldn’t get rid of any of the safety measures schools had in place during the last school year.

“I feel COVID is still too real,” said an educator from Ypsilanti.

These are the things some said they would be OK with eliminating: contact tracing, frequent disinfection of surfaces by teachers, two-week quarantines for those exposed to the virus, mask mandates, COVID testing, and temperature checks.

One person said they would get rid of all safety measures.

“They aren’t effective and do more harm than good.”

‘She spent last year unhappy’

Chalkbeat asked readers how pandemic learning affected their children, and what they hope schools will do differently this year. Many Michigan students spent much or all of the last school year learning virtually.

One Wixom parent said her daughter was already behind before the pandemic and that “the pandemic put her even more behind by doing virtual schooling.”

Another parent said her child lost a lot of learning time and was only in person for 24 days last school year. And one said her daughter suffered from anxiety.

“She spent last year unhappy due to masking and having to social distance from friends.”

Others said their children thrived in virtual learning and wanted to ensure that option is still available.

Jacques, in an interview, said her son, a junior, is among those who did well academically while learning online. She is reticent about her son returning to Cass Tech in person because she worries about whether everyone will follow the safety rules. But she let him make the decision for himself, and he opted to be in person. His reasoning — the need for social support — was cited by others who shared feedback.

“People forget how often we can learn and grow just by having people around us,” Dominic Jacques, 16, said. He said he didn’t grow as much as he would have if he had been in an in-person setting.

“If I can’t receive feedback or speak and interact with the people around me, I get used to only hearing my own thoughts and opinions. You really grow from hearing what other people have to say.”

Michigan urges schools to follow CDC guidelines on masks for students and staff

2021-08-04T21:00:43+00:00

Michigan health officials are urging schools in the state to follow federal guidelines on safety measures for the upcoming year, including recommendations that all students and staff wear masks inside school buildings and on buses.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday afternoon updated its guidance to schools for 2021-22 school year. Department officials said the update is designed to prevent COVID cases in schools, reduce disruptions to in-person learning, and protect those who are not fully vaccinated.

Schools do not have to follow the state recommendations. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told media last week she doesn’t intend to require a mask mandate in the state.

“We are committed to ensuring Michigan students and educators are safe in the classroom, including those who may not yet be vaccinated,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, state chief medical executive. “MDHHS is issuing this guidance to help protect Michiganders of all ages. We continue to urge all eligible residents to get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible as it is our best defense against the virus and the way we are going to end this pandemic.”

The updated guidance comes as school districts across the state prepare for a school year in which more students are likely to be learning in person rather than online.

“Our students and staff need to be in schools as much as possible this year,” said State Superintendent Michael Rice. “Following the informed guidance from national and state health experts will help keep our students and staff healthy and help maximize student learning.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last week issued new guidelines that call for masks to be worn by students, staff and visitors inside schools and on public transportation, which includes school buses.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District had previously planned to allow vaccinated individuals to go maskless if they are in a classroom full of vaccinated individuals. But Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a statement the day after the CDC guidance was issued last week that the district “will be moving to a recommendation for universal masking.”

Around the country, Denver Public Schools announced Tuesday that it would follow the CDC guidance and the Illinois governor on Wednesday announced a statewide mask mandate. Indianapolis Public Schools changed its mask policy after the CDC release.

The Michigan state health department said the best way to prevent transmission of the virus in school buildings is to have multiple strategies in place. In addition to the mask guidelines, strategies include promoting vaccination for students and staff who are eligible to receive the shots, social distancing three feet between people, screening, proper ventilation, staying home when sick, contact tracing, cleaning and disinfection, and other measures such as hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes.

Detroit district, union agreement gives teachers $2,000 to work inside school buildings

2021-07-26T15:20:49+00:00

Teachers in the Detroit school district will receive $2,000 in hazard pay for teaching in person during the upcoming school year. More money would be available for those who teach in person and online.

A new letter of agreement between the Detroit Public Schools Community District and the Detroit Federation of Teachers was announced Monday and came as the district also outlined safety protocols they say will ensure student and staff safety, including weekly mandatory COVID testing for unvaccinated staff and a required 3 feet of social distancing. Students and employees who are not vaccinated or who provide no documentation that they are will be required to wear face masks.

The district and union had been working for months to iron out an agreement that will guide reopening decisions for the 2021-22 school year. Last year, as the city of Detroit was being hit hard with a disproportionately large number of positive cases and deaths, the district and union agreed to allow teachers to decide whether to teach in person or online.

Also last year, teachers who worked in school buildings received as much as $3,000 in hazard pay. The state also provided hazard pay of $500 to teachers and support staff across Michigan.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during a school board committee meeting Monday that the agreement ensures that all Detroit teachers will return to school buildings in the fall. He has previously said a vast majority of teachers were expected back in school buildings. He also has said recently that for the district to recover from the pandemic, students need to be learning inside school buildings.

“It’s clear that … one of the most important things that we can do is open and bring students back to school in the fall,” he said.

“This agreement signals that we are all on the same page to restart our reform efforts that had great momentum before the pandemic,” Vitti said in a statement earlier in the day.

“Our teachers are excited to get back to teaching face to face,” said Terrence Martin, president of the teachers union. “We miss our students. This is what we love to do. We certainly want to make sure it’s done in a safe and healthy environment.”

Martin said a significant piece of the letter of agreement is a provision that calls for lowering class sizes by three to eight students across K-12 grades. How much class sizes will be reduced varies from grade to grade.

“The science has shown that the fewer folks in the classroom, the less likely the spread of COVID,” Martin said.

He said he is also pleased that the agreement continues many of the mitigation measures that were put in place last school year, as well as new protocols, such as air purifiers being available for teachers.

Martin said the district and union are still negotiating over a full contract. Once final, the letter of agreement will be part of the full contract agreement, which would be voted on by union members. Martin said he expects the full contract to be done before the beginning of the school year.

One issue that still must be bargained is Vitti’s plan to require unvaccinated employees to submit to mandatory COVID testing each week, Martin said.

“That’s not something we have had a discussion about at the bargaining table. Obviously it would be a change in working conditions. We would demand to bargain over that,” he said.

A return to school buildings by all Detroit teachers is a huge shift from the last school year when thousands of students who wanted to learn inside school buildings couldn’t because there weren’t enough teachers willing to join them.

Vitti said at a recent meeting that more than 70% of district teachers have been vaccinated.

In addition to the $2,000 in hazard pay, teachers who work in person and online will receive an additional $2,000.

The district’s school board approved a plan July 13 to open a new virtual school — called the Detroit Virtual School Program — that will be operated independently. There would be limits on who can enroll in the virtual school. For instance, students who failed at least one class last school year and those who were chronically absent would not be able to enroll unless they have a medical reason that requires remote learning.

The agreement with the union spelled out some safety protocols that will be in place when the school year begins Sept. 7. Vitti provided more details during the committee meeting.

He said that while the mask policy would not require masks be worn by those with proof of vaccination, that policy could change.

“That would be revisited if infection rates increase at a high level throughout the city or at a [specific] school.”

The district for months has been doing weekly COVID testing and would continue to do so during the upcoming school year. The district would also continue to offer personal protection equipment for staff.

Superintendent Vitti expects a ‘vast majority’ of teachers to return to Detroit school buildings this fall

2021-07-14T02:10:58+00:00

The upcoming school year in the Detroit district could see a dramatic shift in the number of teachers working inside school buildings.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during a meeting Tuesday that a “vast, vast majority of teachers are ready to come back in the fall.”

Vitti said that so far, just 118 of the district’s 3,000 teachers have said they want to teach virtually, in a new standalone virtual school the district will launch for the 2021-22 school year. School board members approved the virtual school during Tuesday’s meeting.

The expectation of more teachers returning to buildings comes as the Detroit Public Schools Community District looks toward reopening on Sept. 7 with significantly fewer students learning online. Vitti has said that students who were chronically absent, or who failed a course during the 2020-21 school year, would be prohibited from enrolling in the virtual school, unless they have a medical need to learn online.

How many teachers end up in the virtual school will largely be determined by how many students enroll. Vitti said about 60 students have indicated they want the virtual option, but he said that number will grow as the district promotes the option.

“Once we get closer to mid-August, our numbers will be more refined,” Vitti said. “We’ll know how many teachers we’ll actually need.”

One school board member said Tuesday that getting more teachers to return to in-person learning is crucial to increasing enrollment. The district saw its enrollment decline by nearly 3,000 students during the last school year. The previous year, the district enrolled nearly 50,000 students.

“If teachers are happy and they’re back I believe more students can be recruited,” said Corletta Vaughn.

The last school year began with more than 70% of the district’s students learning online, largely because parents were concerned about the safety of returning to school buildings in the midst of a pandemic that hit the city particularly hard. But with vaccines readily available for adults and children 12 and older, those numbers could shift. Vitti reported Tuesday that more than 70% of the district’s staff, including teachers, is vaccinated. Among teachers, 75% are vaccinated.

Vitti said the district is currently negotiating with the Detroit Federation of Teachers over a letter of understanding that will guide some reopening decisions. In 2020, the district and union agreed to let teachers choose between teaching in person or online.

The last school year also was marked by a number of academic and mental health challenges. During the Tuesday meeting, Vitti shared test results that showed fewer students made one year’s worth of academic improvement during the pandemic school year. In districts like Detroit, where many of the students struggle academically and perform below grade level, a key measure of success is how many have made a year’s worth of academic progress.

“Before the pandemic, every [academic] data point was moving in the right direction,” said Vitti, who was hired in 2017 to turn around the district. “We know how to do this work, we have the right structures.”

What the district needs, he said, is to get students back in school. Vitti said the district will continue to “expand and scale” what officials say works, including conducting home visits, lowering class sizes, especially at the lower elementary levels, hiring more academic interventionists, and expanding transportation so students can get to school more easily.

“The fall is a renewed focus on outcomes,” he said. “There should be no excuses as to why our students are not showing at least one grade level of improvement … if they’re not chronically absent. When I look at this data, I don’t see the potential of our students. I see the impact of the pandemic.”

But there are still some teachers who are staunchly against in-person teaching until all students and staff can be vaccinated.

“The school district needs to campaign and insist, mandate, that everybody be vaccinated until there can be any hope of safe face-to-face schooling,” said Steve Conn, a math teacher at Western International High School. “Vaccinations are critical to keeping people safe and alive.”

The board unanimously approved creating the virtual school, which would operate independently with its own principal and teaching staff. In addition to the enrollment restrictions, some special programming won’t be available at the school. That includes Montessori, bilingual, and career and technical education programs.

Students who sign up for the virtual school for the fall must remain there for the first semester. They can switch to in-person learning in January.

Vitti said the virtual school isn’t just a pandemic option for students.

“We believe the virtual school is here to stay. It’s something to build out for the future for students who thrive in the virtual space.”

What will it take to recover from the pandemic? In the Detroit district, home visits are a key part of the strategy

2021-06-28T22:59:15+00:00

It was a warm spring morning when the Detroit school district vehicle, followed by a colorful van emblazoned with the words “Parent Academy,” pulled up outside Antione Gabriel’s home.

Before the two women from the car could reach the front door, Gabriel had come outside to greet them with a jovial smile. He had an inkling about why they were there.

“We’re looking for a student, a kindergartener,” one of the women, Sharene Nathan, said. “He hasn’t been coming to school. Is everything OK?”

Nathan and Claudia Enriquez were on a mission that late May day, knocking on doors on the west side of the city and trying to track down students who’d been frequently missing class and assignments in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

These home visits became the centerpiece of an all-out outreach effort during a grueling school year marked by increased failure rates, low attendance, high chronic absenteeism, and major concerns about waning student engagement. The district has an additional motivation: A big decline in enrollment could eventually mean less money for a district that has worked to remain financially solvent.

As the school year drew to a close last week, district officials also were looking ahead, planning to use $11 million in federal stimulus funds to continue the canvassing efforts.

They believe the work has already paid off. While the visits have primarily been aimed at finding students who haven’t enrolled or have barely been attending class, they also have helped the district survey parents about their preference for remote or in-person learning and resolve technology glitches. And just as importantly, the visits have provided a rare, direct glimpse into the challenges families have faced with pandemic learning.

Officials in the Detroit Public Schools Community District are planning to use $11 million in federal stimulus funding to continue their neighborhood canvassing efforts.

“In some cases, you see the living conditions that families are in, and you understand why sometimes societal challenges, socioeconomic challenges get in the way of prioritizing education, especially in a pandemic,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said.

“I would anticipate this being a regular part of our strategy over the next year or so,” said Sharlonda Buckman, assistant superintendent of family and community engagement. “We don’t even know what it’s going to take to recover from (the pandemic) yet, but we do know that there’s evidence that this strategy works.”

At Gabriel’s home — the 11th stop of the day for the canvassing duo — Nathan and Enriquez learned why the kindergartener wasn’t attending class. Gabriel’s son Amontee had been attending the district’s Emerson Elementary, but now lives with his mother and is enrolled in a school outside the district. He asked for a contact number he can call if his son returns to his home.

“That’s a good one,” Nathan said afterwards, describing the visit. “He wants information and that’s what we want to hear. We’ll have to make sure to check up on him.”

She and Enriquez, both involved district parents, fill different roles during the visits. Nathan does all the talking and Enriquez carries a tablet to take notes, flagging issues that need follow up from the district.

Gabriel said he’s happy to see the district making the visits.

“This is the best thing that can be happening,” he said.

Canvassers Sharene Nathan and Claudia Enriquez are district parents that receive a stipend to conduct outreach on behalf of the Detroit school district. Nathan talks to the parents as Enriquez takes notes.

Building on parent connections

Schools across the country have made home visits a vital part of their pandemic response plans. But they aren’t new for the Detroit district or many of the charter schools that educate Detroit children.

Attendance agents in the district have for years visited homes to try to track down chronically absent students. Prior to the pandemic, teachers at 60 schools were making visits to their students’ homes.

Such visits have gone a long way toward building bridges between schools and the community, Buckman said.

“When parents and teachers are aligned, kids do better academically,” Buckman said. “This is where we do our best work.”

What’s crucial now is for schools to build on the connections made during the home visits, said Punita Thurman, vice president of program and strategy at the Skillman Foundation (a Chalkbeat funder), which has been part of efforts to help connect schools with neighborhood organizations to conduct outreach to families.

“There has to be a recognition that that partnership has to be cultivated, the trust has to be built,” Thurman said.

Technology problems have been the biggest barrier for students remaining engaged in school. That’s one of the reasons the canvassers have been trained to do some basic troubleshooting.

More than a year ago, when the pandemic caused an abrupt disruption of school across the U.S., Buckman said it was clear students and families learning online needed help. That summer, staff began conducting home visits to talk to families about their learning options for the next year.

In the fall, as concerns grew about students who hadn’t yet shown up for class, even more people hit the streets for home visits, including parents who are paid a small stipend. The effort has continued to grow throughout the school year, even on cold winter days.

“This is what it looks like to serve children and our families in the midst of a pandemic,” Buckman said.

During the course of these visits, technology problems have been the biggest barrier for students remaining engaged in school. That’s one of the reasons the canvassers have been trained to do some basic troubleshooting.

Other challenges, though, come with few quick fixes.

“We’ve had students who’ve lost parents, and the bottom just falls out,” Buckman said. “We had one parent a while back who committed suicide and left the grandmother with four or five kids. They haven’t been in school in months because mom not only lost her daughter, but she’s completely as a grandmother just overwhelmed.”

Tracking down kindergarten students

The sound of the knock echoed down the row of light gray buildings in Smith Homes, a public housing community on Detroit’s west side. First one knock, then two, then three. Then a friendly voice called out: “Detroit Public Schools wellness check.”

Nathan and Enriquez stepped away from the door and waited until the knock was answered by a 10th grader at Osborn High School. Nathan began her speech.

“I noticed that you did miss a few days in the last third quarter,” she told the teen. “Is there anything that we can do to try to help you make sure you’re moving forward and getting into that 11th grade?”

Each answered knock brings new stories to Nathan and Enriquez, who report their findings back to the Detroit Public Schools Community District or attempt to help the families with their issues.

The student, Jalen Perry, looked confused, then held up his phone to the two strangers.

“I’m on now,” he said, indicating he was in class at that moment.

Jalen later explained to Chalkbeat that he prefers using his phone to take his online classes, but Nathan advised him to make sure his teacher knows he’s logged in because too often smart phones don’t register attendance.

For every knock that’s answered, the canvassers hear a multitude of stories. Sometimes, the family they’re looking for has moved away. That was the case when they knocked on Michelle Walk’s door, one of a handful of addresses in the Smith Homes on their list. But it was still a fruitful visit. Walk had recently moved there with her two school-age children who are currently attending a charter school. She told Nathan and Enriquez that she’s planning to switch them to the neighborhood district school for the next school year.

That pleased Nathan, who promised to send Walk’s information to the enrollment department and gave her information about summer school. She also urged her to join the school PTA.

“Oh, I used to do that at my kid’s school,” Walk said.

“Well, we’re about to be best friends,” said Nathan. “We definitely need your voice.”

Earlier in the day, the duo caught Tanesha Spencer as she was packing up her car for a family trip to the beach. While many of the addresses on their list were for students who were missing school, the trip to Spencer’s house was for a different reason: She has a child entering kindergarten this year.

Nathan gave Spencer information on getting enrolled for kindergarten, in addition to information about a summer kindergarten boot camp, summer school, and vaccinations for older children.

A drop in kindergarten enrollment was one of the largest factors driving nationwide K-12 enrollment declines.

Targeting parents like Spencer is important given kindergarten enrollment was down across Michigan — and the nation — this school year. The drop in the kindergarten rolls was one of the biggest drivers of nationwide K-12 enrollment an analysis by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press found.

“We lost about 1,000 students that would have normally been enrolled that didn’t enroll this last year in DPSCD,” said Vitti, the superintendent. “So the kindergarten boot camp will focus on rising kindergarteners and kindergarteners who should have been in kindergarten. That will be a focal point to try to have more of those students attend summer school.”

Spencer said that when she saw the district vehicle and van stop in front of her house, she thought they were there to hand out free books for her kids. She still appreciated the kindergarten enrollment information.

“It’s very helpful with ya’ll coming to the door. Definitely.”

New Skillman president will bring a passion for racial equity to Detroit children

2021-06-21T19:00:47+00:00

The woman selected to lead one of the most prominent philanthropic foundations in metro Detroit is a passionate advocate for racial equity and social justice — two issues at the heart of discussions about improving the lives of Detroit’s schoolchildren.

“This is an electric city I’m coming into, hat in hand, ready to listen and learn,” said Angelique Power. On Monday afternoon, the Skillman Foundation (a Chalkbeat funder) announced she would become the nonprofit’s new president and chief executive officer.

Her selection wraps up a months-long search to replace Tonya Allen, who led the organization since 2014 before leaving for a job in Minnesota earlier this year.

Power, whose job with Skillman begins Sept. 13, is currently president of the Field Foundation in Chicago, where she led racial equity efforts that resulted in the foundation rethinking how and who it funds.

The Skillman Foundation, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, is known as a strong advocate for Detroit’s children and their education.

“Skillman’s approach to philanthropy really resonates with me,” Power said. “It’s admirable. It’s important. Skillman leverages all that it has to offer in service of children,” Power said.

Suzanne Shank, the vice chair of the Skillman Foundation board who led the search for a new president, said Power was a unanimous choice of the search committee and the board.

“She really rose to the top of the pack as being a visionary leader who had a strong reputation for consensus building across a broad divide of people,” said Shank, president and CEO of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. “She definitely has her finger on the pulse of the racial justice movement.”

The latter was crucial, Shank said, “given the time we’re in right now.”

“We felt that someone who is known as a champion of racial justice, but who also can come into the Detroit market sort of fresh and new and give a different perspective, would really provide some value,” Shank said.

“We’re witnessing this generational shift in this past year alone, where we saw all of these uprisings that were youth led, that were calling for systems change and asking us to sort of rise to the occasion,” Power said. “And I feel like Skillman has the track record. It’s been working on this for some time. And that appeals to me.”

Power already has some familiarity with the city. She spent time volunteering here when she was a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Two of her previous foundation jobs had connections to the city. Power, the daughter of a Chicago public school teacher and a Chicago police sergeant, also spent many summers and weekends traveling to West Michigan, where the family owned a small cottage.

She plans to move to the region this summer with her husband, Sean, and her 11-year-old daughter, Sadie Lousiane.

She said she’s not coming in with any plans to make changes at Skillman. Instead, she wants to build on what Allen started.

“Tonya is a rock star. She’s beloved and she’s brilliant. What she built, she built with love. And I feel a deep responsibility to her work, her legacy, her name.”

That’s why her priority early on will be to listen to Detroit residents. In particular, she wants to hear from young people “what they want from Skillman in this moment.”

She’s well aware that Detroiters at times can be skeptical because “they’ve had too many experiences with outsiders who have an extractive relationship with Detroit.”

For her, though, coming to Detroit is like a calling.

“We all are needed to unlock an equitable future for [Detroit] children.”

3 things to know if you missed Tuesday’s Detroit school board meeting

2021-06-09T22:25:56+00:00

About 30% of Detroit K-8 students are vulnerable to being held back a year because they struggled so much with school this year, but Detroit school district officials say they don’t expect all of those students to be retained.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti stressed that the 30% estimate just reflects those who are vulnerable. The district typically retains about 3% of students in a given school year.

“We are going to do everything we can to prevent those 30 percent of students from being retained,” Vitti said during a school board meeting Tuesday night.

The number of students struggling isn’t surprising. Pandemic learning has been difficult for students across the country, and Detroit schools have seen increased chronic absenteeism, lower attendance, and higher failure rates.

The issue touched off some debate during the meeting, with some teachers suggesting that no students should be retained as a result of this difficult school year and criticizing the district for sending the schools lists of students who are vulnerable.

“Retention is unbalanced. It either makes no difference or it’s harmful to the development of a child,” said Benjamin Royal, a district teacher.

Vitti said a child’s parent and teacher would have to agree to retention in order for it to happen. If they disagree, the school principal would make a final decision. Summer school will be available to all children who opt to enroll.

He said there are some students who barely, if ever, logged into classes this summer, but also noted that “As a school district overall we do not believe retention is the right policy.”

Retention was one of several interesting issues that arose during Tuesday’s meeting. Before the regular board meeting, the district held a public hearing on its budget for the 2021-22 school year, and the board later approved it.

Here are a few more topics discussed Tuesday:

Incentives for students

COVID relief funding will allow for some innovations, Vitti said. In addition to reducing class sizes, the district is also looking to revise schedules to allow for more small group and one-on-one lessons with employees, retired teachers, and partners. School advisory councils would help create a plan for meeting academic improvement targets.

“We know we have a lot of loss to make up from a student achievement point of view,” Vitti said.

Another idea that might make some students happy: The district will consider providing monetary incentives to students and families to improve academics and attendance.

“This is something we’ve talked about a lot for years in the reform space, but never had the dollars to do that,” Vitti said. “ We could move into pilot situations of literally paying students to do better academically and to improve attendance.”

All of the plans for innovation, Vitti said, “have to be fleshed out.”

Flexibility for advanced course takers

The district plans to take advantage of virtual learning to expand advanced course options for students across the district. Vitti said it’s easier for schools such as Cass Technical High and Renaissance High to recruit teachers to handle advanced chemistry and calculus classes “because there’s a greater concentration of students who want those classes.” Cass and Renaissance are two of the district’s schools that require students to take an exam to enroll.

Next school year, the district plans to operate a separate virtual school for students who wish to continue learning online instead of in person. Vitti envisions that students from schools such as Pershing and Osborn high schools being able to remain at their schools while taking the advanced classes online through one of the examination high schools.

Tell us: How would limits on teaching about racism and social justice affect your Michigan classroom?

2021-06-01T19:54:50+00:00

Michigan teachers would be limited in what they could teach about how race and racism have shaped American history under Republican-backed legislation that critics worry will have a chilling effect on classroom discussions.

If enacted, districts that teach critical race theory or material from The 1619 Project would lose 5% of their funding. Critical race theory delves into race relations in the U.S. and how racism, bias, and historic inequities influence people and policies. The 1619 Project is a New York Times initiative that puts Black history and the consequences of slavery at the center of the U.S. national narrative.

Schools could also lose funding if students are “directed… to personally affirm” what the bill describes as “anti-American” and “racist” theories, such as that any race is inherently superior or inferior to another race, or that the U.S. is a fundamentally racist country.”

The fate of the legislation remains unclear. The Michigan legislature is controlled by Republicans, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is a Democrat.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from Michigan teachers: How will this legislation affect you? What are your most pressing questions and concerns? Let us know in the survey below.

To read the text of the bill, go here.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Detroit’s religious, school, and union leaders say it’s time to get back to in-person learning

2021-05-27T17:22:16+00:00

Detroit religious leaders came together with school and union leaders Thursday to call for a safe return to in-person learning and to encourage residents — especially students and staff — to get vaccinated.

“Take the shot,” said Rev. Steve Bland, president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity, as he led a group on a stage at Liberty Temple Baptist Church in a chant.

The leaders said they were coming together because they can see how crucial it is for students to be in school, echoing concerns officials from the Detroit Public Schools Community District have shared all school year about increasing failure rates, higher chronic absenteeism, and low engagement.

“It’s time to get back into the classroom,” said Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple, who said education is a ticket to success for students who are raised in high-poverty communities like Detroit.

“We can’t just have clean buildings. We need the workforce,” Ellis said.

The calls for in-person learning and vaccination comes weeks after COVID vaccine eligibility expanded to include anyone 12 and older, and as schools across the U.S. step up efforts to encourage young people to get vaccinated. In the Detroit Public Schools Community District, a group of students sponsored sessions to educate their peers about the vaccine, and the city is holding clinics for parents to bring their children to get the shots.

The success of these efforts will influence how widely schools will reopen for the 2021-22 school year, which begins Sept. 7 in the Detroit district. Earlier this week, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti shared his thoughts on how schools can reopen for the fall.

Those tentative plans, details of which need union buy-in, include opening a separate online school that would be limited largely to students who did not experience chronic absenteeism or academic failure during the current school year. There would be some flexibility for others, though, to learn online.

But the goal is for the district to get more students learning in-person, and Vitti said it would be mandatory for certain groups. Those groups include students who receive special education services, students who are learning English, students in bilingual programs, and students who are in Montessori programs. Staff in those programs would also be required to work in person.

Students and staff can get exemptions for medical reasons that would allow them to learn online with a virtual teacher. In addition, Vitti said there is a separate option for Montessori and bilingual students that would allow them to learn online, following along with an in-person Montessori teacher. But he said those teachers would be focused on the students learning face-to-face, and not the online students.

At Thursday’s event, Vitti said about 7,000 of the district’s 48,000 students have been attending the district’s learning centers, where they can go to complete their online learning under staff supervision. About 1,000 of those students are receiving face-to-face instruction, Vitti said. About 19,000 families have indicated that they want in-person learning, but the district currently can’t provide it because there aren’t enough teachers willing to teach.

The number of teachers willing to teach is growing, though. It was about 500 earlier this year but is up to 600.

Terrence Martin, the president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said Thursday that the union wants educators and the school community to be safe and protected against COVID-19, and that means getting vaccinated.

“It’s extremely important for us to get vaccinated,” Martin said. “It is time to get back to in person learning. Our students need it. Our community needs it. And our teachers are ready.”

As COVID rates drop, Superintendent Vitti shares plan for returning more Detroit students to in-person learning

2021-05-26T02:06:09+00:00

The Detroit school district would open a separate online school next year for some students who want to continue learning remotely, and it would require its most vulnerable students, as well as students in Montessori programs, to learn in person.

Among those who would be required to learn in person — unless they receive a medical exemption — would be students who receive special education services, chronically absent students, and those still learning English.

Those were some of the ideas for reopening for the fall that Superintendent Nikolai Vitti shared with parents during a virtual engagement session Tuesday. Vitti said nothing is definite for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, but that the ideas represent the current thinking of district leaders.

Two things could get in the way, though. Some of the details would require buy-in from district unions. And the Michigan legislature must act to ensure that students will be able to continue learning online. Vitti is sharing the ideas with parents, staff, and others in the community to get input. A district survey will go out in June, asking parents what mode of instruction they prefer.

The discussions come as COVID-19 cases continue to decline across Michigan after surges earlier this year forced the Detroit district to suspend in-person learning for the second time this school year.

Like school district leaders across the U.S., Detroit’s top education officials are in the midst of conversations about returning to buildings after a school year marked by COVID-19 anxiety, higher failure rates, more chronic absenteeism, and a reluctance among many school staff and parents to return to buildings. New York school officials left parents with mixed emotions Monday when they announced the district would not offer any remote learning for students in the fall. In Tennessee, schools have been barred from offering hybrid learning, in which students learn both online and in person, next school year.

One person who attended Tuesday’s meeting in the Detroit district asked whether the district should wait until a vaccine is available for all students before trying to get more students learning face to face.

“We all know that our students need in-person learning and we have to function with a sense of urgency about that need,” Vitti said in response. “That doesn’t mean that’s the right approach for every single child but I can say with a degree of confidence that the majority of our DPSCD students need in-person learning yesterday.”

Here are some of the details of the district’s current thinking on who would be required to learn in person:

Students who receive special education services. So would their teachers.
Students who are English language learners, as well as their teachers.
Students who were chronically absent this school year — meaning they have missed 18 or more days.
Athletes who failed at least one course.
Students enrolled in Montessori programs, and their teachers.
In all cases where the district would require students or staff to be in person, exemptions would be granted for medical reasons.

In addition, students and staff inside school buildings would be required to continue wearing masks indoors. In situations where everyone in a room is fully vaccinated, a mask would not be required. The district would maintain current safety protocols such as social distancing, symptom checks, and the use of hand sanitizer. But fully vaccinated students wouldn’t have to follow some of those rules, such as the symptom checks.

Those attending Tuesday’s meeting were able to submit questions that were read to Vitti by Sharlonda Buckman, the district’s assistant superintendent of family and community engagement. While Vitti’s presentation covered a wide range of topics, most of the questions were about his reopening plans.

Vitti, addressing a question about whether the district could also allow Montessori students to learn online, said it’s impossible “to staff full-time Montessori and full-time virtual Montessori.” Montessori programs are distinct in the way they focus on giving children the space to learn and explore at their own pace.

“It’s not a funding issue. We have COVID money. We can’t recruit teachers in enough time to train them and orient them to run two schools.”

He suggested that some Montessori students could learn online, following along with lessons taking place in a school building. It’s a flexibility he said could be available to other students. But he stressed that the teacher in the classroom would be focused on the students in the class, and not the online learners.

Vitti, in making an argument for why more students need in-person learning, cited data he has shared with school board members monthly. The data show the overall percentage of students who failed at least one course was 56%, up from 36% during the 2019-20 school year. That’s despite flexibility in grading Vitti announced earlier this year.

Broken down by quarter, and by mode of learning, the differences are stark. In the first quarter of this school year, 32% of face-to-face students failed at least one course, compared with 60% of virtual students. What’s even more interesting is what happened during the second quarter, when in-person learning was shut down in November because of increasing COVID-19 case rates. The failure rate for the second quarter rose to 46% for in-person students, and 57% for virtual students.

Last summer, the district negotiated a letter of agreement with the Detroit Federation of Teachers that gave teachers the option of teaching in person or online. Most chose online. But with a vaccine now readily available, more teachers are likely to consider returning to school buildings. Vitti said last week that about 56% of the teachers have told the district they are fully vaccinated.

Terrence Martin, president of the union, said some of the details Vitti has shared will need to be discussed at the bargaining table. The district and the union are in the middle of bargaining and Martin said he hopes to wrap it up before the end of the school year.

“We all want students to return in the fall, and we want schools to have more of a consistent face-to-face structure,” he said.

The union is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, whose president recently called on schools to reopen in the fall with five days of in-person instruction for all students.

Martin said it makes sense that district officials are looking to offer a virtual school and a face-to-face option.

“We have a lot of members who have medical conditions and are fragile. And we have members who are still fearful of what this virus is and what it can do. There’s some legitimate fears there,” Martin said.

Parents, here’s where you can take your kids for COVID vaccinations in the Detroit district

2021-05-19T23:00:34+00:00

A handful of information sessions about the COVID-19 vaccine and clinics where eligible students can get the shot are on tap in the Detroit school district.

Vaccines are now available for anyone 12 or older, and public health officials across the nation have been encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated. In the Detroit Public Schools Community District, a group of teens launched the Teens for Vaccines campaign.

The teens leading the effort said during a kick-off event last week that they are trying to do their part to help their peers understand why they should consider getting vaccinated.

“It’s very important for the public to trust in our science and trust in our medical professionals,” Harrison Haywood, a senior at Cass Technical High School, said at that event. “I’m always voicing that to my friends and family.”

The Teens for Vaccines events are co-sponsored by the Detroit Health Department and the Ascension School-based health clinic.

Some important rules to remember for the vaccination clinics:

Any child 12 to 17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The parent/guardian must show identification.
The parent/guardian must sign a written consent form.

In addition, parents who bring their children are not eligible for the city’s Good Neighbor program, which provides a $50 incentive to those who bring a neighbor or family member with them to get vaccinated.

During a school board meeting Tuesday night, Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the vaccine clinics are open to any eligible child.

“It’s a DPSCD-sponsored event,” Vitti said. “The overall goal … is to vaccinate everyone and anyone. We would not deny access.”

Here are details about the upcoming events:

Vaccinations

These events are open to anyone 12 or older. Walk-ins are available at each event, but you can also register at the numbers below.

First-dose vaccinations will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday at Randolph Career and Technical Center, 17101 Hubbell. Walk-ins are welcome, but you can also register from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday by calling 313-230-0505. Second doses of the vaccine will be available on June 12 at the same times and location.
First-dose vaccinations will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2, at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, 3200 E. Lafayette. Register by calling 313-567-0534. Second doses will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23.
First-dose vaccinations will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 3 at East English Village Preparatory Academy, 5020 Cadieux. Register by calling 313-640-5798. Second doses will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 24.

Information sessions

These sessions will all take place online. To log in by computer, go to https://bit.ly/3obrUd6. To log by phone, call 313-462-2305, ID: 336 673 791#

6 p.m., Thursday
3:30 p.m., May 27
3:30 p.m., June 3

Detroit students can return to face-to-face instruction May 24

2021-05-19T00:15:28+00:00

The Detroit school board voted Tuesday night to resume face-to-face instruction in district schools on Monday.

The decision, which came on a unanimous vote, means students who want to learn in a physical classroom will be able to do so through the end of the school year in June.

The decision, for now, also brings to a close a debate in the Detroit Public Schools Community District over providing in-person learning options for parents who want it for their children. That debate, and concerns about what then was a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, led the board last month to suspend in-person instruction until its May school board meeting, with the only allowance being in cases where a teacher volunteers to teach in person with students who volunteer to come into a building.

Last month’s vote didn’t affect students who attend the district’s learning centers, where staff members supervise students learning online. But some parents of learning center students were concerned the board would eventually suspend that option as well.

The district has begun looking closely at a set of data, called a safety matrix, to determine whether it’s safe for in-person instruction to continue. Those data include vaccination rates in the region, safety compliance in district schools, local COVID-19 testing data from weekly saliva testing in DPSCD locations, and infection rates in the city and Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties.

“As of mid-May, the data through the matrix indicates that face-to-face learning can resume effective May 24th with all the standard safety protocols in place such as mask wearing, social distancing, regular symptom checks, etc., as well as the district’s new weekly saliva testing program,” the district said in a report on its website.

The board heard from several frequent advocates of shutting down in-person learning during the meeting’s public comment period. One of them was Benjamin Royal, a district teacher, who said the only way to keep schools safe is to keep them closed.

But they also heard from a parent who said her daughter, who receives special education services, is struggling with online learning.

“She needs consistency,” she said.

‘I don’t want the flame to go away’: Why more Detroit parents are pushing for in-person learning

2021-05-17T23:15:08+00:00

Tyrise Carey couldn’t contain her excitement this past winter when the Detroit school district announced plans to reopen its learning centers, where students have gotten support from staff while the coronavirus has shut down regular in-person classes.

“Yes!” the eighth-grader told her mother, Sharene Nathan. “Call the bus. Tell them I’m ready.”

Seeing her daughter so pumped to go back into a school building — which she was able to do when the Detroit Public Schools Community District reopened learning centers in mid-March after a shutdown that began in November — made Nathan feel good that her daughter still has a passion for school.

“I don’t want that flame to go away,” said Nathan, a parent action leader at her daughter’s school, a position that requires her to work as a paid liaison between parents and the school.

As the Detroit school board prepares for a planned vote Tuesday on the fate of in-person learning for the rest of this school year, in-person learning advocates like Nathan have become increasingly vocal, countering a competing organized push to keep students remote.

The stakes are high. Loads of data, in Detroit and beyond, show students who are learning remotely are struggling. In Detroit, for instance, absenteeism is up. So are failure rates.

The debate over in-person versus virtual learning in Michigan has largely been dominated by suburban parents who have aggressively pushed their schools to fully reopen. These parents have protested at school board meetings and picketed outside schools. One Oakland County parent recently sued her school district, alleging district officials got her fired from a marketing job over her social media posts advocating for in-person learning.

Though two recent national polls found that most parents are receiving the kind of education they want for their children during the pandemic, debates have erupted across the country pitting parents wanting their kids in school buildings against those who want them at home.

In a Buffalo suburb, parents filed a lawsuit seeking to force their district to provide in-person instruction five days a week. The case reached the state supreme court. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, last week called for fully reopening schools for instruction five days a week next fall. That’s despite resistance from some of her union’s local affiliates, including in Detroit where most teachers have opted to work online.

In Detroit the loudest voices since last summer have been those pushing for a complete shutdown of schools. The opposition to reopening, led by a faction of the Detroit teachers union, has pushed to close the learning centers, all face-to-face learning, and to allow all staff to complete their work remotely, regardless of whether some jobs can’t be performed outside the school building.

They have used strong language, accusing the administration of racist behavior in requiring some school employees to work in buildings. One told the board at a recent meeting that they were endangering “our babies.” The Detroit Federation of Teachers negotiated an agreement with the district last summer that gives teachers the option of teaching in-person or remotely.

The debate in the city district came to a head last month, when several board members voted to shut down in-person learning for the remainder of the school year. The 3-2 vote in favor of the shutdown failed, though, because two members were absent and board policy requires four votes for an action item to succeed. Two days later, the board voted to suspend face-to-face learning until Tuesday’s board meeting, while allowing the learning centers to reopen April 26.

Even though board members kept the learning centers open, Nathan is worried they’ll eventually shut them down through the end of the school year, as protestors have urged. She wants the board to know that closing learning centers would be a mistake. It’s a warning Brianana Link also wants to send to the board.

“Stop listening to the angry mob and listen to families and hear our voice,” said Link, whose son is a second grader at Gardner Elementary School. “Our voice is not being heard.”

‘Heartbreaking’ data shows pandemic effects

The pandemic has put school administrators and board members in unenviable positions. With every decision, they court dissension from one group or another.

The reality in Detroit is that many parents and school staff are still reluctant to return to school buildings. The city was a hot spot last year in the early months of the pandemic, and many lost relatives, friends, and other loved ones. As case rates began to surge again in March, prompting the district to suspend in-person learning for a second time this school year, concerns began to rise again. But positive case rates in the city and across the state have recently been declining. District leaders have touted not only the safety protocols it has established in schools, but also about $1 million in repairs to its ventilation systems to convince parents and teachers that buildings are safe.

Last summer, the district established a positive case rate of 5% in Detroit as its threshold for closing schools and switching to all virtual learning. Currently, the case rate is 10.5%. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said recently that the district’s threshold for closing schools to in-person learning would need to be reconsidered, however, in part because of easy access to a vaccine for people 16 years and older. Since Vitti made that argument, the Pfizer vaccine has become available for children 12 to 15 years old.

There is growing evidence that online learning isn’t working for the majority of district students, something Vitti illustrated in data he presented to the board last month.

Data from the first semester in the district show the overall percentage of students who failed at least one course was 56%, up from 36% during the 2019-20 school year. That’s despite flexibility in grading Vitti announced earlier this year.

The data, board member Sonya Mays said during that April board meeting, is “heartbreaking.”

“We’re now a year in and I have extreme concerns about the long term impact that the academic deficiencies are going to create for the students that we educate,” Mays said.

Other board members agreed. But some said they also had to weigh what they hear from staff concerned about a return to school.

“I still think we have a lot of work to ensure that we are … hearing from people in a meaningful way,” board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo said last month.

Link doesn’t need statistics to know what happens when in-person instruction is suspended and her son has to learn virtually. She’s seen it happen in real time.

“At home, he’s not motivated because he’s in his comfort zone,” said Link, who works from home and also is a caregiver for her mother, whom she must visit daily.

She said her son, Johnny, should be in school because he has Asperger’s syndrome and needs the expertise of staff who are trained to work with him. He’d rather be learning at home, but she said that when he’s at school, “he doesn’t have a choice but to sit down and learn.” And, she said, he comes home with enthusiastic stories to tell about his school day.

Nathan sees a similar change in her daughter, who also has Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism.

“Her connection with her resource teachers, with the other students is very important,” Nathan said. “It’s vital for her learning and for her social skills.” Nathan said that when her daughter was forced to learn at home, “she felt very isolated.”

In addition to being a parent liaison, Nathan has spent many days this school year working with other parents and school staff to canvass Detroit neighborhoods — knocking on doors and trying to connect with families. She said she’s troubled by what she sees on a regular basis.

For one, she said, there are parents who are struggling with virtual school and need their children in school buildings. Worse, she said, are the high school seniors who tell her they’re sitting out school and opting to work full time instead. The adults were told by some that instead of graduating from high school, they would get a GED, a high school equivalency diploma.

One young man told them he was working at an auto supply store. He’d already taken the GED.

“He showed us on his phone,” Nathan said. “He already passed it.”

Attendance, enrollment down

There are other major concerns. The district’s daily attendance rate is 75%, down from 85% during the 2019-20 school year. Chronic absenteeism — when students miss 18 or more days in a school year — is up. Nearly 64% of students are chronically absent, up from nearly 55% last school year.

And then there’s enrollment. After a couple of years of slight gains in enrollment, the pandemic caused a drop this year that could eventually hurt the district.

The state’s spring enrollment count, taken earlier this year, found the number of students in the district was down by more than 3,000. Michigan funds schools based on enrollment. So, in an ordinary year, that decline would cost the district about $25 million. But a combination of a temporary change to how schools are funded in Michigan and federal COVID-19 relief funding means the district won’t feel a hit this year and likely not next year.

Vitti also presented information at that meeting showing the Detroit school district was an anomaly among most metro Detroit schools that were providing in-person learning. He said it pained him one day to see the neighboring River Rouge district, which routinely recruits Detroit students, driving its buses into the city to pick up students.

“The challenging part when I see this is, from an equitable point of view, are we offering our children the same thing they would be offered in surrounding school districts. When the answer to that is no, that pains me,” Vitti said.

Nicole Conaway, a teacher in the district and a frequent district critic, told board members that same night that remaining closed is the right thing to do.

“How about we be the district that does the right thing?” she said.

‘Mixed feelings’ about returning

Unlike September and March, the previous two times the district re-opened its learning centers, Nathan’s daughter Tyrise wasn’t her usual enthusiastic self when it was time to return on April 26. She went back for that first day, and didn’t return for a week.

“She had mixed feelings,” Nathan said. “In her mind, she was like, ‘How long is it going to stay open this time.’ ‘’

This is what concerns her: That the frequent starts and stops are weighing on students.

Nathan hopes to convince school board members that whatever decision they make keeps parents like her in mind.

“A lot of parents don’t realize the magnitude and the power of their voice,” Nathan said.

Detroit kids 12-15 can get the Pfizer vaccine beginning Thursday

2021-05-12T22:46:26+00:00

Detroit children over the age of 12 can start getting vaccinated at city locations beginning Thursday, but they need to have a parent or guardian with them to get the shot.

“Parents are going to have to be engaged,” Mayor Mike Duggan said. “We don’t vaccinate children unless their parents are with them.”

The city is expanding the vaccination age requirements a day after Wednesday’s decision by the federal Centers for Disease Control to approve the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents 12-15 years old. Previously, the vaccines were available only to those 16 years of age or older.

Duggan said there are new rules because children are involved:

Anyone 12-17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The parent or guardian must show identification.
The parent or guardian must sign a written consent form.
An adult accompanying anyone under the age of 18 will not be eligible for the city’s “Good Neighbor” program reimbursement, a city initiative that provides a $50 gift card for any city resident who brings a friend or neighbor in for vaccination.

“I don’t want that ever to be a question that somebody took their child in to get vaccinated because they wanted $50,” Duggan said.

Asked whether he would be working with schools to get students vaccinated, Duggan said he will leave that effort to Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.

“My job is to make the vaccine available. I think you’ll see the school district take the proper role,” Duggan said.

The district is already working with its health care partners to provide vaccination clinics for children. On Tuesday, a group of high school students launched Teens for Vaccines, a campaign to encourage their peers to be inoculated.

The students said they embarked on the effort because they want their peers to know why it’s important to get vaccinated.

“I just felt like it was my part to make sure I can at least do something to protect my family,” Demitri Marino, a senior at Renaissance High School, said.

‘The least I could do’: Why these Detroit teens want their peers to get vaccinated

2021-05-11T22:43:15+00:00

A group of Detroit high school students who say they want to do their part to encourage more students to get the COVID-19 shot has launched a campaign to get young people vaccinated.

For some, it’s a personal mission.

“Last year, my grandmother … had to be hospitalized for at least a month. It was a hard struggle for her.” said Demitri Marino, a senior at Renaissance High School whose grandmother had COVID-19.

“She was lucky enough to pull through and come home safely. I just felt like it was my part to make sure I can at least do something to protect my family,” Marino said.

Marino and two other teens in the Detroit Public Schools Community District — Harrison Haywood, a senior at Cass Technical High School, and Rachel Kabala, a junior at Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine — launched Teens for Vaccines on Tuesday. The opening event featured Dr. Dennis Cunningham, a pediatric infections specialist at Henry Ford Health System, who answered questions and dispelled rumors about vaccines.

The launch of the event comes as more young people in the U.S. become eligible for vaccines. Teens who are 16 and over have been eligible for one of the three vaccines that have already been made available in the U.S. But by the end of the week, children even younger will likely be able to start getting the vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents 12-15 years old.

Harrison Haywood, a senior at Cass Technical High School, is one of three Detroit students who launched a campaign to get students vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Detroit students plan to hold more events so young people can get questions answered about the vaccine. The district also plans to collaborate with its health care partners to offer vaccine clinics, said Deputy Superintendent Alycia Meriweather.

Haywood said it was important for him to get the vaccine “so I can be advocating for the vaccine as an experience and not just me telling people to get it.” He said he will pursue a career in the medical field, as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

“It’s very important for the public to trust in our science and trust in our medical professionals,” Haywood. “I’m always voicing that to my friends and family.”

Rachel Kabala, a junior at Benjamin Carton High School for Health and Medicine, got vaccinated because she wants to do her part for the community.

The event featured a video produced by students and staff at Burns Elementary-Middle School, in which they too encouraged people to get the vaccine. They used song and dance, adapting the late DMX’s Ruff Ryder’s Anthem, singing, “Stop. Drop. Hurry up and get your COVID shot. Oh, no, that’s how Burns Panthers roll.”

Kabala told the audience that 2020 was a year of turmoil for many. While it helped her bond more with her family, she said, others didn’t have that time. That’s especially true, she said, for the families of the scientists who “stayed in labs day and night,” working to develop the vaccines.

“They were working, making sure we have the COVID vaccine,” Kabala said. “The least I could do on my part as a citizen is to get vaccinated.”

“Thank you for not only finding your voice … but using your voice,” Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, president of the Detroit school board, told the students. “I hope you understand how important it is to use your voice.”

Detroit district will pause in-person learning until May

2021-04-15T23:46:18+00:00

The Detroit school board voted Thursday night to suspend in-person instruction until its May 11 meeting, a pause that could be extended if the city’s COVID-19 infection rates haven’t improved.

The board vote, taken during a special meeting, came two days after several board members failed in an attempt to suspend in-person learning for the rest of the school year. The 3-2 vote on Tuesday failed because the board needed at least four “yes” votes for it to succeed.

“The district would continue to monitor infection rates,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said. “If they are roughly where they are now, or even slightly lower, we would make a recommendation to suspend in-person learning from the May meeting until the end of the school year.”

During Thursday’s meeting, Vitti said he has spoken to individual board members and incorporated their feedback in a proposal the board eventually backed unanimously.

The plan says:

In-person instruction will not resume until May 11, the date of the next school board meeting.
The district’s learning centers, where students can go to complete their virtual learning under the supervision of a staff member, will reopen on April 26.
Teachers can voluntarily choose to work in their classrooms with any student who wants to come into the school building to learn.
Beginning April 26, the district will begin weekly COVID-19 testing — using saliva tests — of students and staff who have returned to the learning centers.

The regular COVID-19 testing is a “significant safety strategy to keep our employees and our students safe,” Vitti said.

“Employees and students legally will have an opportunity to opt out,” Vitti said. “We don’t foresee many opting out. We believe most if not everyone will test.”

During the public comment period, one parent asked what would happen if people opt out of testing. Vitti replied that the district by law cannot force students to be tested. The district can require employees to be tested, and the district has done so when schools reopened this school year.

The district is currently paused. It was among some school systems in the state that halted in-person learning after spring break, because of fears that COVID-19 could spread from people who traveled while off school.

The district had planned to reopen its buildings for face-to-face instruction and for students to attend the learning centers on April 26. Now, with the board action, only the learning centers will reopen.

More difficult conversations lie ahead for the board. District officials previously set a threshold of a 5% COVID-19 positivity rate when determining whether to open or close schools. The city’s positivity rate is now about 20%.

“The COVID rate of infection will probably not be 5% for a very long time,” said board member Corletta Vaughn.

Vitti said that threshold will need to be reexamined, with consideration given to the city and state infection rates, the rates in surrounding school districts, and positive cases in schools. He said the district also could set different thresholds for high schools than it does for elementary and middle schools, as well as have different thresholds for certain groups of students, particularly students with special education needs.

During the public comment period of Tuesday’s board meeting, many of those who spoke cited safety concerns in urging the district to shut down its buildings. On Thursday, the board heard from those who urged the district to continue having an option for parents and children who want to be in school.

“Just remember that there are parents like myself and students that really need to be in the learning centers,” said Sharene Nathan, a parent action leader at Ludington Magnet Middle and Honors School, where she is a liaison between the school and parents.

Here’s why a 3-2 Detroit school board vote to suspend in-person learning until the end of the school year failed

2021-04-14T03:30:58+00:00

The Detroit board of education voted 3-2 Tuesday night to suspend all in-person learning in the district until the end of the school year, after several community members urged “just one member” to put the matter to a vote.

But seconds after the vote was taken, the three who voted yes were told the vote failed.

At issue: Jenice Mitchell Ford, the district’s attorney, said the board’s bylaws require a majority of the elected board members to approve a motion for it to be valid. Two board members — Misha Stallworth West and Corletta Vaughn — were absent from the meeting.

“You have to have four to approve any action item on tonight’s agenda,” Board President Angelique Peterson-Mayberry said.

The vote came nearly four hours into the regular board meeting, after a public comment period. Several of the nearly 20 people who spoke urged the district to shut down in-person learning because of Detroit’s high COVID-19 rates. The district has paused in-person learning for three weeks after spring break, with students expected to return to buildings April 26. During the pause, students have been learning virtually.

Benjamin Royal, a district teacher who has been leading protests against in-person learning since last summer, said there is “an urgent necessity of closing the schools now and keeping them closed at least through the remainder of the year.”

Royal said schools “cannot be safely reopened until all students are vaccinated and COVID testing confirms the coronavirus is no longer spreading in our community. This is a decision this board can make tonight. It only takes one board member to make a motion to put it to a vote.”

The board member who made the motion was Georgia Lemmons. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo and Deborah Hunter Harvill supported her. Voting against the motion were Peterson-Mayberry and Sonya Mays. The vote to suspend doesn’t affect students who have been going to school buildings to attend the district’s learning centers. In those centers, students can learn virtually, but under the supervision of school staff.

At the time of the vote, about 200 people were still tuning into the virtual meeting, a board member commented.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said he is concerned that the board action would further disenfranchise district parents who want in-school learning for their children. Earlier in the meeting, he had provided the board with information showing most surrounding school districts in Wayne County offer in-person learning. The Detroit district has about 19,000 families who responded to a survey saying they want their children in school buildings, but the district can’t accommodate them because there aren’t enough teachers willing to be in person.

Suspending in-person learning for the rest of the school year is “going to be shocking for families to hear that. I do believe we risk losing students,” Vitti said.

Mays had said before the vote that she didn’t think it was proper for the board to make such a big decision with two members absent.

“I just would hope that for a decision as weighty and important as this, we can find time and space to ensure all board members are included in the conversation,” Mays said.

But Gay-Dagnogo said the board needs to make a decision now so families have time to plan.

“How do we adequately plan if we keep vacillating back and forth. We need a consistent plan,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “It’s time for us to … make sure people are safe.”

Immediately after the vote, and before the board secretary could finish saying that the motion passed, Mays and Peterson-Mayberry interrupted, saying that the motion didn’t pass. Peterson-Mayberry then asked Mitchell Ford to explain.

Ford read from the board’s bylaw, which was adopted in 2018 and revised in 2019.

It reads: “No act shall be valid unless approved at a meeting of the Board by a majority vote of the members who are: (i) elected or appointed to and serving on the Board; and (ii) authorized to vote. Also, a proper record must be made of the vote.”

The insistence that four votes were needed affected a number of votes the board took after the controversy, with multiple 3-2 votes.

And later, Gay-Dagnogo found another version of the board’s bylaw on the district’s website that said a vote is valid if a majority of the board members present approve it. That prompted her to say that “until we get clarity … the vote we took stands.”

That version of the bylaw isn’t dated, though it is what shows up during a simple web search for district bylaws. But it is not on the portion of the district’s website that hosts updated board policies. Gay-Dagnogo said having an outdated version of the policy on the website created confusion and “that is exactly why the public lacks trust in the district.”

Vitti said district officials would get to the bottom of why the old version of the board policies is still on the website and have them removed.

Prior to the vote, Vitti urged the board to reconsider and have a broader discussion at its May meeting. He said he was committed to not reopen school buildings until then.

“I understand this is the board’s purview to make this decision. The action, if taken by the board tonight, is unprecedented,” Vitti said. He said that in his four years as superintendent, the board has “never taken an action like this without working through it in committee or a special meeting.”

State education board: Virtual parents have the right to keep their kids from being tested

2021-04-13T15:28:44+00:00

The State Board of Education adopted a statement Tuesday to clarify the rights of parents to prevent their children from having to take state exams.

The board approved the statement in a 6-0 vote. The two Republicans on the board were not present during the vote Tuesday morning.

The Michigan Department of Education, which the board oversees, has previously said it doesn’t support bringing virtual students into school buildings for testing. But the department has said parents must be given that option.

But board members said Tuesday that many parents are confused.

“I have heard from parents who were told [by their districts] that even though their kids are remote, they are required and mandated to send their students for face-to-face testing,” said Casandra Ulbrich, president of the state board of education.

She said the statement was needed to clarify for parents that “If you don’t feel it’s safe to send your student into school for in-person learning, you do not have to send your student to school solely for the purpose of a test,” said Ulbrich, a Democrat from Dearborn.

“No one should put their child in harm’s way to take an assessment,” added Pamela Pugh, a Democrat from Saginaw and vice president of the board.

The statement was adopted during the same week the state was forced to begin administering state exams. The federal government earlier this month denied the Michigan Department of Education’s waiver to suspend the state exams this year because of the pandemic. State officials asked that locally chosen assessments be used in place of the state exams. Local assessments are required to be given twice this year to track student improvement.

Though the U.S. Department of Education is requiring testing, it has suspended accountability rules associated with the results and urged Michigan to reduce the high-stakes impact of the testing. Michigan officials expect far fewer students to take the state exams this year because so many students are learning virtually and their parents do not believe school buildings are safe. Also, the federal government has said it would not require at least 95% of all students be tested on state exams.

“Given that coronavirus infection rates are increasing in Michigan, and many students are still attending school remotely, the State Board of Education supports the guidance to parents and legal guardians that these students need not be brought into school solely for the purpose of state assessment, and will not be required to come into school for the sole purpose of taking the assessments.” the statement reads.

The window for taking elementary and middle school exams began Monday and will be open through May 21. The SAT, which is part of the high school exam, is being given Tuesday in schools that are open. There will be two more opportunities for schools to administer the SAT.

Also Tuesday morning, the board adopted a resolution urging the state legislature to rescind several Michigan school accountability rules. They include holding back third-graders whose reading scores are a grade level or more behind; requiring student test scores weigh significantly in teacher evaluations; and giving schools A-F letter grades based largely on test scores.

“We are going to have high stakes accountability requirements associated with [the exams], with small numbers and uneven numbers of our young people testing,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said. “Our legislature really needs to move and move expeditiously on this.”

Ulbrich said the expected decline in the number of students tested will raise questions about the reliability and validity of the test results.

“This data is going to be severely flawed,” Ulbrich said. “It stands to reason it should not be used to punish any students, districts, and schools.”

State moves to allow schools that pause in-person learning to push back the start of exams

2021-04-09T21:48:54+00:00

Michigan was set to administer the SAT to high school students beginning Tuesday. But Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pleadings with districts to pause in-person high school classes for two weeks put a wrinkle in those plans for some school.

The Michigan Department of Education said Friday it would add additional dates for the high school tests to accommodate districts that heed Whitmer’s recommendation.

The state is also extending the window for schools to administer elementary and middle school exams.

Federal officials nixed Michigan’s request to waive state exams for a second year in a row because of the pandemic. The waiver was rejected even though the U.S. Department of Education granted a separate request to waive the accountability rules that are largely connected to the state test results.

It’s likely that fewer students will take the exam this year than in years past because of the pandemic.

A decline in the number of students tested is expected because students learning virtually won’t be required to take the test unless they can safely come into a school building to do so. The state has told districts that they must offer virtual students the option of taking the test in person.

Many of Michigan’s public school students have been learning online for a large chunk of the school year, so if most of those students aren’t tested, it will raise questions about the usefulness of the test scores.

There also is no way to know how many parents will opt their children out of taking the state exams, or how many schools will encourage parents to do so.

The SAT, which is a large part of Michigan’s exam for high school students, is set to be given Tuesday. The MDE said it worked with officials from the College Board, which owns the SAT, to ensure students could take the test on alternate dates. Those alternate dates are April 27 or May 18.

The PSAT, a practice version of the SAT that is given to Michigan ninth graders, is set to be given sometime between Tuesday through Friday. It now can also be given between April 27 through May 7.

The window for giving the M-STEP exams for students in grades 3-8, as well as other portions of the state exams, also are being extended.

Whitmer urges two-week halt to youth sports and face-to-face instruction in high schools

2021-04-09T16:26:21+00:00

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking for a two-week pause to in-person high school classes and youth sports as Michigan leads the nation in new daily cases of COVID-19.

“We all have to step up our game for the next two weeks to bring down rising cases,” Whitmer said during a Friday morning press conference.

Michigan’s daily case totals have shot up faster than any other state in recent weeks and are nearing the mark reached during the December spike, when most schools statewide opted to close their classrooms. In Wayne County, which includes Detroit, 18% of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive, well above the threshold for closure set by many districts. Several districts in the area had already announced plans to remain closed in coming weeks.

The closures will add to the emotional and academic toll students have borne throughout the pandemic. Virtual learning isn’t as effective as face-to-face instruction for most students.

Hours after Whitmer spoke, several districts announced that they would heed her call for a pause.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District said it would pause in-person instruction for three weeks, one week longer than previously announced.

Ferndale Superintendent Dania Bazzi said in a Facebook post Friday that the district would “honor the governors’ request and pause in-person learning and indoor sports.” The pause in the district only affects secondary schools. In-person learning resumes April 26, she said.

Other districts, though, said they had no intent to follow the governor’s request. Royal Oak Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick said high school sports and in-person learning would continue as scheduled.

“Our district, like many others, was surprised to hear this during a public press conference, without any direct prior notice to school leaders,” she said in a statement. “MDHHS and county health departments have the authority to mandate closures rather than putting these health-related decisions on school districts.”

Reopening decisions have been hotly contested in many school districts, as school officials scramble to balance the interests of families who are afraid to send their children to school face-to-face and those who strongly prefer it. While Whitmer’s administration can require classrooms to open or close, in recent months it has stuck to making recommendations.

That’s not fair to school leaders who aren’t trained in public health, said Mark Greathead, superintendent of Woodhaven-Brownstown Schools and president of the K-12 Alliance, an association of school districts.

He said Whitmer’s announcement “raised serious concerns about the rapid rise in COVID-19 numbers while leaving us to determine how to respond to that on behalf of our students’ health, a decision that I, as an educator, am neither qualified nor should be expected to make.”

Whitmer’s comments come after thousands of teachers from across the state signed a petition calling for a pause in face-to-face instruction.

Key education leaders echoed her call for a two-week pause.

“The skyrocketing caseloads among 10-to-19-year-olds threatens the health of individual students, their classmates, their families and their communities,” said Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

State Superintendent Michael Rice also asked school leaders to heed Whitmer’s request.

“Michigan educators, students, and families have risen to the challenge over the past year, and I am confident they will continue to do what is needed to help save lives as we keep fighting the pandemic.”

The Michigan Department of Education said in a press release Friday that it would provide an option to delay the administration of high school state exams, which were set to begin next week, for schools that pause in-person instruction.

Since January, there has been broad agreement among leaders in Michigan politics and education that schools should offer more in-person instruction. In recent weeks, the vast majority of students in the state had the chance to learn face to face.

Whitmer allowed high school sports to resume in February after parents strongly pushed her to do so. Public health experts say sports and other extracurriculars have contributed substantially to the spread of the virus among students.

“As a parent and former student-athlete myself, I understand how important athletics are to our children’s physical and mental health. However, parents and athletes need to understand the risk involved with youth sports if they choose to participate,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive in Michigan. “We’ve seen that the younger population has played a significant role in transmission during this most recent spike.”

One conservative group pushed back immediately on efforts to temporarily close classrooms.

“While students are locked out of classrooms, we’ve seen too many fall into a crisis of despair,” said Beth DeShone, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project, a think tank connected to former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “Our kids deserve better from Governor Whitmer and the public school bureaucracy. They deserve safely open classrooms.”

Whitmer urged citizens to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, noting that vaccines are the best way to prevent new cases of the coronavirus. Everyone in the state 16 or older is eligible to be vaccinated.

Classroom closures now will further raise the stakes of Michigan’s efforts to help students recover from the academic and emotional trial of the pandemic, said Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest, an education advocacy group. The state is set to receive billions in federal COVID funding, in part to support those efforts.

“Especially with the ongoing interruptions to learning, it’s essential for state leaders to plan now to address unfinished learning that will take several years, especially for students who have the most needs and have suffered the greatest impacts from the pandemic,” Arellano said. “That means targeting state and federal dollars to research-driven, solution-based strategies like intensive tutoring, and making sure dollars are geared in an equitable way to students and schools that need them most.”

‘Skylar Forever’: Memorial honors Detroit COVID victim, age 5, as her parents push for more vaccinations

2021-04-07T19:53:10+00:00

Skylar Herbert’s parents haven’t touched her bedroom since the 5-year-old died of COVID-19 complications nearly a year ago. They still hear her voice. They still see her dancing the way the bright, friendly girl loved to do. And they still cry every day.

Skylar was the first child in Michigan to die from COVID-19, and in her honor, the city of Detroit has changed the name of the main Detroit Public Safety headquarters gathering room from the Michigan Room to the Skylar Herbert Room. Skylar’s parents, LaVondria and Ebbie Herbert, are both first responders.

For the parents, who spoke with emotion and tears and wore black face masks with the words “Skylar Forever” in white at a press conference Wednesday, the honor is humbling.

“Just to have her honored — this is overwhelming,” said Ebbie Herbert, a Detroit firefighter. His wife is a Detroit police officer.

Skylar Herbert, 5, who died of COVID-19 complications April 19, is shown in a video shown during a memorial event Wednesday at Detroit Public Safety headquarters.

Speakers during Wednesday’s event said her death last April was a catalyst to help people understand the dangers of the virus. Now, organizers hope people will look back at COVID’s impact on the city over the past year and understand the importance of getting vaccinated. The event ended with this message: “Take it for Skylar.”

“Detroit, let’s get vaccinated,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who survived COVID-19 last year, said. “Let’s save lives. Let’s get past this.”

When Skylar became sick, Detroit was in the midst of a serious surge in positive coronavirus cases. A year later, that surge is back, not just in the city but across Michigan. Positive COVID-19 cases have risen sharply. So have hospitalizations.

But at Wednesday’s event, the focus was on Skylar and honoring her memory.

“The loss of Skylar touched the hearts of every single person in this city, because of her age and because she comes from a family who spent their whole lives protecting us. It hit even more personally,” Mayor Mike Duggan said.

Ebbie and LaVondria Herbert unveil a memorial that will go inside a gathering room in Detroit Public Safety headquarters that was renamed for their daughter, Skylar Herberg, 5.

LaVondria Herbert said she’s still trying to cope with her daughter’s death. She prays often, but there is still that nagging question of, “Why did this happen to me?”

“People don’t know my story. This was my first child. I had her at 41 years old. And I didn’t want to have kids and then I had this miracle baby. I was so excited once I found out I was having a girl.”

Skylar was a little girl with a big heart and an even bigger smile whose personality lit up the room. She liked to sing and dance, even though “she wasn’t a dancer at all, but you couldn’t tell her that,” her mother said.

“She’s probably dancing around right now like, ‘Oh my God, did y’all see my picture? They got my picture up.’ She was always happy, such a sweet girl. Very compassionate.”

In a video that played during the event, Ebbie Herbert said one of the most difficult things for him to cope with is that his job as a firefighter requires him to risk his own life to save strangers.

“And I see my own daughter and I can’t help her. What can I do?” Ebbie said. “It was devastating to our family.”

The two have become vaccination advocates. They see it as a way to honor their daughter’s memory. They’ve both been vaccinated.

“Skylar’s death won’t go in vain,” Ebbie said. “If you say you’re taking it for Skylar, I’m fine with it.”