Category: Detroit Public Schools

The predictable result of demonizing teachers: Detroit schools face massive teacher shortage

The predictable result of demonizing teachers: Detroit schools face massive teacher shortage

If you’ve been watching the ever-increasing demonization of teachers in Michigan over the past decade, you probably have asked yourself at one time or another, “Why the hell would ANYONE want to be a teacher in Michigan?” It’s a fair question. Republicans in our state legislature have cut their benefits, based their advancement on student progress when much of what […]

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Only in Betsy DeVos’ Michigan can schools be “reformed” by closing them

Only in Betsy DeVos’ Michigan can schools be “reformed” by closing them

The news broke on January 20, 2017 that as many as 38 schools could be closed in Michigan, 24 of those in Detroit, due to “poor academic performance.” Parents in the city, and throughout the state, were understandably stunned, as this announcement represented an abrupt change in the state’s previous position on school closings: Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration has switched […]

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Detroit education activists rally TOMORROW (Friday, February 17, 2017) to prevent school closures

Detroit education activists rally TOMORROW (Friday, February 17, 2017) to prevent school closures

Tomorrow, Friday, February 17, 2017, education activists in Detroit will hold a rally to protest the imminent closure of public schools there. The schools are slated to be closed under a draconian new policy in Michigan. The policy says that poor-performing schools that don’t show progress over a three year period may be shut down. 25 schools in Detroit and […]

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An out of service toilet in a Detroit school.

Flush this, Mr. President

In his inaugural speech, the newly installed President of the United States made the following comment: “An education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge”. Incensed, I immediately wanted to share my thoughts about these mean-spirited, belittling words–but I couldn’t. Because I was in Grand Rapids at the Michigan Music Conference […]

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#FlintWaterCrisis UPDATE: TWO Emergency Managers charged, Congressional investigation quietly concluded, and much more

#FlintWaterCrisis UPDATE: TWO Emergency Managers charged, Congressional investigation quietly concluded, and much more

There is a whole lot of news to report about the ongoing tragedy in Flint, Michigan where the drinking water of tens of thousands of city residents was poisoned with the powerful neurotoxin lead through actions taken by state-appointed Emergency Managers. The biggest news of the day is that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is bringing charges against two Emergency […]

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The fallout from GOP attacks on teachers: 20+ year old literacy program in Detroit cancelled due to lack of teachers

The fallout from GOP attacks on teachers: 20+ year old literacy program in Detroit cancelled due to lack of teachers

It takes a special person to teach in Detroit, Michigan. Although this has been the case for many, many years, it’s never been so true as it is right now. Not only are teachers dealing with a kids who are largely coming from families in deep poverty and working in schools that are falling down around them, for the past […]

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Detroit Redford High School Demolition

Privatize, Monetize, Weaponize: How the DeVos family devoured Michigan’s schools

NOTE: This post is a companion piece to this week’s episode of The Sit and Spin Room podcast. Click HERE or scroll to the bottom of the post to listen to the podcast or find it wherever you get your podcasts by searching for “Sit and Spin Room” on iTunes, Stitcher, etc. The news that President-elect Donald Trump had nominated […]

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Former Detroit Schools Emergency Manager who increased debt by 50% being paid a quarter million dollars to rescue Virginia city

Former Detroit Schools Emergency Manager who increased debt by 50% being paid a quarter million dollars to rescue Virginia city

When Robert Bobb was appointed to be the Emergency Financial Manager for Detroit Public Schools in 2009, the district was $219 million in debt. When he left two years later, the debt had ballooned by 50% to $327 million. This is one of the legacies of Emergency Management in Michigan. Another of the legacies is that people who failed colossally […]

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Disgraced former EAA Chancellor Covington still trying to find a superintendent job

Disgraced former EAA Chancellor Covington still trying to find a superintendent job

NOTE: This post has been updated below. Disgraced former Education Achievement Authority Chancellor John Covington is still trying to find a way to cash in on his time at Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit school children. Recall that he bailed out on Kansas City schools which lost their accreditation the month after he abruptly quit. Then he […]

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New report shows Michigan massively underfunding education and the scandalous impact of that is all around us

New report shows Michigan massively underfunding education and the scandalous impact of that is all around us

Last year, as part of the deal over road funding that led to Proposal 1 on the May 2015 ballot, a school financing report was commissioned by the state to determine what it takes to educate a child in Michigan. This week, that report was released and it shows, as anyone who is paying attention to education in our state […]

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GUEST POST: Michigan House Republicans redefine the concept of “compromise” in legislation to save Detroit Schools

GUEST POST: Michigan House Republicans redefine the concept of “compromise” in legislation to save Detroit Schools

The following guest post was written by Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. Enjoy. As Michiganders, we should all be concerned about the way […]

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