9 things you should know about Detroit education this week

  • As dozens of Detroit schools are threatened with closure in June, politics poisoned a $700,000 tool that could have helped displaced students apply to new schools.
  • Even as school boards in Kalamazoo and Saginaw joined Detroit in taking steps to sue the state over school closings, one of Gov. Rick Snyder’s key advisors said there is “no way in the world” the state reform office is going to close 38 schools without offering better options to students.
  • The state reform office mailed a list of “better” school options to parents that included districts that don’t even take Detroit kids. Another place parents can look for other school options is a new school scorecard released by an education advocacy organization that recommended 21 K-8 schools in or near Detroit.
  • State school reform district Chancellor Veronica Conforme gets a new job turning around failing schools in Massachusetts.
  • The new Detroit school board approved 11 teacher-backed proposals to improve Detroit schools including a plan to make Southeastern High School — one of the schools on the state’s closure list — an application school that students would have to test into. The proposals also included journalism, art and music programs, as well as honors academies in every K-8 school.
  • As Michigan philanthropist Betsy DeVos begins her job as U.S. Secretary of Education, Chalkbeat invited readers to tell her what they need to know. One Detroiter wrote that many students “took unreliable Detroit city buses to school every day, and if they lost their bus pass, they were required to pay the $200+ to replace it.”
  • A bill to repeal state Common Core standards met with mixed reviews in Lansing but may gain momentum thanks to two new state board of education members.
  • Tell us your story about Detroit schools! Chalkbeat Detroit and The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers are presenting an event called “School Days” to tell the story of Detroit’s changing schools. We are looking for teachers, parents, students and anyone else with a story to tell. We will publish the best entries and choose five storytellers to work side-by-side with storyteller Satori Shakoor to take their story from the page to the stage at the Charles H. Wright Museum. The first 20 people to submit entries will also get a free ticket to the March 17 event. Submit your story here. Or, if you’d much rather listen to stories, buy a ticket.
  • Plus, we’re launching our first-ever national Reader Advisory Board, and we want you to join! Learn more and apply here.