Ethan Bakuli
Reporter, Chalkbeat Detroit
Ethan Bakuli covers Detroit public schools for its students, parents, and teachers. Previously, he covered race, education, housing, and inaffordability as a reporter for the Burlington Free Press in Vermont. Prior to that, Ethan spent nearly two years as an intern instructor at New England Public Media’s Media Lab program, where he taught student journalists to report on topics such as food insecurity and mental health.
Some districts used pandemic aid to shore up their budgets amid enrollment declines. They’ll no longer have that option late next year.
The Rev. Larry Simmons wondered why children were roaming the streets of Brightmoor during school hours. That was the start of a campaign that continues today. Schools “need other partners to come to the table,” he says.
Vitti is already looking ahead to next year’s contract and the need to retain mid-career teachers.
Attendance rate slips, too, due in part to heat-related dismissals. ‘This week will give a better indicator,’ Superintendent Vitti says.
Results are beginning to climb back above pre-pandemic levels.
At Gompers Elementary-Middle School, Effie Harris plays the roles of investigator, counselor, spirit leader, and more.
Between intensive outreach, rewards, and early warning systems, staff at Gompers Elementary-Middle School managed to improve student attendance after a rocky year in the pandemic.
In Detroit, students returned to applause and new backpacks at Fisher Magnet Academy, while Frederick Douglass Academy students returned to a new building.
Some members objected to what they saw as small gains, but the vote to approve was overwhelming.
Bonuses are back: $4,500 for veteran employees and a $2,000 retention incentive for all members.
Proposal would let school officials request a transfer to a neighborhood school if family outreach efforts don’t work.
Ratification votes for the tentative agreement begin Monday evening and will last until Thursday afternoon.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, who has made higher staff pay a budget priority, says he’s confident about reaching an agreement before school starts.
The organizations will add an additional $1.8 million to the initial Ballmer Group donation of $2.76 million
The tutoring program will exclusively work with K-8 students at eight schools next year.
The proposal marks a reversal from policies the district adopted just five years ago to make discipline rules more uniform across the district.
Now district officials are considering punitive policies against severe absenteeism, such as making students repeat a grade.
District officials are eager to spend the money to hire more academic interventionists, but a task force will also seek community input
The health centers in 12 schools are intended to curb student absenteeism and provide families with critical and convenient resources.
‘No one told me anything,’ says a parent whose 12-year-old child was ‘left in a restraint chair for hours’
Researchers credit DPSCD for efforts aimed at ensuring that students can get support they’re entitled to under federal law. But they say there’s still a big undercount.
This will be the second straight year that classes begin before Labor Day in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Four other district employees were also dismissed over allegations of physical altercations with students, possession of a weapon on school grounds, as well as inappropriate conduct.
The end of federal COVID relief aid prompts belt-tightening to account for declining enrollment, but Vitti says few employees will actually face forced layoffs.
The summer programs helped keep some students engaged, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says, but they were not nearly as successful as officials hoped.
Teachers union leaders say that the provision, which applies to recent hires in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, is a ‘deterrent’ for current and prospective employees.
DPSCD student enrollment and the city’s overall population have been on a steady decline in recent decades.
The experimental school opened to great fanfare in 2019, but the pandemic and leadership turmoil have clouded its brief history.
Officials struggle to reassure the public that planned staff reductions will help stabilize the district’s finances.
At a school board meeting Tuesday, DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said a substantial increase to per-pupil funding could ensure some small schools could keep deans.