Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy.
The 14 people vying to fill an open seat on the Detroit school district’s board said in interviews this week they want to help the district to address such issues as chronic absenteeism, improving early literacy instruction, and proposed federal funding cuts.
The candidates included district parents, religious leaders, educators, and an attorney, among others. Some were well-versed in the challenges the Detroit Public Schools Community District faces and the role of the school board in addressing them. Others stumbled on interview questions and didn’t seem as knowledgeable about the governing body’s authority.
Three candidates withdrew their applications before they were interviewed, including one who dropped out as questions arose about the use of ChatGPT in application materials attributed to her.
The board seat opened this month after Angelique Peterson-Mayberry resigned. The new member will finish out her term, which runs through the end of 2026.
Here are interview and survey responses from the 14 candidates:
Pageant Atterberry
Atterberry is the owner and executive director of New Beginnings Child Care & Academy in Detroit. She was previously on the board of the Urban League of Detroit & Southeastern Michigan.
- Atterberry said one of her priorities is making the transition from day care to kindergarten in DPSCD more seamless.
- Regarding creating a child-centred policy that focuses on the needs and interests of a child, Atterberry said she would start by creating a survey for students to find out what their social and emotional needs were.
- Atterberry believes more professional development will help teachers better support struggling students.
Kenya Avant
Avant is senior director of performance management for DPSCD. She was previously a school council member in Massachusetts and a state-level policy analyst.
- Board members asked Avant if she would resign from her position in the district if chosen for the seat, as is required by state law. Avant said she would because she wants the opportunity to shape policy.
- Avant said the district should expand on existing classroom instruction models with a creative and innovative approach to reaching struggling students.
- She said the district should provide access to student-level achievement data dashboards to administrative leaders, instead of only to principals and teachers, so they may better see trends and make policy changes as needed.
Sonja Beasley-Hall
Beasley-Hall is the deputy director for the faith-based youth development organization Wellspring Detroit and former professional development manager for the Michigan Afterschool Partnership.
- Beasley-Hall said she wants DPSCD to implement a program similar to the Kumon curriculum used at Wellspring since it has been successful with children involved in the organization. The learning method allows each student to study at their pace, regardless of age or school grade.
- She said federal funding should be used to provide additional before- and after-school tutoring programs.
- One of her priorities is creating more out-of-school program opportunities for students.
The Rev. Steven Bland Jr.
Bland is the senior pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church in Detroit and a community activist. He leads several community-based ministries and outreach for youth.
- Bland stressed the importance of working with lawmakers to maintain state funding in the wake of federal funding cuts.
- He wants community input and lessons learned in other districts to help inform policies that will make the district more competitive in retaining teaching staff.
- Bland said he’s worked to improve chronic absenteeism through church outreach. His church surveys families and analyzes their responses to determine which efforts are successful in getting kids more engaged in school.
Whitney Clarke
Clarke runs a child care center and is a minister. He previously served as a child advocate for the nonprofit Children’s Defense Fund and is also running as a write-in City Council candidate for Detroit’s District 5.
- Clarke was asked several times about his view on the Trump administration’s intention to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, but could not say whether he supported such a move.
- Clarke said staffing, budget cuts, and culture are some of the district’s challenges, but he did not elaborate on how he would fix those issues.
- Clarke said he would look at factors that cause neighborhood schools to close and determine what the district can do to prevent further closings.
Jonathan Demers
Demers works as legal counsel for Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network and has two children enrolled in DPSCD. He previously was a social studies teacher in the district.
- Demers said he wants to take a unified approach to being on the board, with members handling issues as a team. He added that if there are unique relationships at the state or federal level, then he wants the board to do that together.
- Demers suggested a “hyper-focused, high-dosage tutoring approach” to improve early literacy.
- He said DPSCD needs to better inform the public about positive stories in the district.
Debra Duren
Duren is a real estate agent and former owner of catering and cleaning businesses.
- She said students need to be prepared for the future, such as learning how to use artificial intelligence, or AI.
- She wants to see more mental health support for students and staff. She mentioned that schools should have quiet areas where people can take a break and decompress.
- Duren wants to connect with community partners and provide a mentoring program for students. She also wants to build new partnerships with nonprofits and large corporations.
Bonzetta “Bonnie” D. Ferrell
Ferrell is assistant operations manager for Huntington Place and former administrative specialist for the Detroit Health Department.
- Ferrell told the board one of the biggest challenges in the district is addressing the trauma many students survive, citing the recent shooting deaths of Detroit children.
- The candidate said another challenge is family literacy engagement.
- When asked how she would work with the board if she disagreed with the majority opinion, Ferrell said she would “go with the team” to get items passed. She added, “Then we might have some conversation about how we do amendments next time or something like that.”
Bessie Harris
Harris is a retired special education teacher and principal at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy. She unsuccessfully ran for the board in 2022 and in 2020.
- One of the district issues Harris noted is lack of participation from parents. She wants to see more activities for parents.
- Harris said additional training for teachers is key to help raise literary rates in the district.
- Harris said she would take a “proactive, transparent, and community-centered approach” to help pass millage renewals in the future. She wishes to engage stakeholders, as well as parents and the community.
Shinese Johnson
Johnson is director of school-based and community programs for the Black Caucus Foundation of Michigan and founded the education consulting organization Making Education Count Group. She is currently the board president of a charter school in Livonia, but would have to resign if selected to be on the DPSCD board.
- When asked what her stance on the relationship between traditional public schools and charter schools is, Johnson said, “I don’t think there’s one better than the other.”
- Johnson said she would “take it to the city council” or the Michigan Department of Education when asked what board policies she would support that would help the district better compete with charter schools for enrollment.
- In her survey response, Johnson said the district still faces challenges in funding, academic performance, infrastructure, and public trust.
Aliya Moore
Moore is an education advocate and district parent who addresses board members frequently with critiques and suggestions. She unsuccessfully ran for the board in 2022 and 2024.
- She wants to survey parents twice a year for their critiques on the school board and central office. She also mentioned having monthly forums virtually and in person.
- Moore hopes her presence on the board would help the district be more transparent with the community and rebuild trust.
- She’s not satisfied with the district’s facility master plan, saying she doesn’t like that some schools are getting renovated and others are not getting the repairs needed.
Ashley Pearson
Pearson is a social services coordinator for Optalis Health and Rehabilitation Center.
- She wants to expand the high school health hubs and emotional support for students.
- She wants to expand the district’s efforts on chronic absenteeism, but didn’t provide specific details.
- She would like to implement a mental health assessment. Pearson did not go into details on how that would be done.
Jeremiah Steen
Steen is a philanthropist and youth advocate. He created a foundation that helps teens develop career pathways. He unsuccessfully ran for the board in 2024.
- Steen said his focus as a board member would be addressing the district’s enrollment crisis. He added as a Gen-Z leader he would increase youth engagement to find solutions.
- Steen said one of the district’s main challenges is proposed federal funding cuts.
- School closures can “devastate communities,” he said, but it is critical to talk about the future of under-enrolled schools. Steen said he would help develop alternatives, such as transforming school buildings into community hubs.
The Rev. Curtis C. Williams
Williams is the CEO of Trinity Chapel Funeral Homes in Detroit and a retired pastor. His children graduated from the district, and he previously unsuccessfully ran to be on the board.
- Williams believes the board should put new policies in place to improve “poor morale” in schools and the district’s administrative office.
- The candidate said in his survey responses chronic absenteeism and “low test scores” are among the main challenges the district faces.
- Williams wants to see more mentorship opportunities for students in the district from local business owners and professionals. When asked by the board for specific ideas to improve mentorship opportunities for students, Williams suggested allowing students to be “hands-on” in businesses.
Each candidate submitted a letter of intent to apply for the seat, a resume, and responses to survey questions earlier this month. Only the survey responses have been made available to the public.
Chalkbeat asked the district for all of the materials and was told an open records request was necessary to review them.
That request was filed on Monday. On Tuesday, the district responded that it needed an extension of 10 business days — the maximum permitted under state open records law — to provide the documents.
The board has scored the candidates on their interviews and application materials. They will be tallied by the board’s chair and vice chair, along with an independent third party, on Friday.
Board members will vote to fill the empty seat at a public meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. on July 28 at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Micah Walker is a reporter with BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.
