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Three weeks after students in Detroit started the new school year, the early data is in for the district’s enrollment numbers.
As of the 11th day of school, 48,823 students have attended school at least once, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in an email Thursday to BridgeDetroit. That’s slightly higher than this time last year, with 48,386 students in attendance by the 11th day of school. In 2023, 47,401 students had attended school for at least one day during the same time period.
“As of Day 11, we are trending 437 students more than last year and 1,422 more students as compared to two years ago,” Vitti said.
Overall, 52,505 K-12 students are enrolled in DPSCD. In 2024, enrollment was at 53,044 students.
However, Vitti would rather look at the number of students attending school than the number of students enrolled in DPSCD since there’s always a gap between the two, he said during a school board meeting Tuesday.
“It doesn’t mean that we dramatically dropped in enrollment. That number always fluctuates because the fall number assumes that everyone that was enrolled in the district last year is enrolling the following year,” he said during the meeting. “But obviously, we have people moving out of the state, they don’t go to our high schools from eighth to ninth grade, or they attend a school outside of the district.”
Each year, DPSCD shares enrollment and attendance data from the first couple weeks of the new school year. Those figures provide an early snapshot of enrollment patterns ahead of Michigan’s two official Count Days, in October and February, when the number of students attending school is tallied for the purposes of allocating state funding.
Improving student attendance and enrollment has been a priority for officials in DPSCD and districts across Michigan, especially in recent years given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union leaders urge board to support paraprofessionals
During the public comment period, Michelle Lee, president of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 345, said she wants paraprofessionals in the union to receive proper training before being placed in a classroom with students with disabilities. In DPSCD, the special education department is known as Exceptional Student Education.
Paraprofessionals are being placed in unsafe environments without adequate preparation, Lee added, which leads to them facing disciplinary action or termination while the students’ behavior isn’t being addressed. AFSCME also represents other DPSCD employees including custodians, bus attendants, and food service workers.
“On Sept. 4, a brand-new ESE para just two days on the job was blindsided and had his nose broken by a student who is currently on a tether for allegedly assaulting a police officer,” she said. “This para had no training, no chance to protect himself from such a violent act.”
Detroit Federation of Teachers President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins also wants to see regular training for ESE staff as well as for general education staff.
“Our members are facing unprecedented demands as the number of students requiring evaluation and special education services continues to climb,” she said. “Without consistent professional development, meaningful support, and boots-on-the-ground assistance, our educators are being stretched to the breaking point. The $15,000 bonus is not enough.”
Last year, DPSCD and DFT approved a two-year contract that offers a $15,000 annual bonus to new and current employees who support students with individualized education programs, including ESE teachers, ESE social workers, psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists.
While paraprofessional certificate programs are offered at some community colleges, no certification, training, or background is required. The only requirement to be a teacher aide in Michigan is a high school diploma. Schools offer training for those who are hired.
DPSCD is one of those districts that offers professional development. Vitti said during the meeting that ESE paraprofessionals receive crisis intervention prevention training every year. The training provides tools for staff to deescalate violent or threatening situations. Most ESE paraprofessionals completed the two-day training before the first day of school on August 25, Vitti said.
“The only paras that were not trained were those that did not attend when school started or when their report date happened,” he said. “Since then, we have been trying to follow up with those paras through individual school sessions or sessions in the area where ESE paras could go.”
Vitti said 312 paraprofessionals have done the training, while 93 have not. The superintendent told BridgeDetroit in an email that paraprofessionals who do not take the training won’t face any consequences, since that is something that would need to be negotiated with the district’s unions.
Vitti added that the district is hoping to have the rest of the paraprofessionals complete their training by the end of September through training during school hours, the upcoming professional development day on Sept. 29, and offering paid weekend and evening training.
Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.
