Despite being passed over for top job, Alycia Meriweather says she’s focused on changes ahead for Detroit schools

When Interim Superintendent Alycia Meriweather and other top officials from the Detroit Public Schools Community District arrived in the auditorium of Bethune Elementary-Middle School on Tuesday afternoon, their goal was to calm frayed nerves.

Bethune is among 11 schools that will be returning to the main Detroit district this summer after five years in the state-run Education Achievement Authority and district officials have been making the rounds of returning schools, promising a smooth transition.

“I wanted to come to each of these meetings personally to make sure that we clearly communicate that DPSCD is excited to have our family back,” Meriweather told Bethune parents and teachers, vowing that the district would “move everyone back into the family and move the whole family toward excellence.”

But even as Meriweather rallied the troops at the school on Detroit’s west side, her hopeful predictions about the future struck an odd note just days after the Detroit school board narrowed its superintendent search to three finalists that did not include Meriweather.

The interim superintendent’s exclusion from the search process has triggered angry reactions on social media. Hundreds of people have signed a petition urging the school board to reconsider. And on Wednesday, the union representing Detroit teachers called on the board to give Meriweather a shot.

“During her tenure, Interim Superintendent Meriweather has led the way in restoring trust, confidence and hope in our school district,” the Detroit Federation of Teachers wrote in a Facebook post. “She has earned an opportunity for further consideration.”

Board President Iris Taylor did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Meriweather had applied for the permanent position but said her elimination won’t change her focus between now and the end of her contract in June.

“What I’m committed to right now is through June 30th and making sure that we move this district forward,” Meriweather said. “My hope is the same hope I had when I took the interim position, which is that every piece of work that I have done in the last year will be good enough to keep moving forward no matter who sits in this seat.”

Several Bethune parents and teachers said knowing that Meriweather is leaving adds another layer of uncertainty to the already daunting prospect of their school returning to the district, but Meriweather said most of the transition details will be addressed before she leaves.

She told the parents and teachers in the Bethune auditorium that EAA teachers will get letters next week promising them that they can remain in their current positions as long as they’re certified and not rated “ineffective.” What they will be paid, however, will be the subject of ongoing negotiations between the district and the city teachers union because many EAA teachers make more than their district counterparts.

Parents who want to keep their children in their current EAA schools can do so without having to deal with extra paperwork, Meriweather said, adding that the district is committed to maintaining continuity.

“I wanted you to hear straight from me: Who I am, who we are and where we’re going,” Meriweather said. “We’re excited to have you back and I really look forward to this transition and making it as smooth as possible.”

Despite the superintendent search news, Meriweather has kept up her schedule of events and community meetings this week. Her signature is on the lawsuit the district just filed opposing state plans to shutter 16 district schools.

She will be the one negotiating a “partnership” with the state education department that is intended to keep those 16 schools open as well as eight EAA schools that were also on the closure list, she said.

The school board is moving ahead with scheduling interviews with the three men who were named as finalists: Orlando Ramos, a regional superintendent for the Milwaukee Public Schools; Nikolai Vitti, the superintendent of the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Fla.; and Derrick Coleman, who is superintendent of the River Rouge district.

All three will go through a 12-hour interview process that will include school visits and parent meetings as well as a public interview with the board, the district announced Wednesday. Ramos’ interview is scheduled for March 29th, Vitti’s for April 3 and Coleman’s for April 5.

Asked whether she intends to remain with the district under a new superintendent, Meriweather declined to answer.

“At this point, I’m going to say no comment,” she said.