MichiganRadio

Coalition Unveils Detroit Schools Reform Plan ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - A coalition of Detroit-based organizations wants to make a fresh start with the city's failing school district.

The 200 million dollar reform plan includes closing and replacing at least 70 of its 172 schools and taking control of the district away from the elected school board.

Excellent Schools Detroit says it wants to transform everything about the city's schools -- public, charter and private.

The coalition is made up of 15 groups whose mission is to boost the city's high school graduation rate from 58 percent to 90 percent by the year 20-20.
It also aims to improve students' record-low test scores.

But first, it wants to persuade the public to essentially fire the Detroit Public Schools board and give control to the city's mayor, Dave Bing, by putting the issue on the ballot.

Mayoral control has been tried before -- from 1999 to 2006. It wasn't successful - the district was 200 million dollars in debt.

Otis Mathis is the president of the school board.

"That's an experiment that's been tried, and why would they want to use a failing concept, pretty much, and experiment with an old experiment on city of Detroit School kids," Mathis says.

Robert Bobb has been the district's state-appointed emergency financial manager for more than a year.

He says accountability is the key to a successful school district.

"The significant difference is that someone will be watching, so that in Detroit, where public education is the only out for literally thousands of our students, we'll have an organization that will determine whether a Good Housekeeping Seal will be placed on schools," Bobb says.

Excellent Schools in Detroit says only 58 percent of Detroit's public school students graduate from high school in four years. That number rises to 78 percent of public charter school students.

But the group says fewer than one in four of those students enrolls in college.
It also says many of the students who do go to college need remedial help to catch up with other students.

And while charter school performances vary widely from state to state, according to Stanford University, on average -- charter schools are NOT performing as well as their traditional public-school peers.


Carol Goss is president and CEO of the Skillman Foundation.

She says the city's students should not be allowed to attend inferior schools any longer.

"We intend to move quickly and boldly, because the city's children are so far behind, Detroit must improve its schools faster than any other city has done. The ground is shifting beneath us, whether we like it or not," Goss says.

The coalition will have to present its case to voters in order to get a referendum to take control away from the school board and give it to the mayor.

The plan also calls for bringing in new leaders and teachers, whether they're from Detroit or not.

Mark O'Keefe is with the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

"So while there's things in this plan that we do back, we don't support it 100%," O'Keefe says. "We don't necessarily view charter schools specifically as the be all, end all. We need better schools and I think that does underlie this plan. The idea that whether it's public, private or charter, students deserve good schools."

Doug Ross is with New Urban Learning Foundation. He says closing underperforming schools and replacing them is the only way to go. But the most important element is parental involvement.

"You have to take the initiative to go find the best school for your child. Big difference, new day," he says.

Before anything can happen, the coalition has to bring the public on board. And that may be its biggest challenge.

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