detroit schools

Public schools in Detroit will re-open for in-person learning in the fall, following an agreement with the city’s teachers’ union.   

Detroit Public Schools Community District announced on Monday that it had established terms with the Detroit Federation of Teachers which “recognizes the need to return” to the classroom for all school staff, including teachers. 

“This agreement signals that we are all on the same page to restart our reform efforts that had great momentum before the pandemic,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a statement. 

Faith leaders stood alongside Detroit public school officials in calling for more teachers to get vaccinated and return to classrooms. 

“We have a superintendent, we have a board that are working together to make sure that our school system is ready to receive children,” said Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple. “But we must not just have good buildings, sanitized buildings. We need the workforce.” 

Only about 600 teachers have returned to classrooms out of about 3,000, according to Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. An agreement with the district’s teachers union made teaching in-person voluntary.

Many Detroit public school students would go back to their classrooms in-person, if their teachers would do the same. 

A survey conducted earlier this month by the Detroit Public Schools Community District found that 40% of students would prefer in-person instruction to virtual learning.

When schools re-opened on March 8, about 9,000 students in the district returned to classrooms or “learning labs” where they are supervised by educators during virtual lessons, according to the district.

Michigan’s largest public school district will be re-opening to in-person instruction next week.

Officials with Detroit Public Schools Community District say face-to-face instruction will resume next Monday, March 8. The district suspended in-person classes in November, as COVID-19 case rates in the city climbed in November.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says with infection rates in the city down and teachers having access to coronavirus vaccines, the district can again provide an in-person learning option. 

Some Detroit school teachers are not happy with a plan to return to the classroom this month during the COVID-19 pandemic. They took part in a car caravan protest on Monday.

Last month, members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers voted to authorize a “safety strike” if the Detroit Public Schools Community District didn’t “implement basic science-based safety protocols before schools reopen during the continuing coronavirus pandemic.”

A federal appeals court has dismissed a motion seeking to undo a ruling in a literacy lawsuit from Detroit.

All 16 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed to deny the request to review a ruling by a three judge panel of the appeals court in “Gary B. v. Whitmer.”

The 2016 lawsuit was filed against the state of Michigan on behalf of students from several of Detroit’s worst performing schools.

A federal appeals court has handed a victory to Detroit public school students suing for the “right to literacy.”

One of the attorneys in the case called the ruling “historic.”

The 2016 lawsuit was filed against the state of Michigan on behalf of students from several of Detroit’s worst performing schools.

Detroit Public Schools Community District officials are changing the way the district provides free meals to children in response to the governor’s order to “stay at home” during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Public school students in Detroit will soon have access to new mental health care services.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District is teaming up with a University of Michigan program called TRAILS, or Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students.

A new referral system sends Detroit schools an automatic alert when one of its students enters a homeless shelter. Advocates say it’s a simple but critical step, because they believe Detroit is drastically undercounting the number of students who are homeless. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos used a visit to a Detroit charter school on Friday to push one of her policy mainstays—more school choice.

DeVos visited the Detroit Edison Public School Academy as the final stop on her national “back to school” tour. It was her first visit to a Detroit school as Education Secretary.

DeVos says DEPSA is an example of the benefits school choice can provide. Its students perform better on statewide tests than most comparable schools, and more than 95% graduate within four years.

DeVos’ choice to appear at a charter school was not coincidental. The DeVos family has been instrumental in reshaping Michigan’s school landscape to include more charters and school choice, and she appeared at the event alongside Dan Quisenberry, of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA).

Detroit education officials are working to address shortfalls in the school district's special education program after audits found it's failing to meet student needs.

The Detroit News reports that the Detroit Board of Education on Tuesday approved Superintendent Nikolai Vitti's plan for sweeping reforms to its special education department. Two audits identified that the district lacks an effective system for identifying and evaluating children who may be eligible for special education services.

More than $11 million has been raised to support Detroit's youth summer jobs program.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday that 8,210 young people ages 14 to 24 will receive six weeks of training, on-the-job experiences, professional contacts, and exposure to potential career paths as part of Grow Detroit's Young Talent.

The city says most participants will work 20 hours per week at more than 500 sites with companies of various sizes. The companies include auto suppliers and law firms.

This week could be pivotal for a massive class action lawsuit connected to the Flint water crisis. 

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit demanding literacy rights for Detroit children.

Filed in 2016, the suit attempted to force the state of Michigan to improve the condition of city schools. A week ago, Detroit school officials released a report pegging the cost of repairing the city’s school facilities at half a billion dollars.  

But in an opinion issued Friday night, U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III dismissed the suit.

Quicken Loans is introducing computer coding to 5,000 Detroit students.

The mortgage lender says Code(D)etroit will teach modern coding fundamentals to 1,250 students each day, beginning June 18, during the Techstars Startup Week Detroit.

Quicken Loans is partnering with Detroit-based technology training institute Grand Circus. Grand Circus will work with Quicken Loans to find and train volunteer instructors for the code training.

Nearly 500 Detroit second-grade students have received new bikes, helmets, locks and bells after completing a bicycle safety program.

The bikes and other items were given Tuesday to the students by the Detroit Red Wings, Chevrolet and the Detroit Public Schools Foundation during a special assembly at Little Caesars Arena.

The students attend 10 schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. They have been practicing riding and learning road safety since April in their physical education classes as part of the Road & Bicycle Program.

One Detroit school that’s shut down because of building problems will be housed in another school building for the rest of this year.

Palmer Park Preparatory Academy was shut down because of a leaky roof and mold problems. The Detroit Public Schools Community District closed the building for the rest of the year to replace the roof.