Fixing the Detroit Public Schools

As an institution, the Detroit Public School District has been deeply troubled for many years. Now we are in a state of emergency.

With falling student graduation rates, low student test scores, outdated and unsafe physical facilities, and an overgrown bureaucracy that invites mismanagement and internal corruption, DPS was begging for a radical makeover by the time the Michigan Legislature imposed a five-year reform period in 1999. The state-ordered reform era was indeed radical, but it also was fatally flawed because it took away the right of Detroit voters to elect their own school board. Detroit voters corrected that flaw by voting in 2004 to return to an elected board in 2005.

Despite significant advances (new school construction, better purchasing systems and controls, higher test scores) under CEO Dr. Kenneth Burnley and the reform board, in 2005 a school district that could once be called troubled is now a district in crisis. The crisis is much deeper than a $200 million budget deficit for the 2005 fiscal year. Parents are rejecting Detroit Public Schools en masse, resulting in a loss of 40,000 to 50,000 students in the last five to six years. They aren't waiting for the improvements promised by state reform; they are simply leaving the city. If we are hemorrhaging enrollment, the governing structure of the district doesn't really matter. With middle-class families fleeing Detroit because of our public schools, the education crisis is also a civic crisis that requires dynamic leadership from Detroit 's mayor.

A Common Sense Solution to Political Gridlock, Middle-Class Flight and Academic Underachievement

The plan I offer for addressing the public schools crisis calls for practical, common sense action that will produce the most dramatic change in the history of the Detroit Public School District . The crisis of parental confidence we are facing right now requires an immediate response, because if Detroit cannot attract and keep middle-class families, nothing else we do is going to matter. My plan goes to the heart of the problem and offers a permanent fix for what ails Detroit 's public schools.

The mayor need not and should not run the schools. But under the dire circumstances we face today, it is vital that any serious mayoral candidate have a viable plan for restoring confidence in the public school system, thereby ending the alarming exodus from the city of Detroit. In the 1990s the mayors of Chicago, Boston , Cleveland and other large urban cities saw the dangers of middle-class flight and obtained broad managerial authority over their public school systems. Detroit 's state-imposed reform board took tentative steps in that direction five years ago. However, I am pleased to say that the radical change that I advocate and promote as mayor will not require direct intervention from city government or the Mayor's Office.

The key to a truly reformed public school system in Detroit is broad autonomy given to teachers, parents and principals. We need to move from centralized authority to local authority based in each school and its surrounding neighborhood. Principals should control their own school budgets, and teachers should have wide latitude in deciding coursework for the year. The pay scales for principals and teachers should be raised. Downsizing the current bureaucracy will pay for those pay increases. Principals and teachers will answer to local parental boards, and there will be training academies to help parents, principals and teachers live up to their bold new responsibilities.

We will continue to need an elected school board, solid test scores, and a central curriculum. However, if executed properly, the public school reform I propose will completely change the way our schools are run without any significant increase in costs. Sound good? Let me give you the details.

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I’ll Show You the Money

The first question people ask about dramatic change: Where will the money come from? But I say we won't need additional money from Lansing for implementing this plan. We can take the money Detroit already receives from the state and do a better job of distributing it. We won't need the inventory, the pencils, paper, books, and the rest of the bulk materials DPS currently pays for because every school will buy its own. A school can do quite well purchasing all that it needs and saving money at the same time by shopping at Costco, Sam's Club and similar “warehouse” stores. The cost savings that come from a centralized bureaucracy buying bulk may have had validity in the 1970s and 1980s, but not now.

Detroit Public Schools receive $7,180 per K-12 child from the state, annually more than $1 billion. I would call for a state cap on what can be spent on nonacademic activities to five or 10 percent of the total dollars that come from the state. Too much money is being spent in central administration that should be making its way to the classrooms and the students.

There is no question that the system needs to be shaken up and reinvented. What if we reduced administrative salaries, cars, trips to conferences, and office space by 80 percent – eight-tenths of the total administrative budget? That's money that never reaches the classroom. I believe the school unions would embrace such a move because it would allow their top two goals of higher pay and smaller class size to be realized.

Freeing Principals and Teachers from a Bloated Bureaucracy

Of all the problems that currently afflict Detroit Public Schools, none is more damaging or corrosive than the size of the central bureaucracy. Through the years, organizational obesity has been the result of adding new processes, procedures and managerial positions, while failing to shed those that were no longer needed. After more than five years of state reform, the DPS bureaucracy is too big and is beginning to topple under its own weight. If Detroiters are serious about the state of the public school system, and I believe they are, then we need to deal with this anchor that is dragging the city down.

Every discussion I've had with principals reveals a deep frustration over the autocratic nature of the district's central office. Principals are held accountable for the performance of their schools, but they have no authority to pick their own staffs, determine the curriculum, invest in technology, or make decisions regarding the physical plant.

In reality, the district has been “decentralized” several times. Each time, principals lost autonomy as the layers of central bureaucracy grew. Regions 1-8 morphed into Areas A-G, which in turn were transformed into constellations based upon high school feeder-school patterns. A dozen or so region-turned area superintendents mushroomed into more than 100 executive directors. And each transition ushered in a new level of approval and a net loss of local control over schools.

This is a backward system. No team owner ever hired a coach and said, “I will choose the players, run practices, and pick the plays, but if we don't go the finals, it's your fault.” That is, in effect, what is happening in our public school system. Principals are held accountable for making improvements without the authority needed to carry them out. It is widely accepted by education experts that the principal is the key individual in setting the tone of a school. We've all seen individual principals and independent parochial and charter schools make a huge difference in student achievement. School principals must have real authority over what takes place in the building. Principals should have a high degree of authority over instructional, personnel and budgetary issues at their schools. “One size fits all” is not the best formula when deciding the direction of individual schools.

Similar frustrations over decision-making are evident among teachers in Detroit . They often do not have input regarding curricular decisions and methodology, nor do they have many options when it comes to classroom management and discipline. This is largely due to the fact that the instructional administrative office of DPS, which consists of curriculum and student support services, is also bureaucratically heavy.

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Training Principals and Teachers, and Paying Them What They Deserve

The Detroit school district should establish leadership academies for principals so that experienced teachers and other individuals could be trained in the fundamentals of successful school management. Principals should not be restricted to the education field. They may come from other industries, if they have proven leadership ability. We should also study ways to raise the pay of principals to attract the best possible candidates.

In addition, there are many motivated individuals and organizations for helping principals become more resourceful – local businesses, community based organizations, and neighborhood churches. There should be a holistic approach where the principal is driving community stakeholders into the nearest neighborhood school to help out. In this way, principals would help every concerned person to become a resource for making a difference in our schools.

In an effort to reenergize and redeploy our most valuable assets, we should create a Master Teacher Program in the Detroit Public Schools. Such a program would offer teachers at the peak of their careers additional certification and income, thereby motivating them to remain in the classroom once they hit a ceiling in compensation and job classification. What veteran teachers tend to do once they reach a certain level is get off the teaching path and get on an administrative path. Earning a Master Teacher certificate would give teachers the credentials for higher pay. Qualifications would include a minimum of seniority and passing a Master Teacher training course. A Master Teacher would mentor younger teachers and work on improving the curriculum and school programs. Ultimately, it would keep our best teachers in the classroom. The salaries of Master Teachers should be compatible with the pay of principals and high-level administrators. Gifted teachers could keep doing what they do best, fulfilling their passion and mission.

Increased Parental Involvement

Another group disaffected by the size of the District's bureaucracy is parents. Any school district that is as bloated as Detroit 's is going to be inherently inefficient when it comes to adapting to community needs. Educational studies show a direct correlation between the parents' involvement and the success of the student. This is even truer when parents have a say in the running of the school their children attend. However, Detroit doesn't do enough to foster this involvement or to direct involved parents into constructive programs where they can help improve a school's performance. Parents should be treated with respect and dignity when they make the effort to be active in their children's school, otherwise they will not stay involved. Detroit Public Schools need to adopt uniform “rules of engagement” for how parents can be involved in the education of their children.

Parent Academies should be established within local schools where classes would teach better parenting at home and how to be volunteers in the schools. Training should emphasize the importance of parental responsibility: making sure that students arrive at school on time, are properly groomed, appropriately dressed, and fed nutritious meals. Parent academies would help restore community expectations that parents have a duty to teach children self-discipline, orderly behavior and respect for others.

This initiative should not become an expensive new program. There are parents who know what to do to make a significant difference in the lives of their children and in the operation of their neighborhood schools. Why not enlist the help of parents who are engaged right now in “best practice” parental involvement? They could bring other parents to training sessions at local schools – during the day, in the evening or on weekends. There's no need to complicate things – a peer-to-peer program will work just fine.

In addition, Parents Councils should be established to help with the management of neighborhood schools. Such councils would be appointed by principals or elected by local Parent Teacher Associations. A combination of the two methods or some other neighborhood-based formula could be developed to create an advisory group that has significant influence on the curriculum and other important factors in how their children are educated. This kind of direct involvement in a well-run neighborhood school is what will convince families to remain in the city and send their kids to Detroit Public Schools.

I am a big proponent of the Local School Community Organization (LSCO). While students' parents should be the major players in the organization, everyone in the community should be invited by the school principals to get involved.

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Where School-Site Management Has Worked

One of the most successful urban school districts in North America is Edmonton Public Schools in Alberta , Canada . Like Detroit , Edmonton had an oversized district bureaucracy, frustrated principals and teachers, and discontented parents. The District was losing students to private and charter schools at the rate of 1,500 a year (about the size of an average Detroit high school). Edmonton took some radical steps and now it is a model district with administrators coming in from all over the world to learn their secrets.

The fundamental change that Edmonton implemented was a move from district-based decision-making to school site decision-making or management . School site management radically alters the distribution of funds throughout the District. Currently, each Edmonton school receives 92 cents of every dollar allocated to the District. Although there are no exact figures, the share Detroit schools receive is closer to 70 cents of every dollar, with the District mandating much of how that money is spent. Edmonton principals now have control over what services they “buy” from the District. No longer does the District mandate programs and then charge the schools for them. The principals can choose to purchase the curricular support, the professional development support, and the technological support they need from the District or from an outside provider if it is financially more reasonable. Schools have different needs and what may be beneficial for one school is a waste of time and money for another. School-site management solves this problem.

Edmonton also thinned out the layers of bureaucracy that separated the principals from the CEO (Superintendent). Edmonton principals now report directly to the CEO, and the CEO's primary job is not to decide on various programs or initiatives, but to hold the principals accountable for their decisions.

When Edmonton gave the money and the responsibility to the principals, they also increased accountability. The district demanded results. Principals, now free to address the most pressing issues in their schools, responded brilliantly. Reading and math scores (the only two subjects the District measures) have improved dramatically.

Edmonton Public Schools has also become more responsive to parents' wishes and demands. Parents wanted more specialized education for their students, and the District responded with 29 different educational alternatives. Parents are pleased and encouraged. The District's enrollment is increasing by about 3,000 students a year.

Several large urban districts in the United States are moving in the direction of school-site management. Chicago, Dade County (Miami) Florida, Salt Lake City, Santa Rosa, California are a few prominent districts that have embraced this promising trend. Detroit could be on the cutting edge of public education reform if we move in this direction. Such a bold move would send a clear signal to families who have been discouraged by all of the recent bad news about school closings and layoffs that we, as a city, are committed to the education of our youth; that we will do whatever is necessary to ensure the future of this city and of our public schools.

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More School Choices

My support and advocacy is with the Detroit Public Schools because a viable public school system is a necessity in any large urban center, and Detroit is no different. My priority is focused on fighting for and improving the Detroit Public School System.

However, the current flight from Detroit of parents with school age children must be arrested now. To do so Detroit parents must be given more public school choices with magnet and other specialty schools. We would definitely want to allow and encourage cross-district registering in Detroit . As the mayor and leader of this city, I would support any school—public or otherwise—that has a record of successfully educating Detroit children. Schools that fail to educate our children should be closed and restructured in some way.

I do not support the wholesale lifting of the cap on charter schools in Detroit nor the region – currently there are 40 or so charter schools in Detroit . With the recent closure of several Detroit parochial schools, I do believe there's a place in our city for specialized schools. There is even room – physically, academically and politically—for the charter schools philanthropist Robert Thompson wants to build in the city of Detroit . At least a few of these schools will certainly be built, especially now that Thompson has found a valuable ally in businessman and NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing. I applaud Mr. Thompson's desire and determination to invest in the education of Detroit 's young people.

I encourage the people of Detroit to approach Mr. Thompson and Mr. Bing's plans for a network of new charter schools in the city of Detroit with open minds. Detroiters should engage Thompson and Bing in conversation with their suggestions and concerns regarding location, curriculum, design and impact on the local community and existing schools.

The education template that Thompson is advocating is the University Prep Academy (UPA) that includes small schools of 500-600 students and classroom sizes of 16-20 students. It is a model all of us should be advocating. With the District's capital improvement funds and support from the state, we could create 50 UPAs with open enrollment throughout the city. If all 50 schools had 700 students, within four academic years we would have prepared 35,000 additional students for college. This is a tried and tested prescription for educating youth.

Additional School Enhancements

The safety of our public schools is dependent upon both the management of the neighborhood school and the diligence of the surrounding community. Each local school must do its best to ensure a safe learning environment, taking a no-tolerance approach to disorder and unruliness. Because each school and its neighborhood is different, principals, teachers and parents should work out their own rules for disciplining students – within legal parameters of course. The safety issue is an example of why school-site autonomy is so important.

Meanwhile, local law enforcement officials must work closely with business owners and neighborhood organizations to address disruptive social forces that can contaminate schools. Two Detroit Police Department programs in particular have achieved considerable success within schools: the Ranger Program and the Gang Squad. The Ranger Program assigns to each school an officer who develops positive relationships with students and their families in the neighborhood. The Gang Squad has a long history of effectively curtailing gang violence in and around schools by cracking down on the sources of gang-related misbehavior. Principals and assistant principals sing the praises of the Gang Squad, and their influence and resources should be increased.

While parents and guardians have a responsibility to teach young people respect and civility, citizenship and character education should be incorporated into every classroom in a formal and structured way, from kindergarten through high school. We need to teach children exactly what we expect from them: how to conduct themselves in public; how to act toward others; how to show respect; and how to earn respect. These are the most valuable lessons we can teach our children.

There should also be improved, supervised after-school activities for Detroit public school students. As much as possible, city government should work with schools to increase the use of public recreation facilities and programs in the afternoon and early evening. Children involved in enrichment activities like art, shop, intramural sports, drama, dance, and swimming have far fewer opportunities to succumb to the lure of the streets.

We can change the culture of our schools. Let's consider initiating a campaign on the airways with broadcasts that give points of wisdom and support for parents and students on such topics as study habits, commitment to education, values, and the role of family in a child's education. Parents and teachers should commit to increasing school social functions, like father-daughter dinner dances, and parent-teacher conference attendance.

Conclusion

By and large, the city of Detroit and the Detroit Public Schools are blessed with conscientious and dedicated teachers, principals, administrators and other on-site personnel who are motivated to help students excel and reach their potential. Rather than allow their dedication to go to waste and let the system collapse, we need to fix it -- NOW. The workable solution is to reduce the oversized DPS bureaucracy, move to smaller schools and fewer students in each classroom, and empower each school and neighborhood to take responsibility for the success of their local schools and the students who attend them.