The school district is facing a triple threat of pressing concerns: federal funding uncertainty, thousands of students experiencing homelessness, and fears of immigration enforcement which may be affecting attendance.
What’s crackalakin #Detroit?!
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Today at 5:30pm I’ll be live reporting a DPS Community District meeting!! Please tune in!!
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#DetroitDocumenters
06:16 AM Feb 11, 2025 CST
Here’s a link to today’s agenda! Everything that’s supposed to be covered in this meeting will be here.
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Personally I find myself very curious about 13.02 and 14.02.
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go.boahttps://go.boarddocs.com/mi/detroit/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DARNDF5EEF58
This is a link to the members of the board! I’ll do my best to call them out by name as I hear from them. Mayhaps even provide a bit of context concerning them.
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wwhttps://www.detroitk12.org/Page/15200
Following my interest in 14.02 on the agenda- here are some links to the aforementioned Allied Media Projects, People in Education.
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I can see very clearly how their Humanizing Schooling project directly relates to this initiative.
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https://www.peopleineducation.org/why-humanizing-schooling
Ooh there’s jazz on the live stream! The meeting must be starting soon!!
The stream struggled to stay up and then went cold… definitely not a good look.
Hey, I’m from Chalkbeat. Is the livestream working for you yet? It keeps starting over from the beginning and stopping at the same spot every single time.
No it’s not! Talk about a set back. I’m having the same issue, it seems the stream has ended entirely.
It appeared as though they were trying a new feature of zooming in on the speaker, but as soon as that happened, the stream stopped.
Are they going to get the stream back up soon? Or perhaps an alternative?
Doesn’t appear as if that’s going to happen. Fingers crossed, though!
Alright! After a bit of a sabbatical this meeting is back up, and so the thread continues!
Mr.Ford reports that thousands more students are being reported as homeless, though not citing the exact number.
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He also says they don’t have a specific budget for said students, but that they give coats, gift cards, Ubers to school, and other services and goods.
I wonder why there isn’t a budget specifically for this? Ford goes on to say that it’s a citywide concern, which personally I would agree with. Everyone should have their hands on this issue in some way.
“Even though our numbers of identification have increased- we don’t receive more funding for the identification of students…” He says.
Enjoying Dr.Taylor’s level of concern over the welfare of these students. As well as her emphasis on informing the student bodies about ICE risks- and letting them know that virtual schooling is indeed an option.
Ford’s finally getting back to us with that number- 3,182 students identified as homeless! Goodness.
Love love love this student speaker letting us know if the school supports the students, the students will SHOW. Especially financially, giving them that incentive and meeting their needs should be the priority.
Mention of district warming centers, only to find that there.. are none. Why? No resources. Why? No funding. Heartbreaking to hear…
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Maybe drawing some attention to it could get the money they need to make it happen.
This ‘ought to be interesting!! Citizenship concerns. I’m ready!!
Nevermind! The conversation shifted back to the homeless students in the body- which I cannot be even remotely upset with.
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Sherry J. insists this is a crisis- mentions she wants to explore facilitating affordable housing.
I like that term. ‘Residential education’. I hope I’m going to hear it more in this context over the next couple years.
“We gotta do a better job of telling our story but also elevating a call to action…” Sherry J Gay-Dagnogo.
“I just want us to do what we can, as fast as we can.” Dr. Iris Taylor
Full of respect for all these people wholeheartedly acknowledging the intersectionality of these issues and trying to tackle them head on.
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So sad I missed the beginning of the meeting💔💔
Monique Bryant cites her previous work owning a janitorial company in saying that the cleanliness of these schools needs to be properly maintained by facilities. As well as staffing issues, and parental complaints.
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She references ‘GDI’
This is GDI by the way!
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Moving now to public comment! That’s 10.01 on the agenda.
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Also, a little petty squabble between board members getting to it, which is hilarious although unprofessional.
Public commenter, (with a Moms Demand Action shirt on) delivers a POWERFUL comment on gun safety and storage- emphasizing that gun violence and student deaths are preventable if we just take action.
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https://momsdemandaction.org
The next commenter has a lot to say about this presidency, and its effect on our community and the diverse student body.
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“We’re fighting a dictatorship that’s of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. It controls both political parties and serves the billionaire oligarchs.”
Did they cut her mic?? Granted, I think she was out of time but… am I wrong for being rubbed the wrong way by that?
This next commenter has been to multiple of these meetings, to no avail. Calling for student involvement, and for people (plaintiffs) to have a greater voice when it comes to decisions made over these ‘babies’ and their education.
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“Are our students actually achieving because of- or despite, our school system?”
After him is a concerned grandmother speaking against bullying in one of our schools. She wants the parents to step up, which is a breath of fresh air considering the tone of this meeting has largely been concerning policy and funding.
65 year old commenter (also social worker) laments how tired she is of the board. Adore her energy. She says she’s DISGUSTED with the board members that just sit there and do nothing. Her energy is electric, and her words are cutting.
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“Our children come first.”
She speaks longer, even though they cut her microphone!! Overwhelming the board and the audience with the kind of fervor I love to see when it comes to this issue. Props to her.
Next commenter talks about how virtual schooling should be extended to ALL students not just undocumented students. Asks if there will be more virtual educators to make up for the influx of students.
Concerned mother shares a personal story about her own son to speak out against the treatment of students with ASD. Wants teachers to take on more responsibility and ownership for what goes on in schools.
Another commenter talks about the crisis of AI influencing students in a negative way. Our students are falling behind the competition and it is an atrocity.
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“Right now, the house is on fire.”
A mother pleads against the neglect of higher ups, saying they haven’t reached out about her daughter’s suspension for an entire month. That her daughter is receiving death threats, and that the school (King High) has done nothing about it. Horrible.
Another comment about the rapid decline of fourth grade reading levels. Grade 4 reading in Detroit is at 5%.
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“This is genocidal for our kids. When you talk about a meritocracy- if you can’t read, you can’t learn.”
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nces.ed.https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/dst2024/pdf/2024220XR4.pdf
DPSCD employees deserve to get paid more, exclaims another commenter. She calls out the Michigan State Lottery Commission Student Fund Aid- and how much of the money doesn’t reach classrooms.
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wwhttps://wwmt.com/amp/news/state/michigans-lottery-funds-for-schools-not-as-clear-cut-as-advertised
More context on this subject, because I found it quite fascinating. Although of course I cannot verify or speak for any of this information. It’s a good read.
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iphttp://ippsr.msu.edu/research/supplement-or-supplant-estimating-impact-state-lottery-earmarks-higher-education-funding
Phone caller recounts her child getting expelled without proper process and policy- why are we treating kindergarteners like expendable? She asks the board to review her child’s case, and I think they should do more than that. Justice for that parent and her son.
Noticing in the middle of the meeting that every time I said “Mr.Ford” I meant to say “Dr.Vitti”. Note to fix.
DR.VITTI (ha) goes on to express concern around the President dissolving the department of education, and withholding of funds.
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But he emphasizes that it’s not the end all be all, and there’s a process we go through to do the best we can to protect our students.
An issue with security. Ridiculous. The attendee was allowed to stay, although he was almost ushered out over a seemingly invisible transgression.
I understand Dr.Vitti’s attempt to approach these concerns but to be honest I feel a tendency to preach semantics from him, rather than addressing the meat of the issue. Although, the devil’s in the details- and I respect that.
One board member asks another what they do to reach out to individuals who have been asking for the same help for years. A voice from the crowd exclaims “Nothing!” Yikes.
Mention of a program for local authors…Sherry J. Gay-Dagnogo wants to give our attention to processes such as these instead of sending our money out of state. I’m with her.
Item 12 was passed super quickly. I get the feeling everyone’s kind of tired. 13.01 is also moved rather quickly. 1 board member says no to this one. 13.02 goes by just as fast. So much for my previous interest.
Moving into the 14’s on the agenda, it’s getting interesting. Some members seem to have something to say about 14.01.
Hearing mumbles about being ready to go into people’s microphones. I had a feeling, but it’s good to know regardless.
Enjoying the pro-Detroit sentiment, keeping Wayne county money here instead of sending it elsewhere.
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Moving to item 15 on the agenda.
If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line!! And check out https://documenters.org ❣️
