RIP Detroit Public Schools

[kraig]

I wasn't following Detroit politics when Engler was around, so I can't speak intelligently to that question. But comparing today's state takeover to that state takeover is like blaming Obama for the actions of Richard Nixon. Or blaming Reagan for the actions of LBJ.

Plus, the state isn't taking over the whole district, right? It's just the failing schools statewide? Detroit's not getting singled out here. And once the failing schools moves out of the "bottom tier", they go back to home rule.

Before the state took over the first time, DPS had a budget surplus and the test scores were more competitive. When the state took over, test scores went down, the surplus got wiped out, a deficit took its place and the district was left in a worse position than when the state took over. Flash forward to Robert Bobb taking over and you have the same thing. Test scores went down and the deficit grew.

The single biggest reason that the state takes over DPS is due to the district's ability to borrow huge amounts of money. There was 1.5 billion in bonds when Engler took it over. Which made for good living for the no bid contract crowd. When Bobb took over, the district borrowed 500 million to build new schools. And of course, Bobb got to choose the contractors. No one involved in these takeovers has given a damn about the kids or their education. It's all about the money.

[R8RBOB]

Before the state took over the first time, DPS had a budget surplus and the test scores were more competitive. When the state took over, test scores went down, the surplus got wiped out, a deficit took its place and the district was left in a worse position than when the state took over. Flash forward to Robert Bobb taking over and you have the same thing. Test scores went down and the deficit grew.

The single biggest reason that the state takes over DPS is due to the district's ability to borrow huge amounts of money. There was 1.5 billion in bonds when Engler took it over. Which made for good living for the no bid contract crowd. When Bobb took over, the district borrowed 500 million to build new schools. And of course, Bobb got to choose the contractors. No one involved in these takeovers has given a damn about the kids or their education. It's all about the money.

Very well said. I have heard ad-nauseum how government is the problem and here we have the State of Michigan ready to roll out a new bureaucracy to get the Detroit schools teaching the kids at a high level. I guess Snyder didn't get the memo from the Tea Baggers that mandate that government should not be in charge of education.

[casscorridor]

The central problem with Detroit Public Schools is neither pedagogical or financial, but rather societal.

Failing schools are symptomatic of a failing social system. It doesn't matter how much money or teachers you throw at Detroit's schools [[although it is important to note many of the most effective reforms such as smaller classes and one-on-one support have been ignored). Students will continue to fail to succeed in our economy not merely because our schools don't prepare them, but because we live in a class stratified society where there is only so much room at the top. And the divide between rich and poor is growing, with the middle class shrinking.

We should be helping students understand the world as it is, not the world as the owners of society want us to believe. The economy is not an equal playing field, you don't just have to work hard to succeed, you need more than that. You need to be born rich or have immense, almost ultra-human skill, determination and above all luck. We are forced fed stories of rags to riches, which is the essence of the American Dream. But those stories leave out one important detail -- there isn't room for everyone in the American Dream, and there never will be, unless the fundamental institutions of our society are radically altered.

So maybe if students understand the world as it is, they will be more equipped to CHANGE the world, rather than just accept the way it is as unalterable. This understanding alone, will lead to a typhoon of further inquiry by students, and the learning process will be accelerated by a desire to learn, to be an active member of society, and to take ownership over ones own live and ones own society.

[corktownyuppie]

Well, I disagree with your premise, but I agree with your conclusion. Whether or not people use their education to advance within the world as it is, or change it to make it better...BOTH options are far better than being uneducated, unable to think, unaware of one's inability to think, and shackled by the chains of ignorance.

That desire to better yourself needs to be instilled at a social/cultural level. Although it can be stifled by the outside at times, it can not be instilled by the outside. I'm not saying this tongue-in-cheek...it really does take a village.

[English]

Before the state took over the first time, DPS had a budget surplus and the test scores were more competitive. When the state took over, test scores went down, the surplus got wiped out, a deficit took its place and the district was left in a worse position than when the state took over. Flash forward to Robert Bobb taking over and you have the same thing. Test scores went down and the deficit grew.

The single biggest reason that the state takes over DPS is due to the district's ability to borrow huge amounts of money. There was 1.5 billion in bonds when Engler took it over. Which made for good living for the no bid contract crowd. When Bobb took over, the district borrowed 500 million to build new schools. And of course, Bobb got to choose the contractors. No one involved in these takeovers has given a damn about the kids or their education. It's all about the money.

Kraig is absolutely right. I was hired the year of the state takeover. No one EVER mentions what happened to DPS between 1999 and 2005 in these discussions. Things were bad, but I witnessed the race to the bottom... And watched the plunge down the rabbit hole. Follow the money!

[fryar]

I don't even know of any newbie teachers willing to risk working for such a jacked up system. What's left right now are we die-hards who really believe in the kids [[teachers and building admin).

The following excerpts from the article were striking in this regard:

The district has about 3,800 teachers this fall, down from 6,230 five years ago.

[[Detroit Federation of Teachers president Keith) Johnson said about 1,900 DPS teachers are eligible to retire.

[maxx]

the same way we can aford to build a new bridge. with someone elses money

Rich people build stadiums with other people's money.

[kraig]

Above all else, no matter who's in charge, the teachers need to be allowed to teach. The most disappointing part, IMHO, has been that no matter who's been in charge, the teachers have been under constant attack. I've seen King and Southeastern improve dramatically when the teachers were left alone. I've also seen both schools take dramatic downturns just as fast due to interference with the teachers. The teacher/student relationship is what makes or breaks an education. Hopefully someone in charge will put that aspect of the system as a higher priority than the contractual issues.