Remaking Detroit Education

Excellent Schools Detroit is a broad and diverse cross section of Detroit’s education, government, community, parent, and philanthropic leaders who have developed a citywide education plan to help ensure that all Detroit children receive the great education they deserve. Participants include Michael J. Brennan, Michael Tenbusch, and Kelly Major Green, United Way for Southeastern Michigan. To learn more, visit www.excellentschoolsdetroit.org.

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Amber Arellano
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100311/OPINION03/3110341/Remaking-Detroit-Education#ixzz0hv4Q0kzK

Radical new plan should address the city's 'education catastrophe.' Now feds, community, should make sure it happens.

Today Detroit's most powerful education players are outlining a dramatic new plan to transform the city's educational landscape -- and convince long-weary national foundations that the Motor City is, for the first time, worthy of significant investment in education.

Just reading that may have made you say, "Sure, I've heard this before, another plan big on promises -- and short on results."

However, this plan may just be the one that finally produces change.

For the first time ever, leaders from foundations to charter school operators have millions already dedicated to the new plan being released this morning by the Excellent Schools Detroit coalition.

They not only promise to drive the closing of chronically failing schools and open new high-quality schools. They also have thoughtful strategies already underway to build the infrastructure that has been long and desperately needed in Michigan cities to support radical improvements in student achievement.

And here's another thing that is unusual: they have committed funding -- and much more coming -- IF local leaders produce a compelling, united strategy and the beginnings of real change.

National foundations such as Soros and President Barack Obama's administration are expressing first-time interest in rebuilding Detroit education.

Today's plan is part of Reimagining Detroit, a larger effort spearheaded by the Kresge Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, and others to convince Obama and other national players that yes, Detroit can thrive again with proper leadership, a lot of time and new strategies.

New accountability

What makes this plan worthwhile are its ambitious strategies for greater accountability for both public and charter schools; and a focus on developing the infrastructure and talent that the Motor City has long lacked. The standards that the coalition is setting: a 90 percent graduation rate and college attendance rate.

"We are getting a lot of pushback," Skillman Foundation President Carol Goss said Wednesday. "But we have to push ourselves and our community. This is not about DPS; this is not about charters. This focuses on students."

The plan calls for mayoral control of Detroit's schools. The district's elected school board is one of the greatest governance failures in the U.S. Once a backer of the board, now Goss says she simply will not work with the board any longer. The state legislature needs to develop a backbone, quit trying to appease the school board's complaining cronies, and pass legislation to make that change happen.

Goss and others are also rapidly developing a pipeline to develop and support great teachers and principals -- both existing and external candidates -- as they are the drivers of all academic improvement. For example, they're furiously fundraising to develop a Principal Leadership Academy and bring the nonprofit Teach for America to Detroit as soon as this fall.

The plan intends to close failing schools and open new ones, regardless of their governance structure.

About $200 million is being planned to fund new charter and new Detroit Public Schools that meet the coalition's high standards.Backers of the plan are working to create new mechanisms for accountability and parental support.

A new group is in the works to pressure Detroit Public Schools, charter authorizers and the state to finally make good on closing chronically failing schools. The group will also work on parental engagement and responsibility.

Naysayers be gone

Sure, there are plenty of perennial naysayers. The Detroit Federation of Teachers, for one, refused to sign off on the plan. The union hates that it will fund the creation of more charters.

Their opposition seems hopelessly unrealistic. Charters have been gobbling up the public schools' market share for more than a decade. Clearly, protectionism isn't going to save the district nor does it improve its schools.

A smarter strategy: improve both charter schools' performance -- along with the traditional public schools -- and do what's best for children.

Another challenge: prodding the so-far-hesitant new Detroit Mayor Dave Bing to not just say he'll accept responsibility for the Detroit Public Schools if the community wants it, but to make the case himself for such a necessity. Children need it.

He has good political reasons to do so, too. Polling obtained on Wednesday showed 75 percent of Detroiters reported they disapproved of the school board when asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of the overall performance of the Detroit Board of Education?"

The poll was conducted last year by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, a Washington, D.C., polling firm that interviewed 402 what were called "likely Detroit voters" by phone.

The new Excellent Schools Detroit plan should help convince both Detroiters -- and potential national funders -- the city's education sector is committed to real change now.

The community and funders should support this plan -- while also holding these education players accountable for their still yet to-be-seen full implementation and promised results.

Amber Arellano is a Detroit News editorial writer. E-mail her at aarellano@detnews.com. Find her columns anytime at www.detnews.com/arellano