Post-conference Note

Breaking News on DPS Education Reform Governor, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager jointly unveil dramatic education reform plan to restructure failing Michigan schools (Note: DPS Emergency Manager Roy S. Roberts gave the following address at a news conference today, along with the governor, at Renaissance High School announcing a dramatic education reform plan to restructure failing Michigan schools. News release follows at end.)  Governor Snyder, you recall that last week my team had a day full of meetings in Lansing. We met with members of your team, had some insightful conversations with legislative leaders, were generally running a very tight schedule, and frankly got in the vehicle for the return trip to Detroit, tired. We were tired. Then we headed into this very room, to attend a Meet and Greet from an invitation from this school’s parents and students, I met Principal Gail Russell-Jones for the first time, and we were treated to an hour-long presentation on each of the curricular areas and several student performances. It didn’t take long before that exhaustion turned into excitement and energy. It didn’t take long to hear the Principal state her vision that all schools can, and should, offer all students the level of educational excellence clearly evident here. I knew immediately that when we would get together five days later for this important announcement, that this is the school and the setting that we should make it in. Thank you again, Principal Jones to you and Renaissance High School-home of the Phoenix. Governor, Superintendent Flanagan, U.S. Secretary Duncan, Principal Gail Russell-Jones, parents, students and Detroit community: today we change the game. You see, when Governor Snyder asked me to come out of quasi-retirement to accept this huge and daunting assignment, I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew that students in Detroit deserved our very best efforts and our very best minds and all the resources we can bring to bear on the situation to improve Detroit Public Schools. I also encountered many individuals who asked if I had lost my mind. I realized that they weren’t questioning my mental state, but rather that they had given up on the system and, sadly in many cases, its students. Well, today this is not about giving up on DPS or its students. It is about strengthening it, supporting them, creating a long term sustainable model, a System of Schools, that ensures a number of things. And this list is developed after many conversations with students, parents, teachers and others: 100 percent college- and career-ready graduates 100 percent of third graders reading at grade level Resources, as much as 95% of them, going directly to the schools Attracting and retaining students and families A wide range of innovative choices Safe and secure schools Financial sustainability Lean and supportive central administration Rewarding and flexible teacher career paths We are NOT on the path to achieve these goals under the current system design. It’s not about blaming the past or our teachers and educators who in nearly all cases are trying their level best. We have great people working in broken systems. When I accepted the task the Governor had given me, I knew there would be a lot to fix. But, I did not realize just how much was broken….There are no systems in place in such critical operational areas as Human Resources, Finance, Contracting and Procurement, IT. There is an organizational chart with some 30 people reporting to me and nearly half of them are contractors not full DPS employees and of those nearly all are scheduled to leave in 10 days at the end of this month. Our central office staff are spread out over 12 floors in four buildings in a condo ownership/lease arrangement. People don’t know each other. We all know about the $327 million deficit. We’ve seen the headlines that only 3 out of 100 Detroit students scored proficiently on the NAEP-National Assessment of Educational Progress-test and that roughly 80% of Detroit high schools fail to produce a single college-ready graduate. We have of the 92 schools across Michigan that have been identified as Persistently Low Achieving, 45 of those right here in Detroit. These students came to us with the desire and ability-we failed them. So today we announce a new system that drives vastly more resources into their classrooms, offers schools greater autonomy and ensures dramatic student achievement increases.  First, let me say that there are many good schools, scores of highly talented students, and cadres of dedicated educators in the Detroit Public School system that will remain within the Detroit Public Schools system.  There’s Detroit Renaissance High School but also Cass Technical High School. And there’s also the Detroit International Academy for Young Women, whose “Pink Panther” girls attend the only all-female public school in the State of Michigan. And, Davis Aerospace where students can get a pilot’s license in some cases before they get their drivers license. Eight of the top twelve highest performing elementary schools on the most recent Excellent Schools Detroit Report Card are DPS schools.  Some names you probably have never heard-Thirkell, Charles Wright and Mann. The night after we visited Renaissance last week I attended a banquet for more than 300 DPS graduates who earned 3.5 or higher GPA’s. Successful schools will remain with DPS and given greater autonomy to do what they do best. My very first day on the job I met the highly talented principal of Marcus Garvey Academy Mr. James Hearn recently named the Coleman A. Young Foundation Educator of the Year. DPS also will continue to manage all DPS property and debt service management and will continue to receive local tax revenue.  DPS will also be issuing fiscal stabilization bonds and will eliminate the deficit in 5 years. A new Education Achievement System (EAS) will place underperforming schools across the state, beginning in Detroit, under the umbrella of a more autonomous system that, in turn, will place the ultimate power for running each school in the hands of the principal, teachers and staff at the school, rather than in a central administration.  It will allow principals to hire the best teachers; place, train and support them; therefore providing continuous improvement based on student needs, and ensure that at least a third more taxpayer dollars are spent in the classroom, rather than in a central office far removed from the school. Schools in the system will benefit from numerous resources, such as a longer school day and year, a challenging curriculum, dramatically more resources and funding for classrooms, greater parent input and more autonomy to hire the best teachers, principals and staff and be held accountable for student achievement. The new Education Achievement System also will place great emphasis on community involvement in schools.  A Parent Advisory Council (PAC) will be formed at each school to incorporate local feedback and direction in a way that is much more direct than was possible previously.  As the school progresses in its improvement plan, the parent council will assume additional responsibilities for supporting its school.  Parents also will be asked to agree in writing to play a role in making sure their children succeed in school. Additionally, we are working with foundations, businesses and philanthropic organizations to guarantee that all students who graduate from a high school in Detroit will have the financial resources to attend, at a minimum, their choice of a two-year college or career training school in Michigan.  The goal is to expand the program to include four-year colleges as quickly as possible. The concept is modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise.  Organizers have embarked on aggressive fund raising in an effort to create and then expand this program so that Detroit graduates may ultimately receive guaranteed financial resources to afford a four-year college education. The system will be governed by an Educational Achievement Authority that will be established through an inter-local agreement between Eastern Michigan University and Detroit Public Schools.  The system will first apply to underperforming schools in Detroit beginning in the 2012-13 school year and will expand to cover the entire state. Over a five-year expansion period, it will envelop and operate underperforming schools across the state, in effect becoming a state-wide school district with a focus and specialization on the improvement of underperforming schools. Schools will remain within the Education Achievement System until they show dramatic progress for their students, at which time the improved schools may return to their traditional public school system. I will remain Emergency Manager of DPS while at the same time serving as chair of the Executive Committee of the system during its 2011-2012 incubation and planning period.  The system will develop capacity during the 2011-12 school year and will envelop the first schools from DPS in September 2012.  We have met with a great number of community leaders from all walks of life, and gotten a sounding from the larger community as well. Their input and counsel, much of it in the form of constructive criticism, has driven this model. This Educational Achievement System, and Detroit Public Schools, are both centered on Achievement and Promise. They…we…are the hope for our students, the attraction for our families and those to come, and the springboard from which fine educators both currently with DPS and from across the country can engage in 21st Century Teaching and Learning in autonomous and accountable, supported, nurtured, appropriately funded, properly equipped, safe and well maintained settings. Combined with the promise scholarship opportunity, this is indeed Detroit’s Promise. This is our promise and commitment to Detroit’s youth. I am excited and humbled to be a part of it. *****  (News release follows...) Governor, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager jointly unveil dramatic education reform plan to restructure failing Michigan schools Goal of new system of schools is to provide all Michigan students with skills to complete rigorous post-secondary program of either college or career training DETROIT – Gov. Rick Snyder and Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts today announced a plan to dramatically redesign public education in Michigan’s lowest performing schools by including them into a new system that drives vastly more resources directly into their classrooms and offers greater autonomy to help ensure dramatic student achievement increases. The Education Achievement System (EAS) plan is a new statewide school system that will operate the lowest performing 5 percent of schools in Michigan not achieving satisfactory results on a redesign plan or that are under an emergency manager. It is designed to provide a new, stable, financially responsible set of public schools that create the conditions, supports, tools and resources under which teachers can help students make significant academic gains. It will first apply to underperforming schools in Detroit in the 2012-2013 school year and then be expanded to cover the entire state. The system will place the ultimate power for running each school in the hands of the principal, teachers and staff at the school, rather than in a central administration or office far removed from the school. It will allow principals to hire the best teachers; place, train and support them to provide continuous improvement based on student needs and ensure that at least a third more taxpayer dollars are spent directly in the classroom. Schools will remain in the EAS until they show marked progress for their students at which time they can choose to stay or return their transformed DPS public school system. “Students in every Michigan school deserve educational opportunities that prepare them for a successful future,” Snyder said. “The time is now to establish a permanent solution and to provide teachers in our most challenged schools and students of all backgrounds with the tools, resources and safe learning environments they need to flourish. Our kids, citizens and economy will all benefit.” The new EAS also will place greater emphasis on community involvement in schools. A Parent Advisory Council (PAC) will be formed at each school to incorporate local feedback and direction in a way that is much more direct than was possible previously. As the school progresses in its improvement plan, the parent council will assume additional responsibilities for supporting its school. Parents also will be asked to agree in writing to play a role in making sure their children succeed in school. “Today is not about giving up on DPS or its students,” Roberts said. “It is about strengthening it, supporting them, creating a long term sustainable model that ensures 100 percent college- and career-ready graduates, 100 percent of third graders reading at grade level, as much as 95 percent of resources going directly to the schools, programs that attract and retain students and families, a wide range of innovative choices, safe and secure schools, financial sustainability, lean and supportive central administration and rewarding and flexible teacher career paths.            “There are many good schools in the Detroit Public School system that will remain within the Detroit Public Schools system, but we are not on the path to achieve our goals and replicate those successful schools under the current system design,” Roberts added. “The new Education Achievement System will drive dramatically more resources into school classrooms, offer schools greater autonomy to use best practices and ensure significant and sustainable student achievement increases." Snyder and Roberts said their announcement was held at Detroit Renaissance High School to underscore the excellence that can be found in DPS schools. Snyder and Roberts also announced they are working with foundations, businesses and philanthropic organizations on a plan modeled after the successful Kalamazoo Promise to guarantee that all students who graduate from a high school in Detroit will have the financial resources to attend, at a minimum, their choice of a two-year college or career training school in Michigan. The goal is to expand the program to include four-year colleges as quickly as possible. Organizers have embarked on an aggressive fund raising effort and will be seeking 4-year college and university partners to create and then expand this program so that Detroit graduates may ultimately receive guaranteed financial resources to afford a four-year college education. Snyder and Roberts said the new Education Achievement System will restructure challenged schools in a variety of ways so that they meet parent, student and teacher needs.  They include: Ensuring that each child’s school has a principal that 1) is qualified and knows how to create a safe learning environment and 2) passionately believes that every child, of every background, is capable of success. Spending as much money as possible in the classroom – not on administration – to help students and teachers make dramatic academic gains. Detroit Public Schools currently spends nearly half of its entire budget on bureaucracy and management, with $900 per student going simply to pay off debt. Because the system will operate on a very lean administrative structure and not be required to payout funds toward debt reduction, it will ultimately seek to push 95 percent of all school funds to the classroom. Hiring teachers that have a track record or the promise of success, and then empowering, supporting and rewarding them to succeed in the classroom.  Every staff member in the central office will be held responsible for supporting teachers in the classroom, and all employees will work under a “continuous improvement” model that allows staff to provide students with immediate help when they have fallen behind.  Staff will be able to access a multitude of cutting edge national and local resources to bring students up to speed, regularly monitoring their progress and continuing this loop until each student achieves at dramatically higher levels. Providing students with a challenging curriculum and longer school day that will allow for more instructional time in core subject areas like reading and math as well as access to the arts, music and physical education. Providing every parent a voice in the future of their child’s school, including a role in the Parent Advisory Councils where they can provide direct feedback and guidance. As the school makes academic gains, the parent council will assume additional responsibilities for supporting its school. Sharing local school performance data with parents so they can make an informed decision about how to get the best possible education for their child.  Asking parents to agree in writing to play a role in making sure their children succeed in school. The Educational Achievement System will initially be run in partnership with DPS under Roberts’ leadership. Roberts will remain emergency manager of DPS while at the same time serving as chair of the Executive Committee of the system during its 2011-2012 incubation period. The system will develop capacity during the 2011-12 school year and will receive its first schools from DPS in September 2012. “In my special message on education reform in April I said our system must position our children to compete globally in a knowledge-based economy and to have the highest possible quality of life,” he said. “To accomplish that goal we need to reshape our system so that all students learn at the highest level. This plan, which was developed after extensive research into the most successful efforts to improve low-performing schools around the country, is designed to achieve that goal.” The system will be governed by an Educational Achievement Authority that will be established through an inter-local agreement between Eastern Michigan University and Detroit Public Schools. While both of these “parent organizations” were necessary to form the authority, it will be an independent, free-standing entity. Eventually, the system will assume responsibility for and manage the schools from the 5 percent lowest performing schools in Michigan that are not achieving satisfactory performance on their schools’ redesign plans. As the EAS develops greater capacity, other school districts with schools that do not fall in the bottom 5 percent in performance will have the opportunity to enter into a partnership with the authority to take advantage of its best practices.   The system will be governed by an 11-member board, with two members appointed by DPS, two members appointed by Eastern Michigan University and seven members appointed by the Governor. Five members of the board will make up the Executive Committee, which will be chaired by Roy Roberts and comprised of one board member selected by DPS (Roberts), one member selected by EMU and three of the board members selected by the Governor. The Executive Committee will also select a Chancellor for the system. A school that enters the system will remain under its jurisdiction for a period of five years. At the end of that period, a determination will be made by the EAS, with input from the Parent Advisory Council regarding the improvement in performance by students in the school. If the school is deemed healthy and performing, the school will have a choice: remain in the EAS, move back to DPS (or other district), or seek a charter to run independently.  Roberts said the model of greater autonomy and more community engagement at each individual school also will be incorporated into DPS and its central bureaucracy, also slated to be dramatically reduced in size. He said the combined EAS and DPS central organizations will be much smaller than the existing district organization, allowing for more dollars to be spent in classrooms where they are needed most. DPS also will continue to manage all DPS property, debt service management and will continue to receive local tax revenue. For more information, visit www.detroitK12.org. This e-mail has been sent to you by DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS-CITY WIDE. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS-CITY WIDE either IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at (313) 873-8403. THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS IS NOT MONITORED. Please do not reply to this e-mail as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address.