The Rev. Larry Simmons wondered why children were roaming the streets of his neighborhood during school hours.

Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat Detroit
DPSCD labor contracts with pay increases win board approval
Vitti is already looking ahead to next year’s contract and the need to retain mid-career teachers.
Detroit school district enrollment figures dip as year begins
Attendance rate slips, too, due in part to heat-related dismissals. ‘This week will give a better indicator,’ Superintendent Vitti says.
Detroit students show slight gains on Michigan’s M-STEP standardized test
The percentage of Detroit Public Schools Community District students and students in city charters who achieved grade-level proficiency on the M-STEP exam was up in most grades and subject areas.
Detroit attendance agent connects with families to get kids in school
At Gompers Elementary-Middle School, Effie Harris plays the roles of investigator, counselor, spirit leader, and more.
One Detroit school’s multilayered effort to get absent students back to school
At Gompers Elementary-Middle School, located on Detroit’s northwest side, teachers and administrators came together to address the issue of chronic absenteeism, when students miss more than 18 days of school.
Metro Detroit students start new school year with familiar challenges, fresh solutions
The 2023-24 year marks the fourth full school year since the pandemic started, and offers the state’s public schools an opportunity to recalibrate academic recovery programs, tackle mental health issues, and address longstanding problems.
New school year and new challenges on the first day of school in metro Detroit
As the new school year begins in Detroit Public Schools Community District and others across Michigan, students face familiar challenges — with the promise of fresh solutions.
Detroit teachers union members approve one-year contract with district
About a third of the teachers union’s 4,300 members voted on the contract for 2023-24.
Detroit district contract would raise salaries 6% for highest-paid teachers
If the agreement is ratified, the district would give all teachers a retention bonus, as well as extra pay for hard-to-staff positions and veteran employees.