On Nov. 4, Detroiters will determine who governs the city after 12 years of the current Mayor Mike Duggan’s tenure. Our candidates: Mary Sheffield, the current City Council president who won the primary election by receiving 51% of the votes this August; Rev.Solomon Kinloch Jr., longtime senior pastor from Triumph Church; and six write-in candidates.
In the last 12 years, we’ve seen developments downtown and in particular neighborhoods that have excited outsiders, millionaires and big businesses, helping promote the narrative of “Detroit’s comeback.” We’ve also seen a consistent decline in one of the foundational pieces of Detroit’s success – our public education system.
In the last 12 years, I have been a Detroit public schools community district student in the heart of bankruptcy, an alumnus who was woefully unprepared to succeed at her top 10 university, and a consistent advocate for our public schools.
And, in the last 12 years, I can confidently say one thing has remained clear: Detroit is in desperate need of a leader who will prioritize investing in and listening to our young people.
The problem
While it’s common knowledge that the mayor of Detroit does not have direct governing power over Detroit’s public schools, one thing ALL Detroiters know is that schools impact neighborhoods, and neighborhoods impact schools. When a school closes, for instance, it completely shifts the energy of the neighborhood, destroying ties with community members and school staff, forcing people to move out, and often leaving abandoned corpses of what once were pillars of our communities.
And when schools thrive in great neighborhoods, like in the Midtown area, areas like Cass Corridor and Sherwood Forest thrive, too.
Let’s face it – schools make or break a neighborhood. And if we’re serious about Detroit’s comeback, we’ve got to get serious about quality schools in every neighborhood, and neighborhoods that can create safe environments for these community staples. Every day, students face a lack of safe, quality public transportation, physical and mental health resources and affordable housing, as well as an increase of homelessness and gun violence.
We often blame problems in our schools–like low literacy proficiency rates, chronic absenteeism and low graduation rates–on stakeholders: parents, students and educators/school staff. Rarely do we address the real issue within our schools: that they aren’t silos.
The truth is, if we’re going to solve the issues in Detroit’s public education system, we have to address the experiences our students have in our neighborhoods that impact how they show up, perform and are able to engage in the classroom. And if we are going to improve the quality of life for Detroit’s young people, it starts with ensuring a quality education system that engages and supports every child.
So what?
The mayor and city council should also be expected to serve the more than 100,000 young people under the age of 18.
Detroit’s public school system is fractured – a reflection of the state’s public school system, which includes hundreds of school districts that have ONE governing body: the Michigan Board of Education. So while Dr. Nikolai Vitti is superintendent of Detroit’s largest public school district, about half of Detroit’s students actually attend charter schools that have their own leadership and decision-makers.
If we want to make this city work for our young people, we must find sustainable ways for the city’s elected officials to see themselves as integral to the success of our young people. We must also listen to our students, what they’ve continued to tell us that they need, and demand that our elected officials and school leaders coordinate to address them. Time and time again, we’ve heard students demand more funding for their schools, safe routes to school, and more summer jobs and programs in their communities.
So, to our future mayor, whether it be Sheffield, Kinloch or a write-in, we don’t need another mayor to stand on the sidelines as our education system continues to decline.
Be the mayor Detroit’s students need, and create clear systems between the city and the state’s largest public school district. Make it your responsibility to prioritize our young people, to listen to them and support the programs and resources they’d like to see. Instead of curfews and tickets that penalize our young geniuses, let’s cultivate their brilliance and pour into their potential.
Imani Foster is a native Detroiter who started her career in activism when she was 16 years old, fighting for education justice in Detroit. She continues that fight at 482Forward, an education justice organization, as the organization’s communications director.