August 5, 2024
Dear Families and Students,
Thank you for your continued commitment to Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). We are proud of your decision to continue to choose DPSCD as the education option for your child’s academic and social success considering the various options you have to educate your child. At DPSCD, we are excited to announce another opportunity to increase teacher salaries this fall! Our latest agreement with the Detroit Federation of Teachers will now place DPSCD in a more competitive advantage to recruit and retain the most dedicated, experienced, and talented teachers in the area. This certainly separates DPSCD from other education options in the area. We know that one of the best investments that we can make in our students is through their teachers because they are the ones who work directly with your child on a day-to-day basis. This is why we are committed to employing teachers who are only certified or actively working toward their certification.
Our investment in teachers has led to notable improvements in student achievement. Since the pandemic, the DPSCD has eliminated aggregate learning loss from the pandemic in both literacy and mathematics. Our performance in literacy, mathematics, and the P/SAT has reached its highest levels in the District’s history. In fact, our improvement since the pandemic outpaces city charters, state averages, and county averages. DPSCD is one of the most improved large urban school districts in the country.
DPSCD will receive additional funding over the next three years through the literacy lawsuit settlement. These funds will be used to reduce class sizes in K-3, hire more Academic Interventionists to work one-on-one with students performing below grade level, and provide each DPSCD parent with free online literacy tutoring for their students after school. The District will also continue to offer after school tutoring for literacy and math after school. Summer school will also be available at no cost to families next summer.
As we continue to improve student achievement, we must improve student attendance and overall climate and culture. We know that if students miss fewer than 9 days of school, then they are 3 to 5 times more likely to be at or above grade level in literacy, math, and to be college ready as defined by the P/SAT. The District has used philanthropic funding to expand Health Hubs and Family Resource Centers across the city to provide students and families with free access to basic medical, dental, and mental health services to all families and offer benefits such as food pantries, eviction support, and legal services. This is to address many of the causes of student absenteeism. While better supporting our families and students, we will be increasing accountability for poor attendance. Starting next year, if students miss more than 45 days of schools without extending circumstances, then they will be subject to retention and/or required to attend their neighborhood school to improve access to transportation.
To also improve the experiences of our students, families, and staff we will be placing extra attention on climate and culture. We all need to be more sensitive and conscious of how we are interacting with each other with extra respect, patience, professionalism, and understanding. We want everyone to feel more loved, challenged, and prepared, especially our students. Schools will have more funding to offer more “fun” activities for students and more team building exercises for staff. The District is also actively working to implement a trauma-informed curriculum for all schools and grade levels in 2025-26. This will assist our students and staff to work toward breaking the cycle of harm. We will also continue to fund and provide all of our schools with expanded mental health support for all students. This is something we look to expand to our employees as well next year.
The upcoming school year will begin on Monday, August 26, 2024. Please make sure you print and save the DPSCD calendar to reference key dates, such as parent teacher conferences, report card distribution, and holiday breaks.
Let’s have another excellent school year!
