New Detroit Public Schools superintendent Connie Calloway said Thursday that she does not support charter schools, and she intends to present ideas that will help draw students back to the struggling school system.
“Charter schools mean suicide for public schools,” said Calloway during her first board meeting, causing the crowd at Kettering High School to erupt in applause.
Calloway said Detroit Public Schools must get to the root of the persistent enrollment loss plaguing the 116,000-student district.
She identified two immediate reasons: ongoing disputes the district faces and the desire of parents to have safe, clean and orderly schools.
“We have to think about the presence that we put forth to the media, to the state department, to the rest of the United States as a Detroit Public Schools community,” she said. “What is it that we are doing that causes us to drive families away?”
Joanne has more.