RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS FOR
DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY
DISTRICT
ACROSS YOUR SCHOOLS, WHAT PE RCENTAGE OF YOUR SCHOOLS OFFER
ARTS, MUSIC, AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS?
60% of our schools offer an art or music program. 75% offer physical education.
With one of our strategic plan priority areas focusing on the development of the
whole child, we will be working toward ensuring every school next year provides
an art or music program and that all schools offer physical education.
HOW MANY OF YOUR SCHOOLS OFFER FREE TRANSPORTATION TO A
MAJORITY OF STUDENTS WHO DO NOT LIVE WITHIN A HALF MILE OF THE
SCHOOL?
Based on school district historical practice, 65 Elementary/Middle Schools
receive transportation for students living greater than .75 miles from the school.
Twenty-five Junior/Senior High Schools receive Detroit Department Of
Transportation bus cards for students living greater than 1.5 miles from the
school, and seven special education center-based schools receive transportation
for all students.
ACROSS DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT, WHAT
PE RCENTAGE OF STUDENTS RECIEVE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES AND
WHAT TYPES OF NEEDS ARE SERVICED?
Approximately 30% of our student population is receiving Special Education
services with a range of exceptionalities. We pride ourselves on serving all
students!
ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WHAT ARE THE AVERAGE SUSPENSION AND
EXPULSION RATES? ARE THERE ANY OUTLIERS ? PLEASE SE PARATE BY
STUDENTS IN GRADE K- 8 AND STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12.
Including the recently reincorporated EAA schools, K-8 buildings averaged 22%
of students receiving one or more suspensions in 2016-17 and 0.5 expulsions per
100 students, while HS buildings averaged 27% of students receiving one or
more suspensions in 2016-17 and 0.6 expulsions per 100 students. These rates
are driven to some degree by individual building outliers with unusually high
rates of reported disciplinary actions. Our team is currently continuing an
ongoing audit of data quality across these indicators to ensure that accurate
data can be used by the district and personnel to problem solve through
discipline challenges while holding schools accountable to stronger restorative
strategies to support students who make mistakes. The district will be conducing
working groups to revise its Code of Conduct next year to create uniformity

 across the district with a strong emphasis on progressive discipline, positive
behavior support, and restorative justice.
DO ANY OF YOUR SCHOOLS H AVE BUDGET DEFICITS ?
No. The school district is operating with a balanced budget.
HOW MANY SCHOOLS DID YOU CLOSE L AST YEAR? HOW MANY SCHOOLS
DID YOU OPEN L AST YEAR?
No schools were closed; however, several schools were combined. Specifically,
Randolph High School was merged into Mumford High School so it could focus
only on Career Education, and the three high school programs in Osborn High
School have now been merged into a single program. In addition, Turning Point
is now co-located at Henry Ford High School (for grades 9-12) and Fleming Early
Learning Neighborhood Center (for grades K -8).
ACROSS YOUR SCHOOLS, WHAT PE RCENTAGE OF THE TEACHING STAFF IS
CERTIFIED?
100% of our teachers are certified in DPSCD.
ACROSS YOUR SCHOOLS, WHAT HAS THE TEACHER TURNOVER RATE
BEEN FOR THE L AST THREE YEARS?
Below is a table which provides teacher turnover for the last three years:
Classification
Total Teachers
Total Separations
Percentage

2014-2015 SY
2755
225
8.2%

2015-2016 SY
2688
351
13%

2016-2017 SY
2438
320
13%

HOW DO YOU, AS A DISTRICT OR AUTHORIZER, THINK ABOUT THE
IM PAC T OF YOUR DECISIONS TO OPEN OR CLOSE SCHOOLS ON THE
SURROUNDING COMMUNITY, INC LUDING EXISTING SCHOOLS THERE?
As a district, we recognize that closing schools tear at the fabric of the
community. It reduces property values, deters business investment, and typically
forces parents to find education options across the city, which creates undue
stress on families. Unfortunately, Emergency Managers did not make decisions
with these values in mind. Our goal is to provide a quality school and program in
every neighborhood and restore feeder patterns. Any new schools would be
created to meet that goal.
WHAT ARE THREE SPECIFIC GOALS YOU’VE MADE TO IMPROVE
EDUCATION FOR DETROIT CHILDREN IN THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR?
The district has provided a one-page handout of our new Strategic Plan with the
answers to these questions. The Strategic Plan focuses on five priorities: raising
student achievement, transforming culture, developing the whole child,

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 recruiting and retaining exceptional talent, and ensuring strong stewardship of
our resources.

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