Open suggestion to DPS

Open suggestion to the Detroit Public School District:

Fire all the teachers who are illegally striking. Post your compensation plan and invite applicants from around the country. At the same time, offer every student in the city a voucher good for admission to any school in the district. Let those students decide which schools should remain open. Close the ones that do not meet enrollment thresholds. Plan to open schools in January with the new teachers.

Obviously there are a few drawbacks. The kids would have to go to school until the start of the next school year so no summer vacation. The legislature would need to pass special legislation to allow DPS to have its official head count in January. The district will be much smaller, but it’s headed in that direction anyway and at least this approach can right-size it.

If DPS hopes to turn around the fortunes of students in Detroit, radical measures need to be taken. The incremental changes implemented by the state-appointed administrators failed. Detroit students do not need more of the same.

[Online comment - The Detroit News. Posted 09/08/2006.]