Detroit Public Schools Case Study

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Detroit, once known as a bustling city of fast cars and bling, is now known for its poor education system. Detroit, minus its Red Wings, has failed at every turn economically and educationally. With its population cut in half and poverty rates soaring, there is no telling what can stop this disaster of a city. The only hope, it seems, is to better educate the region that Detroit inhabits. Detroit Public Schools has been one of the worst performing school districts in recent years. In 2013, the city of Detroit filed chapter 9 bankruptcy, the largest account of bankruptcy to-date. Good teachers avoid Detroit Public Schools because of the poverty, job quality, and low pay, leaving children with the unqualified teachers they have today in this poverty-plagued city that they call home.
Detroit was once a booming auto-town. In 1909, Detroit was the first city to have paved roads, much to the obliging auto-industry. During the prohibition, Detroit also supplied 75% of America’s illegal liquor, inviting wealthy mobsters and drinkers into the already thriving city. By 1950, Detroit’s population had grown to almost 2 million and had the highest average income per capita than any other city in the United States (Mackinac City for Public policy, 2012). In 1944, the U.S Census indicated that the unemployment rate for Detroit was only 1.5%. Today, Detroit’s population is a nudge above 850,000 with the average income per capita being only $14,861, and $25,193 per household (U.S Bureau of Statistics, 2013). How can a child hope to attain the education he/she needs in a city like this? Through its teachers. Detroit Public Schools desperately needs to find a way to attract teachers of high standard and quality. The answer isn’t a higher salary cap...

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...od to save its young and restless.
So, with all of that being said, Detroit needs a societal change. Some might say it’s impossible, one group therapy session for 800,000 people, but something needs to change or society will continue do dive into a spiral that will further destroy the schooling system and eradicate any chance of a better future for Detroit. Just one third of all kids in Detroit are graduating high school, many of them joining gangs or taking the opportunity to make money as soon as they can in order to help their families survive. To reiterate, government funds need to be cut, or the government needs to be stricter in regards to who it is given to such as drug tests and weekly work requirements. It is not a solution to all of Detroit’s issues, but will surely attract teachers and educated bodies to the once restless city that is Detroit, Michigan.

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