Community Convesation Hub
What I'm Hearing Across Detroit
Listening first. Learning continuously. Governing with purpose.
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The strongest leadership begins with listening.
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Across Detroit, I'm sitting down with families, educators, students, and community members to hear what's working, understand where challenges remain, and learn what people want from the next chapter of DPSCD.
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These conversations aren't a scientific survey, and they aren't intended to be.
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They're an opportunity to better understand people's experiences, identify recurring themes, challenge my assumptions, and ask better questions.
Community Conversations:
Here is what I'm hearing so far.
Protect the Progress
People are not describing a District where everything is broken.
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I'm hearing appreciation for greater structure and consistency across DPSCD, investments in curriculum and early literacy, professional development, health and student supports, college and career opportunities, and efforts to strengthen school culture.
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The message: Don't change things simply for the sake of change. Understand what's working, protect it, and build from it.
Relationships matter more than we sometimes acknowledge.
This may be the strongest thread running through the conversations.
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Students need adults who know them, believe in them, respect them, and care whether they succeed. Families want to be treated as genuine partners. Educators want to be trusted as professionals. Community organizations want meaningful relationships with schools rather than transactional ones.
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The message: Strong systems matter—but relationships are what make systems work for people.
Great educators need great systems around them.
I've heard about professional development, compensation and benefits, autonomy, career pathways, workload, retention, communication, and the importance of trusting educators' professional judgment.
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There's also a warning here: consistency should not become micromanagement.
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The message: We should expect excellence from educators while cultivating the conditions that allow excellent educators to stay, grow, and thrive.
Families experience school beyond the classroom.
Transportation. After-school care. Language access. Communication. Attendance. Basic needs. Navigating District processes.
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These may look like separate issues on an organizational chart. To a family, they're simply part of the experience of getting a child to school, keeping them there, and helping them succeed.
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The message: If we want better student outcomes, we have to understand—and reduce—the barriers surrounding students and families.
Safety must include trust and belonging.
Several conversations have challenged me to think more deeply about what we mean by a "safe school."
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Physical safety matters. So does whether students feel respected, known, welcomed, and able to make mistakes without being defined by them. I've heard concerns about approaches perceived as overly punitive, as well as calls for stronger accountability when behavior disrupts learning.
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Those ideas don't have to be opposites.
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The message: The question isn't simply whether schools are secure. It's whether students experience them as places where they are both safe and supported.
What I'm Learning
These conversations are reinforcing something I've believed throughout my career:
student success is the product of an ecosystem.
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Great curriculum matters. Great educators matter. Strong governance matters.
And so do relationships, family partnership, opportunity, safety, belonging, community resources, and the experiences young people have beyond the school day.
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I'm listening because I don't believe a Board member should arrive with every answer.
I believe we should arrive prepared to ask better questions.
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And I'll keep listening.
Quotes
Every space in the school needs to have adults who like the kids.
What to Expect
A 30-minute conversation, phone call or virtually.
No speeches or campaign presentation.
An opportunity to share your experiences, ideas, and hopes for Detroit Public Schools Community District.
A chance to ask questions and get to know Terry.
What I'm Listening For
I want to learn more about what matters most to our community, including:
Student Success & Literacy
School Safety & Student Well-Being
Family Engagement
Teacher Recruitment & Retention
Community Partnerships
Career & College Readiness
Opportunities Beyond the School Day and
Anything else that's important to you.