Hannah Dellinger

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department. Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...

Education Secretary Linda McMahon says she's leading the department's "final mission" to shut down. But @megomatz.bsky.social and I found it's more than that: Political appointees from ultraconservative groups are in power at ED now, and they hope to dismantle public schools.

These Detroit students say free bikes helped address some systemic issues that cause chronic absenteeism The Detroit school district is considering giving bikes to chronically absent students in other schools.

Davis Aerospace students said the bikes helped them safely get to school by reducing the amount of time they had to walk or wait for buses. Others said the bikes gave them a new sense of independence, allowing them to get to after-school activities or jobs.

The Detroit school district’s Count Day attendance was up by nearly 500 students this year, officials say The preliminary numbers are a sign that the district’s enrollment efforts are making incremental progress.

The numbers are crucial for determining how much state funding the Detroit Public Schools Community District will receive. The early data suggest that the district’s efforts to ramp up enrollment and reduce chronic absenteeism have paid off with incremental gains.

This Detroit school had the biggest decline in absenteeism in the state compared to pre-pandemic years Here’s how Pulaski Elementary-Middle School dropped its chronic absenteeism rate by 47 percentage points.

Among all of Michigan’s traditional public schools, 14 of the top 15 with the biggest drops in chronic absenteeism last year compared to pre-pandemic years were in the Detroit school district.

Detroit school district leaders express need for Title I funding during Linda McMahon’s visit Linda McMahon stopped at Renaissance High School as part of a national tour. Critics say the visit, coming amid the Trump administration's plans to cut K-12 funding, was “deeply disappointing."

Detroit school district leaders expressed the need to protect federal assistance for schools serving students from low-income homes during a private meeting with Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday.

Michigan schools will have new requirements for teaching English learners this school year The new state protections come as the federal government is pulling back its support for English learners.

As the Trump administration pulls back support for English language learners, Michigan is rolling out new requirements for schools to educate such students.

Here is what the Detroit school district is doing to increase enrollment and keep students from leaving The district increased the number of houses it canvassed this summer and is focusing on improving parent engagement.

With the loss of more than 92,000 students in the last 20 years, the Detroit school district devotes each summer break to campaigns to boost enrollment.

This year, the district ramped up those efforts. Will they pay off?

‘They’ve given her a lot of hope’: A NYC school fights to educate an undocumented teen under Trump For Bridget and Marta, ELLIS Prep often felt like the only public institution with its arms open in a city and country that seemed not to want them.

For 6 months, I’ve followed ELLIS, a Bronx HS for newcomers, to understand what it means to educate immigrant students in Trump’s second term.

Proud to share the 1st of 2 stories about ELLIS, Bridget, an undocumented teen, & the fight to keep her education alive.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Advocates say this policy change will allow youth crime prevention programs to expand in Detroit schools The Detroit school district last week changed its policy to allow exceptions for some with felony convictions to volunteer.

Crime prevention advocates came upon one big roadblock in their efforts to reach youth last year. Those with previous felony convictions were blanketly denied the opportunity to volunteer in Detroit schools.

Now, that will no longer be the case.

DETROIT BOOK LAUNCH, PLS COME! www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launc...

The Rev. Steven Bland Jr. is the Detroit school district’s new board member Bland, the senior pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church, was approved to fill the open board seat Monday night.

During his interview with the board, the pastor said he’s worked to improve chronic absenteeism through church outreach. He said he will continue to focus on the issue in his new position.

You can read all of the candidates’ responses here: www.detroitk12.org/Page/18859

Ricks has not said publicly why she dropped out. She alerted the school district on the same day @chalkbeat.org and BridgeDetroit asked about the survey responses.

One of the questions that candidates were required to answer was, “From your perspective, what are the challenges facing our school district?”

This is part of the response attributed to Ricks:

Detroit school board candidate withdraws name as questions raised about AI DPSCD confirmed that Traci Ricks withdrew her application on Wednesday, as questions were raised about the use of ChatGPT in the application materials attributed to her.

A candidate for an open seat on the Detroit public school district’s board withdrew her name from consideration as questions arose about the use of ChatGPT in her application materials.

You can review the candidates’ survey answers at this link: www.detroitk12.org/Page/18859

The district put the candidate’s required survey responses online yesterday evening, but it still has not released the other materials, which include resumes and letters of intent. The board is selecting the new member on Monday.

Who’s running to fill the Detroit school district board’s open seat? Here are the 15 candidates. The applicants include two people who ran to be on the board last year.

The Detroit school district’s board is interviewing candidates to fill a vacant seat. The district told me a FOIA was necessary to review their application materials. After filing that FOIA, the district said it would respond by Aug. 11 — well after the board’s vote to select its new member.

The Detroit school district needs a new board member. Here’s how you can apply.

www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2025...

LA's ICE raids are impacting domestic violence shelters These programs "should be safe sanctuaries—and we can't even guarantee that anymore."

“She literally had to choose: physical harm or potential [ICE] custody.”

Stay of deportation denied for Detroit student held by ICE, attorney says • Michigan Advance This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy. Maykol Bogoya-Duarte,…

"Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, an undocumented immigrant, hoped to finish high school in Detroit before returning to Colombia."

"That dream is likely over."

"All of us are impacted by this – the whole [.] community and the whole city of Detroit."
#Michigan #USA #Deportation #Incarceration #EthnicCleansing

A Detroit teen held by ICE asked to stay in the U.S. to finish school. His request was denied. Maykol Bogoya-Duarte’s request for a stay of deportation was denied Wednesday, according to his attorney.

Maykol Bogoya-Duarte hoped to finish high school in Detroit before returning to Colombia. That dream is likely over, his attorney said Wednesday, after his request for a stay of deportation was denied.

After community outcry, Detroit district board calls for release of Detroit student detained by ICE The board listened to two and a half hours of public comment before it released a statement urging for the student’s release.

After community outcry, Detroit district board calls for release of Detroit student detained by ICE

The board listened to two and a half hours of public comment before it released a statement urging for the student’s release.

Detroit school board calls for the release of a student held by ICE after community outcry Dozens of community members urged the board to make a statement during two and a half hours of public comment.

After more than two hours of heated criticism from the public, the Detroit school board reversed course and issued a statement condemning the detention of a district high school student by federal immigration officials.

Detroit teen fights for release from immigration detention to finish high school in the U.S. The Western International student was 3.5 credits away from graduation before his arrest, his attorney says.

Advocates call on Michigan lawmakers to condemn ICE detention of Detroit student
https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2025/06/09/detroit-teen-fights-to-stay-in-us-to-finish-high-school/

Detroit teen fights for release from immigration detention to finish high school in the U.S. The Western International student was 3.5 credits away from graduation before his arrest, his attorney says.

Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, an 18-year-old undocumented immigrant, had planned to return to Colombia with his mother after he graduated from Western International High School.

Instead of finishing out his junior year this week, he is in ICE custody and faces an “imminent” risk of deportation.

A Detroit student was detained by ICE. Here’s how the district responded. Western International High School students say they are fearful and angry after their peer’s arrest, and they wish the district had told them about it.

Students at Western International High School in Detroit say they are fearful and angry after immigration agents detained one of their classmates.

Article excerpt: ...an investigation found that the district’s Native American students were disciplined far more harshly than white ones. They also were kept from enrolling in advanced courses. The OCR said that when speaking with an investigator, the superintendent of schools at the time said that Native American students in her district had higher truancy rates because they operated on what she termed “Indian Time.” She said, too, that they don’t value education, according to the investigation’s findings. The former superintendent, Nicole Swigart, denied saying any of that. “I recognize those comments are horrendous,” Swigart said in an interview with ProPublica. She noted that the OCR investigation was opened in 2010 and that she first spoke to an investigator in 2022. “I’m not lying when I say I didn’t say it. I didn’t say it, and I don’t know where it came from.”

Article excerpt: In the agreement with the OCR, the district promised to examine its practices and make things right; the OCR would monitor its progress. The district also brought in a new superintendent. But last month, the OCR abruptly terminated that agreement, based on its differing interpretation of civil rights law. The OCR’s new view is that equity and diversity efforts discriminate against white students. It was, in the view of agency attorneys, the most severe breach of the OCR’s mission and methods to date. There was no public announcement. “Native students in Rapid City just lost a layer of protection,” the Lakota People’s Law Project announced on Facebook. “Native students are still being pushed out of classrooms and denied opportunities.” Darren Thompson, who is Ojibwe, said the OCR’s decision to abandon the agreement was “another cycle of the federal government failing to uphold its promises.”

The Education Department’s civil rights office once helped push a South Dakota school district to treat its Native students equally.

Under Trump, that same office decided that helping Indigenous students would discriminate against white students: propub.li/3GIdTRr

Brb, healing my inner child