40,000 Books Coming to Detroit! [12.5.13]

A truck of 40,000 FREE books will be arriving in Detroit Jan. 25. These books are made possible by the work of the DFT and other local unions, the AFT, and an organization called First Book. First Book collects excess books from publishers and redistributes them at a nominal cost to children in need. That cost will be picked up by the AFT, the DFT, the Detroit Federation of Paraprofessionals and the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees.

You can get a book for each child in your classroom by filling out a simple registration. We need 2,000 Detroit Public School teachers to register to get the books. Fill out the registration TODAY by visiting: www.firstbook.org/aft.

National Day of Action Dec. 9 [12.5.13]

Need to Support Children Inspires Coalition on Education

A group has come together to raise the bar for public education and better serve children. The coalition of students, parents, educators, advocates and community members have all noted the need to collaborate in order to give all the state’s children the opportunity to achieve.

Children and parents will speak about the need to remedy such problems as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure and too few qualified teachers. The event is organized by such diverse stakeholders as civil rights organizations, charter school administrators, teachers, faith based groups and education advocates. The coalition is growing and this event invites those who want to lend their efforts to improving education for Michigan’s students.

Who: Students, Parents, Students, Detroit NAACP, AFT-MI, MOSES, AFL-CIO

What: National Day of Action: Our children, schools, communities, parents, community groups, teachers and advocates come together to reclaim the promise of public education.

When: Monday, Dec. 9 - 4 p.m.

Where: St. Luke AME Church 363 Labelle St, Highland Park, MI 48203

Gompers Featured on Detroit Public TV Dec. 11 [12.4.13]

A documentary that features Gompers seventh-graders on their trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts will premiere on Detroit Public TV (PBS Channel 56) on Dec. 11. The title of the documentary is "Detroit Art City" and will broadcast at 9 p.m.

Gompers staff members Leslie Waters, Sylvia Tillman and Harold Harris were invited to a special screening two days before the premiere at the museum.

DPS Plan to Reach Out to Every Parent [12.3.13]

The Retention, Customer Service and Appreciation Campaign:

The district plans a new citywide campaign, personalized at each school, to reach every parent in Detroit Public Schools over a 60-day period and directly communicate with parents of competing educational providers, creating the opportunity to meet short term goals leading to long term stability. The State's new funding formula makes the February Count date in 2014 all the more important because the results will impact this year's budget.

As part of this, I strongly encourage all of our members to participate in the retention initiatives, in particular the request to place a personalized phone call to all of the families of the children in your classrooms, with a short message to thank them for entrusting their children to DPS for their education. At the secondary level, there will be support to ensure that all calls can be made.

This personal touch will make a huge difference if we can do this across the district. Along with efforts to bring in more students from EAA and other educational providers, we have the chance to stabilize and grow enrollment at this most crucial time.

Keith Johnson, DFT president

Detroit Teacher - December 2013

News in this issue of The Detroit Teacher:

  • Building Reps Learn Value of DFT
  • DPS's Improving Financial Status Must Not be Temporary
  • 40,000 Books Coming to Detroit
  • Afraid to Take a Sick Day?

and much more....[Download here].

Alert: Layoff Notices [11.22.13]

Teachers who received layoff notices in the last few weeks should check their DPS EMAIL to see if they received rescission letters.

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