It is time for the DFT to hold its annual election for the Election Committee. Nominations and acceptances for three (3) Election Committee Members and one (1) Executive Board Vacancy must be scanned and emailed to (dft231ec@gmail.com) by 5pm (EST) on February 13, 2025, or brought in person and delivered directly to the Election Committee at the February 13, 2025 General Membership Meeting. Nominations will be closed at the end of the General Membership meeting.

Here is the calendar for the Spring 2025 DFT Elections.

Here is the nomination form for the vacant Executive Board position.

Here is the nomination form for the Election Committee members.

There is much concern about the recent statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcing it would end a policy restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools.  

We want to share some resources with our members that AFT National is providing as we deal with this uncertainty. We have also posted these resources in our January 2025 The Detroit Teacher. 

RESOURCES: https://www.aft.org/our-community/immigration

• Rights for Immigrant Students/English
• Rights for Immigrant Students/Spanish
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/English
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/Spanish
• Educators' Guide/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/Spanish
• 15 Things to Do to Protect Students/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/Spanish
• Share My Lesson Immigration Lesson Plans
• Colorín Colorado Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students

AFT National and the California Federation of Teachers are raising money for people who have lost everything. Can you help by giving to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund today?  Every penny that goes into our Disaster Relief Fund will go directly to fire victims and rebuilding, with no fees or overhead taken out. There’s going to be so much that needs to be done as LA recovers and rebuilds. People have lost their homes. Communities have lost their schools. Educators have lost all the school supplies and books they spent their own money on—and so much more. While we can’t replace priceless pictures of families, heirlooms passed down from grandparents or the sense of belonging that a home gives, what we can do is show our members that they are not alone. The AFT and CFT are working hand in hand to make sure our members are OK, that they have the support and resources they need in this crisis, and that they know we’re ready to help them rebuild.

You can make a difference right now. Click here to donate to our Disaster Relief Fund. If you prefer to mail a check, make it out to CFT Disaster Relief Fund and mail to: CFT Disaster Relief Fund, 2550 North Hollywood Way, Suite 400, Burbank, CA 91505. Please note: Checks will be deposited electronically to your bank so you may see a debit on your account rather than a check deposited through your bank.

The DFT is expressing its condolences upon the death of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Here is the official Jimmy Carter condolences website, in which you can publicly express your sympathy to the family: Jimmy Carter Tribute.

Use Share My Lesson for information about him: Jimmy Carter Lesson Planning.

Just a reminder that Thursday, January 9, 2025 is the official day of mourning for the former President and that all federal departments and agencies will be closed per this White House Executive Order.

AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“We share in the entire country’s sadness at President Carter’s death. He was a man of incredible selflessness and decency, and he lived a life embodying the principles we hold most dear: social justice, equity and humanity. President Carter was an accomplished author, a devoted humanitarian, an avid sportsman and an ongoing voice of reason in an increasingly tumultuous political climate.

“The Carter administration established the Department of Education to signify the importance of providing opportunity for all of America’s young people, a goal as important today as it was then. He forged a historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. And as our oldest living president, he continued his life of service working to end global conflict and improve election protection, international health and housing. Our country is better off because of Jimmy Carter, and we send our deepest condolences to the Carter family.”

The DFT will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 20, 2024 and we will return back to the office on Monday, January 6th. On behalf of the Executive Board, Trustees, and staff our best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.  

🛒🎁🛍️ Just a reminder for those who still have some holiday shopping left to do: Shop Union. We posted some pages in the November issue of The Detroit Teacher, pages 16-25. The list of union-made goods has been updated for December: Buy Union For the Holidays, Buy Union for Hanukkah and Buy Union for New Year's Eve.

Dr. Crystal Lee began her educational career in 1984 as a Special Education Instructional Aide for Wayne RESA. When the Detroit Public Schools took over the special education program in 1998, her position changed to a Special Education Trainable Aide. While she worked as a Special Education Aide, she pursued her dream of becoming a teacher and in the fall of 2009, she accepted a position at Detroit Transition Center West as a Special Education Teacher for students with severe cognitive impairments. The following year DTC West merged with DTC East to become the Charles R. Drew Transition Center, where Crystal remained for the rest of her teaching career.

Her union activism was evident early on in her career, where she served as union steward for AFSCME Local 345, a position she held for eleven years. After her move to the Detroit Federation of Teachers, she was elected as the building representative for Drew. From 2013-2018 Crystal ran for a position on the DFT Election Committee, then in 2020 she successfully ran for the Executive Board. She was recently reelected to her third term.

Crystal enrolled in the doctoral program and finished her coursework in Winter 2022 and defended her dissertation proposal in Summer 2023, which was tentatively titled “Parents’ Education Experiences of Learning for Postsecondary Students with Profound Intellectual Disabilities in Detroit, Michigan During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic”. Unfortunately, she was not able to complete her dissertation, but Wayne State University presented her with an honorary doctoral degree in 2024.

Crystal leaves behind her two sons, Michael Wilson, Jr, and Christian Clark; nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter;  three sisters, Diana Lee (Terry), Audrey Lee, and Michelle Lee; one brother, Herbert Lee, Jr.; nieces, nephews, extended family, and her colleagues at Drew and the DFT. Preceding Crystal in death were her parents, her loving son, DeWayne Lee, and three siblings: Belinda Humes, Velveeta Lee, and Gregory Lee.

Crystal’s legacy will never be forgotten and in her own words, “I lived a good life.”

Click here for an enlarged version of the resolution:

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Crystal Lee, an Executive Board Member. At the time of her passing, she was a teacher at Charles R. Drew Transition Center. She has served as an executive board member since 2020 and prior to that time, she was an Election Committee member. Crystal was elected a delegate to both state and national AFT conventions several times and served on various committees within the DFT over the years. She was a part of the School Union Committee at Drew and had previously served as its building representative.

At the December DFT General Membership Meeting she was honored with an empty chair.

Visitation is on Sunday, December 15th from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. at O. H. Pye, III Funeral Home, 17600 Plymouth Road in Detroit.

The December 12 DFT General Membership Meeting location has been changed. We will be meeting at the Horatio Williams Foundation, 1010 Antietam in Detroit. The meeting is still scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.

The DFT Election Committee has released the results of the 2024 DFT Leadership Biennial Election. President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins and her slate have been reelected to a second term. Serving alongside her as Vice Presidents will be Jason Posey, Robin Jennings, and Marcus Walton. Recording Secretary Elena Brantley-Phillips and Treasurer Rodney Fresh will continue in their roles. Eleven Executive Board members, of which nine are incumbents, were elected to serve on the leadership team:

1. Lisa Card 
2. Frank Donner
3. Samantha Hoskin 
4. Yolanda King
5. Crystal Lee
6. Dwan McGrady
7. Kimberly L. Mitchell
8. Marva Needham-Fletcher
9. Sarah Niemi
10. Jeff Wasilewski
11. Everette Whitfield

The three trustees elected are Cassandra Davis, Mark Duffy, and Kimberly D. Mitchell.

You can view the final certified results from Survey and Ballot Systems here: DFT 2024 Election Results--Final and Certified. The DFT leadership team will be sworn in at the January General Membership meeting for a two year term.

Tribute written by President Emeritus, Keith R. Johnson

A SALUTE OF GRATITUDE TO PATRICK FALCUSAN 

From the day that Patrick Falcusan came to the DFT office 30 years ago to help President Emeritus, the late John Elliott, ascertain and assess the financial situation of the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), and our own roles, he has been an indispensable and invaluable asset to the DFT and our membership. One of the first things Patrick was able to ascertain was that DPS was still budgeting salaries and benefits for DFT members who were retired or even deceased. This was the precursor to unraveling the perpetual blend of fiscal mismanagement which inhibited DPS from delivering the level of education and support to our then 190,000 students. This ultimately led to the proliferation of charter schools which over time led to a mass exodus of students which has now brought us down to our current enrollment of approximately 50,000 students. While many in our community were demanding a forensic audit of DPS, Patrick was doing his own forensic audit, allowing us to bring indisputable facts to the bargaining table during negotiations. He proved to be an invaluable asset to us as we continued to negotiate contracts which could attract and retain the best teachers and maintain programs throughout DPS. As Patrick’s knowledge increased, so did the responsibilities he took on. One of the most important was advising our members as they prepared for retirement. Patrick had the uncanny ability to calculate almost to the penny, how much our members would receive in their pensions upon retirement. He would advise DFT members who were thinking about retirement that their service time would not give them their full benefits. Back around 1996, he advised many of us, including me, to buy five (5) years of time while that window was open, and to switch from the basic retirement plan to MIP, which would guarantee them a 3% increase every year to their pension upon their retirement. So many of our members who are now enjoying retirement owe a debt of gratitude to Patrick for the advice he gave them either personally, or in his detailed articles in The Detroit Teacher newspaper. Patrick’s value was not only measured in dollars and cents, but in his humanity and decency. I can say without fear of contradiction, that Patrick is one of the most beautiful and kind people I have ever known. His passion for our members, his patience, his kindness, and his great story telling while addressing an issue could calm even the most frustrated member. His humor and compassion for others could bring light to the darkest circumstances. In my 22 years of service to the DFT as Labor Relations Administrator, Director of Operations, and President, I heavily relied upon Patrick to give me information which helped me service our members. On behalf of every DFT President, from John Elliott to Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, I would like to congratulate and thank Patrick for his 30 years of service to the DFT and its membership. His service to us is how he chose to enjoy his retirement as a DPS teacher, and the DFT is grateful that he did. Thank you, Patrick, you’re one of a kind, and simply the best.

Video tribute to Pat: Tribute to Patrick Falcusan