Preparing Our Students for a Rapidly Changing World

Our schools must prepare students to succeed in the workforce and compete in today’s economy. On the Detroit Board of Education, I will lead efforts to expand high-quality literacy curriculum and supports for all grades, access to college pathways through dual enrollment and strengthening the Detroit Promise, as well as increasing Advanced Placement opportunities.

For students choosing a different path, I will work to expand vocational training and partner with labor organizations to grow apprenticeship opportunities, while ensuring students are truly prepared to access and succeed in them. This will include creating vocational and apprenticeship basic skills acceleration programs, including for teaching math skills students need to qualify for these programs.

And for those who want to start businesses or build the next generation of companies, I will champion entrepreneurship education by leveraging community partners and practitioners to equip our young people with the skills they need to launch and lead great businesses.

Great schools start with great teachers. During my six years as a district administrator at DPSCD, I saw what works: targeted recruitment at HBCUs and investing in our own pipeline through programs like On The Rise Academy. I will build on that by expanding recruitment at HBCUs, strengthening partnerships with Michigan universities, and broadening outreach to Schools of Education across the state.

I will also bring a unique lens to our District’s educator recruitment through my work at Global Detroit. I will lead on creating opportunities to grow our talent pool by tapping into underrepresented communities, especially immigrant and refugee professionals, with backgrounds in fields like math, science, medicine, and engineering. With the right support, these highly trained professionals can become outstanding educators in our classrooms.

Recruitment is only half the battle. I will lead on retaining great teachers by expanding mentorship and professional development, ensuring competitive pay, and giving teachers a real voice in how our District operates. This way, they can focus on what matters most: delivering a high-quality education to our students.

Finally, too many of our principals are raising concerns that they do not have enough support staff at their schools. This causes teachers to have to play more roles in schools, which takes them away from their primary role of educating our students. I will prioritize that our District ensures that all schools have the necessary support staff so that our teachers can concentrate on delivering high-quality education to our students.

Detroit knows what happens when major economic shifts leave us behind. We saw it with globalization and automation, and I have real concerns that AI could follow that same path if we’re not careful and very intentional on how it transforms our workplaces.

But the reality is, AI is already reshaping our economy. Whether we like it or not, our students will be competing in that world. And if we don’t help them develop the skills to use these tools, they will lose opportunities to other young people who are already developing these skills. I refuse to let our kids fall behind again.

That’s why I will lead on developing an AI curriculum in DPSCD, built with industry partners, that equips students with real, advanced skills and pathways to credentials they can carry into college, jobs, or entrepreneurship. Just as important, we will set clear guardrails so students build critical thinking skills and don’t become dependent on AI.

I also believe AI can support, but never replace, great teaching. I would never allow AI to replace a single teacher. At the same time, when used responsibly, it can help educators identify where students need support and tailor instruction to meet them where they are. But let me be clear: any use of these tools must come with strong privacy protections to safeguard student and teacher data and privacy.

We cannot afford to be left behind. We will prepare Detroit’s students to compete, and win, in a rapidly changing economy.