It is a crisis that if not addressed will hurt children. The teacher shortage is getting worse in Detroit. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti tells 7 Action News there are now about 450 teacher vacancies. He says the district is working to fill as many as possible before the start of the school year.
“Our students deserve to have a full time certified teacher in everyone of their classrooms,” said Vitti. “And we have to stop creating a different set of standards for children in Detroit and the rest of Michigan.”
On Friday Vitti gathered with city, union, and education leaders to announce a program he hopes will help attract teachers to the district.
Previously the city offered a 50 % discount to city employees who buy a house through the Detroit Land Bank’s auction program. The program auctions off several houses nearly every day. Now the city is offering teachers who work at schools - public, private and charter in Detroit — the same discount. The goal is to solve two problems at once. It will address the excessive number of vacant abandoned homes and bring teachers to Detroit.
This announcement comes as the city marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 riots when inequality, racial tension and clashes between citizens and police lead to riots. The mayor says this effort to raise the standards for education in Detroit is about social justice.
You can find out more about the Detroit Land Bank Auction Program here.
