A Question of Class and Classrooms: Should All Detroit's Public Schools Have Equal Programs and Opportunities?

In this episode, we sit down with parent Brandi "BrandiTheeMillennialManager" McGill and sociologist Dr. Aya Waller‑Bey — along with regular co-host Norris Howard — to talk about what started when one parent trying to get a soccer program at Denby that has snowballed into a saga that has started a lot of conversations around the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

We dig into class, charter flight, black flight to the suburbs, exam schools versus neighborhood schools, and much more. It's one of the most important conversations to be had in the city of Detroit, as it's going to be very difficult to make Detroit's comeback stick without open conversations about the schools.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District has undoubtedly made progress. For instance, a recent Chalkbeat Detroit report says DPSCD's high school graduation rate of 83% is now almost on par with the state average, and the highest since 2008.

But a number of parents feel frustrated with what they see: a lack of equity of programs, facilities, and outcomes across the district's schools.

Complicating all of this? Less than half of Detroit's children go to the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

According to a Detroit PEER report in 2025, a group out of Wayne State University, only about 78,000 of the 106,000 public school students who live in Detroit (about 73%) go to school in the city.

Of those, about 48,000 attend school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) and about 30,000 attend a Detroit charter school.

The remaining 29,000 students or so (that's about 27%) go to school outside of the city, attending either a traditional public school in the suburbs through inter-district choice or a charter school located in the suburbs.

There's a lot of talk about Detroit's comeback, but in order to make it stick, schools are crucial.

This real conversation also includes Norris sharing his own experience with Detroit schools as a graduate, and what he's seen as an adult.

We also get into the upcoming DPSCD school board election and candidates, upcoming meetings, and how showing up in person can change the direction of the district.

Feedback as always - dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or 313-789-3211.

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