DPS East English Village Preparatory Academy Principal  Patricia Murray shows off the schools new Olympic style swimming pool to Emergency Finance Manager during the All-Schools Open House August 25, 2012. (Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us Detroit)

DPS opens doors to parents and students for fall school selection

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - Detroit Public Schools invited current DPS families, as well as parents whose children are not enrolled in DPS and who are still shopping for schools for their children, to attend the district’s All-Schools Open House and Alumni Celebration on Saturday, August 25, the culmination of the district’s first-ever DPS Week.

Despite the chaos and confusion between the school board, union and administration, DPS Emergency Finance Manager Roy Roberts feels upbeat about a smooth transition back to class for students on September 4, saying, "It's about the Kids, it's not about this other mess, it's about the kids."

DPS schools opened their at 10 a.m. Saturday and remained until to 2 p.m. offering thousands of giveaways, free meals at every site, free shuttle service between schools, opportunities to meet staff and three-ribbon cuttings at brand new schools.

Despite efforts made by the school board to shut them down, the school administration has moved forward with the opening of two new Parent Resource Centers. One at Bennett Parent Resource Center, 2111 Mullane Street and another Drew Transition Center, 9600 Wyoming Street. Both sites are designed to offer needed support for parents of DPS students.

DPS board appointed John Telford as school superintendent in charge of academics last June. However he has little or no power, that is - until the state courts temporally suspended Public Act 4 "I'm banking on the fact that PA4 is going to be defeated," the 76-year-old Telford told the Associated Press last week. "If PA4 is defeated, I plan to be superintendent for a little under a year and conduct a search for a successor who has skills, dedication and honesty to do the job."

Telford doesn't expect to accomplish much, and anything he does enact, emergency manager Roy Roberts could just as quickly wipe away if voters shoot down the ballot proposal seeking a repeal of Public Act 4.

Detroit voters approved Proposal S in November 2009 which enabled the district to access $500.5 million for school capital improvement projects. DPS received the sixth largest allocation in the nation.

The improvement program also includes technology upgrades and security initiatives being funded with Proposal S dollars. To comply with federal guidelines, all bond dollars must be spent within three years and all projects must be completed by September 2012.