New DPS “I’m In” enrollment drive to educate, show competitive edge, drive attendance up

Comprehensive campaign includes high-touch street and community effort and new major Expo Day downtown, along with immunizations, ribbon cuttings, mailings and incentives

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - Detroit Public Schools today launched an expanded Back-to-School enrollment recruitment drive with an added emphasis on attendance on the first day of teaching and learning, September 6, that will include a Woodward Avenue Parade, Hart Plaza Rally, dressing of the Spirit of Detroit statue, and a greatly enhanced DPS Education and Enrollment Expo Day in downtown Detroit with on-site immunizations, enrollment stations, and more.

Building upon the well-recognized and North American Grand Effie -award winning “I’m In” theme, the 2011 campaign also includes a brand new student-produced theme song; parenting events; high-touch door-to-door outreach; hundreds of planned Blue Enrollment Van stops; new school ribbon cuttings; and massive amounts of social media, print, radio and additional advertising.

The DPS Back to School Parade and DPS Education and Enrollment Expo Day and Rally will be held Saturday, August 27.

The message to families will focus on the educational advantages available to students and parents/guardians, effective now, across DPS, including added instructional time in reading and math and extended school day and summer school, Netbooks for all 6th through 12th graders to utilize, two new parent portals to access their children’s progress and curriculum and DPS-only college-readiness, Parent Resource Centers, scholarship guarantees, as well as fine arts programs, Detroit Public School League (PSL) athletics and business partnerships that enhance learning.

Roy Roberts, DPS Emergency Manager, said this year’s program reflects the journey parents must make to ensure school readiness, as well as the journey that DPS is on to improve and create new educational options for students. “Even as we work hard to implement long-term structural changes, Detroit Public Schools parents should know that there are many excellent educational choices within DPS and many benefits their children can find only at a Detroit Public School.”

Roberts said the overall goal of the campaign is to help the district meet or exceed its budgeted target of 65,834 students by halting exodus to other districts and competing charter schools.

Karen Ridgeway, Interim Superintendent of Academics, said that Attendance is a newly focused theme of the campaign. “For our parents the new mantra must become ‘First Day, Every day, All Day’…. Our students need to attend school on the first day, be in attendance every day, and our parents need to be discouraged from removing students from school before the school day is over.”

Included in the campaign will be highlights of the 14 DPS-authorized charter schools, five of which open this fall under new management to serve neighborhood children and others at Edmonson, Glazer, Hamilton, Loving and White Schools. Highly qualified charter operators with proven success rates and newly formed community Charter boards have taken over operation of these schools for an initial five-year authorization from DPS.

A staple of the campaign is daily and weekly community outreach. Detroit Parent Network organizers will again knock on the doors of families affected by this year’s school consolidations, and the Blue Enrollment van will again trek the streets of the city and suburbs, visiting parks, reunions, churches, community events and other organized Back to School events. Community groups, block clubs, churches and reunion organizers seeking the van to make an appearance at their events between now and September 6 should email communications@detroitk12.org.

To enroll in Detroit Public Schools, parents should call the school to arrange a visit in order to complete the process. A parent or guardian should accompany students. For enrollment information, call 313-240-4DPS (313-240-4377) or visit www.ImInDPS.org

Detroit School of Arts senior Betty Pride composed and sings the new song that will be performed live at major enrollment events and will be featured in commercials and on the enrollment van.

DPS will announce new safety and security initiatives, attendance programs as well as incentives during the course of the campaign. Alumni, business leaders, athletes and VIPs are signing up daily to take part in the programs.

The Expo Day on Saturday August 27 will be presented this year by Mr. Alan’s Shoes and Sportswear. Other major sponsors include Office Depot, Forman Mills and Sodexo. Event times include an 11:00 a.m. step-off for the parade from Grand Circus Park and a noon rally at Hart Plaza, along with day-long enrollment and immunization programs at the DPS Education and Enrollment Expo.

The district will mail a Back-to-School newsletter to all families, publish an updated Blue Book of schools, programs and locator guides, create a new step-by-step enrollment process guide, distribute thousands more popular lawn signs, and hold ribbon cuttings at the ten schools that will open in either brand new or significantly renovated buildings.

"I brought my daughter back to DPS because I like the direction of the school system as a whole. The best teachers are there, the best counselors and the best principals. They are serious about children's education," said Isaac Threatt, who re-enrolled his daughter Jasmine Threatt in Detroit Public Schools after trying another school system and being attracted to last year’s enrollment campaign. Jasmine will be an eighth grader at Marquette.

The 2009 “ I’m In” campaign received the Grand Effie (equivalent to the Oscar’s Best Motion Picture award in the ad industry), Gold and Silver Effies, the Gold Medallion Award from the National School Public Relations Association, and President’s and Excellence Awards from IABC/Detroit.

The campaign will focus on the educational advantages available to students and parents/guardians, effective now, across DPS. Those include:

• $77.4 million in student grants and scholarships, up $20 million since 2009
• 10 new state-of-the-art school buildings or major renovations opening in September. DPS has built 40 new and remodeled schools since 2000.
• Netbooks for every student in grades 6-12 for the first time this fall
• Added time in reading and math instruction for all elementary students
• Free Summer Academy for elementary and middle school students
• 5 new DPS-authorized charter schools led by educators with proven track records of raising achievement
• Reading Corps tutors for all pre-K students.
• Business partners for every school to help raise student achievement
• Extended day at most schools
• Two new Online Parent Portals to keep parents connected to their children’s classwork and grades
• Parent Engagement initiatives, including workshops and eight neighborhood Parent Resource Centers
• Wide-ranging scholar-athlete programs through the Detroit Public School League
• Robust Fine Arts programs with instrumental music, vocal music and dance
• DPS-only college-readiness scholarship guarantees
• A portfolio of school options, including single-gender, arts and medical career paths and career technical education

For more information, go to http://detroitk12.org/resources/prospective_students/