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JEFFERSON'S DECADE OF EXCELLENCE A STORY OF SUCCESS IN AN INNER-CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM Brother ARTHUR JEFFERSON has been variously described as being "a quick study", "a deep thinker", "compassionate and sensitive", and "committed to excellence for all and by all." Such characterizations come from a broad spectrum of the community in Detroit and the State of Michigan and all pay tribute to his outstanding tenure of eleven years as the 13th General Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools. Brother Jefferson was born in Alabama on December 1, 1938. His family soon migrated north and settled in Detroit. One of seven children, he attended elementary and secondary schools in that city. Brother Jefferson pursued his higher education first at Highland Park Community College and then at Wayne State University, where he earned B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science and curriculum leadership. After completing a student teaching assignment at Cass Technical High School, he taught social studies at Miller Junior High and Henry Ford High Schools. In 1966, he was appointed coordinator of the Tri-Area Intergration Project. From 1967-71, Brother Jefferson joined the ranks of part-time faculty; first as an instructor at the University of Detroit Institute on Desegregation and later at the newly established Wayne County Community College. Brother Jefferrson found "educational administration" to his liking and embarked upon what became a meteoric rise to the very top of the Detroit Public Schools. He served as administrative Assistant to then Executive Deputy Superintendant Charles Wolfe. He was staff consultant to the Citizens Action Committee on Financing Detroit Public Schools, chaired by Richard Austin (now Michigan Secretary of State) and he was the first Director of the Education Task Force of New Detroit, Inc. He returned to the Detroit school system to direct pre-service and inservice training programs for teachers and administrators. In 1970, Brother Jefferson joined the staff of the newlyformed Region Three - which encompassed 26 elementary, 8 middle and 2 high schools on Detroit's west side - and served as Region Three Superintendent from 1971-75. By the closest of margins, Arthur Jefferson - the "compromise candidate" - was appointed Interim General Superintendent on July 1, 1975. On November 4, 1975, The Sphinx/Summer
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the Detroit Board of Education - by unanimous vote selected Dr. Jefferson to the post of General Superintendent. From humble beginnings to the leadership of the nation's fifth largest school district, Brother Jefferson has left a trail of distinguished accomplishments. Momentous changes have occurred in the Detroit Schools under the leadership of Arthur Jefferson, among them: • Court-ordered school desegregation was implemented safely and efficiently; • Capital improvement totalling over $120 million have been made, highlighted by the construction and equipping of five vocational/technical centers; • "New Directions" partnerships have been initiated with corporations, labor unions and institutions of higher learning; • Many new curriculum offerings and alternative schools and programs have been implemented - including computer education, "Renaissance" and community high schools, Bates Academy for the Gifted and Talented, Burton International School, Golightly Educational Center and Lyster Adjustment Center; • A comprehensive basic skills testing program has been established, as has a mandatory homework program; • A Management Academy was established to provide training for administrators; and comprehensive in-service programs have been implemented; • High school graduation requirements were revised, a high school proficiency examination program was implemented; and comprehensive reviews of the elementary middle, and high school curricula have been initiated; • Local school community councils have been established in every school, and parent participation in school activities is high; and, • School operating and capital improvements millage (tax) programs have been enthusiastically supported by a public regaining pride in its school system. The bottom line - simply and triumphantly - is that student achievement in every grade has risen dramatically! Brother Arthur Jefferson has accomplished his primary goal. Excellence has, indeed, become the hallmark of the Detroit Public Schools for the present and for the foreseeable future.
As Detroit's Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Arthur Jefferson has raised achievement levels and recaptured community pride in the system.
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