Detroit Home Makeover Guru
Adar Kirkham
Brings Hollywood to Detroit in “Freestyled” Show
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Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 85 – No. 51 | August 24-30, 2022
Powered by Real Times Media | michiganchronicle.com
COMMENTARY:
DPSCD Board VP Continues to Advocate for Exceptional Student Education As the Vice President of the Detroit Public Schools Community District School Board and the Board’s liaison to the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Department, I have witnessed firsthand the outstanding improvement that has occurred in the District in ESE since the School Board was empowered and Dr. Nikolai Vitti became its first appointed Superintendent. The district has nearly eliminated ESE teacher vacancies by offering stronger salaries, improved staffing of trainable aides and paraeducators, dramatically reduced official ESE compliance claims and improved ESE parent engagement. However, as we all know, the pandemic has had a negative impact on all students in the areas of Dr. Deborah student achieveHunter-Harvill ment, attendance and mental health. ESE students have been impacted even more negatively due to the pandemic because their learning needs were compromised more than the average student during periods of online learning. As a District, we are using our COVID Relief Funding in alignment with our Strategic Plan to address all students’ needs, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. This has taken the form of expanded summer school options, after school programming, mental health support at all schools, nurses at every school and expanded literacy support during the school day through one on one and small group intervention. Long-term COVID Relief Funding will demonstrably improve the overall condition of our school buildings, which will improve the morale of students and employees. We know that the district continues to have challenges serving our students with exceptional needs and their families, as is the case in other districts. National critical shortages in areas such as school psychologists, social workers and teacher with endorsements in Autism or Cognitive Impairment exacerbate compliance issues by impacting districts’ abilities to complete timely evaluations and determine placements for students. As a School Board Member, I have worked hard to support the district in facilitating monthly online ESE parent engagement sessions so problems can lead to solutions and to encourage improved communication between families and district staff. These sessions have been both informative for families and solution-focused, problem-solving sessions. I have also partnered with faithbased organizations to host hiring fairs to recruit more paraprofessionals and other support staff within programs for exceptional students and their teachers. Dr. Vitti and his team will deliver a budgetary memorandum to talk about funding that we receive as a result of
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WHAT’S INSIDE
Pastor
Tellis Chapman Launches Campaign to Head Historic National Baptist Convention
By Donald James Senior Writer, Real Times Media
Rev. Tellis Chapman, the senior pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church on the city’s northeast side since 1985, is seeking to expand his territory of leadership. Chapman recently launched a campaign for president of the storied National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., an eight-million-plus member Christian organization with more than 21,000 churches around the globe. The National Baptist Convention, founded in 1886, is considered one of the world’s largest, oldest, and most influential Black organizations of any kind. Chapman believes now is the time for his candidacy. “I believe the Convention’s constituency is ready to make a shift in terms of meeting the needs of the African American community,” Chapman told the Michigan Chronicle. “We are, of course, a large religious organization. However, we need to implement an agenda that will be more relevant to the African American community from the vantage points of politics, social economics and having greater access to capital, and from the vantage points of education, employment, and ownership. I believe the Convention, under my leadership, can address all of these things with a viable, plausible, practical, and comprehensive agenda.” While the National Baptist Convention, USA was at the forefront at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, over the years, according to Chapman, the organization’s actionable platforms on many issues facing Black people had somewhat waned. Yet, because of the continuing incidents of crimes, social injustices, and police
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misconduct against Black people, the organization’s interest, said Chapman, in taking a more proactive role has resurfaced. “Our voice, as a Convention, should be matched with grassroots organizations in protests, as well as productivity to make a difference in public policy regarding our people,” Chapman said. “And our voice must go beyond the United States to represent and champion Black people abroad, as well.” Chapman believes he has a strong influence with pastors on a broad scale, explaining his role with the Convention’s pastor’s division for the last seven-and-a-half years. He points out that his strength is teaching, training, and developing preachers not only for preaching, but for community leadership as well.
“Our people’s needs must be met beyond preaching and teaching,” Chapman said. “I will present a comprehensive platform that provides the Convention with a common agenda beyond what the women, the laymen, the young people, and the pastors are doing. That agenda will have the objectives to collaborate with grassroots groups, entertainers, sports figures, journalists, you name it, all for the common good of Black people around the world and certainly beyond our religious context.” Chapman, who from 2006 to 2015 was president of the Baptist, Missionary and Educational State Convention, has been emphatically endorsed by many of the city’s political and faithbased leaders.
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TELLIS CHAPMAN page A2
Gov. Whitmer Announces $2.8 Million in Grants for Workforce Training Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to announce Michigan Strategic Fund approval of more than $2.8 million in Training Center Equipment Grants to 74 training providers around the state. The funds will be used to provide employer-driven workforce training, skills development, equipment training and more to Michigan workers.
Survival Mode is Not Working for Black Women at Work
Left to right: Dr. Steve Bland, Jr.; Senior Pastor, Liberty Temple Baptist Church, Bishop J. Drew Sheard; Senior Pastor at Greater Emmanuel Institutional, Mayor Mike Duggan, Rev. Tellis Chapman; Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, Former City Council President Brenda Jones, Bishop Charles Ellis; Greater Grace Temple and Bishop Edgar Vann; Second Ebenezer Church
“Michigan’s skilled workforce is powering our economic growth, and I am proud that we are making additional investments to expand training, skills development, and more to help them succeed,” said Governor Whitmer. “We are working with several partners to build on our economic momentum, ensuring that Michiganders in every region of our great state can get on a path to a good-paying job and businesses of all sizes have the resources and talent they need to compete in the global economy.” The State of Michigan allocated $3 million to the Michigan Strategic Fund to implement the Michigan Workforce Training Center Equipment Grant program. The program provides one-time grants to qualified training
providers that were identified in consultation with 15 local and nonprofit economic development organizations (EDOs) around the state. Eligible applicants included proprietary schools, registered U.S. Department of Labor joint apprenticeship training centers, qualified employers with a physical Governor presence in the state, Gretchen Whitmer and vendors that provide training for the operation of equipment and machinery. Eligible workforce training activities include, but are not limited to, talent enhancement, increasing worker productivity, development of workforce skills, leadership and management training, and worker retention. The full list of awards is available at https:// www.michiganbusiness.org/workforce-training-grant/.
As one of the grant administrators, Lakeshore Advantage was allocated $105,000 to support the Thompson M-TEC/Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, Grand Rapids Community College, and the Allegan County Area Technical & Education Center. The funds will be used for adult education, community college manufacturing education and vocational training. “Our training providers are educational catalysts for the ongoing development of our local workforce,” said Lakeshore Advantage President Jennifer Owens. “As lakeshore companies continue to grow and expand, the need for a trained workforce becomes more pressing. The Michigan Workforce TEC Grant Program helps ensure our training providers have the appropriate equipment to help workers and students achieve the credentials and skills needed to be successful in today’s marketplace.” The Training Center Equipment Grant program is just one of the initiatives launched by the State of Michigan to support the development of highly-skilled talent in the state. Earlier in August, Governor Whitmer joined
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TRAINING page A2