Nixon, Jen- Detroit Public Schools Community District
Are you an incumbent?
No
Brief Intro of Candidate
My name is Jennifer Nixon. I was born and raised on the West Side of Detroit. I am a product of a blended, two parent household. My Father was breed from the automotive industry while my Mother haled from the Detroit Medical Center. I am the product of DPS, before its was DPSCD. I have lived and breathed Detroit, I run not as the candidate who wants to push there own agenda with hopes of being Governor or getting a Senate seat. I am running as the every day Mother who takes her kids to school everyday, that Corporate employee who sees that more funding should be allocated to schools, that business minded woman who feels financial literacy should be a mandatory course to graduate high school, being introduced as early as junior high. The key to the survival for the children of the City of Detroit is understanding the saying financial freedom, understanding the importance of generational wealth and what would ultimately be the elevation our future generation.
Endorsements
No
Top financials Contributors
Website and social media links
None
None
How would you engage and include parents, caregivers, community members and students in decision-making in your district around things like curriculum, budgeting and district policy?
My primary goal is to be the voice for our parents, our instructors, our administrators and our students. These voices are the results of the DPSCD’s decision making. So, we must listen as a school board member to the people.
What are your thoughts on school discipline and the way it is exercised in your school district? What are your thoughts on restorative practices?
Candidate was not asked this question
What are your thoughts on how to improve student mental health
Mental Health is so very important to our students wellbeing. New policies in place to increase counselors in the school community. The counselors are the most connected to a students emotional stability. They can identify specifically where intervention is necessary. Funding would partially be determined statistically, based off of Data from the student counselors. The areas with an increased about of student disparities gets priority funding. Revaluation will occur for funding every other year.
What are your thoughts on ways to improve Black student achievement in your district and in Michigan schools overall?
What are your thoughts on how to ensure that all students and their families, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, religion, income status, etc., feel safe and included in your district?
In order to beat the competition you have to know the competition. What’s going on in these higher ranking schools and what is their curriculum. Why are they excelling? Are there socioeconomic disparities and how can they be addressed.
What are your thoughts on how to recruit and retain staff, particularly staff of color, in your district with regard to pay, benefits, and working conditions?
The only way to recruit and retain teachers is to make the profession of teaching competitive with other career paths that require comparable qualifications. When school districts work to fill teaching vacancies, they are not just competing with other schools. They're competing with other career options that offer better pay and working conditions. So we absolutely need to find ways to increase teacher pay, reduce class size, and ensure that teachers have sufficient prep time during working hours so that they're not constantly putting in unpaid overtime before and after the school day. This is the way to make teaching in DPSCD a much more attractive option to both mid-career teachers and college students contemplating what they want to do after graduation. Again, this is an approach that requires a School Board that is prepared to actually represent the people of Detroit and take the fight to Lansing to win the funding we need.