Romulus Schools Superintendent Brings Vision and Enthusiasm to the District

When Benjamin Edmondson arrived in Michigan 1999, he was merely here for a holiday visit with family. By a curious twist of fate however, the New Jersey native ended up staying and ultimately earning his Doctorate of Education at Eastern Michigan University in 2006, having previously attended the University of Virginia and earned his Master of Education at Ohio State University. In his time in Michigan, Edmondson has brought his experience to administrative roles in the Wayne-Westland School District, Walled Lake Schools, and Ann Arbor Public Schools.

He also served as superintendent of the recently established Ypsilanti Community Schools District, which formed in 2013. Now Edmondson brings his expertise to Romulus Community Schools, having taken over as superintendent in August 2020.

Though he arrived in Romulus in the midst of the pandemic, Edmondson remains optimistic. "I've had a great time, it doesn't sound great but the pandemic, for schools has been a blessing and a curse. Financially, I would say it's been a blessing because finally the federal government has really given us the financial assistance that we've craved...that's a pro," he says. Edmondson and leaders in the district have determined to put wellness as priority number one, over education. "When people are not well, they don't learn; when people are not well, they don't teach," he adds. The district recently returned to a virtual learning format due to large number of students and staff needing to quarantine, after opening for in-person learning in March at the governor's behest.

Edmondson says he inherited a troubled school district but that he is up to the challenge of attacking the obstacles facing the district including high turnover rates for teaching staff, families struggling with poverty, and an academic achievement gap among the district's 2,400 students. While earning his doctorate, Edmondson says he focused on the achievement gap and why minority students are disproportionately impacted by it, often falling behind in elementary school and failing to progress as they advance through the school system. "Kids of color are not performing at the same rate as everyone else," he says. "There's some things we can do differently in our homes and there's some things that can be done differently in schools, so my job is to attack both."

Additionally, Edmondson says the district is struggling in its brand recognition. He says Romulus can be classified geographically as a suburban school district, yet classified demographically as an urban district due to its diversity. He says often the term "urban" conjures up negative imagery of a struggling school and underachieving students but his work will involve transforming the district's image. "I want to be an urban school district, demographically urban, where students are achieving at a high level, and not just black students, all students achieving at a high level," he says. "Let's make Romulus relevant again; our school district should conjure respect, dignity, and right now I'm not sure that it does. I'm working hard to change the perception of Romulus Community Schools, what it means to be educated here, and the value of your diploma if you're a student here. We are dedicated to changing the narrative."

But a school superintendent can't do it all alone, Edmondson says. The community needs to get involved as well. "When I first got here, I said, wait, wait, wait, where's the community in Romulus Schools? It says Romulus Community Schools--where's the community?" he recalls thinking. He immediately began reaching out to families, community leaders, business owners and churches in an effort to create a community dialogue about education and the changes he was proposing to make in the district. Edmondson says one way Romulus residents can help the school district is by voting to pass the 2021 Renew Restore Reclaim School Operating Millage on Tuesday, May 4. He emphasizes that the passing the millage will not impact anyone who owns a home as their primary residence in Romulus. Rather, the millage is a non-homestead type, meaning those impacted will include businesses, industries, and landlords. Passage of the millage would result in roughly $10 million dollars for the district's operations.

Edmondson believes his work in both the schools and the community will only improve upon what Romulus already has to offer. He says, "It's all about branding the schools so that parents understand that things are moving forward in our school district, that we can trust our school to educate our kids, we can trust our school district to do things right, we can trust our school district to put our kids' wellness and our families' wellness first."

To find out more about Renew Restore Reclaim Millage Proposal, go to http://www.romulusk12.org. Dr. Benjamin Edmondson can be reached at [email protected].