Ecorse Schools Continue to Foster Academic Excellence

While many school districts in Michigan have scrambled to navigate an uncertain academic environment, Ecorse Public Schools has had an advantage during these past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic: the district was making a successful transition to become a One-to-One Computer District, placing a digital laptop/textbook into the hands of nearly all the roughly 1,000 students attending Ecorse schools.

In fact, Superintendent Dr. Josha Talison says the district's classes have remained in-person for a greater part of the past two years, aside from the state-mandated school shutdown early in 2020. "We haven't really had to miss any school, "he says. "We are one-to-one so we could have easily gone to a virtual format if we needed to. Even though we had the snow days recently, we went to virtual instruction." He adds that the district has had only two closures due to COVID outbreaks in individual school buildings, but both teaching staff and students easily made the transition to virtual classroom time during those instances.

internet programs and wireless hotspots provided by the district. "We've got to make sure the digital divide that has impacted our population because our poverty level being at 47.5 percent in our community, that's always one of the things that research shows-- that our kinds of population are often the ones that don't have a lot of internet access." While virtual instruction does have value, Talison believe there is no better way to reach young minds than through in-person instruction.

COVID safety precautions are still in place in the schools and administrative offices, and the district is encouraging eligible students, families, and staff to get vaccinated. To help accomplish this goal, staff from the Wayne County Health Department are on hand each Friday at Ecorse High School from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Talison says community members are welcome to come for testing or vaccines.

Talison says academic achievement in the city's schools has been impacted to some degree and the district is offering supports to help students be successful, including afterschool in-person tutoring two afternoons each week. Also of concern is the social and emotional well-being of students and staff. Teachers are receiving training in trauma sensitivity in order to address their own mental well-being, which enables them to better address the social and emotional stresses of their students. "We're trying to do it on a two-pronged approach to make sure we deal with their needs, but also the students' needs," says Talison.

While the superintendent admits the past two years have been the hardest he has ever had to maneuver as a district leader, he concedes there have been some bright spots as well. The district has expanded its CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs to include automotive service technician, and will introduce a manufacturing and engineering component next school year. Foreign language exposure has been reinforced by introducing Spanish instruction to the lower level schools. Infrastructure in school buildings has been updated along with technology improvements to enhance student learning. The district's partnership with Wayne County Community College District promotes the Promise Program, which is still going strong and offers students dual enrollment to earn college credits before graduating high school.

"We're still pushing ahead and making sure that we give our students a plethora of options so they can be successful once they leave Ecorse Public Schools so that's real exciting," says Talison. "That's still what pushes me every day to see what we can do next to provide a dynamic learning environment for our students."