In 2024, Grosse Pointe Public School System (GPPSS) was ranked 12th in the state by Niche in best public schools in Michigan. According to US News, South was ranked seventh for high schools in the metro Detroit area. Additionally, South was also ranked third in the state for best public high school teachers by US News. In 2021, Grosse Pointe Park was ranked as the best place to live in Wayne County, stating housing prices, low crime rates, and diversity as the main reasons, according to Niche. The Pointes have consistently been a highly desirable place for families to raise children, teachers to teach, businesses to grow, and for a sense of community. Some of the top reasons for attracting residents are the walkable businesses, lakefront properties, beautiful parks, historical homes, but at the top of the list for most homebuyers are the excellent schools. With all of these outstanding accolades, shouldn’t this be the prime place for teachers to work? Yet since the 2019-2020 school year, GPPSS has lost 166 teachers for non-retirement reasons.
GPPSS has continued to lose teachers ever since the school board, in 2023, hired a branding firm to survey the district to attract more families and teachers to the district, costing over 45,000 dollars. Yet, teachers are still leaving for neighboring districts willing to pay 12,000 dollars a year more at the top of their pay scale compared to GPPSS. We at the tower believe the value of teachers should be reflected in their salary.
From both district administrators and school board members, teachers are constantly said to be a top priority. Even with these claims made time and time again, teacher loss is still prevalent. Prevalent not only as numbers on spreadsheets but to students. As the student-to-teacher ratio continues to rise, specifically in elementary schools, classes have become larger creating the possibility for instruction to become less personal. Research from Brookings shows smaller classes lead to better attendance, better test and state examination scores, and significantly greater student productivity and achievement levels.
Losing teachers means losing deep institutional knowledge that helps school buildings to grow. Not much growth can be done with a revolving door of new faculty. The relationship between a teacher and their students is something that is cherished in every building, from the elementary schools to the High Schools. When a teacher leaves, that environment now has a tear in the community. People come to Grosse Pointe for the incredible community within the schools. To keep these schools incredible, GPPSS must maintain the incredible staff.
We at the Tower are calling for stronger teacher support from both the administration and the board of education. The financial stress that the district is under should not excuse the major loss of teachers. Our district is so community-oriented, yet every year that community is losing its people and bringing in new faces. As a result, it becomes tougher and tougher to rebuild that community when its foundation is torn down and replaced by new people, or no one at all, leaving an absence that the rest are challenged to fill.
Beyond just the exceptional education, the relationships grown between students and teachers are one by one, being picked apart at the fault of not having a non-competitive salary to offer. We at the Tower do not expect an influx of money to be spent carelessly to fulfill our wants, but hope for reconsideration of how are funds are used. At the end of the day, the board of education and district administrators are here to serve the schools, and we at the Tower believe that South will best be served by retaining the teachers students have come to love, appreciate, and learn from.
