Public schools

Annetta Miller Papers

pneirink — Mon, 09 May 2022 14:41:17 -0400

Annetta Miller was a Registered Nurse, peace activist, and three-term member of the Michigan State Board of Education. Her experiences serving in the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II drove her to join the peace movement during the Vietnam War. A Democrat representing Michigan's 18th congressional district, much of Miller's first two terms on the Board of Education dealt with desegregation of the Detroit Public Schools following the finding in Bradley v. Milliken by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan that the district was guilty of de jure segregation, Judge Stephen J. Roth's order that they desegregate via an inter-district busing plan, and subsequent decisions including the United State Supreme Court overturning Roth's decision in Milliken v. Bradley. Miller opposed the allocation of public funds to private and religious schools, and supported the separation of church and state in public education. The Annetta Miller Papers document the activities of the Board of Education during Miller's 24-year tenure through administrative documentation and supplementary resources on education, as well as Miller's involvement with the peace movement and other political organizing. Of particular interest are materials related to Bradley v. Milliken, desegregation, and busing plans; taxpayer financing of private education and reallocation to public schools; and Miller's son's participation in the 1965 Selective Service Office Sit-In in Ann Arbor.

Exterior view of Von Stueben School

eclemens — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 13:33:46 -0400

An exterior view of Von Steuben School, located at 12300 Linnhurst Street, Detroit, Michigan.

Suburban District Cluster Proposal, Detroit News

mcourtney — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 10:46:10 -0500

Detroit News clipping from March of 1972 outlying the “cluster” proposal for 18 zones within the district, coupled with charts of the racial composition of the student bodies of the Detroit and suburban school districts comprising the corresponding zones.

Podcast: "Taxing Limits: The Political Economy of American School Finance"

teller — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:39:28 -0400

Kelly Goodman speaks about the political history of funding education through local and state taxes. Having worked as a data analyst for the Detroit public schools, Goodman pursued graduate school to explore the structural issues surrounding questions she often found herself asking: why are some schools perceived to be bad? Why do some schools receive less funding than others? How does the economy work, and for whom? read more »

[Podcast] Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008

teller — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:02:15 -0400

Dr. Jesse Chanin describes how the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) gained power and influence in a region hostile to unions from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s by building trust in the community with transparent and democratic decision-making and a focus on racial and economic justice to improve the lives of the New Orleans community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, however, politicians and charter school advocates fired 7,500 educators in New Orleans, dismantling the city’s public education system and decimating the union. read more »

[Podcast] Para Power: How Paraprofessional Labor Changed Education

teller — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:18:53 -0400

Dr. Nick Juravich discusses the experiences of the first-generation of paraprofessional educators in New York City in the 1960s-1980s and their impact on the city’s educational system, community relations, and public sector unions. read more »

[Podcast] Schools and the Rise of Mass Incarceration in a Post-Brown World

teller — Thu, 22 May 2025 08:35:39 -0400

Dr. Matt Kautz explores how evolving school disciplinary practices, changes in crime reporting, and political pressure in the decades following school desegregation led to the rise of student suspensions, expulsions, dropouts, and the school-to-prison pipeline in Detroit and other cities. read more »

[Podcast] The 1968 Florida Teachers' Strike: Public Sector Unionism and the Fight against Sunshine State Conservatism

teller — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:17:07 -0500

Dr. Jody Baxter Noll recounts the 1968 Florida Teachers’ Strike, in which 27,000 teachers across the state, amidst a shift in Florida politics toward a pro-business and suburban “Sunshine conservatism” reluctant to raise taxes for public education, submitted their resignations to gain collective bargaining rights and improved school funding. read more »