Detroit is at an inflection point. Whether its because I’m 23 and personally navigating the inflection point that is post college and young adulthood or because the city truly is there, I’ve found myself using this statement often since Challenge Detroit has begun: Detroit is at an inflection point.

Mathematically, an inflection point is defined as ‘a point of a curve at which a change in the direction of curvature occurs.’ The curve changes in its slope. It can increase, decrease, or begin stagnation. So if Detroit is at an inflection point, what is the thing that drives this change and determines if Detroit continues sloping upward, declines, or stagnates. In line with our last challenge project with DPS and the current sickouts, protests, and documentations of Detroit schools, I’d argue that education is the key to determining the future trajectory of Detroit.

Both attracting and retaining new residents and upwardly mobilizing disadvantaged, lifelong residents (and then retaining them too) remain central issues in the discussions of how to create sustainable progress in Detroit and not just the glitzy version of revitalization. What is a key factor when young families choose where to live: education. What do we believe to be perhaps the most important element in breaking cycles of poverty: education. How do we create sustainable change in Detroit: education.

The national media attention being given to Detroit Public School’s sickout and teacher’s social media posts of unacceptable learning environments begins to highlight the gaps in an education system that can propel Detroit forward. Certainly, the photos of school’s interiors are attention grabbers and show how many improvements are needed at simply a physical building level. Yet, there are so many struggles at a systematic and structural level preventing the success of DPS schools: debt, classroom overcrowding, language barriers in schools of immigrant communities, inadequate food, lack of its own transportation system, limited funding for arts and extracurricular activities, safe routes for students to arrive to school by, funding for classroom materials, a consumer based approach to school openings and closings (with DPS, EAA, and many independently operated charter schools), and more.

I try to follow the ‘say nice things about Detroit’ mantra, but also try to be honest and acknowledge the imperfections of this city. I struggle to find the words to express my frustration with the state of schooling in Detroit. Yet, it seems clear to me that though new projects contain excitement, it is not a 3 mile rail car, a new stadium, or leather goods, that will propel Detroit upward and into stability. It is education and quite simply, our children deserve better.