The new Hamtramck Public K-8 School opened its doors January 27th to the community to celebrate the long-anticipated first day of school on Monday, January 29, 2018.
By Rasheed AlNozili, article by Stephen M. Coats
The Yemeni American News
Taylor
Terry Taylor, the Interim Principal at the Tau Beta School who worked at Livonia Public Schools for 13 years as a principal said “We’re making some huge progress here, we are building a school for this neighborhood and it’s so exciting. I think in the fall this school’s going to really blossom.”
Mr. Taylor adds, “I think the best thing about the school is it’s a neighborhood School the students they live here and they walk here and this is their place. And the parents this is their place to come here and know that we’re taking care of their kids, help us build this school to be the way we want it to be for this community.”
Nagi
Nabil Nagi, the Elementary Instructional Facilitator for Hamtramck Public Schools (HPS) highlighted the unique opportunity, “Tau Beta has now become the first public school taking over a charter school when the charter school failed we came in. Mr. Niczay and the Hamtramck Board of Education stepped in to make sure this school is fully utilized and optimal for the kids. We’re changing more towards a student-centered learning style, every child is different. It’s not like a mold, one-size-fits-all. The difference I see here is a lot of hands-on. The board is very involved, superintendent, leadership throughout different schools. Everyone has the authentic care to make sure that the child succeeds. Everyone’s really invested. It’s not just a façade. You can clearly notice that when you see Superintendent Mr. Niczay speaking with board members, administrators, and staff. Seeing their conviction really inspired me to come here. And I love working with the population. You’re not going to get a more diverse population. The people, the culture it’s just different and it’s unlike any other place.”
Niczay
Thomas Niczay, Superintendent of HPS echoed the diversity in his district, “We are a welcoming district, we are here to serve the community; we have neighborhood schools and we’re very excited about it. We would like this school to be the best school in Hamtramck. We’re spending a lot of money to make sure that the newest technology is here. We’re here for the kids. We are very excited to offer a first-class facility in a historic building in a great neighborhood.”
Major
Evan Major, Vice President of the Hamtramck Board of Education added, “We got to this point to be able to open this beautiful School in this beautiful neighborhood because unfortunately the state of education in Michigan allows for a series of unregulated and unaccountable charter schools and this particular building which was beautifully maintained unfortunately did not have the quality of Education that the kids and the families here deserved. Their charter was revoked and we were in a financially stable enough position to be able to purchase the building and to be able to use our superior staff, training, and expertise to offer a top quality education to these students. This is unique, I honestly can’t think of another community in the state where the public-school system is in demand and growing and able to absorb the charter schools.”
Jaleelah
Jaleelah Ahmed is the English Language Director for the district and shared with us what she felt were spectacular elements of the Hamtramck Public Schools. She tells us “We pride ourselves on working diligently to support our English learners. Our English learners in our district consist of 80% of the student population which means they need a lot of intensive support we pride ourselves in working diligently with the teachers and our district is the only District that covers 100% of the total tuition for our teachers aspiring to get their ESL endorsement. We look to have everyone be a part of the shared learning process and be a part of the shared decision process including our students. At the high school, we have several committees such as the Youth Voice and the engagement Committee. In these committees, the students were part of making many improvements in the High School. They are leading efforts not only in the high school but also in the community. They are a part of the snow removal program where they help senior citizens that need help and the volunteer efforts are continuously growing. As a matter of fact, they have approached me and said, ‘It’s not snowing we want to help!’”
Violetta
Violetta Kuzniar, 5th grade teacher at Tau Beta School added something of the philosophy that will be at the core of Tau Beta, “We’ll definitely be using different areas of the classroom to be able to differentiate and make sure that everybody is doing their own thing at their own level so that we can reach their growth and maximum potential. We’ll make sure that every student is being taught at their level and make sure that they are challenged as well.”
Nagi sees the community is inspired by the new school to be a real agent of change in the community. “We welcome the parents and there’s going to be high expectations, nothing but the best, nothing I wouldn’t expect for my own kids. We have a wonderful team, wonderful teachers.”
