When Donald Trump announced that he was nominating Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, the choice was immediately met with skepticism, confusion, and controversy. Not only does DeVos have zero experience working in government or a public school system, but she has spent a great deal of time and money trying to end public education in favor of charter schools. In a historic move, Vice President Mike Pence broke the 50-50 tie to officially confirm DeVos as Secretary of Education.
DeVos, a billionaire who has said schools need guns in order to protect themselves from "grizzlies," is now charged with leading the U.S. Department of Education and presiding over public, private, and charter schools alike. But for many Michigan residents who are incredibly familiar with DeVos's track record of advocating and implementing below-standard charter schools throughout their state, their fears aren't theoretical — they're tangible.
One young woman was so moved to inform the nation of what DeVos's school-choice and charter-school advocacy has done to her, her classmates, her family, and her city at large, that she drove overnight from Detroit to Washington just to attend DeVos's hearings. Despite running on little sleep, Dannah Wilson, a 17-year-old student at Cornerstone Leadership and Business High School, patiently sat through DeVos's highly contentious confirmation hearing and then delivered an impassioned, eloquent, and informative speech on the state of academia in her hometown.
When Teen Vogue spoke with Dannah, she detailed what motivated her to publicly speak out against DeVos. "My youth collective, 482 Forward [a group devoted to creating systemic change in Detroit's education system through collaborative partnerships], has fought DeVos's policies against public education in Detroit," she said. "Betsy DeVos is not qualified to be the Secretary of Education. She has not worked for the power she is requesting. I spoke last week on behalf of my siblings, my peers, and [myself] because the youth's voice is ignored. Education is our most prized possession. It is the gift that can't be stolen, only rewrapped. We are being deprived of this gift daily, and it needs to stop."
It must be noted that Dannah is not a theoretical opponent of DeVos, but rather a young woman who has direct experiences with DeVos's policy decisions. "If Betsy DeVos did not lobby against the Detroit Education Commission, which provided an oversight of all charter schools, then this same charter school would not have closed last fall, a week before school. This closure left students, in particular seniors, scrambling for a place to learn, socialize, and graduate," she said.
DeVos, formerly a chairwoman for the American Federation for Children (a pro-school-choice advocacy group), has led the charge to privatize education and spread charter schools throughout Michigan. The problem is that more school choice hasn't resulted in higher-quality education. Excellent Schools Detroit, a coalition formed to improve the city's graduation rate by applying marks to schools throughout the city, gave fewer than 1 percent of the city's charter schools an A or B+ grade. This problem resonates very deeply with Dannah.
"School choice is not the issue; the issue is quality. In Detroit, there are multiple choices, but these choices don't have updated textbooks, and the student-to-teacher ratio is poor. In fact, the multitude of 'choices' adds to the unsettling inconsistency of the parents and students. In my speech, I included that my four siblings and I have attended 22 separate schools; no student should endure so much inconsistency and undesired change."
Regardless of how people may feel about Betsy DeVos's qualifications for her current role, she has been confirmed as the Secretary of Education. This means the fight to prevent her from getting the job must now shift to holding her accountable on the job — and Dannah already knows what she wants to see from DeVos. "I want her to work toward quality education [and] not just a choice of education. I also want Mrs. DeVos to become an expert in her job. I want her to be well informed on the debate between proficiency and growth. I want her to understand how the Pell Grant works and other federal funding for education. I want her to make changes on behalf of the students, parents, community members, and teachers. I want her policies to be enacted without signing a check. I want her to be knowledgeable about running education for the entire country."
Related: 5 Things You NEED to Know About Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s Choice for Secretary of Education
