Yeah, prosecution is a waste of money. Start cutting off the various forms of welfare and the parents will suddenly find a will to get their kids into school.
The crazy thing is that Detroit actually has some top notch charter schools to choose from.
In all fairness to the parents, I wouldn’t send a kid to a Detroit public school either. Privatizing and chartering every school in the city would probably lead to greater attendance. Those who still wouldn’t attend are lost causes.
I went to one of the worst school districts in the state, and it’s even worse today. Back then, there was no homeschooling, and my parents couldn’t afford to send my brother and me to a Catholic or private school. But my brother and I learned because we had parents who made sure we did. They encouraged us to learn.
Back then encyclopedias were all the rage, and my parents scrimped and saved to buy us a set. They were meant to be references, but I would actually take a volume and read it from cover to cover. All because my parents instilled in us a love for reading and learning.
You can go to the best schools, but if you have parents who don’t care (or parents who are absent), you won’t learn.