David Harris: Right now we're in a in a crisis. We're in a literacy and math crisis. And I think that we have to treat that as an emergency.

For me, one thing I'm going to push and talk about telling blue in the face is making sure that we have intervention in process for reading and for math in every school if the budget allows. Reading and math intervention is a title one position, so you can get funding from the state. And I think that there's only so much that a classroom teacher can do when you're in this type of deficit.

When it comes to literacy and math, you know, we have students that are four, five, six grade levels behind which I've seen because I work in education. I actually worked I've worked as a math teacher for the last ten years.

I’ve worked as a math interventionist for the last four years, and it's very disheartening to come across a student who's in 11th grade but is on a third and fourth grade math level, and so the only way that you can really address that issue is to make sure that you have intervention in place for that, and specialists who can really do targeted support for that student or groups of students and work with them in small groups.

Interviewer: I'd like you to finish the sentence. “As a student, I wish my school had...”

David Harris: More personalized support.

I started off at Detroit Public Schools. I was excelling very well, pretty much to the point where my parents thought that I needed a little bit more of a challenge. And so I stayed off West 7 Mile and there was one of the best private schools in the city.

That was a couple of blocks from me: U of D Jesuit College Prep School. So I went there, high excelling student. I had a lot of confidence, a lot of swag. But when I went there, I ran across hundreds, if not thousands of students who were just like me. I remember getting my first grade letter of a D in like seventh grade, and it was very disheartening.

It was it was it was tough. And at that point I started to need what we just what I discussed in the last question was intervention. I needed personalized support, but it was that continual sort of feeling like I needed to do it on my own.

And in reality, the only way that you can kind of address some issues when it comes to like math and reading, of course, is for tutoring. You know, that's the way to kind of bridge the gap or fill those needs that students may have. And I kind of wish I had that at that point.

My parents just weren't necessarily fully aware of what I needed. And I'm sure a lot Detroit Public students and parents are not aware of how important you know, tutoring can be.

It's tough for people to be in a classroom of 30 kids or even 20 kids, because if you don't feel like you're doing well in a subject, you can really be a shell of yourself. Right?

And sometimes when students are quiet, you don't think they need any help, you know? So that's what I wish I had.

Candidates appear in ballot order, alphabetical by last name.

Vote for not more than 4

• Natalie Bien-Aime*

• Steve Bland Jr.

• Michelle Broughton

• Katrina Brown

• Cidney Calloway

• Bobby Christian*

• Nicole Conaway

• Vilma Escamilla Duran

• Daniel Ferguson III*

• Duane Larry Grigsby Jr.

• Bessie L. Harris

• David Harris

• C. Allan Hubbard

• Henrietta Ivey*

• Tabrian C. Joe

• Shinese Johnson

• Theodore Jones

• Georgia Mae Lemmons

• LaMar D. Lemmons

• Clement O. Lett*

• Phil Lloyd II

• Darious Morris*

• Liana Mulholland

• Tyshea Pope

• DaNetta L. Simpson

• Tawanna Simpson

• Jameel Montgomery Smith

• Calesther Smith-Arnold*

• Terry E. Whitfield

• Elizabeth A. Williams

• Theresa Williams*

* Did not participate in the CitizenDetroit candidate video series.

Ijazz Jackson*

Aliya Moore

Shawn Vaughn

* Did not participate in the CitizenDetroit candidate video series.