The future of our country and community is in the schools. Children in classrooms across the nation will be the next generation of leaders, workers and artists. The quality of education at Dearborn Public Schools, which host more than 13,000 Arab American students, is critical to the wellbeing of our community. 

A new superintendent will be managing Dearborn Schools next month. The board of education chose Dr. Glenn Maleyko to succeed Brian Whiston, who is taking the state superintendent job. As evident by Whiston’s new position, the new superintendent has big shoes to fill. 

Maleyko is the right choice for our students. The new superintendent started his career in education as a substitute teacher at Oakman Elementary School in Dearborn. He has been a teacher, principal, human resources director and head of staff and student services in our district. 

Maleyko also has a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Wayne State University.

He has the academic capabilities and professional experience to lead and improve our schools. Most importantly, the new superintendent knows us. Maleyko has worked in the district for two decades. He is familiar with our children and community. He is not foreign to the diversity of our classrooms and the educational needs of our kids.

Increasing community engagement should be a priority for the new leadership at the schools. Our newspaper will continue to be a channel of communication between the district and Arab American parents and students. 

We urge our community to communicate and cooperate with students, teachers and administrators to improve the state of our schools. We should share our ideas, voice our concerns and demand explanations for matters we find complicated to increase harmony and understanding in the district.

Some schools with a higher concentration of immigrant students have suffered from below par state ranking because of English Language Learners’ performances on the standardized tests. Investing in stronger bilingual education programs benefits all Dearborn Public School students.

We also call on Maleyko to expand the cultural and religious accommodations for Dearborn’s Arab and Muslim children by introducing more halal options to lunch menus throughout the district and recognizing the two Eid holidays.

We wish the new superintendent the best of luck.

We also thank Whiston for his seven years of service. He has done a commendable job keeping the schools’ finances in order throughout the recession and improving the academic performance of some of our struggling schools.