Adel Mozip.

DEARBORN — The School Board Trustee race is unique in that all of the four candidates vying for two of the six-year terms are Arab Americans.

But 29-year-old Adel Mozip is hoping his deep-rooted history with the district as both a student and a parent, along with growing familiarity among the community, will be able to help nab him one of those two open seats.

Mozip, who graduated from Fordson High School in 2004 and went on to obtain a bachelors degree at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and an MBA at Wayne State University, said that being a first generation college graduate puts him in a unique position to understand students’ aspirations and concerns.

“Being a product of Dearborn schools in the recent decade gives me a great advantage,” Mozip said. “I understand the student issues and I know the points we need to focus on. I still go back to the schools and listen to the students directly.”

For more than three years, Mozip has worked on a committee that reviews students’ performances at both Salina School and Edsel Ford High School and looks for ways to improve achievement and parent engagement. 

He’s also the lead instructor for the Comcast/ACCESS digital connectors program, which introduces high school and early college students to information technology, community service and civic engagement.

With a uniquely large Arab American population across the district, Mozip is looking to limit the language barriers that often stifle student progress and limit participation from parents.

“There are some unique challenges we face as far as language and as far as getting accumulated with the newcomers,” Mozip said. “The district has been doing a really good job of handling the situation. Most of the literature going to the parents is translated. The school is really helpful when it comes to immigrant families.”

Mozip has two sons who attend Geer Park Elementary. His wife is a student at Henry Ford College.

However, he saw that in recent years there has been a widening student achievement gap at some of the schools that the district needs to improve on.

He noted that morale among teachers across the nation is underwhelming and that it’s no different in the Dearborn Public Schools. Part of his campaign platform is to push for stronger compensation packages for faculty members.

He said that while Dearborn does offer competitive compensation compared to other districts, there are still issues the district needs to fine-tune. 

“Teachers are being underpaid and underappreciated,” Mozip said. “That shouldn’t be happening at our schools. One of the cornerstones of my campaign is to enhance the compensation packet we offer our teachers. People who really want to teach aren’t even considering it right now because of the pay.”

Mozip said he’s been engaging with parents for months and that many of them have taken issue with the district’s special education department.

“There are many concerns from parents about how teachers are not equipped or trained to handle students with special needs,” he said. “Many students have a disability but are talented at something else. A gifted program is not even being considered in the district. We need one to make sure our staff and teachers are ready to handle special education students.”

Mozip, a Yemeni American, is also in-tune with the needs of the Southend community. Hundreds of students are subjected to dire air quality in the area due to the neighboring steel mill factories.

This week, he attended an AK Steel meeting to address those concerns and said he believes it’s time to hold companies accountable by asking them to make generous contributions to the local schools.

“I gave them a piece of my mind about them polluting the air and not giving us social responsibility by being good citizens and good neighbors,” Mozip said. “I’ve challenged them to pay something substantial to the school to show that they have done some damage to the community and this is how they are paying back.”

He cited a recent upgrade in an air filtering system at Salina that was mandated by the Department of Justice.

“We had directed them to do it at the school,” Mozip said. “It’s because they had to do it. Some of that implementation is still incomplete. Some classrooms still don’t have air conditioning.”

Mozip is competing against incumbent Fadwa Hammoud, former School Board Trustee Hussein Berry and Khodr Farhat.

On Wednesday, community members turned out to Mozip’s fundraiser at the Fairlane club. To learn more about him, visit www.adelmozip.com.