Outgoing Dearborn Schools Superintendent John Artis with elementary school students.
DEARBORN – On July 1, Dearborn Schools Superintendent John Artis, who’s run the complex district for the last six years, will turn over the reins to Brian Whiston, who the board of education unanimously approved as Artis’ replacement in May.

Artis will move on to become administrative chief operating officer of the Arab American social services group ACCESS.

Whiston has been Oakland County ISD director of government and community services for the past eleven years.

Board of Education Secretary Aimee Blackburn said Artis will leave a lasting legacy, having, among other things, put in place elaborate long and short-term strategic plans for the district and established a strong presence of bilingual staff.

“He really will be sorely missed,” she said. “Our staff has really matured… His strategic plans will hand around…

“We definitely are going to miss his leadership with curriculum.”

Incoming Dearborn Schools Superintendent Brian Whiston.
Blackburn said the transition from Artis to Whiston will mean a shift from a curriculum-oriented superintendent to management-focused leadership.

She described the choice of Whiston as superintendent as non-traditional.

Whiston does not have experience as an educator.

But “the skill sets for running a district and teaching are two different things,” Blackburn said. “A lot of districts in light of the economic times have shifted to a manager.”

She said Whiston will be able to use past experience as a lobbyist to help “read some of the political wind that is blowing.”

Whiston cited diminishing school funding as the main challenge he expects to face.

“We have to learn to do more with less,” he said.

He said he expects funding to continue to decrease each year and sees no end in sight. “We’re in a new economy,” he said.

Whiston said his experience as a lobbyist could be a helpful tool, because lobbying is about “bringing different groups with the same interests together and getting them on one united front.”

He said he plans to spend his first 100 days on the job “just listening to people and learning.”

Artis said that during the last month of his time heading the district, he’s sensed a bit of tension among staff, anxious about the change to come.

“People are a little bit unsettleed… We’re at that point,” he said.

Artis said that, with regard to the Arab American community, organizations and individuals reaching out to him, inviting him to functions and keeping him familiar, was a big help in being successful as superintendent.

Whiston said groups have already begun reaching out to him. He said he’s met with people from ACCESS, which announced the hiring of Artis on June 5.

According to a statement from the group, Artis will oversee all ACCESS departments, identify target population needs, evaluate program performance, implement strategic plan goals and administer program integration.

“John Artis is well known for innovative strategies and has had success in building a culture that emphasizes the importance of providing top-quality programs,” said ACCESS Executive Director Hassan Jaber in the statement. “We look forward to John’s leadership to build stronger services.”

Artis, after becoming superintendent in 2002, oversaw the building of several new schools and a drawn-out redistricting process, which he said was one of the most tense periods during his time with the district.

He said people were intensely anxious about the redistricting, mostly because students were used to certain schools, but sometimes because of ethnic tensions.

“We did our best to involve a lot of people in the process.”

One of Artis’ proudest accomplishments was implementing a school improvement plan that demanded short-term progress, in which, in a three-part process, each school designed its own plan, overseen and analyzed throughout the year by administrators.

“School improvement is something that’s important now, not just in five years,” he said.

Artis said several schools saw major improvement. Lowrey, a K-8 school that received national recognition for improvement last year, is an example.

“They were on an academic watch list when I came here, and they completely turned that around,” he said.

“It’s something the new superintendent will have to take up,” he said about the strategic improvement plan.

Whiston, who has bought a house in west Dearborn and intends to move there in October, said he intends to review the variety of programs Artis implemented and continue those that have been successful.

“We’re all about student performance,” he said.

Blackburn said the board chose Whiston in part because they were impressed with his communication skills.

She said that while he did not work his way up education administrative ranks, as is traditionally done, the district is rich in people who can fill any gap in curriculum leadership.

“We have a lot of good curriculum-oriented people. If he can harness that leadership, he’ll be successful,” she said.

She said learning about the Arab American community and the way in which parents interact with the district will be another challenge Whiston will face.

“There will be a learning curve. It will take him some time to understand,” she said. “Being Arab in the Dearborn community is more than just hommous and tabouli.”

She said the district is different than most in several ways, being very diverse socio-economically, being a district that includes a community college, and being the district with the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.

“There are so many complexities to this district that make it unique,” she said. “If he can acknowledge those complexities, he can be really successful.”

Whiston said he’s up for the challenge.

“That’s what attracted me to it in the first place,” he said. “It’s an exciting place to live and an exciting place to work. I can’t wait to come and get started. I’m looking forward to it.”