密歇根新闻广播 底特律的学生重返学校

Michigan's largest school district was back in session Tuesday, as around 50,000 students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District headed back to class.

Students and staff came back to a handful of big changes, some more visible than others.

For one thing, they're getting their drinking water from water coolers, not water fountains or sinks. That's the district's short-term strategy after Superintendent¹ Nikolai Vitti ordered water to all drinking water sources shut off.

Vitti made that call after some initial water test results showed elevated levels of lead and copper² from some water sources in 34 out of 50 schools. He decided³ to shut off all drinking water sources in all schools until all the test results come back.

"If you're looking at 34 of 50 schools that were tested, statistically⁴ we're looking at probably 60 to 70 with elevated levels once all the testing is done," Vitti said. "And that was the rationale to discontinue the drinking water."

The source of the contamination is still unclear and Vitti says a longer-term solution is still up for debate, but he favors the idea of standalone "water stations," with water lines separate from the school’s piping and all-new fixtures⁵.

"The solution is not a whack-a-mole effect of, 'Well let's take out that water fountain or that sink.' And in between testing we can't say 'Well, unfortunately students were exposed to high levels of water or lead,'" Vitti said. "That's why we discontinued everything, because I was seeing concerns in new schools and old schools."

Vitti stressed the district undertook the comprehensive testing voluntarily, though no law requires it. "We should be water-testing throughout this country, at every school and every water source," he said. "Especially in the city of Detroit."

In 2017, DPSCD said it had corrected the problems that caused 2016 tests to show elevated lead and copper levels in some schools' water. But district officials say that round of testing only took samples from three water sources in each school, giving incomplete results.

Students and staff will see other changes in DPSCD schools as well. For one thing, the district is better-staffed than in recent years, though it's still about 90 teachers short of where it should be. And Vitti says that for the first time in many years, all district schools will have art and music classes.

"We've hired hundreds of new PE teachers, art teachers, music teachers, deans, and assistant principals," Vitti said.

The district is also debuting⁶ a new K-8 math and reading curriculum, which Vitti expects should translate into higher student test scores.

"We know they're talented, we know they're capable. They've just had inferior curriculum put in front of them," Vitti said. "And with a stronger curriculum, our students will rise. I think we're going to see that."

Mayowa Lisa Reynolds is a first-year principal at the Detroit School of Arts. She says her school is fully-staffed and ready to take on the school year, though on Tuesday she was dealing⁷ with a few typical first-day "glitches⁸."

Reynolds thinks the district's biggest issue right now is perception. After years of highly-publicized low test scores, financial mismanagement and years of worsening conditions under state-appointed emergency managers, she says many Detroiters simply lost faith in their public schools.

"I think my biggest challenge is to continuously change the narrative⁹...re-branding, to convince the community that what we offer is top-of-the-line," Reynolds said.

"All the things that parents want in a really good schools, we have. It's just getting the message that we're here."

1 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

5 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 debuting   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• New debuting analog thermostat welding machine, easy to operate. 新登场模拟式调温电焊台，操作简单。
• With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. 苹果公司的新型平板电脑将于下周发布。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

9 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。