Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of public media.

Doni: At a tim when school systems are expected to tackle some of the most challenging issues faced by our children.

Toledo Public Schools continues to outshine its peers in larger urban districts through innovative programing and technologies.

The district encourages grassroot solutions to complex challenges while promoting creativity and the courage to navigat a world that isn't always kind.

There's so much more to our school systems than you may realize, but that's about to change.

Joining u today is CEO and superintendent of Toledo Public Schools, doctor Romulus Durand.

I'm Danny Miller, and welcome to the point.

As you know, you can connect with us on our social media pages.

You can always email me at Donnie Underscore Miller at Morgan.

As you know, for this episode and any other additional extras you might be interested in.

You simply have to go to.org.

To the point I have to tell you all.

I am so excited this morning.

In this town there are few.

There are lots of great thinkers and people with with great ideas.

And there are some folks wh just seem to make that happen.

And one of those people is, Doctor Romulus Durand.

He is the CEO and superintendent of Toledo Public Schools.

He is also, I have to tell you, the winner most recently of the highest educational award in the country.

That's correct.

And you were, in competition with 78 other urban school district of the top five in the country.

You were chose as Urban educator of the year.

Hooray for you.

We are so proud of you.

And the NAACP gave you its Freedom Award, just a few days ago.

Romules Durrant: So, you know, I been blessed.

And, you know, I like to people when I go to bigger cities, what I find i many of the movers and shakers that are in big citie come from cities such as Toledo.

And so our whole thing in order to become a big city, many of our thinkers need to stay within the city of Toledo to ultimately begin and become on the forefront of other larger cities.

And and so that's within about necessarily a win for myself and mor importantly, the city of Toledo.

Because now when people see Toledo, they recognize the innovative thinking and education.

And how do they align for workforce development?

Doni: Yeah.

And we shouldn't we shouldn't forget to mention that you had a, a teacher from the fro the university college, right?

Romules Durrant: Well she from Twitter.

Early college.

Mona Giani, she was named teacher of the year as well, which is the first time in the history of County Council of Great City School to have both the superintendent, along with a teacher in the same district, achieve such an accomplishment on a national level.

Doni: You know, wha are you guys doing over there?

What do you put in the orange juice in the morning?

Something is working really well.

Romules Durrant: You know what?

I think it's just, you know, everyone coming together, understanding the importance of what we're doing.

Understanding the outcom that we're we're trying to get.

But more importantly, aligning kids to the places that they truly feel gifted.

And every one of u have a LeBron James within us.

And we need to align you to where you are, the LeBron James to what you do.

You may not be on the basketball court, but you're doing surgery and lab.

You may not be on the basketball court, but you are teachin and instructing in the classroom that no one could touch you with in that aspect.

And so I wait to assist beat LeBron James for who you are an to beat LeBron to what you do.

Doni And you guys make that happen.

And you give such great opportunities for kids such a wide a wide degree of of choices.

It's more than like your grandmother's school system, isn't it?

Romules Durrant: You know what?

If really zeroing in, and using the place of identity to focus in on industry, but more importantly, the career itself.

And so sometimes people will make mention of Mac Cumber, and I said, listen to programs that are Mac number now a school of his own, meaning they had aviation.

You now have an aerospace academy seventh through 12th grade along with associate degree.

Doni: Did you all hear that?

Say that again.

An aerospace academy.

Romules Durrant: That is.

Doni: Inside of TPS.

Romules Durrant: And kids start doing flight hours at the age of 15.

You can do your first solo flight at the age of 16.

Many will get their pilot license before they get their driver's license.

Doni: No kidding.

Romules Durrant: I got I just had a young man.

His name is Quinn.

He's a doctor, and I just spent, three hours and 300 miles on a plane, yesterday.

And he said, I've never been in a car that long.

Doni: That is so amazing.

And other specialty program as well that I'm sure it is not.

It is unbelievable, actually, the way you all have expanded education, in this, in this, you know.

Romules Durrant: One of the things that we've done is create an identity of taking a school to the place of industry.

What better place to lear about aviation than the airport and makes all the sense in a world and and so when you take a talk about natural science, what better plate and a botanical garden in the Metro park syste to learn about natural sciences, animals, reptiles and other things.

And what we do is make sure that more than the textbook is hands on.

So when you talk about when many people get shocked, when they see that we have a crocodile pit with three crocodiles in there, and the kids are working on reproduction right now, but the profession is called crocodilian.

But we have several kids who are studying crocodilians to be able to go to the zoo and other places to work.

And we have one of the largest crocodiles in captivity here at the Tweedle Zoo.

Who's going to be there to help provide support as well to care for the crocodile?

If you don't provide profession but exposed to kids to those opportunities.

Crocodilian crocodile doing it.

Doni: That would never.

Romules Durrant: Occur if I did that.

If I tell you, tell me.

And it's interestin because we take the kids through career pathways and they come up with identity to saying that you have never though about, but it's their pathway.

Doni: And you know, what's wonderful about that is that for that chil who who thought he didn't fit, you know, for that child who like, he didn't have a talent.

It's like your earlier comment, there's a LeBron James inside of all of us.

Romules Durrant You know, and it's that passion of that fire that we turn on.

Yeah.

Once you're in touch.

And that's what get people to move from other states that are coming to Toledo to take advantage of these academies.

And so to blade, we did an article on a young lady who left South Carolina.

Mom, dad said, we searched and searched and we found this academy that had not only had crocodilian, but other, veterinarian program that we thought like this would right for our daughter.

She struggled where she with that and now she just fell in lov with the academy after we've had individual from Texas.

I just met a young lady from West Virginia that her parent allowed her God family to take her in just so she could attend to pre-med, a health and science academy.

And so, again, these opportunities are right here in the city of Toledo that does not exist in other states.

And so DC is all in my ear, you know, last week, and they want us to do this and other state to help other state develop this workforce development in a way that kids are methodically going from seventh grade right into profession.

Yeah.

Doni: It's amazing to me.

And the size of your school at 58 schools, did I get that right?

The school's over 20,000 students, right?

$400 million budget.

I'm.

Romules Durrant: Yeah, yeah, we were about a half $1 million budget.

Yeah.

And so, you know what?

We try to make sure that at any day we efficiently you taxpayer dollars to really get the most out of education until parents you should not just settle for a high school diploma.

If you have done the research in our district, your child should graduate at 18 years of age with a diploma industry certification internship as well as college credit up to an associate degree at no cost to you because your tax dollars have supported the district and bath getting the most out of education.

Doni: And I don't think people know that when they talk about tax.

That's not what I hear them talking about.

That's why I wanted you to come on today and talk about what an amazing opportunity kids have inside of public schools for free.

Romules Durrant: You know, put in perspective.

I went to keynote speaker for, the spring commencement, University of Toledo.

They had 44 associate degree across the state.

30 of them came from out of Twitter early college, you know, s these are kids who are achieving an associate degree at no cost to their family at the same time, have higher probability of scholarship, because at the end of the day, they are proven for two years of college readiness to be abl to finish the final two years, which is what universit get reimbursed on on completion and not enrollment.

So these kids have a higher probability of scholarship to get a four year degree at no cost to mom and dad, that being smart with your child, you know, education because our kids are graduating college with debt that is, on average research has shown take 21 years to pay off.

These kids are strategically getting this paid for by taking advantage of opportunities within TPS.

Doni: Right?

It's absolutely incredible.

And some of the one of the things that I love about your model is that you actually wrap these kids in everything they need to succeed.

There's, you have a relationship with a number of community partners, that, that bring their expertise into the school.

Romules Durrant: That's exactly right.

And these opportunities couldn't happen without the partnership and industry getting heavily involved.

So when you think of our premed health and science academy, you have the two medical giants of ProMedica and mercy as the sponsorship of this academy.

So you have advanced.

Opportun need some internships.

ProMedica just signed an agreement and an MoU for our 16 year old now to be employed at Hutto Hospital, which has never happene because they are too young now.

They have seen these kids and have seen that they were very mature, but more importantly, they brought an asset to what they were doing.

And so now we're starting to get others, such mercy and others to start considering the same about employability.

But I think when you think of creating these, plug and play type models where mom and dad don't have to do all the research, we just find out the passion we create, the course of study, what it takes to ge from a two year to a four year.

That's a world with industr to get them into the right seat of what they want to do with their lives.

And that's been the true, secre in the SA to a certain degree, because parents appreciate it, because they're not trying to figure all these things out, but more importantly, they realize the, value that they're getting that their child would have ha to pay for what they graduate.

Doni: Absolutely, absolutely.

You've got, relationships with behavioral health organizations, right?

Available to kids, no cost to parents.

Romules Durrant: Yeah.

You know, all wraparound services are right there in the schools.

So we have health centers, mental health centers, all of these things.

And one of the things that we say is that if you want to get involved with our school, then you need to be in the school.

We don't want you coming in and visiting day to day.

We want you to be in the hallways reinforcing some of the things that you guys are working on when you're in your sessions.

And so those are key and aspects and, and, you know, and the physical health, some of the things that we've done with yourself and other I mean, you know, when you think of hygiene, the other thing that you have provided that keep the child from missing day for the fact that they know their hygiene to where it should be bullying start to take place.

You'd be surprised.

I'm not saying that our health clinics that you know, and others have really help, young lady, as well as our young men, really get through their day to day.

But the fact that they now have opportunity to acquire things for hygiene products, washing their clothes, all within the facility of a school.

Doni: Yeah.

And I think that and thank yo for that acknowledgment as well.

It's a joy to work with you guys.

And, I think what people fail to recognize is that these children are coming to school with all of the issues that you hear about on TV and that you see right in your neighborhood, and you have t and your staff, you're amazing.

Staff has to manage these issues along with teaching, along with keeping it, as Jesse used to say, keeping hope alive so that they show up the next day and and they want to move forward.

Romules Durrant: You know what the layer and complexity of the challeng of the population that we serve.

If you're not in to the day to day, you have no clue to.

Doni: How to go I want you to hold that thought.

We got to run for a second, but we will be right back.

Please, please, please stay with us.

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Doni: And as you know, you can connect with us on our social media pages.

And please, please, please reac out to me at my email address.

Donny_miller@wget.org.

And for this episode, which I' sure you'll want to watch again and any additional extras, go to.org to the point, as you know, if you've if you've been watching us, we're talking to the CEO and superintendent of Toledo Public Schools, Doctor Romulus Durrant.

Amazing things happening inside of the the TPS system.

And it just continues to get better and better.

You are expanding a syste that's already being recognized as one of the best in this state.

Romules Durrant: You know, it, and it's just been a blessing and a reflection of, our partnership reflection of our staff and and just a reflection of Toledo and that sense of wanting to all roads lead up to really get in and do the work.

And so we're just excited to be able to have this opportunity to be able to do that.

But more importantly just be innovative, creative as to where in the day we becom those that are on the forefront that many of the bigger cities are looking to to one day.

We're being recognized.

Getting funding from federal and state level.

But the fact that they see Toledo as a value to the economy of what the country.

Doni: You know, I in in researching this show and I did not find another model like the one that you are proposing for Scott Park.

Romules Durrant: You know what, another one.

And that the whole notion of the last part of the teaching at rotary is to be able to show the success model of our magnet schools, to be able to show that we're going and and the draw that it brings for individuals within this region.

We have k traveling hour eac way just to come to the Academy, leaving other state, just to come to this economy or this academy.

So the mantra is if parent are willing to send their kids, pay taxes elsewhere, trave distance to get their kid there, it provides the same innovation and residency recreation at the foundation of education that we potentially could get them to move into this community, back into the city of Toledo to really strengthen our economy.

And that's what Scott Park's about, about education, recreation as well, residency.

The day the teachers living in your community, the day the professor living in your community, police officers, senior citizen all living within a community, that is just one.

And that really what we're getting back to the heart of.

Doni: Boy, that that's that is amazing.

And a bit overwhelming to think about.

Romules Durrant: Here, actually.

Doni: So talk to us about what's your vision for Scott Park?

Romules Durrant: The visio we're going to have, education.

What you three Academy.

You're going to have the business academy bringing kids through the process of LLC real estate taxation as well as investment, developing pathways of income.

In order to get kids out of poverty, we have to teach them wealth.

And that's what the reality of the business academy.

The other one is the education and Social Service Academy grooming our own teachers.

At the end of day, we want more teachers that look like us and reflect our community.

We have to do the due diligence of creating our own academy and creating room in our own at the same time, social services and colleges, counselors, police officer, firefighter, all those things that are par of the support system of schools as well as neighborhood.

And the last academy is going to be construction, architectural design.

What the what?

The vacancy of Macomber Whitney had left a lot of skill shortages within this local economy.

Having one sit here and have the 16 trade unions working hand-in-hand with this district, creating three apprenticeship pathways in each one of these sectors, have really set kids up for success, meaning they're going right into internships, right into apprenticeship, and at the same time, right.

They're working in the local economy, making sure that development is happening as well.

We've done.

Doni: So let's talk about those in a little more detail.

So for instance, with your Business Academy program, they will be taking regular classes to everybody needs to know that they still will be doing the reading, writing and arithmetic stuff that we all had to do.

And then you will have business leaders, business folks come in and do what.

Romules Durrant: They'll come in.

And active mentors, they know in regard to speak to the nature of the work they're doing.

Many of them will be relative to the situation, a handful, in other words, I'm working with associates right now.

We're part of Realtors association.

Really getting to understan the ability of owning property, the fact the strength of having equity into something of ownership.

And I tell people all the time and, you know, I heard it from out in Rogers grandfather, that the earth is big and every one of us should own a piece of it.

And so we should be more than just consumers.

We should be owners of our own, entity.

And so the same way and so, you know, what we're doing is bringing individuals from various sectors that have been the community to really relate to these kids, give them a better understanding, because, I mean, I want to be an investment, but I may work better the treasurer or whatever else that may be, because there are many layers within the business aspect, but we want to make sure that the kids understand when they leave, how they understand how this economy works.

Because once you understand that, the light turns on and at the end of the day, every one of us should have a trust fund.

There's no reason why our children in each one of our family should not have a trust fund.

If you're acquiring assets at the same time, providing protection for your family's wealth.

Doni: Yeah.

But so that isn't it interesting.

I think it's interesting that that that vital information is generally not exposed to children until it's way later in their lifetimes.

Romules Durrant: Right.

And and what you'll find is many people are learning on the job.

And so what we're doin is trying to make sure that one we have industry coming into our doors.

But to take in some of these, go to the place of industry.

Where could that to the de Mo?

A lot of learning happens within the field of itself.

Doni: Most of.

Romules Durrant: It, yeah.

Doni: Most of it.

Romules Durrant: And so how do we continue to connect our education within the field of industry, which is why we put the aviation school at the airport and retired at the Metro Park and medical school at the hospital, in the college, because that is today the culture is educating just as much as the textbook.

But at the same time, opportunity presented so much more immediately than me having to set a date and time to have such an asset come over to speak to us or us to get over there.

We're on your campus.

We just walk right up.

Doni: Yeah, exactly.

And you know, the other thing that's so important about this is underlying every single one of these ideas is this is your way out of poverty, right?

There is a way for you, and you don't have to wait to figure it out.

You can figure it out today.

Every day when you go to school, you have an opportunity to look at your way out of poverty, you know?

Romules Durrant: And and this is why we start this early on in elementary school, going right into the fifth grade, is that we want kids to really be having engaging typ discussions with data analysis to see where their LeBron James is.

We want to expose yo to your strengths and weaknesses and strength and showing you that here at a career that aligned to the strength, and that's what we do it now.

Beyond that, in the fifth grade, we expose you, we take you on field trips.

We want you.

If you're going to change your major change in how.

Don't wait till your two years in a college.

Put all this money and now all of a sudden you realize you can't handl blood at the nurse, right?

You at least take time.

And so we did in our academy there, like, I want to be a surgeon.

And when in a pre med school, when you go into the, the docto put you immediately in surgery and make you grab a scope and do all the aspects.

And some of those young ladies and young men, we're like, okay, do I get that right?

Then we end up going into pharmacy or physical therapy.

But at least you're making that decision earlier in age where it's not costing you other time money that many people are losing out on.

Doni: So this is like a huge, huge project.

Yeah.

How in the worl are you going to pay for this?

Romules Durrant: Well, one of the things that we have a bond that put on a ballot this, fall.

So we have a 5.8 mil, 3.8 is operational, maintaining our current operation.

Understand we haven't voted for new money in 11 years, which is unheard of in education.

But because of the new concept, create an ROI that allowed us to stay ahead in inflation.

It is why we got in so long without having to ask.

But at the same time, we're wanting to use the bond to do just as we done before, creat ROI on scalability of projects such as Scott Park, because it's in today, just through the analysis that I showed the date of the data, people are coming for these innovation.

There are no other place that many times you can go to to get these innovation.

I mean, you can go into the Educator Academy 20 years of age, getting paid on a skilled, a level three teacher at no cost, your degree.

You have an ability to have equity into a home.

Working on Scott part.

Because ultimately, we'r working to build $200,000 homes.

That cost you 100,000, a 0% financing working through habitat for humanity.

Really giving kids more way to be able to be invested in their community.

And so when we talk about th residency side of a Scott Park, we want people to have mor responsibility of homeownership, whether it's a duplex, whether it's a condo, whether it's a two story home, single story home, all the aspects of it.

But again, showing a sense of responsibility and a sense of pride.

That we always used to carry back in my earlier days.

And to my father who really loved having a job, loved taking care of us and lov and knowing that he had a home and a roof and food, to be abl to take care of it on his own.

Doni: So this money is not going to teachers.

Romules Durrant: This is not going to teaching well what to do with it will support.

But Scott Burton Bon will support the infrastructure of Scott Park.

So right now, if you know that that that location had been, vacant since 1999, great.

So you're talking about on a 25 years that there had nothing been done.

So, you know, right now we had to stop the bleeding because water, which is running straight through the roof, the masonry structuring systems and all those things.

So the bond is really to provide for the infrastructure at a facility.

What we do is we bring in, our own staffing and other thing, and through our model of, of our financing, we're able to create a model where the enrollment justify but more importantly, pay fo the operation of the facility.

That's perfect.

Yeah.

And so what you want is we don't want the school to rely on general fund.

The school creates a revenue o its own that it pays for itself and creates an additional revenue for the general fund.

Doni: So if this if, if things go well for you, when do you expect to have this up and running?

Romules Durrant: Well, you know, we're looking to launch, lead to one of the first academies, in 2026, at the same time and continuously working with the city.

What residential, infrastructure looks like at the same time, we have investors from out of Canada that want to bring recreational, which is they dome, athletic facility, which is indoor to the campus as well.

And, you know, like I said, ou our community and our children should have to go to Radford to enjoy indoor facilities.

We have the infrastructure, we have the land.

Let's figure out a way to how to develop these things ourselves.

And so working with investors from out of Canada to do that just here, just as well.

But as you can see within this campus itself, you went from education, you went from residency as well as recreation.

But more importantly we're going from all age group and worked with senior citizens all the way to preschool because we're looking to have daycare on this campus just as well.

Doni: You're just this is so exciting.

This is exciting, and this is amazing.

And, from a proud TPS graduate, I might wait, high school, is that right?

That's correct.

Wait.

High school.

All right so if people want to learn more, or they want to get involved do they just call your office?

Romules Durrant: Yeah, they can just call my office, or they can go to my social media page.

I put my email right underneath my my photo.

I respond to all emails and that's it goes into a filter.

But again, all they have to do is reach out.

I will always respon and would love to get individual more and more connected to the Scott Park campus.

If you go to my social media page, you'll see a zoom link that shows me presenting, the Scott Park project at, at rotary.

So what I've done is put that on there as well.

So individuals have the ability to, to see it for themselves and and go through it as many times they want to.

Doni: And there is a way for people to get involved there.

Romules Durrant: The way there's always a way to partnership is what make these things happen, whether it's industry or just somebody who's a retiree.

You always have something of value to give to a child because a child is always watching you, whether you know it or not.

That's right.

You could be doing it productively or doing the other way.

Right?

Doni: Thank you so so much for being with me today.

I really appreciate it.

Romules Durrant: No, I apppreciate it.

Doni: Good luck, and thank you all for joining us as well.

And you heard the doctor give him a call.

There's a way for you to get involved in this really, really important project.

I hope to see you next time.

And to the point be kind.

Just because you can.

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They do not necessaril reflect the views or opinions of public media.

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