Dr. Benjamin Edmondson has been waking up earlier and earlier since starting his new job. 

"It started at 6:15, and then it went to 6:00, and then 5:45. Now I'm waking up at 5:00. I never did that," he says. "What we're doing is so exciting."

It's an easy confession to believe. Edmonson's over-the-top enthusiasm is closer to what one might expect from a teenager who just was just elected prom king than a man who just became superintendent at Ypsilanti Community Schools', one of the lowest performing districts in the state. But while his enthusiasm and energy might be childlike, his background is serious business. 

Turning around troubled schools is Edmonson's M.O. In the past 15 years he has served in a number of administrative positions, including helping to take David Hicks Elementary School in Inkster from one of the lowest performing schools in Wayne-Westland Community Schools to one that received accolades for three straight years of continuous improvement, "changing the climate" of Ann Arbor Public Schools' then-struggling Scarlett Middle School and serving as the principal at both Ann Arbor Schools' Roberto Clemente High School and Pathways to Success Academic Campus. 

And none of that happened by accident. The EMU-educated Edmonson’s doctorate dissertation, The Effects of Parental Involvement and Small Class Sizes on the Academic Achievement Gap, was named an Outstanding Dissertation by the International Society for Educational Planning, after he presented his research at the organization's conference in Bologna, Italy.

"I'm an expert," Edmonson says. "I would use that information and go into schools and turn things around. Because I know what we have to do."

A better school system for a better Ypsilanti

There's no doubt the experience will come in handy. Edmonson calls morale at YCS "horrific." He sites low pay as a cause of leadership transience. He says achievement is notoriously low. And the issues go on and on.

"White flight is tremendous," Edmonson says. "Now, black students are leaving too. But I'm excited, because I'm going to bring them back. There's no doubt in my mind."

And he doesn't just expect his efforts to create a better school district. He's aiming to create a better Ypsilanti. In fact, he says the two things are intricately connected. "The schools are the community's biggest product," he says. "If what's coming out of your schools isn't a good product, than the whole community suffers."

Research agrees. The Washtenaw County's Affordable Housing Needs Assessment released earlier this year cited the education performance gap between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti as a major obstacle to confronting the region's socioeconomic inequality issues. 

"Poor performing schools are an issue that will handcuff any weak market’s capacity to recover, so school quality differential requires attention," reads the report. Translation: Ypsilanti will continue to face socioeconomic struggles as long as their schools struggle.

Test scores, Edmonson says, are tied to property value. When test scores are down, people with the financial means to send their kids elsewhere do. And when YCS loses $7,800 every time a student leaves, the cycle is a vicious one.

"Let's have a product that makes people to want to return," he says. "We want to show them that when you come here, you don't come here because you can't afford Ann Arbor. We want you to come here because our city is hopping."

Big goals, big solutions

Narrowing the socioeconomic gap between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti is a pretty big, broad goal. To achieve it, the new YCS superintendent is focused on a narrower, if no less ambitious one: 

"My ultimate goal is to be the option for this community," he says. "Not an option. Right now, we're lucky if we're an option."

With such big goals in mind, big solutions are required. And lots of them. Just two months into the job, Edmonson already has some underway. It will begin with higher expectations of students and staff: attendance will be enforced, speaking proper English will be expected, tardiness won't be tolerated, and neither will sloppy dressing. Don't even get Edmonson started on sagging pants. To make sure all of this is implemented, he plans to be a visible figure in every building.  

"I'm going to inspect what I expect," says Edmonson. 

He's also developing a number of programs intended to engage and inspire young minds. He's partnering with local businesses, for example, to create a serial job shadowing experience for high schoolers. Beginning in ninth grade, he envisions the students spending two hours every Friday with a community professional and then rotating each month—all the way through their senior year. 

"Imagine how many jobs we've exposed you to," Edmonson says. "So you don't go to college blindly, or you don't say 'I don't know what I want to do with my life.' You can at least narrow it down." 

Edmondson wants the community to be involved in YCS in a variety of ways, in fact. The new Man Up or Kid Down initiative seeks to pair community mentors with teenagers to combat gang violence. He's asking men in the community to donate suit jackets so student athletes can dress professionally on game days. Whatever it takes to turn around YCS he says, he's going to do it, and he wants the community to be at the center of it all.

"My goal as superintendent is this: I prescribe the ends, and you can prescribe the means," says Edmondson. "I will take everybody's ideas."

The power of a better brand

New programs and expectations are intended to improve how YCS schools operate, but Edmondson also wants to improve how the district is perceived. From a new logo to fresh paint and landscaping to new employees, Edmonson doesn't just want to reshape the district, he wants to rebrand it. 

"When you say 'Ypsilanti Schools' there's a poor perception," he says. "There's just a culture of low expectations. You've got to show people that something different is happening here. We want kids to walk in and see a difference."

They won't just see it in the increased curb appeal of the schools and a revamped web presence [http://www.ycschools.us/]. Edmonson is encouraging staff and students to take ownership of the YCS brand by creating a game out of customizing the district's acronym for each school and occasion, such as Youth Changing Statistics, Your Caring Staff, Ypsilanti Come Strong, Ypsilanti Counter Attack, Ypsilanti Comeback Strategy, Your Children Succeed, and—Edmonson's personal favorite—Your Committed Superintendent.

"Everyone is coming up with new things," he says. "It's exciting."

And even before kids arrive at YCS schools, Edmonson sees clear movement toward his great big goals for the challenged Ypsilanti district.

"I've changed the culture here in eight weeks," he says. "I've changed the expectations. But I also have the ability to change the community. The schools will unite this community."

This story is part of a series of solutions-focused stories and profiles about the programs and people that are positively impacting the lives of Michigan kids. The series is produced by Michigan Nightlight and is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Read other stories in this series here. 

This story is also made possible through a partnership with InspirED Michigan, a project of the Michigan Public Schools Partnership. MPSP is a coalition of more than 50 education-related organizations, school districts and individuals committed to promoting the good news about Michigan public schools. To subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter, click here.