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DPS
Emergency
Manager
Roy
Roberts
announces
school
changes
for the
2012-13
school
year
DETROIT
- DPS
Emergency
Manager
Roy
Roberts
on
Wednesday
announced
school
changes,
academic
initiatives
and key
dates
and
timelines
for
parents
for the
2012-13
school
year.
“Today I
am
announcing,
almost
four
months
earlier
than I
was in a
position
to do so
last
year,
the key
changes
affecting
our
Detroit
Public
Schools
families
for the
upcoming
school
year. By
doing so
early,
much
earlier
than has
traditionally
been the
case in
Detroit,
parents
can make
plans
for
enrollment
and also
seek
information
about
their
children’s
schools,”
Roberts
said.
The
facilities
changes
include
closure
of nine
school
buildings
where in
some
cases
entire
programs
will
relocate
to other
buildings,
four
schools
to
become
new
DPS-authorized
charters,
and
consolidation
of seven
outdated
schools
into
four
brand
new
buildings.
Academically,
DPS will
also
begin to
create
an
individualized
learning
plan for
each
student
in the
district
to help
pinpoint
strengths
and
weaknesses.
The
individualized
learning
plans
will be
automated
and
built
electronically
from
existing
data
systems,
using
tests
scores
from the
MME,
MEAP,
and
benchmark
assessments
as well
as other
data,
such as
attendance.
Roberts
said,
“This is
a
critically
important
time in
the
history
of
Detroit
Public
Schools
and for
our
city. I
have
stated
frequently
that
Detroit
Public
Schools
must not
only be
a part
of
Detroit’s
comeback,
it must
LEAD it.
We have
been
using an
outdated
educational
model
that we
must
discard.
We must
embark
on a
bold and
ambitious
journey
that I
believe
will
return
this
City to
its
rightful
place as
the
world
class
leader
in
public
education,
a
position
it once
held.”
The
closures
and
consolidations
will
save the
school
district
an
estimated
$7.5
million
annually
in
operating
costs.
First-year
closing
and
decommissioning
costs
total
$2.7
million.
The key
components
of the
transitions,
which
collectively
will
directly
impact
one of
every
three
current
DPS
students:
• Nine
school
buildings
to close
(one to
be
repurposed
for
consolidation
of other
administrative
functions)
Due to
declining
enrollment
and
shifting
demographics,
DPS has
69,616
students,
preK-12th
grade,
in a
district
with
seats
for
110,660
students.
The
vacant
seats,
taken
together,
represent
what
would be
equivalent
to the
second
largest
school
district
in the
state.
Future
trends
call for
continued
reductions
in
school-age
population.
Rather
than
continue
to
support
buildings
that are
far
under-utilized,
DPS will
close,
consolidate
and
merge
schools,
allowing
for
additional
resources
for a
smaller
group of
higher-quality
facilities
and to
the
students
in those
buildings.
In a
number
of
cases,
achieving
programs
such as
Ludington
Magnet
Middle
School
and
Mason
Elementary
School
will
remain
intact,
while
the
programs
will
move to
newer,
better
facilities
with
room to
serve
additional
students.
Buildings
to be
closed:
City
High,
Day
School
for the
Deaf,
Jemison,
Kettering
High and
West
Wing,
Ludington
(program
moving
to
current
Langston
Hughes
which
will
renamed
Ludington
Magnet),
Mason
(program
moving
to
current
Farwell
which
will be
renamed
Mason),
Maybury,
Robeson
Early
Learning
Center
(kindergarten
students
moving
to main
Paul
Robeson/Malcolm
X
Academy
and
pre-K to
palmer
Park),
Southwestern
• Four
schools
to be
chartered
with DPS
as the
authorizer
Detroit
Public
Schools
will
charter
four
schools
that
face
enrollment
and
facilities
challenges
and have
been
under-performing
based on
state
standards.
The
rigorous
DPS
process
to
select
proven
charter
operators
that
have
demonstrated
success
with
raising
academic
achievement
will
provide
a new
opportunity
for
these
schools.
DPS will
continue
to serve
as the
charter
authorizer
and will
monitor
the
schools’
academic
and
fiscal
progress.
Schools
affected:
Cooke,
MacDowell,
Noble,
Rutherford
• Seven
schools
to
consolidate
into
four
brand
new
school
buildings
DPS will
open
four
additional
brand
new
schools
for the
fall as
part of
the
district’s
bond
construction
project,
which
will
allow
the
district
to
consolidate
7
outdated
buildings
so that
4,500
children
may
start
the year
in
state-of-the-art
facilities
designed
for 21st
century
learning.
These
four
schools
represent
$150
million
in
educational
investments
thanks
to
Detroit
voters.
Already,
some
10,000
Detroit
students
are
learning
every
day
inside
new or
renovated
buildings
opened
the past
two
years
through
this
program.
Schools
affected:
Logan
and O.W.
Holmes
to new
Munger,
Parker
and
Barton
to new
Mackenzie,
Mumford
to new
Mumford,
Crockett
and
Finney
to new
East
English
Village
Preparatory
Academy
(a new
application
school
for 9th
graders
with
current
10th-12th
graders
at
Finney
and
Crockett
High
Schools
offered
enrollment)
• DPS
Schools
to the
Education
Achievement
Authority
to be
named by
March 15
Roberts
and
Chancellor
John
Covington
of the
new
Education
Achievement
Authority
of
Michigan,
will
place 15
historically
low-performing
schools
in the
new
system,
where
they
will be
wrapped
in
additional
resources
and
given
greater
autonomy
to
succeed.
The
schools
selected
are
among
the 5
percent
of
schools
that
ranked
lowest
in the
state
for
achievement.
Based on
data-driven
decisions,
the 15
schools
needing
the most
support
will be
selected.
This
list
will be
presented
prior to
March
15, the
open
enrollment
period.
DPS has
notified
the
schools
that
were new
to the
PLA list
this
year,
they
will not
be among
those
transferred
to the
EAA.
According
to
information
as
published
by the
Michigan
Department
of
Education
regarding
Persistently
Lowest
Achieving
Schools,
the
Detroit
Public
Schools
has
seven
schools
that are
new to
the
list.
The
schools
are as
follows:
Bow,
Carstens,
Garvey,
Palmer
Park,
Priest,
Pulaski
and
Wilkins.
These
schools
that are
new to
the list
have
submitted
reform
plans
for
implementation
September
2012. To
include
these
schools
in the
EAA
would be
premature
because
they
have not
had an
opportunity
to
improve
using
their
selected
reform
models.
By
definition,
EAA was
designed
for
schools
that are
not
achieving
satisfactory
results
on a
redesign
plan.
Schools
to be
announced
prior to
March 15
Open
Enrollment
period
Roberts
has met
with
families
and
teachers
of
schools
affected
by
closure,
and DPS
has
placed
phone
calls,
personalized
with
information
for each
school’s
transition,
to the
homes of
all
affected
families
at
schools
to be
closed,
consolidated
or
chartered.
The
district
will
send
home
customized
letters
for each
student.
New
Individualized
Learning
Plans
for
every
DPS
student
Superintendent
of
Academics
Karen
Ridgeway
stated,
“The new
Individualized
Learning
Plans
for each
student
will
help us
create a
new
academic
blueprint
for our
teachers
and
staff to
know
each
child’s
needs
and take
the
guesswork
out of
the
equation
for
parents
as
well.”
Ridgeway
announced
a new
parent-friendly
academic
blueprint
to
outline
what
children
should
know at
each
grade
level.
This
will be
a simple
tri-fold
guide
that
specifies
the
concepts
children
should
be able
master
in each
subject
for the
grade
they are
currently
in, the
previous
grade
and the
upcoming
grade.
These
guides
will be
widely
available
to
parents.
Additionally,
every
school
will
have a
School
Improvement
Plan
based on
a
compilation
of data
from all
students.
Every
principal
and
every
teacher
will be
evaluated
on an
annual
basis,
per
state
law.
The DPS
Academic
Team has
been
rewriting
the
district’s
academic
plan,
building
it
around
the
state's
common
core
standards
and
state
curriculum,
as well
as the
National
Assessment
for
Educational
Progress
standards
and
nationwide
best
practices.
Open
Enrollment
and
Application
Periods
A new
Open
Enrollment
period
for
families
will be
held
from
March 15
– April
16 to
allow
for
important
decisions
to be
made.
DPS, new
DPS-authorized
charters,
and EAA
schools
to be
announced
will
participate.
DPS
application
schools
will
participate
in an
earlier
application
period
from
February
20 -
March
15.
“Wrapping
up the
school
assignments
for
current
students
early
will
allow
for
staffing
and
budgeting
decisions
to be
made on
a timely
basis,
to
ensure a
smooth
start to
the new
school
year
including
the
placement
of a
teacher
in front
of every
child on
the
first
day of
school,”
Roberts
said.
Complete
information
is
available
at
detroitk12.org
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