ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Future Inc., the organization that plans to open 35 high-performance high schools in Detroit, has announced three new schools opening in 2012: YMCA Detroit Leadership Academy, Detroit Delta Preparatory Academy for Social Justice, and Schools for the Future, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.
The YMCA academy, a public charter school, will meld an academic component with mentoring and other community resources provided through the YMCA, according to Crain’s.
The Academy for Social Justice, founded by the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., will emphasize social justice in instruction and mentoring, Crain’s reported, while Schools for the Future will serve students who have been held back at least twice and have severe academic gaps. Schools for the Future is a public school partnership between Boston-based Schools for the Future and Detroit-based Black Family Development, according to Crain’s.
The schools will open to freshmen in the fall of 2012 and add a grade a year, according to Crain’s. The operators will receive a combined $2.4 million in grant support from four foundations and must commit to an “85/85/85 plan” under which 85 percent of seniors graduate, 85 percent of graduates go on to college and 85 percent of college enrollees earn a degree, Crain’s reported.
If the school’s staff is unionized, then the union agreement must “allow for opening hiring, no ‘bumping’ and no work rules that interfere with innovative teaching and learning,” Crain’s reported.
SOURCES:
Crain’s Detroit Business, “Michigan Future to open 3 more college-prep schools in Detroit,” Sept. 20, 2011 (Subscription required)
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “Jalen Rose: An Education Entrepreneur,” Sept. 14, 2011
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for a free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams.
Please consider contributing to our work to advance a freer and more prosperous state.