New Detroit charter looks for students who are pregnant or unwed mothers (w/Video)

July 14, 2011

From The Detroit News: Nearly 5,000 girls who are pregnant or new mothers are being recruited by Catherine Ferguson Academy, a Detroit Public School that is converting to a charter operation in September. The school expects to enroll about 400 female students. Because most pregnant teens drop out of school to have their baby and do not return, school officials say, there are 5,000 girls younger than 19 in Wayne County who could attend the school, which exclusively serves pregnant students and teen mothers.

JUNE 2011: The last day of school at Catherine Ferguson Academy in Detroit became a celebration after students learned the school for teen mothers will not close and instead will become a charter school, The Detroit News reports. Detroit Public Schools officials say the program and its building will be turned over to Evans Solutions, a private charter operator that owns Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy in Detroit.

VIDEO (WXYZ-TV) Earlier...from The Detroit News: Three schools in the Detroit district that were slated to close will instead reopen this fall under a Detroit-based charter operator. The Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy will oversee educational programs at Catherine Ferguson Academy, the Barsamian Preparatory Center and the Hancock Preparatory Center.