Two dozen public schools in Detroit will not be forced to close after the school board voted to enter into an agreement with the state of Michigan.
The schools — 16 in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and eight from the Education Achievement Authority, a soon-to-be-dissolved state-run recovery district for struggling schools— had been identified for closure earlier this year by the Michigan School Reform Office because they've ranked in the bottom 5 percent academically for three straight years. Statewide, 38 schools met the criteria for forced closure.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the agreement calls for each school in the district to establish ambitious academic goals and to create a profile that will highlight key information on academic achievement and items such as poverty rates, attendance rates, absenteeism, crime, staff vacancies, staff turnover and transiency.
Detroit schools officials have been opposed to the idea of forced closure and sued the state earlier this year to prevent the reform office from closing schools.
The EAA schools are part of the agreement because it is disbanding June 30, and all of its schools are returning to Detroit district. According to the agreement, the state can't force the closure of any of the schools for at least three years.
Detroit is one of nine districts with schools on the potential closure list to have signed an agreement with the state.
