Art inspired by an actual abandoned book depository for Detroit Public Schools.
“At what point will America’s public schools turn the corner?” is something many of us wonder – and Detroit Public Schools are a prime example of what has gone wrong. Children deserve a quality education, but too few families can afford to send them to private schools because they a) do not make enough money, or b) are so mired in debt due to bad credit decisions that they live from pay day to pay day. As recent news out of the smoldering crater that is Detroit Public Schools indicates, things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get … even worse. The children of the once great but now recession-riddled city of Detroit deserve more.
Closing 45 Detroit Public Schools a $1 billion plan?
Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb says closing 45 Detroit public schools is a $1 billion plan. But how do Detroit Public Schools expect to be able to assimilate the discarded children, teachers and staff into the schools left standing?
Overcrowding and inferior, aging facilities are already a problem –- then there’s the problem of discipline in the classroom. Stuffing more kids in may finally blow the top off the pressure cooker. Associated Press reports indicate an expected drop of 30,000 students over that time (preschool through 12th), but where will they go? Can their families actually afford to move without money loans? People in Detroit are stretched to the limit financially; it’s that way in many Michigan cities, including Flint.
Detroit has lost half its population in the past 50 years
Crain’s Business Detroit brings us that sobering statistic, something typically heard about small towns that depended upon dying industries for their lifeblood. Once Detroit Public Schools has dropped 45 more schools, the automobile capital of America will be that much closer to being either a) a ghost town, or b) being bombed off the map to avoid an “Escape from New York” scenario from spreading. Merging schools won’t address the quality of education troubles that plague Detroit Public Schools and every other public school system from Honolulu to Rhode Island.
Detroit Public School closures to be finalized by mid-April
Until then, read this list and reflect on a dream for a better Detroit that might have been. Without the capital – without the hope – Detroit will fall, strangled, in the dust. These schools will close in the next few years.
| Schools | |
|---|---|
| Wilkins Elementary
Bethune ELC and Bethune Academy |
Gompers Elementary
Westside Multicultural Academy |
(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanegorski/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)
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July 5, 2010 – This month, Detroit EM News, L3C is looking forward to a meeting with Robert Bobb to discuss our dedication to entrepreneurship though our proposed Detroit EM News, L3C – Academy of Social Enterprise.
Please contact us about investing in Detroit’s future.
Please contact me about saving a school for Detroit EM News,L3C. We're looking to secure and renovate one of the above buildings for the sole purpose of providing practicum and practical paid training for high school and college students. Our mission is to promote social wellness through social enterprise. This building would allow us to encompass our entire operations including a full copy center, auditorium, cyber cafe and administrative offices for our proposed afterschool program to be conducted between 300 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Note: Octber 27, 2009, Mr. Robert Bobb attended our 1st Annual Halloween Masquerade where he gave away gift bags to children and interacted with families of Detroiters.