Detroit public school leaders announced plans for an education summit in the city while also addressing the latest report from the Michigan School Reform Office that identified 24 underperforming schools.
Those schools could be forced to close but local officials hope to prove that in some cases, the decision would cause unreasonable hardship for students, who would have no better option available to them.
Four Detroit schools have been released from the priority status, which accounts for the bottom five percent of all public schools in Michigan.
"There is quite a bit of work that's already been done that needs to be shared and considered," said Alycia Meriweather, interim superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District. "Until those conversations are hardship are completed, there's really not much else that should be said about that list."
Four Detroit schools have been released from the priority status, which accounts for the bottom five percent of all public schools in Michigan.
Coleman A. Young elementary was one of four schools removed from the list of priority schools, an accomplishment celebrated today during the press conference at the school. Two dozen DPSCD and Education Achievement Authority (EAA) schools face the risk of closure, including Henry Ford, Pershing and Mumford among high schools on the list.
Meriweather said Monday progress is being made at some of those schools and they're taking steps to build on the improvement for the betterment of students and the district.
"We're not satisfied and no one should be satisfied with schools that are underperforming," said Meriweather. "It's not okay for kids and it's not okay for this community and so we're standing here today to say we need to do something different."
An educational summit, hosted by Detroit school leaders, will be held next week. Meriweather said educators from other cities around the country have been invited to discuss practices that improved academic performance for their students.
