Mold growing in classrooms. Students squashing cockroaches. Leaky roofs. These are some of the images of Detroit Public Schools that attracted nationwide attention in January. But it’s not the story of all, or even most, of Detroit’s schools. The story behind University Prep Science & Math Elementary School could show other schools how to turn around an old building and make it usable.
The school occupies the Sidney D. Miller Junior High and High School building, about a mile northeast of the city’s central downtown district. It was built in 1921, eventually served a mostly African-American student population and changed from a middle school to a high school and back again. In 2007, the building closed.
Five years ago, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. After its vacancy, the school reopened as University Prep Science & Math Elementary, now in its third school year.
Before reopening, the school went through a $13 million renovation, funded largely by philanthropists. Obviously, not every school in Detroit can do the same. But that outside funding simply put UPSM Elementary on a level playing field with Detroit’s traditional public schools, according to Kimberly Solomon, the school’s principal. The traditional public schools don’t have to pay rent for their buildings. Thanks to philanthropy, UPSM Elementary can use its public funding on students rather than the building.
As Solomon walked me around the building last week, it was clear the renovation sought to honor the building’s past while equipping it to teach students for the future. Original features like certain clocks and the auditorium had been preserved. The art room was located, perhaps strategically, on a higher level with a great view of Detroit’s skyline.
At the same time, the future is always in focus. There are plans for a new science lab. Given the school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics focus, the teaching style is data-driven and reviewed with Solomon once a week. “[We] are really focused on looking at data to make student improvements and how that data impacts what we do on a daily basis,” Solomon told me. Memorabilia from a wide variety of colleges is on display, so students know that preparation for college starts in kindergarten, not in high school.
The school even has a health center, with two full exam rooms and breathing machines to help students with asthma. Solomon says many of the students are afflicted with asthma — she blames a nearby incinerator. From the school’s behavior policies to its health center, the focus is on keeping students in school.
UPSM Elementary is not the only school in Detroit that has renovated old buildings into thriving charter schools. I also toured Detroit Edison Public School Academy, which turned an old factory building into part of a charter school. “This is where the assembly line was,” Ralph Bland, DEPSA’s superintendent, told me as we turned onto a long hallway.
Facilities aside, UPSM Elementary is trying to show students what African-Americans from Detroit who started out like them can achieve. A guest speaker at the school that day had written a children’s book about overcoming bullying. Later that night, the school hosted a choir concert of songs by Stevie Wonder, who grew up in Detroit.
Given the school’s deep history in the community, its impact expands beyond the school walls. Alumni of the old school reunite on campus every year. They even donate books for the school’s library. Once a month, Gleaners Community Food Bank helps provide fresh fruit and produce, as well as recipes, for the school’s families.
All this makes UPSM Elementary an attractive school for teachers. “To hire that first group of 22 teachers, I think I went through about 200 resumes and probably about 150 interviews,” Solomon says. As a charter school, teachers are writing the curricula and coming up with ideas for after-school programs. “Our teachers feel invested and empowered,” Solomon says. That’s why they prefer the flexibility of being a non-unionized workplace with site-based management.
Celebrating the success of UPSM should not take away from the needs of inadequate school buildings in Detroit. Those schools face a difficult challenge ahead. “It’s going to be a long road, because this didn’t happen overnight. I don’t think it’s an overnight fix,” Solomon said about the poor state of many of Detroit’s schools. Payscales for teachers and administrators will have to be reformed into a sustainable model. “Can it be righted? Yes, but there’s going to be sacrifice.”
Solomon is passionate about addressing the significant challenges posed by Detroit’s schools, even though her school is serving students so well. “I only have 526 seats and I know that there are a lot of deserving children of quality education.” Just more than half of the public school students in Detroit attend charter schools. But that doesn’t mean growing the number to 100 percent would solve the problem. “Not all charter schools are created equal. … Nor would I say charter schools are the answer for everything.” Still, Solomon says school choice is important, especially in a district like Detroit. “I believe in choice, and I believe that charter schools offer that choice for parents who may not be pleased with the school that’s immediately in their district.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
