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Three DPS buildings, including school for deaf, to stay open | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Three Detroit Public Schools slated for closure will remain open for the 2011-12 school year, district officials decided after taking a closer look at each building and its programs.
Detroit Day School for the Deaf; Moses Field, a special education school; and Neinas Elementary have been taken off a proposed closure list after DPS officials visited them this month.
Under its Renaissance 2012 Plan, the district wants to close six other schools and has asked charter operators to take over as many as 45 schools. DPS officials hope to right-size the district, where enrollment has fallen by nearly 100,000 the last decade.
DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said several factors affected the decisions. At Neinas — a school slated to close after DPS constructed a new building — officials learned a high percentage of students walk to school and that the neighborhood's population is growing.
Moses Field, which serves students ages 3 to 13 with cognitive impairments, will stay open until DPS can locate another building to accommodate the program.
Day School for the Deaf will stay open, Wasko said, to "ensure current level of services."
That school, which serves hearing-impaired students in pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, is the only school for deaf children in southeast Michigan, said Danielle Clark, whose 11-year-old daughter attends there.
Clark said the entire building is equipped for deaf students, from alarms to classes for parents in American Sign Language.
"I drive 40 miles one way to take her to school. This is the environment she needs. Deafness is not an illness — it's a culture," Clark said.
The district made other changes to its building plans. MacDowell Elementary School, offered to charter operators, will stay open even if it doesn't become chartered. Davison Elementary School will not be offered to charter operators for consideration next year.
The recommendations were made by Robert Bobb, the district's outgoing emergency manager. His successor, Roy Roberts, will be in charge when final decisions are made.
Three Detroit Public Schools slated for closure will remain open for the 2011-12 school year, district officials decided after taking a closer look at each building and its programs.
Detroit Day School for the Deaf; Moses Field, a special education school; and Neinas Elementary have been taken off a proposed closure list after DPS officials visited them this month.
Under its Renaissance 2012 Plan, the district wants to close six other schools and has asked charter operators to take over as many as 45 schools. DPS officials hope to right-size the district, where enrollment has fallen by nearly 100,000 the last decade.
DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said several factors affected the decisions. At Neinas — a school slated to close after DPS constructed a new building — officials learned a high percentage of students walk to school and that the neighborhood's population is growing.
Moses Field, which serves students ages 3 to 13 with cognitive impairments, will stay open until DPS can locate another building to accommodate the program.
Day School for the Deaf will stay open, Wasko said, to "ensure current level of services."
That school, which serves hearing-impaired students in pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, is the only school for deaf children in southeast Michigan, said Danielle Clark, whose 11-year-old daughter attends there.
Clark said the entire building is equipped for deaf students, from alarms to classes for parents in American Sign Language.
"I drive 40 miles one way to take her to school. This is the environment she needs. Deafness is not an illness — it's a culture," Clark said.
The district made other changes to its building plans. MacDowell Elementary School, offered to charter operators, will stay open even if it doesn't become chartered. Davison Elementary School will not be offered to charter operators for consideration next year.
The recommendations were made by Robert Bobb, the district's outgoing emergency manager. His successor, Roy Roberts, will be in charge when final decisions are made.