An unexpected partner in Detroit education reform

Lou Glazer and his colleagues founded Michigan Future, Inc., a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank nearly 20 years ago to develop ideas to help transform the state from a factory-based to a knowledge-based economy. While a think tank is an unexpected partner in administering high school education reform in Detroit’s urban ring, the evolution of Michigan Future’s work and insights led the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and other local foundations to call upon the organization to lead the laudable endeavor.

“Early on, we had a pretty clear understanding that human capital is the asset that matters most in growing the economy, as well as the skill set people need to get into the knowledge-based economy,” said Lou Glazer, Michigan Future’s president and co-founder. “The foundations asked us to help tackle how you get central city kids – largely high school kids – connected to that economy. Michigan Future Schools grew from the work.”

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The new schools for 2012 are:

YMCA Detroit Leadership Academy: This public charter school will be committed to creating a holistic school culture that will support students’ high academic achievement while providing resources, mentors and experiences beyond the classroom through the YMCA’s extensive community resources, wraparound services, and college-prep experiences. It will be the third component of a complete K-12 school operated by the Y.

Detroit Delta Preparatory Academy for Social Justice: This school, founded by the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., has developed a rigorous college preparatory curriculum centered on the organization’s mission. The curriculum has an emphasis on social justice for instruction and mentoring. The academy will provide a superior learning environment where the highest standards of teaching, learning and leading prepare students to fully participate as leaders in society.

Schools for the Future: This school is a partnership between Boston-based Schools for the Future and Detroit’s Black Family Development. This school will be a public high school with a mission of enabling students who have been previously retained at least twice and who have severe academic skills gaps to successfully graduate from high school within 3-5 years, ready for college and further career training, without the need for remediation.

These schools join three new schools Michigan Future Schools grantees successfully opened in Fall 2011. These innovative institutions are:

Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science & Medicine

Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School

Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

All the MFS schools were chosen based on quality through a competitive process open to traditional public, public charter and private schools.

All schools MFS share several characteristics:

• Open to all Detroit students.
• Small, no more than 500 students
• Commitment to high standards: 85% of seniors graduate, 85% of high school graduates go on to college, and 85% of college students earn degrees.
• College transition and college success counselors to help students  go to and stay in college
• If applicable, union agreements that allow for opening hiring, no “bumping,” and no work rules that interfere with innovative teaching and learning.

These schools help fulfill Michigan Future Schools’ goal to revitalize Detroit’s failing education system by opening 35 new high schools in eight years. This effort is a key component of the commitment by the Excellent Schools Detroit coalition to open 70 outstanding new schools by 2020.

Michigan Future Schools is dedicated to creating new quality high schools at scale. To date, four Michigan foundations – The Skillman Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the McGregor Fund – have committed $13.95-million over five years to the MFS initiative.

For more information about the Michigan Future Schools, see the webpage titled Our Schools.

Eligible Applicants
Michigan Future Schools will accept proposals from school founders seeking support to open a new school open to students from the City of Detroit.  Applicants may represent traditional public school districts, charter schools or private schools, and the proposed school must be located in the City of Detroit or south of Twelve Mile Road and east of Telegraph Road. We will only work with new high schools.

The selection of grantees will follow a three step process:

February 1, 2012 – Stage One – Written Proposals
The written proposal will serve as a pre application. They are designed to quickly determine whether schools have (1) a vision aligned with the initiative, (2) a high likelihood of achieving the desired student outcomes and (3) a high likelihood of being ready to open in the fall of 2013.

Mid March 2012 – Stage Two – Finalists Interviews
Based on our assessment of the written proposal, MFI will invite a small number of potential school founders to participate in an interview to determine their interest, qualifications, commitment, and suitability to start and operate a quality high school.

Mid April 2012– Stage Three – Negotiation of Implementation Plan and Grant Amount/Terms

After the interviews MFI will identify its finalists to partner with to open new high schools in the fall of 2013. Making it to stage three does not guarantee that a school will be funded.

After the interviews, MFI will identify finalists. The Michigan Future Schools staff will work with potential founders and their staff to develop a detailed implementation plan and budget for opening in 2013. This stage will require finalists to secure any necessary approvals from their own governing boards and/or bargaining units. We will then assess the likelihood that the proposed school can meet the initiatives requirements and student outcomes, and make recommendations for funding 2013 schools to the Michigan Future Governing Council for approval. The size of the grant will be negotiated on a case by case basis with the average grant approximately $800,000 over four years (including the year prior to opening through the third year of operation).

Below is a link to the RFP for this year’s Michigan Future Schools competition for new high school grants and support for new high schools to open in the fall of 2013. At the present we have funding for one school only, but are still hopeful that we will be able to work with more.

Michigan Future Schools Selection Process for High School(s) Opening in the Fall of 2013.pdf

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Opened in Fall 2011

• Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science & Medicine opened in Fall 2011 as a Detroit Public Schools (DPS) public high school designed to prepare students for professional careers in the health care industry. The Carson High School provides a rigorous high school curriculum, supplemented by college courses and real-world exposure through partnerships with health care providers and universities.
• Detroit Collegiate Prep High School opened in Fall 2011 as a new DPS high school is a partnership among three nationally successful programs and the Detroit Public Schools, including Johns Hopkins University Talent Development program, City Year, and Communities In Schools. These partner organizations work together to ensure student success using a rigorous, data-driven curriculum, mentoring and family support by a team of nationally proven organizations.
• Jalen Rose Leadership Academy opened in Fall 2011 as a public charter school founded on experience-based learning, a rigorous, college-prep curriculum and a collaboration with the University of Detroit Mercy to prepare students for college success and real-world exposure to careers in leadership, sports management, and entertainment.  The school will also offer community resources such as a clinic and a credit union.

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Michigan Future Schools Scheduled to Open Fall 2012

• Detroit Delta Preparatory Academy for Social Justice is scheduled to open in Fall 2012 as a a public charter high school based on social justice offering a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Career exploration in the fields of social justice and law enforcement, political science and public affairs, and community development and environmental science will be enhanced through the Detroit Delta Prep partnership with Marygrove College. Detroit Delta Prep is founded by the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
• The Detroit Leadership Academy is scheduled to open in Fall 2012 and will be a public charter school operated by a Central Michigan University charter as an extension of the current K-8 public charter schools operated by the YMCA. The Detroit Leadership Academy is committed to creating a holistic, college-prep school culture that will support students’ high academic achievement while providing resources, mentors, and experiences beyond the classroom through the YMCA’s extensive community resources, wrap-around services, and college-prep experiences.
• The Schools for the Future high school is scheduled to open in Fall 2012 and will be a public high school designed to enable students who have been retained at least twice, and who have significant academic skill gaps, to successfully graduate from high school within 3-5 years ready for college without the need for remediation.  Schools for the Future has partnered with Black Family Development to provide strong community-based learning opportunities for students.

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Opened in Fall 2010

• Detroit Edison Public School Academy – Early College of Excellence opened in Fall 2010. DEPSA, which has operated a successful preK-8 school since 1998, opened its high school program to offer innovative, rigorous, and relevant college-prep high school learning experiences to prepare students for ongoing achievement, dynamic global leadership, and deep personal fulfillment.

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Opening Date Pending

• The Cornerstone Health High School will be a public charter school, in partnership with the Detroit Medical Center.  Students at Cornerstone High School will benefit from small group instruction and high-tech, online learning experiences, plus real-world exposure to career opportunities throughout the health industry.

There are three principles that are rather unique to this initiative:

1. We don’t care about the form of governance. All the ideological wars between public, charter and private school advocates are irrelevant to us. We will work with any school as long as it has a high likelihood that it will prepare all its students for college.

2. We don’t care about where the school is located. It must be open to students from the city of Detroit, but the schools we will support do not have to be located in the city.

3. We will only work with new schools. We think new schools have a far better chance of creating the kind of culture and teaching and learning that lead to high student achievement than trying to transform failing schools.

All of us who have been involved in designing MFS are really excited about its possibilities to make a big difference. We are aiming for nothing less than creating an alternative high quality network of high schools that will compete with low quality high schools no matter who operates them!

Quite simply we chose to focus on high schools because that is where the need is the greatest. With a very few exceptions there are no open enrollment high schools (traditional public or charter) serving Detroit students with high graduation rates, high college attendance rates and high levels of academic achievement.

The absence of high quality urban high schools is a national problem, not just here in Detroit. It needs fixing.

It also is the area where Michigan Future, Inc.  – through its work with University High School in Ferndale – and the funders have the most experience. We think we have learned a lot about what it takes to operate a quality urban high school. Those learnings are the foundation of the strategy for Michigan Future Schools.

Finally we think that high schools in and of themselves matter. First for students who leave middle school with decent foundation skills. Attending a low quality high school in most cases trumps a good k-8 education. Far too many students who enter a low quality high school with decent skills leave with low academic achievement.

But we also have learned that it is not hopeless for students who enter high school with low skills. That a quality high school can  help most students get on track for college success. Its hard work and takes real innovation in teaching and learning. A decade of innovation here and across the country demonstrate that it can be done. MFS is all about taking those learnings to scale.