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A School District in Crisis
The goal of this report is to address a simple question: What happened to Detroit Public Schools?
Since the school district's peak in the 1960's, enrollment in DPS has declined as the city's population drops and parents opt out of public schools. Just 47,000 students attend public schools in Detroit today, down from nearly 300,000 in 1966. Nearly 200 schools have closed in the last 15 years. The city’s neighborhoods are dotted with vacant, abandoned schools and empty lots where schools once stood.
About the Report
This report is the result of one and a half years of research, examining 200 years’ worth of documents and records and visiting every school in Detroit to establish a comprehensive look at the entire history of the school district, and how the repercussions of decisions made in the past are still being felt today. This report covers three specific topics: 1) A detailed history of every public school in the city, including the school’s location, opening/closing/demolition dates, and other historic details of note 2) A physical survey conducted of all school locations by a Loveland surveyor who took detailed photographs and extensive notes of their current condition/use 3) An analytic look at how the school district has grown and shrunk, examining the underlying factors behind the opening and closing schools.
What happened to Detroit Public Schools?
Since the school district's peak in the 1960s, enrollment in DPS has declined as the city's population has dropped and parents have opted out of public schools. Just 47,000 students attend public schools in Detroit today, down from nearly 300,000 in 1966. Nearly 200 schools have closed in the last 15 years. The city’s neighborhoods are dotted with vacant, abandoned schools and empty lots where schools once stood.
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