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New Detroit schools
packed with amenities
By Tenisha Mercer / The Detroit News / August
23, 2002
When Detroit Public Schools students resume classes Sept. 3,
they will begin the school year with four new elementary
schools and six early childhood learning centers.
The new schools and learning centers, which will be located in
new additions at six existing schools, will open in time for
the first day of class. The buildings represent $150 million
in construction and are part of the district's $1.5 billion
capital improvement program.
The new elementary schools are: Charles H. Wright Academy,
19299 Berg; Heilmann Park Elementary, 15410 E. State Fair;
Howe Elementary, 2600 Garland; and Schulze Elementary, 10700
Santa Maria.
The 95,000-square-foot schools will include cafetoriums -- a
combination cafeteria, auditorium and gymnasium -- media
centers, computer labs, indoor play areas and computers and
Internet access in every classroom.
"We now have the ability to put a significant number of
children into a better environment for learning," said Robert
Francis, executive director for capital improvements for
Detroit Public Schools. "They will have every amenity that an
elementary school could have. We are going to give them a
chance to learn and to compete with anybody in the country.
"There is probably not a school system anywhere in recent
memory that has opened 10 new facilities in a single year. In
one giant step, Detroit Public Schools has put the kids of
Detroit in a better position to learn."
Multicultural Academy, 4700 Vinewood; Emerson, 18240
Huntington; Golightly Educational Center, 5536 St. Antoine;
Greenfield Union, 420 W. Seven Mile; Marquette Elementary,
6145 Canyon; and Priest Elementary, 7840 Wagner, each have a
two-story, 45,000-square-foot addition that will be used for
the learning centers and to expand other grades.
"These schools are being built in neighborhoods with a lot of
population growth and a need for additional classrooms,"
Francis said.
You can reach Tenisha Mercer at
tmercer@detnews.com
or (313) 222-2359. |
