Erin Einhorn

bad school conditionsDetroit schoolsSchools in America

Eighth Grader Taught Classes And 23 More Startling Allegations In Schools Lawsuit

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed this week on behalf of a Detroit school kids isn’t likely to bring a quick fix to Detroit’s troubled schools. Even successful lawsuits can take years to wend their way through the courts. But as Detroit tries to turn things around with a new school district, the suit paints a bleak picture of what officials are up against. The 136-page complaint reveals allegations of condoms strewn on playgrounds, bathrooms leaking sewage into hallways, and students le...

Detroit educationeducationreading in Detroit

New Lawsuit Says Snyder And State Officials Are Trampling On The Right Of Detroit Children To Learn To Read

A new lawsuit says Michigan is trampling the right of Detroit children to learn to read. The lawyers behind the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, say it is the first of its kind in the nation — and that its outcome could have national implications. “It’s a national scandal the number of children in major school districts who cannot read, write or have critical thinking abilities,” said attorney Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, which is bringing the suit along with a team of law firms...

Detroit schoolsEAAMumford

A Principal And His Staff Have Just One Year to Prove Their School Should Survive

It was the first day of school at the Mumford Academy high school and principal Nir Saar was working the hallways, shaking hands, introducing himself to new students. “There’s the football star!” he said as he greeted a returning 10th-grader. “How you doing, Mr. Varsity?” He high-fived a girl as she walked by. “I missed you, Zakiya!” he exclaimed. “How you been?” “I missed you too,” she answered. It was a scene similar to ones that played out in schools across Detroit and the nation in...

Charter SchoolsDetroit school closuresDetroit schools

Most Detroit Schools Are Off The Chopping Block For Now, But 5 Charter Schools Could Still Close

Dozens of low-performing Detroit schools that faced possible closure next spring may have gotten a stay of execution from Gov. Rick Snyder this week — but some city charter schools are still on the hot seat. Snyder has said low-performing schools should close. But an aide said this week that the governor had accepted the opinion of attorneys with the Miller Canfield law firm: New legislation requiring the state to shutter struggling Detroit schools does not actually apply to Detroit’s primary...

ChalkbeatDetroit Public SchoolsDetroit schools

Most Buildings Repaired, But School Starts With As Many As 200 Teaching Jobs Unfilled In New Detroit Public District

Eight months after hundreds of Detroit teachers made national headlines by calling in sick to draw attention to deplorable conditions like rodents and buckling floors in public schools, city officials today announced that they’ve spent $2.5 million to get most city schools into tip-top shape ahead of the start of classes next week. At a press conference at the elite Bates Academy in northwest Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan and school officials said that all but eight of the 94 school buildings in...

MichiganSchool ClosingsSchools

UPDATE: State Now Says Number Of Michigan School Closures Would Be Smaller

State education officials now say they’re not likely to close as many schools as they could this year. When Chalkbeat broke the news about the School Reform Office’s aggressive school closure plan on Monday, we reported that more than 100 schools across the state could be shuttered at the end of the school year. State officials signaled that the number of closures would be that high, based on how many schools have consistently posted test scores in the bottom 5 percent of the state in the pa...

Detroit Public SchoolsDetroit SchoolMichigan Schools

More Than 100 Michigan Schools To Be Closed Based On Test Scores They Were Told Wouldn’t Count

More than 100 low-scoring Michigan schools — including dozens in Detroit — will start classes next month likely doomed to close in June. In a move that is bound to shock parents and educators across the state, the School Reform Office is moving ahead with an aggressive plan to close every school in the state that posted rock-bottom test scores for the last three years — even though Michigan’s education department promised schools that last year’s test scores wouldn’t be held against them. Cl...