Top national charter school to open in Northwest Detroit

New Urban Learning, which runs the University Preparatory schools in Detroit, is partnering with Yes Prep Public Schools of Houston to bring one of America's top charter schools to Detroit's northwest side. The Wayne and Joan Webber Foundation is providing the funding, to the tune of $5.8 million, to develop the grades 6-12 school.

University Yes Academy will open this fall at 14669 Curtis, the site of a former Detroit Public School. "We love the idea of taking an abandoned building in a nice neighborhood and it becoming a community asset," says Doug Ross, a founding partner and chair of New Urban Learning. "All of the money goes to essentially turning a solid building into a modern, state-of-the-art facility, which will be a very attractive place to go to school."

The academy has a singular focus for its students: a 100% graduation rate and 100% acceptance into four-year colleges. It's a goal that Houston's Yes Prep has achieved for the last nine years. Ross is confident the same benchmark can be achieved in Detroit and says that three things will ensure that it is: the school's culture, in which high expectations and hard work are embedded; top teachers recruited from across the country; and commitment to each student's success. The school day runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, plus one Saturday a month. "This is first and foremost, a very serious, very rigorous college prep school," says Ross.

The academy is currently accepting applications from students in the Metro area who will be entering sixth grade next September. The school, which will have only sixth graders during the 2010-2011 academic term, will add a grade each year until it hosts up to grade 12, a total of 775 students. Admission will be through a blind lottery. Families can obtain applications and more information about the new school by calling 313-832-8404 or by visiting its website at www.universityyes.com.

Source: Doug Ross, New Urban Learning
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh