The 38 Michigan schools that were threatened with closure in January could now have a way to stay open.
State superintendent Brian Whiston sent letters this week to eight school districts that have schools on the closure list inviting them to participate in a “partnership” to fix the schools instead of shutting them down.
“Once an agreement is reached,” the letter says, “The School Reform Office (SRO) has agreed to delay any next level of accountability actions in order to give the Partnership Model an opportunity to be successful.”
A spokesman for the state education department said the eight districts that got the letter were Benton Harbor, Bridgeport-Spaulding, Kalamazoo, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, River Rouge, Saginaw and the Detroit Public School Community School District.
Also receiving a letter was the charter school office at Central Michigan University, which oversees Detroit’s Michigan Technical Academy. The charter school got a new principal and curriculum in 2015 but was put on the closure list based on the results of tests taken before the new management arrived.
READ MORE HERE: Michigan school closures are off for now — as long as districts agree to partner with the state to improve | Chalkbeat
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