38 Michigan Schools May Close Due To Poor Performance

Michigan may be closing 38 schools due to poor performance, marking the first time a public school would be shut down for academic reasons.

The majority of the schools in jeopardy are in Detroit, but there are a few that are in our area of Mid-Michigan.

The Michigan School Reform Office has the power to shut down chronically bad performing schools, but so far has not exercised that power.  The most recent list of potential schools that could be closed shows 38 possible schools.

In our area there are three schools listed.

• Saginaw High
• Jessie Loomis School in Saginaw
• Atkins Elementary School in Bridgeport

These schools have ended up on the closure list because they have not shown improvement in academics, despite intervention from the state.

There is no word on if the state will actually follow through with the closures, but it is definitely a scary time for students in those districts.

On a positive note, 79 schools were released from the closure list according to WNEM.

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