Flint Jr High, Formerly Flint Northwestern, Will Close Immediately

The Flint School Board voted this week to consolidate by closing the Flint Junior High building, which used to be Flint Northwestern High School.

The vote was not a huge surprise to most Flint residents, because this plan had been thrown out there when Northwestern closed to consolidate to one Flint high school. That doesn't mean that the news is being accepted well in the community.  The school board released an official statement on Facebook earlier this week.

Flint Superintendent, Anita Steward gave the following statement concerning the effect that the closing will have on students and their families.

I realize these changes will impact many of our families and children, and understand the connection our residents have to neighborhood schools, that is why we spent substantial time weighing all options before proposing this solution. For that reason, I am confident this decision is in the best interest of our students and will help us continue to build on the academic progress we have seen in recent years

The wheels are moving fast on this decision, as the Flint Jr High building will be closed immediately. Going into the start of school, any student that was in the Jr High building will now attend Holmes STEM Academy in the fall. Below is s breakout of the changes coming this fall.

• Holmes STEM Academy will now be 6th-8th grade
• Brownell Academy will now be  K-5th grade

The main factor in the decision is the disrepair that the old Northwestern building is in. The district learned that there were an estimated $4 Million in repairs needed to the building.

This was obviously not an easy decision for anyone, especially considering it was denied the first time it was brought up. Things don't seem to get any easier either for Flint students during the pandemic. I hope that this move will end up being a blessing in disguise, as Flint works to rebuild the Flint Community Schools.