Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts announced Maybury Elementary, a southwest Detroit K-3 bilingual school that had been scheduled for closure, will remain open for the at least two more years.
Maybury was one of nine schools DPS planned to close next year. But parents pushed back, rallying with community members to keep the school open.
At a Thursday morning meeting, Roberts told Maybury parents that several factors shaped his decision, including the fact that that transferring 400 students from Maybury to two nearby schools would bring those facilities to near capacity. Maybury has also met standards for adequate yearly progress.
"Maybury School’s location adjacent to Clark Park, in the midst of a densely populated neighborhood, adjacent to a church and across the park from two other DPS facilities, requires the district to pay particularly careful attention to effects of a closed/vacant structure in this community," Roberts said.
He added the district plans to work with community partners and demographic experts to "study elementary school-age population trends in southwest Detroit with the goal to develop a long-term educational delivery plan for this region."
Bibiana Hernandez, 33, has two children that attend Maybury. She told The Huffington Post she was very happy the school will remain open.
"It's better for my kids and the community," she said. "I don't want to leave the school closed." Hernandez said she had been concerned that vandals or squatters would damage the building if it were left vacant.
Nearby Southwestern High School is still slated for closure. Roberts said the situation there is different from Maybury, noting the facility is severely underutilized and that DPS expects a 31 percent decrease in enrollment at the high school over the next five years.
But community members are defending the high school as well. Last month, students from Southwestern and Western International High School walked out of class to protest the proposed closure.