University Prep Science and Math High School Planned for Detroit
University Prep Science and Math High School Planned for Detroit
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, the Thompson Educational Foundation, and University Prep Science & Math (UPSM) have announced grants totaling $15 million to create a new high school in a turn-of-the-century factory on Detroit's near-east side.
CFSM will give $1.5 million to New Urban Learning, the nonprofit parent of UPSM and University Prep Academy, to support development of the school. The Thompson Education Foundation has pledged the remaining $13.5 million for renovations to the building and construction of a new fourth floor.
Scheduled to open with 108 students in the ninth grade in September 2010, UPSM High School will be aligned with UPSM Middle School, which will move into its permanent facility at the Detroit Science Center this September. The school will add a class each year until it becomes a four-grade high school accommodating 450 students in 2013. The new school will feature small, nurturing settings and emphasize strong student-adult relationships, personalized learning, a rigorous college-prep curriculum, and a culture that encourages students to aspire to attend college.
"We are delighted to contribute to the exciting development of Detroit's riverfront, and, in the process, help create a world-class high school designed to prepare students for success in the emerging global economy," said Thompson Educational Foundation founder Bob Thompson. "The future belongs to those who learn the best. We want to make sure Detroit's students are on that list of the best-prepared young people in the world."
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