This is a list of schools closed by the Detroit Public Schools Community District. There have been about 200 school closures since 2000. Some have been repurposed, while others were torn down, most remain vacant though, although the exact number is unclear. According to Detroiturbex.com and additional historic research, there are 61 abandoned schools to this day, while 36 have been demolished and 2 have been renovated. [1]
Oakman Elementary/Orthopedic School - Closed in 2014.
The school, serving grades PreK-5,[3] was established and specially designed to accommodate children with physical disabilities, but it also enrolled children with no disabilities. DPS announced that the school was to close in 2013 in order to solve the district's budget gap. Parents protested unsuccessfully to have the decision reversed.[4] In 2013 it had about 300 students, with 40% of them having disabilities.[3]
Owen Academy - Closed in 2012.
Palmer Elementary School
George E. Parker Elementary School - Closed in 2012.[2]
^Renamed Bunche in 2013 after moving to this site.
^Hope of Detroit Academy Middle/High School was built after this school was demolished.
^Detroit Police Training Academy built on this site.
^Various blogs report that the infamous Detroit Police Department Crime Lab operated inside the former Stephen Foster School (built in 1957) after it closed
^Was demolished in 1949 to make way for Arthur L. Fletcher Playfield.
^Facility replaced by Edward 'Duke' Ellington Conservatory of Music & Art @ Beckham Academy in 2003.
^This school was designed in the English Tudor style and the kindergarten room includes a fireplace.
^Charles Hanneman School was built in 1916; the gym and cafeteria were located in the basement, which is odd for a modern school but typical for construction in that era.
^School was replaced by Gompers Elementary/Middle School.
^This single-story brick building constructed in 1925 has two interior courtyards.
^Built in 1955 and named for Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish General who fought alongside George Washington.
^In 2014 Southwest Detroit Community School opened in a new building on this site. That school closed in 2019.
^This is the oldest standing school in Detroit, dating back to 1897.[2]
^In the 1980s and 1990s the school was known as the Ruthruff Adult Education. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, the school became the new home of the Malcolm X Academy program, an African-centric school.
^Destroyed by fire twice in 2009 & 2012, Demolished in 2013.
^Building Replaced by Butzel Junior High School which is now known as Garvey Academy.
^Building converted to the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a charter school.
^This was the Largest Elementary School in Detroit with the population of 2,240 students when it opened.
