Front Line Report: A Week in the Life of a New Innovation School in Detroit

Margaret Trimer-Hartley

“We have ongoing—daily—discussions about whether we are doing enough to meet the needs of all of our students—the low and high achievers and the unengaged,” say the leaders of a 6-month old charter school in Detroit, Margaret Trimer-Hartley and Shawn Hill, in a report from the nitty-gritty world of implementing a school innovation.

“Too often, the hard answer is no—we haven’t done enough yet,” they continue. “And yet, we are tired. We are tight on funding—$7,400 per student keeps us lean and frugal. Our staff is feeling the weight of the challenge and pushing back, asking us when is enough enough? When do we shift the burden of responsibility to parents? To students? To outside experts?

“We don’t. The day that we pass the buck, give up on a child or stop asking what else we can do is the day we should close the school.”

Shawn and Margaret started University Prep Science and Math, a middle-and-high school, in September 2008. It is designed by the team, of which nuPOLIS’s Peter Plastrik and John Cleveland are a part, that created University Preparatory Academy (UPA), a K-12 system also in Detroit. Shawn was principal of the UPA middle school.  Their school, like UPA, seeks to graduate 90 percent of its students and enroll them in college. That’s nearly triple the performance of the Detroit school system. And it has a special focus on math and science education.

In the wake of President Obama’s speech on federal education policy, we thought you’d be interested in a report from the front line of school change. We thank Margaret and Shawn for the contribution—and for the hard, caring work they put in at UPSM.