Photo/James Fassinger
DETROIT, MI — Students, parents, teachers and supporters have held several protests to stop the closing of Oakman Elementary Orthopedic School which specializes in teaching children with disabilities.
Last month, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts announced he will shut Oakman Elementary Orthopedic School. One of four Detroit public schools listed to be closed, Oakman, offers special services and facilities for children with a wide range of disabilities that mainstream schools cannot provide.
Although Detroit Public Schools (DPS) spokesman Steven Wasko states attendance is down, according to parents, the school’s enrollment has actually increased over the past two years. Wasko also claims that the school needs an estimated $900,000 worth of improvements in order to operate properly, which has been disputed by staff, parents and other observers from outside of the school district.
Oakman elementary is the only school for the physically disabled students in Detroit. It specializes in educating physically disabled or otherwise health-impaired students from Head Start to fifth grade. It is a jewel of Detroit and a good example of the need to nationalize education.
In an apparent effort to quell dissent about the school’s closing, DPS informed parents, students and staff that the school building had been sold off, when in fact they had only just put it up for sale. The price tag: $46,000. After the protest, parents and supporters started taking up a collection to put a down payment on the school and avert the sale. They also plan to file an injunction in an effort to block DPS action against the school.”
Daymon J. Hartley is known for his social-issue capturing lens. As a Free Press staff photographer from 1983 to July 1995, he shot everything from breaking news and crime stories to overseas combat stories in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Palestine, and Israel. He was nominated for five Pulitzer Prizes, and was twice named a finalist. In 1990, he was named the Michigan Press Photographer of the Year. He has since worked as a freelance photographer.
The closing of this school is unacceptable. The opportunities provided here are invaluable
I am a former student of Oakman Elementary School and this School gave students students a sense of value and purpose and a place of belonging and inculsion. Something that the so called mainstream schools fail to adequately achieve. This So Upsetting and Shameful!!!