Henry Ford Academy: Elementary School has opened in Detroit. The charter school has more than 330 students in grades K-5 and is housed in the former Duane Doty School.
"HFA: Elementary School will prepare students to read, write, and do math at, or above grade level, engage all students through project-based learning, equip students with design thinking as a process for innovation and creativity, and provide a strong foundation in art and design," the school says in a news release.
The new elementary school is part of the Thompson Educational Foundation’s investment of more than $100 million in Public School Academies of Detroit (PSAD), which will serve more than 3,000 students during the 2012-2013 school year. Other schools include Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, University Preparatory Academy Schools, and University Prep Science + Math Schools.
All Public School Academy of Detroit schools are authorized to operate by Grand Valley State University. Their goal is to graduate at least 90 percent of ninth-grade students and send at least 90 percent of graduates on to college.
HFA: Elementary School will emphasize personalized learning through iPads, interactive white boards and other technology. The school is modeled after the Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Mich., which opened in 1997.
Students who complete the 5th grade at HFA: Elementary School will have the opportunity to automatically enroll in the 6th grade at Public School Academies of Detroit’s Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, an existing public charter middle/high school. About one-fifth of HFA: Elementary School’s students have a sibling at the middle/high school.
