# Flint Community Schools

Flint Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Flint, Michigan, United States. Its boundary includes almost all of the city limits.
In the last fifty years, the Flint Community Schools district has endured the same hardships that have shaped the city of Flint. Due to the role of General Motors, the city had nearly 200,000 residents and 47,867 public school students in 1968. Enrollment numbers dropped steadily until the 2022-2023 school year, when there were 2,840 students and about 80,000 residents.

## History

A union school district was organized in Flint in the 1870s, and the town chose the unfinished city hall, at the corner of Saginaw and Third Streets, to be the high school in 1875. Flint's high school was located in this building until a new building, Flint High School, was built in 1923. It became Central High School when Flint Northern High School was built in 1928.
As the Great Migration increased the Black population in Flint, Flint Community Schools practiced racial segregation into the 1960s. Although there was no written policy of discrimination, the district reinforced de facto segregation that existed in the neighborhoods. Boundaries of school attendance areas were often drawn according to race, and majority-Black schools were overcrowded while all-white schools nearby were under capacity. To address a federal desegregation order, the district created a system of magnet schools in the early 1970s that any student could attend. This system contributed to the lifting of the desegregation order in 2002.
The current mission statement of "developing a community of learners who are prepared to live, work, and contribute to an ever changing society" was developed by Walter Milton, who became Superintendent in 2005. Milton subsequently wrote a book entitled Me in the Making which included a chapter on his stormy tenure in Flint.
For the 2011-2012 school year, the Flint Community Schools had both middle schools, four elementary schools and one high school placed in the bottom 5% of all schools in the State of Michigan based on student achievement and attendance.
In November 2012, Superintendent Linda Thompson announced her retirement. Thompson assumed the Superintendentship in 2008 and set about downsizing the District by closing schools. In late 2011 the District was found to be running a deficit of 3.7 million dollars by the accounting firm of Yeo and Yeo. In early 2012 the Flint School Board opted not to extend Superintendent Thompson's contract beyond the current year, citing the deficit and her previous effectiveness rating of 2.7 out a possible 4.0 points.
In December 2012, Lawrence Watkins Jr. was selected to serve as the Districts Interim Superintendent. Larry Watkins helped the Flint School District usher in a comprehensive educational plan, negotiate concessions from bargaining units and collaborate with community organizations to bring back the community education model. At the same time, Watkins saw Flint schools' deficit grow from $4 million to $21.9 million in a little over two years, thousands of students leave the district and numerous school buildings closed. On April 8, 2015, Mr. Watkins announced his retirement.
In August 2018, Flint Community Schools selected Derrick Lopez, JD as its new Superintendent. One of his first acts was to secure funding from the Elon Musk Foundation in the amount of $480,350 to replace each water fountain in all of the Flint Community Schools with new water stations and two filtration systems: carbon filtration to remove the lead and ultraviolet filtration to remove other chemicals and soluble particulates.
As of December 2018, Flint Community Schools have agreed to switch to the balanced school calendar for the 2019-2020 school year. This will affect all schools in the district. Freeman was the only school with a balanced calendar before the change.
In June 2020, Anita Steward took over the helm at Flint Community Schools. Before becoming the superintendent, Mrs. Steward was the Assistant Superintendent.

## Schools

Source:
| School | Address | Built | Notes |
| Accelerated Learning Academy | 1602 S. Averill | | Formerly Scott Elementary School |
| Anderson Elementary School | 3248 Mackin Road | 1965 | Closed in 2009, sold in 2015 to Empowered Enterprise Inc., abandoned |
| Brownell Elementary School | 6302 Oxley Dr. | | Grades K-2, STEM School (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) |
| Bryant Elementary | 201 E. Pierson Road | | Formerly Bryant Jr. High, closed in 2013 |
| Bunche Elementary | 4121 Martin Luther King Blvd. | | Now Bunche Community Center |
| Carpenter Road Elementary | | | Closed in 2015 |
| Central High School | 601 Crapo St | 1923 | Closed in 2009 |
| Civic Park Elementary School | 1402 W. Dayton St. | 1922 | Closed in 2009, abandoned |
| Cook Elementary | 500 Welch Blvd. | | Closed in 2002 |
| Coolidge Elementary School | 3615 Van Buren Ave. | 1928 | Closed in 2011, sold to Communities First Inc. for office and housing use |
| Cummings Elementary School | | | Became Great Expectations Early Childhood Center in 2016 |
| Dewey Elementary School | 4119 N. Saginaw St. | | Now the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village |
| Doyle/Ryder Education Center | 1040 N. Saginaw St | 1902 | Incorporates 1902 Doyle School |
| Dort Elementary | 601 E. Witherbee St. | | Closed in 2013 |
| Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary School | 1518 University Ave. | | Active elementary school |
| Eisenhower Elementary School | 1235 Pershing Street | | Active elementary school |
| Freeman Elementary School | 4001 Ogema Ave | | Active elementary school |
| Garfield Elementary School | 301 E. McClellan St. | 1928 | Closed in 2009 |
| Gundry Community Elementary School | 6031 Dupont St. | | Closed 2008, Now Cathedral of Faith Ministries |
| Holmes STEM Middle School Academy | 6602 Oxley Dr. | | Formerly Holmes Elementary |
| Jefferson Elementary School | 5306 North Street | | Last used as Northridge Academy, later 2nd Chance Baptist Church of Flint, abandoned |
| Johnson Elementary School | 5323 Western Road | 1967 | Closed in 2006, last used as Johnson AAA School |
| King Elementary School | 520 W. Rankin St. | | Closed |
| Lawndale Avenue Elementary School | 3115 Lawndale Avenue | | Now St. Luke's N.E.W. Life Center |
| Lincoln Elementary School | 2820 S. Saginaw St. | | Became International Academy of Flint charter school in 1999 |
| Longfellow Middle School | 1255 N. Chevrolet Ave. | | Closed in 2006 |
| Lowell Jr. High | 3301 N Vernon Ave | 1929 | Alternative middle school from 1988-2003, abandoned |
| Manley Elementary School | 3002 Farley Street | | Abandoned |
| McKinley Middle School | 4501 Camden Ave. | 1929 | Closed in 2012 |
| Merrill Elementary School | 1501 W. Moore St | 1953 | Closed in 2009 |
| Neithercut Elementary School | 2010 Crestbrook Ln. | | Active elementary school |
| Northern High School | 3284 Mackin Rd. | 1971 | Renamed Northern Academy, closed in 2014 |
| Northwestern High School | G-2138 Carpenter Rd. | 1964 | Renamed Flint Junior High in 2018, closed in 2020 |
| Oak Elementary School | 1000 Oak Street | 1890 | Closed in 1976, reopened in 2014 as Oak Street Senior Housing |
| Pierce Elementary School | | | Now Pierce Creative Arts Community School charter school |
| Potter Elementary School | 2500 N Averill Ave. | | Active elementary school |
| Selby Academy | | | Sold and became Eagles Nest Academy in 2015 |
| Sobey Elementary School | 3701 N. Averill Avenue | | Closed 2003, now Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint |
| Southwestern Classical Academy | 1420 W 12th St. | 1959 | Formerly Southwestern High School |
| Stewart Elementary School | 1950 Burr Blvd. | 1955 | Closed in 2009 |
| Summerfield Elementary School | 1360 Milbourne Ave. | 1970 | Closed in 2012, reopened as early childcare center |
| Whittier Middle School | 800 Crapo Street | 1925 | Closed in 2008 |
| Wilkins Elementary | 121 E. York Ave. | | Closed in 2010 |
| Williams Elementary | 3501 Minnesota Ave. | | Closed in 2010 |
| Zimmerman Elementary School | 2421 Corunna Rd. | | Closed in 2013 |
Demolished Schools :
| School | Address | Built | Notes |
| Clark Elementary School | Harrison St | 1912 | Closed in 1977, demolished in 2014 |
| Cody Elementary School | 3201 Fenton Road | | Closed in 2003, demolished in December 2012 |
| Northern High School (1st one) later Emerson Jr. High | McClellan St. | 1928 | Later became The Flint Academy, demolished |
| Homedale Elementary School | 1501 Davison Road | 1914 | Closed in 2003, added onto in 1922 & 1966, burned on September 11, 2010, now a vacant lot |
| Kennedy School | Saginaw Street | | Alternative school, after closing Schools of Choice opened as a replacement, demolished in 2011 |
| Lewis Elementary School | | 1911 | Became Lowell Jr. High Annex in 1978, demolished in 1991 |
| Washington Elementary School | 1400 N. Vernon Avenue | 1922 | Closed in 2013, burned down October 7, 2021, demolished |
| Martin Community Elementary School | 6502 Stafford Place | 1924 | Closed in 2002, razed in 2011, now vacant lot |
| Pierson Elementary School | 300 E. Mott Ave. | | Closed in 2002, demolished in 2013 |
| Stevenson Elementary School | 6th Ave. | 1911 | Became Rankin School, demolished |
| School of Choice | 517 E. 5th Avenue | | Formerly St. Michael's High School, became The Center For Hope in 2010, demolished in 2017 |