Flint Community Schools

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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.^[7] It became Central High School when Flint Northern High School was built in 1928.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

In November 2012, Superintendent Linda Thompson announced her retirement.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

In December 2012, Lawrence Watkins Jr. was selected to serve as the Districts Interim Superintendent.^[16] 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.^[17] On April 8, 2015, Mr. Watkins announced his retirement.^[18]

In August 2018, Flint Community Schools selected Derrick Lopez, JD as its new Superintendent.^[19] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2020, Anita Steward took over the helm at Flint Community Schools. Before becoming the superintendent, Mrs. Steward was the Assistant Superintendent.^[20]

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Source:^[21]