1. THE CATHERINE FERGUSON CHALLENGE

2. What is our challenge?  How can we educate people on the huge problems in Detroit Public Schools?  Our main focus is on the Catherine Fergurson Academy, which was a school threatened to close earlier last year  What social and direct actions can we do to help stop injustices in the Detroit public schools?

3. What is the Catherine Ferguson Academy?  The Catherine Ferguson Academy is an alternative high school for young women  It provides education for pregnant teens, grades 9- 12  Most of the girls come from poorer backgrounds and would not have opportunities of education otherwise  It also has a large farm where fresh foods are grown and farm animals are raised

4. The Pregnancy Cycle  Being a young mother in an industrialized country can affect one's education. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school  Young motherhood in an industrialized country can affect employment and social class. Less than one third of teenage mothers receive any form of child support, vastly increasing the likelihood of turning to the government for assistance.  Such factors like drug and alcohol abuse, lack of contraception, age discrepancy in relationships, sexual abuse, and socioeconomic problems have huge influence on teen pregnancy

5. The Goal of the Catherine Fergurson Academy  The Catherine Ferguson Academy strives to provide quality education in order to ensure a bright future for each child  The goal of the principal and teachers at the academy is to prevent the pregnancy cycle from reoccurring in the next generation of infants  The academy offers many features to encourage the success of their students; some of the amenities include childcare and hands-on interactive techniques.  The school even offers choir, sports, and holds special events for the teens.

6. Closure  The academy was scheduled to close at the end of the 2010-2011 school year by order of the Emergency Manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, ifcharter operators do not bid to run them  The closure was part of Robert Bobb’s reduction plan, which planned to increase the public high school classes to 60 students  A buyer was not found by the spring of 2011, and the school was scheduled to be shuttered

7. What did the people have to say?  CFA students and teachers protested the decision.  Several of those were arrested and charged with trespassing, but all charges were dropped in August 2011  Additional community reaction to the announced closing of CFA, and national media publicity, resulted in weeks of protest  On June 16,it was announced that CFA would remain open as a charter school.  G. Asenath Andrews, the school's principal since 1986, said new teachers would be hired and that as a result of the school's privatization, the students would have more access to funds and services than before.

8. Are charter school’s an injustice?  Many argue this isn’t a victory because it will be a charter; however for the students of the Catherine Fergurson Academy this is a complete victory for them because they still have their school, their “safehouse”  Charter schools can try new and experimental ideas, that because of federal funding public school can't, but public school advocates say that charter schools are taking money away from them, yet they have to admit that there are just some students who do better in the charter program  Many educators and parents believe that charter schools are bad because they operate for profit, unlike traditional public and private schools; however, our concerns should be whether or not the children are learning what they need to learn in order to succeed in the future

9. Direct Action  We believe in the force of argument and not the force of direct disruptive action  Direct disruptive actions lead to violent outcomes, which can be very damaging to the children of the schools  Instead, leaders should be more concerned on the education of the child and their individual success.

10. Social Action  We believe that by using non-violent sources of direct action, like debate or petitions, the education the children in Detroit will improve.  Whether the school is a public, charter, or private school, the education and success of the child should be to the utmost importance to city leaders  We must bring awareness to the children about the significance of community and responsibility  If we begin to think more about the success of the children rather than profit, drastic social actions will be made  The Catherine Fergurson Academy is a great example of an institution that sets high standards of responsibility and community for the students

11. Catholic Social Teaching  Even though we do not face these certain injustices in our lives necessarily we can respond to this situation with solidarity  We can bring awareness to the situation regarding education for not only the students at the Catherine Ferguson Academy but also all the students living in Detroit affected by these certain social and direct injustices.

12. Citations  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Ferguson_Aca demy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Ferguson_Aca demy  http://beingthechangeiwishtosee.com/3107/save- catherine-ferguson-academy-detroit-stop-martial-law- in-michigan/ http://beingthechangeiwishtosee.com/3107/save- catherine-ferguson-academy-detroit-stop-martial-law- in-michigan/  http://critical-moment.org/2011/04/26/detroit- public-schools-no-news-is-bad-news/ http://critical-moment.org/2011/04/26/detroit- public-schools-no-news-is-bad-news/  http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/ign orance-about-social-action-in.html http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/ign orance-about-social-action-in.html  http://detroitk12.org/inside_dps/2008/09/25/nancy- boykin-continuing-education-center-and-catherine- ferguson-academy/ http://detroitk12.org/inside_dps/2008/09/25/nancy- boykin-continuing-education-center-and-catherine- ferguson-academy/