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The Detroit school district has approved a new charter school to serve students experiencing homelessness, chronic absenteeism, and interactions with the juvenile justice system.
Purpose Charter Academy, which is expected to open for prekindergarten through eighth grade students in the 2026-27 school year, will aim to “reengage disconnected youth,” according to the Detroit Public Schools Community District, or DPSCD. Projected enrollment for the charter the year it opens is 225 students. By 2029-30, it’s expected to be 400.
Since Superintendent Nikolai Vitti took the helm of the school system in 2017, DPSCD has authorized fewer charter schools. At the time, he said he wanted the district to use its resources to improve its traditional public schools.
Entities, such as school districts and community colleges, can authorize charters, meaning they approve charter applications and monitor the schools’ contract compliance.
More than half of school-age children in the city attend charter schools, with 62 charters in Detroit, according to state data compiled in May.
As the number of charters in the city and its suburbs increased over the last 30 years, enrollment in the Detroit district declined. But, rather than competing for students, Vitti said Purpose Charter Academy’s model could address student needs that are not otherwise met in the school system.
According to the charter’s development team, the most vulnerable student populations in Detroit often face significant and overlapping barriers in traditional public schools. The charter aims to combine targeted interventions, wraparound support, and culturally responsive programming that will allow the flexibility necessary to meet the students’ needs.
The new charter will be comparable to an alternative education program run by educators with trauma-informed training.
The Detroit district currently has one alternative education campus for kids in grades 6-12, which can enroll up to 500 students each year. There is no such program for children in the lower grades in the school system.
“A single school where the Board of Directors, budget and staff are all focused on serving the most at risk students allows a unique level of focus and program design around supporting deep-rooted trauma and instability that is not always easily achievable in a larger district with multiple other priorities,” he said in an email.
Detroit’s poverty rate is nearly three times higher than the national average. Nearly 85% of students in the Detroit district are identified as being from low-income households.
About 455 children experienced homelessness in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park last year, according to a January point-in-time count by the city. The count is an estimate and provides a snapshot of how many people experience homelessness on one night.
In the 2024-25 school year, more than 60% of DPSCD students were chronically absent, Vitti said at a recent board meeting.
Staffing requirements at the charter will focus on specialized expertise, such as staff with knowledge of the juvenile justice system and trauma-informed care, according to the district. The charter will be better positioned to coordinate services through other agencies such as shelters, courts, and mental health providers, according to plans for the school.
The main reason the district can’t implement the same model is cost, Vitti said.
“The District is not in a position to expand alternative education options for K-8 when the cost of those programs is typically much higher than traditional school settings,” said Vitti.
The charter plans to work with the district to enroll students in the school system when they are ready to return to a traditional school setting.
The nine-member development team behind Purpose Charter Academy includes Michigan Third Circuit Court Judge Cylenthia LaToye Miller, attorney Lamar Moreland, as well as educators, mental health practitioners, and civic leaders, said Board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo.
The development team has not yet determined if the charter will be self-managed or if a management company will be chosen to operate the school, according to the district.
Charters, also known as public school academies, are public schools and must follow state and federal education law. In Michigan, anyone can operate a charter. The operator handles key functions, such as hiring teachers and managing payroll. Many charter schools in the state hire for-profit companies to fill the role.
The Detroit district’s board voted in July to approve a three-year contract with Purpose Charter Academy. The charter must meet all of the state’s requirements before the contract is signed.
The board also voted last month to approve a lease agreement for the charter to use its vacant school building formerly occupied by the Detroit Lions Academy on East Canfield Street.
The charter will pay 9% of the per-pupil state funding it receives by 2028-29 for the lease. There will be an option for the charter to buy the property through August 2028.
The district will get a 3% fee for authorizing the charter, which would amount to around $81,000 in 2026-27, according to a financial analysis.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
