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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Detroit Pershing High School
John J. Pershing High School is a four-year public high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is in Conant Gardens in proximity to the residential areas and also serves Krainz Woods. Pershing was governed by the Education Achievement Authority (EAA), which oversees failing schools, from 2011 until 2017, when all schools were transferred back to Detroit Public Schools Community District.

History

Pershing High School opened in 1930 with capacity to serve more than 2,200 students. It was named after General John J. Pershing, a senior officer in the United States Army during World War I, best known for his involvement in the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front. General Pershing's troops were called doughboys, which was adopted as the high school's mascot.

In 2012, Kettering High School closed due to poor performance and some students were rezoned to Pershing.

Pershing had also been fraught with academic performance issues for nearly two decades; in 2011, the governor moved Pershing and four other at-risk public high schools into a separate district called the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). This district was a state initiative to reinvigorate struggling schools through a partnership with Eastern Michigan University, but lacked funding, planning, and sufficient governance.

EAA was closed in 2017 due to its low performance and the expiration of its partnership with Eastern Michigan University, and its schools were returned to the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Concern over school closures continued and in 2017, discussions about which schools needed to go escalated. Closure criteria were initially based on test scores, then, after significant pushback from Detroit families, based on school capacity. At this point, Pershing was only at 25% capacity and had test scores in the bottom 5% for 2014, 2015, and 2016, and so was named one of 24 schools slated to close in June 2017.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Pershing was one of several technology hubs in the district and served as a meal distribution site, provided mobile COVID-19 screenings, and provided resources for childcare and utility bills.

In 2014, English teacher Tiffani Eaton-Davis attempted to break up a fight between two boys in her classroom with a broom after her attempts to reach security via walkie-talkie were unsuccessful. A cell phone video of the incident was posted online and EAA fired her the next day for violating the policy against corporal punishment; they faced immediate pushback by school, district, and state officials, as well as the Pershing community. EAA quickly rescinded their decision and offered her a job at any school in their district, but she declined and, in 2015, she sued. The lawsuit stated that she was not warned or prepared to break up violent fights every day; that one of the students in the fight had been suspended for gang-related activity and was not supposed to be on the premises; and that she was discriminated against for being a woman and for being Black, as white teachers in the same scenario were not disciplined. In 2016, she was awarded a settlement of $390,000.

Student body

Pershing is a Title I-eligible school with Black students making up 95% of its enrollment as of 2020. Nearly 60% of the student body is male and 87% are eligible for free lunch.

Academics

Student assessments
2021–22 school
year
Change vs.
prior year
M-STEP 11th grade proficiency rates
(Science / Social Studies)
Advanced %≤10 / ≤10
Proficient %≤10 / ≤10
PR. Proficient %<3 / –
Not Proficient %– / –
Average test scores
SAT Total725.4
(Decrease −45.8)

In 2020, Pershing had a graduation rate of 72.15%. During the 2017–2018 academic year, less than 5% of students achieved a SAT score that indicates proficiency in math or reading; the district as a whole scored more than 50% lower than the state average.

Electives include ACT prep, choir, dance, Jobs for America Graduation, JROTC, music theory, Police Cadet, and robotics. After-school programs include Credit Recovery, Wayne State University C2 Pipeline, and driver's ed. The standard curriculum includes: English language arts 9, 10, 11, and 12; algebra I, geometry, algebra 2, and probability and statistics; biology, chemistry, forensics for science, and physical science; civics, economics, US history, world history; Spanish I and II; and health, JROTC, and physical education.

Athletics

Pershing offers eight sports: baseball, softball, basketball, cheerleading, track, cross country, football, and volleyball. The Doughboys are part of the Detroit Public School League, which is associated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Extracurriculars

Some of the activities offered at Pershing are robotics, the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), JROTC, and STEM Club.

A recording studio was created on-campus through a partnership with JDilla Music Foundation (now called the James Dewitt Yancey Foundation), an organization created in honor of Pershing alumnus J Dilla, who died from lupus-induced cardiac arrest in 2006.

Notable alumni

Actors

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Music

Politics

Reporter

References and notes

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  2. ^ "Pershing High alums celebrate 75 years." The Detroit News. April 6, 2005. Retrieved on November 6, 2012. "What made Pershing different was that it was built in the Conant Gardens[...]"
  3. ^ "Conant Gardens produced talent." The Detroit News. June 20, 2001. Retrieved on November 6, 2012. "The Conant Gardens neighborhood near Pershing High School never [...]. Conant Gardens is bounded by East Seven Mile, East Nevada, Ryan and Conant." - Also in "Conant Gardens' inspiring past comes alive." The Detroit News. June 28, 2001.
  4. ^ "High School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
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  6. ^ AlHajal, Khalil. "Teacher fired for using broom to break up Detroit classroom fight." MLive. May 6, 2014. Retrieved on May 8, 2014.
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  8. ^ Einhorn, Erin (2017-05-04). "In a district full of empty classrooms and darkened hallways, can Detroit find a way to keep its schools open?". Detroit Chalkbeat. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
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42°25′56″N 83°03′52″W / 42.4321°N 83.0644°W / 42.4321; -83.0644

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