Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy


Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy was the name given to several charter schools within the Detroit Public Schools in Detroit, Michigan, serving students in grades 5-12. They functioned as alternative schools for Youth Outside the Educational Mainstream. Most of the schools were strict-discipline academies for students who had been expelled from regular schools. The schools were named after Blanche Bruce, the first African American to serve a full term as a United States Senator.
Schools which operated under the Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy umbrella included:
Blanche Kelso Bruce Academies were chartered through Wayne RESA and are managed by Blair Evans of Evans Solutions. The Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy School District's central offices were located at 8045 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48202
In June 2011 the Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy organization was selected to run the Catherine Ferguson Academy for Young Women as a charter school. The academy for pregnant teens and young mothers had been slated for closure for budgetary reasons. Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy also took over operation of the Gladys Barsamian Preparatory Center and the Hancock Center.
On June 6th, 2017, the Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy announced their contract with Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency would end at the end of that school year. At the time of the closing on June 30, 2017, the Academy had been operating the schools: