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"We Live Here," a new documentary from State of Opportunity

Jennifer Guerra
/
Michigan Radio
Noble Elementary-Middle School is one of 186 schools identified by the state as "priority schools."

A neighborhood school used to be the center of a everything. You sent your kids there, you had community meetings there, you went there to vote.

So, what happens to a neighborhood—and the kids who live there—when a school closes? 

We Live Here is a new documentary from State of Opportunity that investigates how massive schools closures in Detroit have affected students and neighborhoods.

School districts around the country have closed an unprecedented number of schools since 2000, the majority serving mostly poor students of color. Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia all saw closures.

But no city closed more schools during that time than Detroit.

Now, with dozens more schools around Michigan potentially on the chopping block, it's more important than ever to understand the potential consequences of those closings.  

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