Announced in 2018 and located on the historic campus of the former Marygrove College in the heart of northwest Detroit, The Marygrove Learning Community is a Detroit P-20 Partnership that provides education and family services that support the success of Detroit children from before birth through college and career. This unique and ambitious partnership demonstrates the power of neighborhood revitalization that centers education at the heart of community growth and thriving.

A campus that was once in danger of closing and leaving a tragic void in a vital Detroit neighborhood is now home to an education ecosystem that includes an early education center, a public K-12 school, college and career programs, space for local businesses and nonprofits, and conveniently located health and human services. 

This public-private partnership was made possible by combining the expertise, vision, and resources of the University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education, the Marygrove Conservancy, Detroit Public Schools Community District, Starfish Family Services, and The Kresge Foundation. 

U-M’s Marsal School proudly co-develops the K-12 school’s vertically aligned, project- and place-based curriculum with an emphasis on engineering and design thinking for social justice. Students at The School at Marygrove benefit from four years of engineering and design courses. High school seniors apply classroom learning through internships and capstone projects. Through the connection with Marsal Education, Marygrove students have opportunities to learn alongside faculty, staff, U-M students, and other guests. 

The Marygrove Learning Community is also home to the nation’s first Teaching School. As a top-ranked teacher preparation program, the Marsal School launched a transformative approach to prepare and retain educators. By integrating interns, student teachers, residents, attending teachers, and U-M faculty and staff, the Michigan Education Teaching School creates a scalable teacher preparation model that effectively trains and supports new teachers while ensuring high-quality education for students in Detroit and beyond. 

Modeled on medical training residencies, the Teaching School features a three-year teacher residency during which our certified early career teacher graduates are employed as full-time teachers by the Detroit Public Schools Community District while continuing to receive support from Marsal faculty and staff as well as attending teachers at The School at Marygrove—extending training for three years at no additional cost to educators. 

The Marsal School has engaged nearly every school and college on the UM-Ann Arbor campus in this exciting collaboration. U-M has helped launch a web of services designed to support children in meeting their full potential as students and human beings. A coordinated, integrated system of support services addressing basic needs, behavioral health, and physical health promotes the holistic well-being of children and families in the Marygrove Learning Community.

Additionally, the Marsal School studies the work conducted on the campus for purposes of continual improvement and to hold all partners accountable to all stakeholders. They research their own innovations to develop a scalable concept of collaborative, project- and place-based, public education that also serves to develop preservice, early career, and in-service teachers.

In Fall 2024, the first cohort of undergraduates in the Learning, Equity, and Problem Solving for the Public Good (LEAPS) program moved into the newly renovated residence hall on the campus. This new education degree program engages students in a one-year living/learning experience in Detroit. LEAPS is designed to prepare students for a wide range of professions and career paths including education, policy, community development, health sciences, and business. By developing strong collaboration, communication, and leadership skills, LEAPS students become “learning leaders” who know how to partner with peers, communities, and organizations to collaboratively effect change.