(Detroit Free Press) — The ambitious plan to convert one-third of Detroit Public Schools buildings to charter schools by fall has slowed significantly, scaling back to only five charter school conversions this year. Roy Roberts, the emergency manager for DPS, said Thursday that the DPS Renaissance 2012 plan announced in March was “too aggressive.” However, dozens of schools still will be considered for conversion to charters next year or beyond. Of the 19 local and national companies that submitted bids to charter as many as 50 DPS buildings, three small local companies have been chosen to run five low-performing elementary schools. The selected companies have produced high test scores among low-income charter school students, data show.
