The Early Education Center (EEC) at the Marygrove campus in Detroit officially opened its doors on September 7. The new $22 million center welcomed 144 infants, toddlers and preschoolers. 

The cradle-to-career educational campus has been in development since November 2019.

On Friday, The Kresge Foundation and partners cut the ribbon for the official opening of the center.

The School at Marygrove and the entire P-20 campus is the result of a landmark partnership between CMF member The Kresge Foundation, the Marygrove Conservancy, the University of Michigan School of Education (SOE), Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), Starfish Family Services and IFF.

“The Marygrove Early Education Center reflects the alchemy possible when partners from different sectors join energies and resources in service of Detroit’s children. We have created an early education facility that not only offers unprecedented quality of care, but also provides a new anchor for the redevelopment of the surrounding Livernois-McNichols neighborhood,” Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, said in a press release.

The P-20 partnership is among the first of its kind in the nation and is supported by a $50 million commitment by The Kresge Foundation, the largest philanthropic investment into a Detroit neighborhood in history.

“Kresge will likely invest upwards of $75 million on this campus. We do it with pride in the knowledge that it will enrich the lives of families in the Livernois-Six Mile neighborhood for generations,” Rapson said during Friday’s celebration.  

As CMF reported, in fall 2019, DPSCD and the University of Michigan School of Education opened the first component with The School at Marygrove, which now houses students in grades 9-11 and eventually will be a full K-12 institution.

The elementary school will commence with kindergarten, and students in grades 1 and 2 in fall 2022 and will create a streamlined experience for children and families from early childhood through their K-12 school. At full capacity, The School at Marygrove will serve approximately 1,000 students.

Star Fish Family Services will lead operation of the center as well as support a diverse and highly qualified team of educators and administrators. The University of Michigan School of Education organizes and leads a team of experts to adapt and develop curricula designed to engage children – even from the earliest ages – in powerful learning opportunities.

Starfish and leading University of Michigan education scholars created a full-day culturally responsive curriculum specifically for the Marygrove EEC, focusing on equity, STEM and social justice. Starfish also encourages individual development to be responsive to each child’s interests, strengths and needs. 

The Marygrove EEC will house 12 classrooms with at most eight children in infant and toddler classrooms and 16 preschool classrooms. 

Want more?

Learn more about the Marygrove Early Education Center. 

Read the full press release from The Kresge Foundation.