Apple Signs $1.2 Million Deal For Digital High School in Detroit

by , 12:20 PM EDT, September 27th, 2005

Apple and the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) system on Tuesday announced the creation of a high school that will immerse students in digital technology, including the use of iBooks and iPods. DPS said it will enroll approximately 250 ninth graders this year and expand to a 9-12 high school during the next three years.

The deal is worth US$1.2 million and will last four years, according to an article on The Detroit News Web site. The school district will lease 780 iBooks, with the remaining laptops going to 14 Detroit middle schools after the new school's students get theirs.

Apple will also provide iPods, digital cameras, copies of iLife '05 software and more than 100 days of technology and teaching support. Wireless Internet access will be a large part of the solution as well.

Around half of the students in this year's ninth grade class will form the 10th grade class next year, while the rest will follow the "specialized career preparation options" at Crockett High School, where the new school is housed.

"The consistent use of technology is a wonderful way to engage our students, particularly those who are at risk for dropping out or not completing their education on time," William F. Coleman III, DPS CEO, said in a statement. "A large part of the program is the mentorship. The mentorship will expose students to role models and increase their desire to keep reaching for great heights."

The school has the full support of Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, who has championed the use of technology in education and who has targeted the creation of small high schools as one of the goals of her administration.