社区黑料

Explore

Like a Prayer: Madonna Donates $100,000 to Help Detroit Charter School Move From Church Basement Into a Building of Its Own

Getty Images

This article is one in a series at 社区黑料 that profiles the heroes, victories, success stories, and random acts of kindness found at schools all across America. Read more of our recent inspiring profiles at The74Million.org/series/inspiring.

The Material Girl is making it easier for Detroit elementary school students to live in a material world.

Madonna is pledging $100,000 to help the charter school in a low-income neighborhood move out of a church basement and into an abandoned public school building the school hopes to rehab. She鈥檚 encouraging her fans to donate to the school鈥檚 and says she鈥檒l match their donations through her .

鈥淒etroit has such a special place in my heart. Kids in Detroit deserve access to great schools and I am happy to do my part to give them one,鈥 Madonna said in a statement, the .


The Detroit Prep charter school was founded in 2016 to offer a safe environment to diverse learners in kindergarten through third grade. School leaders are seeking to add a grade each year and purchased the former Joyce Elementary School to renovate into what they call their 鈥.鈥 The school has been running on Facebook, seeking corporate donors, offering naming rights to classrooms, and selling candles and sweatshirts as part of their .

Students and school officials exploded with thanks.

鈥淢adonna聽turned this rainy day into one of the brightest we’ve ever had<,鈥 school officials wrote on Facebook. 鈥淲e are so unbelievably grateful!鈥

In a scene shot by WDIV-TV news, 10 impossibly cute kids thanked Madonna, then burst into dance.

Detroit Prep is the sister school to , which Madonna has supported financially since 2014. Just two years after the academy was founded, its students were among the highest-performing in both Detroit and the nation, according to the foundation. Both schools focus on 鈥渉olistic learning,鈥 including exploration, inclusion, and the arts.


“Without Madonna’s support in the past, our schools would truly not be here today and would not be delivering the incredible results for students that we are now. I can’t begin to fully express the impact she’s had on hundreds of students and families and on the education landscape in Detroit as a whole,” said Kyle Smitely, co-founder and executive director of Detroit Prep, told .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 社区黑料鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.

Republish This Article

We want our stories to be shared as widely as possible 鈥 for free.

Please view 社区黑料's republishing terms.





On 社区黑料 Today