Dearborn Schools Buys 2 Henry Ford College Buildings, Plans Expansion

DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn Public Schools plans to expand the Henry Ford Early College after the district bought two buildings on the college's main campus for $2.1 million, district officials announced Thursday.

District officials said buying the two buildings, which sit on the campus' north end, just south of Ford Road, will allow Dearborn Schools to expand all three Early College programs: the Henry Ford Early College Health, Advanced Manufacturing and School of Education.

At no cost to the student's family, students who attend the programs for five years can graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree or trade certification, officials said.

Dearborn Schools will also look to free up some room around the district by shifting other services to the new buildings as well, officials said. The third building on the campus will continue to serve as the college’s Welcome Center. Officials hope to have the building's ready in January 2024.

"We are excited to have acquired these buildings, and it again shows the benefits of our great relationship with Henry Ford College," Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said. "District students, who in this case are also college students, will only benefit from this change."

District officials said they were still working on plans to expand high school enrollment at the college, since the programs currently enroll 570 students all together.

"We highly value our unique partnership with the Dearborn Public Schools, and the Early College programs are a core part of how we engage and serve our community," Henry Ford College President Russ Kavalhuna said. "We will be glad to have even more dual-enrolled students learning in these buildings on the college campus in the years to come."

District officials also said they were looking at plans to move adult education into the new building, possibly freeing up rooms at the Dearborn Heights Campus in the area occupied by the Michael Berry Career Center.

The two buildings, which are about 30,000 square feet, have been idle for several years and will require considerable renovation to turn them into a "state-of-the-art" educational facility that meets current requirements such as accessibility compliance, district officials said.

Building a new high school in Dearborn would cost between $125 and $188 million, depending on the size, district officials said. The cost does not include land, which would have to be 20 to 30 acres to accommodate athletic facilities, parking and adequate traffic patterns.

For comparison, Dearborn High School is 240,000 square feet and sits on 45 acres. Edsel Ford High School is 241,500 square feet and sits on 49 acres and Fordson High School is 373,000 square feet and sits on 14 acres.

"Expanding the Early College programs will first and foremost serve our students by allowing more of them to graduate high school ready for the workforce or with a head start on a bachelor’s degree," Dr. Maleyko said. "But expanding the Early College will also have the added benefit of relieving some of the stress of higher enrollment on our three traditional high schools."