WISD’s High Point Program Begins 2020 in Ypsilanti Community Middle School @ Willow Run

Top photo shows the current High Point School and bottom is an artist’s concept of the renovation that is starting its demolition phase this winter.

On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, students in the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s High Point program will begin the second half of their school year on the east side of the county at Ypsilanti Community Middle School @ Willow Run (YCMS @ WR) located at 235 Spencer Lane, Ypsilanti. Due to passage of the WISD’s bond proposal in August 2019, renovation and reconstruction of their campus on Ann Arbor’s west side at 1735 S. Wagner Road is scheduled to begin March 2020, requiring the High Point program to move out before construction.

“It is no small undertaking to move out of a school that has been serving students for 45 years and be ready to begin classes in a new building in about two weeks,” shared WISD Superintendent Scott Menzel. “I’m incredibly proud of our community for supporting our students and of our staff for all their hard work to make this transition successful.”

The High Point program serves students ages 3 through 26 with severe and multiple disabilities, such as cognitive, physical, and emotional impairments, and medically fragile students from all nine school districts across Washtenaw County. WISD’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) program and Honey Creek Community School, a K-8 public school academy, have also temporarily moved to YCMS @ WR alongside the High Point program, and will return to their Ann Arbor campus with High Point when renovations are complete. Honey Creek Community School has been co-located with the High Point program since it was chartered by WISD in 1995 in order to ensure students with disabilities have the opportunity to learn next to their general education peers.

“One of the most unique aspects of our High Point program is the co-location with Honey Creek. This symbiotic relationship is a critical component of the High Point educational experience, and we believed this needed to continue during the transitional process,” states Superintendent Menzel.

WISD’s DHH and High Point programs and Honey Creek Community School will be temporarily located at YCMS @ WR through June 2021, and expect to re-open at their Ann Arbor campus in September 2021.

High Point students have a variety of special needs that require a different type of facility than was originally conceived when High Point was built in the early 1970s.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.