History of Hancock Elementary School

Hancock Elementary School was one of 29 schools built under a 1959 millage. Titled by Detroit Public Schools as the “1960s Building Program”. The first of these schools would be Jamieson built in 1960 (Demolished 2024), along some other notable schools including Kettering High School (Demolished 2024), Campbell Elementary, Harris Elementary, and Biddle Elementary among others. The 1960s saw the last strong push by the District to address enrollment numbers dropping due to white flight. The ultimate goal of these 29 schools was driven by civil rights efforts and the elections of the first Black school board members, leading to the construction of new schools in Black neighborhoods and the hiring of more Black teachers and administrators. This era also saw changes in school architecture, with a move towards modern designs, and efforts towards integration that faced significant resistance. The 1960s schools including Hancock saw modern amenities such as a fully electrical heated and air conditioned buildings. Modern layouts and design with centrally located common areas, and modern glass window designs. Like Campbell Elementary and Berry Elementary, Hancock was a replacement school for the Hancock Elementary that opened in 1887, and was built in 1964. It appears that Hancock (1887) remained standing until 1969 when it was replaced by the Phillip J. Murray-Wright High School. As for the Hancock Elementary it appears that the school became a afterthought in the eyes of the district as it does not host any additions or even a gymnasium or auditorium. It appears the name of the school was changed to the Atkinson Elementary School before closing however it is hard to pinpoint when this happened as information on the school is very limited. The school was closed in 2009, and has been scrapped of almost everything of value.