History of Murphy Jr. High School

Murphy Jr. High School was the second biggest of the 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 Murphy 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. Standing at 102,825 sf it is the second largest school only to Kettering High School (This figure only accounts for abandoned locations, and active DPS schools may be larger). Murphy was built in 1963 and was built all in one phase, interestingly Murphy is a 1 story build, and features many courtyards in its floor plan. It stands out among the Detroit Schools of the 1960s, due to its ambitious size and accommodations. In comparison to many schools of the same era such as Hancock or Harris lack the size or accommodations seen in earlier schools in Detroit. Murphy quickly became one of Detroit’s best preforming schools, likely due to how expansive the school was, however by the early 2000s the school saw a decline in enrollment, around this time Murphy was changed from a middle school to a K-8 model. It was renamed to Murphy Elementary-Middle School, and in 2011 a last push was given to the school when it applied for a federal School Improvement Grant (SIG). The school was designated a "Priority School" and would receive $1,124,334. The intervention model chosen for this high-stakes grant was "TRANSFORMATION". Which showed it was decided in the school board to become a charter school long before it became one in 2012. In 2012 the school was closed briefly before it reopened as Murphy Performance Academy in 2012, commonly shorten to Murphy Academy, under the direction of Performance Academies. In 2018 the DPSCD superintendent recommended the Murphy Academy contract not be renewed, as resources were allegedly being "wasted". This would come as the same year of the the closing of Trix and Stewart Academy all three of these charters were ran under Performance Academies. In 2021 it was found that student documents had been left behind after closing, along with a fire in late 2023 or 2024 that damaged a large part of the southern wing of the school. Since 2018 Murphy has sat abandoned with many entrances remaining wide open to vandals and scrappers.