Murray-Wright High School
 
 
 

Murray-Wright High School is located about 2 miles north of downtown Detroit, and ¾ mile from Wayne State University. The immediate neighborhood is a mixture of empty lots, low-income homes, abandoned dwellings, and recently renovated single-family homes. The newer homes lie along two streets just east of the school, but there are few services in the immediate area for the residents.


The school serves some 1,700 students in grades 9-12, and has a number of special programs in which students with different educational futures participate. The district formula to assign staff to the school involves a 35:1 ratio of students to staff. There is a Naval JROTC program that has a visible presence at the school; many students wear uniforms with medals indicating their rank and status within the school's program and practice marching in the hallways. There is also a small business and vocational program, in which students go to school for half the day and then go to one of Detroit's regional vocational centers in the afternoon. Other students (approximately a third to half) are engaged in a course of study that will prepare them for higher education, whether in a 4-year college or a 2-year community college.