Detroit Public Schools Community District has opened the Southeastern High School Career Technical Education Annex, the first completed new build under the district’s $700 million Facilities Master Plan. The new facility is a turning point for the East Side, marking renewed investment in both education and the neighborhood’s long-term stability.
The 11,000-square-foot annex includes a welding lab, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lab, and a collaborative learning space. Each is equipped with the same tools and machinery used in professional environments, ensuring that Detroit students train with the technology shaping today’s workforce. The $16 million project was delivered through the Facilities Master Plan, which aims to modernize Detroit’s public schools and expand access to career-based learning.
Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti said the new building demonstrates that the district can make good on its commitments to families who have been waiting for meaningful change.
“We’re excited as a district. This is a long time coming,” Vitti said. “A lot of people are naturally skeptical about whether the district was going to deliver on some major facility projects, just because of the distrust that was created with emergency management and previous challenges with DPS. But it’s exciting that today we announced it was a ribbon cutting for a building that’s now complete — the Southeastern Annex, a $16 million investment.”
For Vitti, the project reflects a philosophy that rebuilding Detroit must begin where people live and learn.
“We were very intentional to do it here at Southeastern, one of our historic neighborhood high schools,” he said. “Southeastern was built in 1917. This was a very intentional investment in a neighborhood high school because we’re trying to rebuild our neighborhoods. We talk a lot in the city about how to rebuild. We talk about stadiums, and that’s all exciting. But in the end, we’re not going to rebuild a city if we’re not rebuilding neighborhoods. And you can’t rebuild neighborhoods if you’re not rebuilding schools.”
That connection between schools and neighborhoods defines Detroit’s story. Southeastern has been part of the East Side’s identity for generations, serving familieswhose roots stretch back to the city’s industrial boom. For residents, the new annex is evidence that public investment is reaching their side of town again. Many remember when vocational programs were eliminated, when buildings aged without repair, and when young people were forced to leave their neighborhoods to find opportunity.
Although that reality still remains true, the CTE Annex brings some change to that. Students can now enroll at Southeastern and gain access to advanced manufacturing and welding programs right in their community. It reduces travel barriers, allows more consistent attendance, and gives young people a sense of pride in learning skills tied to Detroit’s economic DNA.
“We know that part of the identity, DNA of the city is manufacturing,” Vitti said. “And so this investment is about advanced manufacturing and welding. I’ve heard time and time again throughout the community, we need to bring back trades. So we’re doing that not in a separate building where students have to travel AM or PM to get to, but in a neighborhood high school. When students enroll here, they directly access that programming.”
For decades, the East Side has carried the weight of school closures and disinvestment. By selecting Southeastern as the first site for new construction under the Master Plan, the district is acknowledging that rebuilding trust starts with visible, local progress.
That progress extends beyond the school walls. For neighborhood parents, the new annex means their children can learn relevant, employable skills without leaving the community. It gives families who once felt left behind a reason to see the district differently.
Partnerships have also played a key role in ensuring the annex connects learning to real job pathways. Stellantis contributed $4 million to establish the annex and continues to work with Southeastern to align curriculum with industry needs.
“Stellantis is pleased to partner with Southeastern High School on the Career Technical Education Annex to create a pathway for students to pursue advanced manufacturing careers,” said Christine Estereicher, vice president of public affairs for Stellantis North America. “This investment will help boost enrollment and create opportunities for students for years to come.”
Those opportunities carry weight for students like Southeastern Senior Class President Aniya Ellis, who sees the new space as proof that the district believes in its youth.
“It means our school supporting the students with the best chance to succeed in life by supplying Welding and CNC Machining,” Ellis said. “I think it’s a great idea because it helps
students experience, explore, and learn new skills to set them up for future success and careers. This building shows community through the hard work and commitment required to support the students at Southeastern High School.”
Her words capture the shift in student morale. Many Southeastern students have watched new developments rise downtown and in Midtown, but few have seen those resources extend east. Now they are attending a school that feels modern, that reflects investment, and that offers a clear connection to Detroit’s job market.
Teachers report that hands-on programs like welding and machining often help reduce absenteeism because students feel their education has immediate value. When classes prepare them for real careers, attendance improves and graduation rates strengthen. That is one of the central goals of the district’s Master Plan — connecting engagement to relevance.
Southeastern’s enrollment has grown from 150 students in 2017 to 650 today, and district leaders expect continued growth as new programs attract families back to public education.
“We’re going to see Southeastern’s attendance continue to grow,” Vitti said. “And that’s only going to continue.”
The $700 million Facilities Master Plan is the most comprehensive reinvestment in Detroit’s school infrastructure in more than a generation. It addresses outdated systems, ensures ADA accessibility, and prioritizes new construction in areas with the greatest need. The plan also reflects a shift in how DPSCD defines success: not only through test scores but through the ability to prepare students for life after graduation.
“At the end of the day, we’re just excited to be able to deliver this on time, within budget, at a neighborhood high school, on the East Side, which is also very intentional because we don’t have a lot of programming on the East Side,” Vitti said. “This is a great example of investing in our youth, in our neighborhoods, in our community. Long term, we’re going to see students more prepared for college and the world of work in particular.”
It also gives young people a reason to remain in their city — not out of necessity, but because opportunity exists where they are.
Across Detroit, similar facility upgrades will follow, but Southeastern now serves as a model for what meaningful investment looks like when it begins with listening. The voices
of parents, students, and longtime residents shaped this plan. The building’s completion is proof that those voices mattered.
