About Us

The Casa Maria Academy originated in 1989 as a remedial/tutorial program for at-risk, middle school
students in Southwest Detroit. In 1996 it was chartered as the first Public School Academy under the
new Michigan law, and in 1997 was re-authorized by the Wayne County Regional Educational Services
Agency (WCRESA) under the new name SER Casa Environmental and Technological Academy to operate
grades 9 through 12, continuing and expanding through the years to achieve the mission and goals
established during its inception.

Students came from various schools and at different grade levels. However, their common denominator  became a real interest in learning, along with a growing understanding of personal responsibility and the  strong career possibilities that lie ahead of them.

From 1998 until 2002, Casa Richard Academy operated out of the Latino Family Services building. The Board secured $2.3 million dollars from the General Motors Corporation and the Empowerment Zone to renovate Southwest Detroit’s Historic St. Anne School building.

In 2002, the name was formally changed to Casa Richard Academy when we took residence in its permanent, newly renovated, state-of-the-art facility at 2635 Howard (between 18th and St. Anne streets), next to St. Anne Catholic Church.

Since our inception, we have been striving to provide a quality educational choice to parents and
students of our community, especially for students who have experienced educational/behavioral
challenges in traditional large schools.

As a charter high school open to all Wayne County residents, we are our own district. We do not have
"feeder schools"; therefore, students are not assigned to us and we are a 'school of choice'.

Why Choose CRA?

Please click here to view our Mission Statement and why you want to choose Casa Richard Academy, including our special features and additional opportunities available to our students that make us unique!