DETROIT – Tanya Eppinger and her family lived inside their home on Detroit’s east side for years, but recently everything changed. “The smoke started coming outside. “I have five kids in the house, and I was trying to get everyone out.”Eppinger said in just minutes, fire and smoke filled the inside of her home. And with this going on, we’re just trying to making everything come back together for the kids,” Eppinger said. A GoFundMe has been set up by Tanya Eppinger.

Today, University Prep graduates 90 percent of its high schoolers and sends 90 percent of them to college. Ed Parks is the board president of University Prep and a beloved figure around campus. Thanks to a huge grant from a Plymouth couple named Bob and Ellen Thompson, University Prep could focus its resources and teachers and talent. "Small class sizes, college prep type curriculum and obviously teachers with passion," Parks said. He, this and University Prep prove that educational ideals can still fly high in the heart of Detroit.