Though the number of underrepresented minority students enrolled at the University is decreasing, educators working in Detroit Public Schools said University President Mary Sue Coleman’s trips to the city’s schools may be helping to change that.

For every year since the passage of a state constitutional amendment in 2006 that banned the use of race-based affirmative action, the number of underrepresented minority students enrolled at the University has declined. According to data released by the University in October, underrepresented minority freshman enrollment is down 11.4 percent from last year.

In an effort to curb this decrease, Coleman has been traveling to Detroit and speaking to students in hopes of encouraging them to consider the University as a viable post-high school option. In a series of interviews over the last several weeks, many Detroit educators said the tactic is a practical solution to stem the underrepresented minority enrollment declines.

In October, Coleman spoke to hundreds of Detroit educators at the 2009 Wolverine Outreach Workshop reception, which aimed to inspire more students from Detroit Public Schools to apply to the University.

Thomas Moss, assistant principal at Cooley High School in Detroit and a University alum, said in an e-mail interview that the reception urged educators to encourage students who would normally apply to schools like Wayne County Community College or Wayne State University to give the University of Michigan’s application a try.

In a school where 99 percent of the student population is African-American, according to www.publicschoolreview.com, Moss said that economic and academic barriers commonly discourage students capable of excelling at the University from even applying. In order to cut down these barriers, Moss said that more guidance counselors have been hired to “insure academic continuity and success for all of our students.”

Moss said that Coleman’s speech and the efforts of other University officials have helped to supplement the work of the school’s guidance counselors.

“They’ve encouraged those of us who are front-line players in this ever-changing landscape of public education to keep pushing our young charges to stay focused on their very attainable life by maximizing on all of their opportunities,” he said.

Moss said that while some Detroit high schools like Cass Technical High School, Renaissance High School, King High School and Communication and Media Arts High School are “prime areas for Detroit public school recruitment,” other schools including Cooley High School, Denby High School, Osborn College Preparatory Academy, Cody College Preparatory Upper School of Teaching and Learning and Central High School are not — meaning that students in the first group would be more likely to attend the University than those in the second group.

Kenyetta Wilbourn, principal of Denby High School in Detroit, wrote in an e-mail interview that she is satisfied with the support that the University has shown to her school through the years, but does have a few recommendations.

She suggested that the University put more emphasis on “teaching the students how to complete applications, test-taking skills, and how to matriculate at higher levels of learning.”

Ken Watson, the college and scholarship coordinator of Central High School, said that while the University currently helps his students prepare for the SAT and sends guest speakers to talk about the benefits of a college education, he envisions the University eventually playing a larger role in encouraging the school’s students to apply.

Central is currently undergoing a transformation to help the school better promote a college-going culture. Watson explained that Central aims to house educators from Michigan colleges directly within its school walls in order to give students first-hand access to information about colleges.