Students of Catherine Ferguson Academy were arrested after a few hours of what they had hoped to be a week-long occupation of their school April 15, protesting its potential conversion to a charter school.

“I was scared at first but I’m not anymore,” Catherine Becker, senior at CFA, said while her child Da-Mire Simmons slept on the desk before her. “We’re staying here, and I’m staying.”

CFA is a special needs school designed for students who are mothers.

According to By Any Means Necessary coordinator Tristan Taylor, the goal is to occupy one of the rooms for the duration of spring break.

“We have four demands,” Taylor said from outside the school surrounded by other BAMN members and social organizations. “Keep all schools open, keep all schools publicly operated, no retaliation against the students involved and restore all arts, music and other cut programs.”

Several of the students inside said they feared converting CFA into a charter school would bring an end the school’s vital role in the community —— catering to teenage mothers. Tiffini Baldwin, a graduate of CFA, said those running the school would look at how to save costs by cutting the day care center and other programs.

“If they change to a charter school, there’s a huge chance the private owner would want to change the program,” Baldwin said.

Out back, the school has urban garden and farm complete with chickens, ducks, one large turkey and a horse. Its current and former students said CFA provides a hands-on agricultural education that is not available elsewhere. Several of them found their situation to be a blessing in disguise.

“Catherine Ferguson taught me more than a regular … high school would teach me,” Baldwin said.

Already the school has had to drop several key positions like its psychiatrist, social worker and college counselor.

“It’s not fair to us,” Tayanna Duncan, freshman, said. “And it’s not fair to our kids. What’s there to look forward to if they tell you can’t? I don’t have anybody to look after my kid.”

As the day progressed, more supporters parked their cars and stood outside with signs and banners, enduring the cold breeze. Several were Detroit Public School students from other high schools displaying unity. The students waved through the CFA’s windows at one another.

At that time, it was unclear whether DPS or CFA’s principal knew about the occupation. Calls to DPS were not returned.

BAMN members brought in food and gallons of water for the students, preparing for a possibly needed barricade. Donna Stern, Midwest coordinator for BAMN, said they plan on setting up a tent city just outside the school.

“We are going to be setting up tents and people are going to be staying around the clock,” Stern said. “I think they actually have a situation where they may need to be barricaded into a room.

“If there’s a lot of people down here, it’s less likely they’ll be less likely to arrest them.”

Adding a fifth goal, Stern wants students to be able to determine the character of the schools.

“And by that we mean, what kind of programs they will have,” she said.

Stern said police entered the school using a master key around 7 p.m., only four hours after they had begun the occupation. Videographer film was taken and not returned.

The students were ticketed and then later released, Stern said.

As of this time The South End has not contacted the Detroit Police Department.