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Photo by Christine Laughren
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Dr. Wayne Millette, Director of New Beginnings Academy in Ypsilanti helps student Cheyenne Teachoot with a math problem. Millette said he is normally busy with administrative work but he also enjoys making his rounds through the building and spending time in the classrooms.
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Each year since 1994, at least one charter school has joined ranks with customary public schools in Michigan to compete for students, teachers and administrators.
Although some believe charter schools, or public school academies, are a strain on traditional public schools, others say it's all about choice.
There are nearly 230 state-supported public school academies in Michigan. A public school academy must be authorized by a public university, a community college, a K-12 local education agency or an intermediate school district, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
Like regular public schools, a public school academy is funded on a per-pupil basis through the State School Aid Act. However, by law, "this amount may not exceed the per-pupil base foundation received by the local school district where the PSA is geographically located."
Charter schools, however, are not the same as public schools.
"What I see through the charter schools system are (taxpayers) funding one kind of private school through public dollars," said Ypsilanti resident Jim Karnopp.
Karnopp's 14-year-old son, Forrest, attends Fortis Academy in Ypsilanti. The seventh-grader said he attends Fortis because regular schools wouldn't give him the special attention he needs in reading.
In fact, the public school system told Karnopp that his son would have to be enrolled in special education classes if Forrest were to attend.
"I didn't want to put him in regular public school and have him sit in special education all day," Karnopp said.
Open since 2004, Fortis Academy is among four public school academies in she Ypsilanti area. It's authorized by Bay Mills Community College. However, like many public school academies, Fortis doesn't offer a program beyond seventh grade. Karnopp's son will have to find a new school next year when he enters eighth grade.
The pros and cons
According to the Education Commission of the States, 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have signed charter school legislation into law since 1991.
Michigan passed public school academy legislation in 1993 and it became effective in January 1994. Since that time, the academies have been a controversial topic as people try to measure the pros and cons of charter schools.
Advocates of charter schools say they present the community with choice, they create performance competition and they are educationally innovative. Opponents argue, public school academies drain recourses from traditional public schools, segregate students along racial and class lines, and lack accountability for student performance.
State Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-54th District, said charter schools haven't demonstrated they are worth the drain from the public school system.
"I haven't seen any study that would change my reluctance to put them in place," Smith said. "We see no greater academic achievement on the whole, nor are they creating any new teaching techniques that couldn't be introduced to the public schools."
Not everyone is as reluctant when it comes to charter schools. Even some public school administrators say public school academies can be beneficial to communities.
Dennis McComb, superintendent of the Milan Area School District, said his district will sometimes work with South Arbor Charter Academy, a K-8 school also located in Milan.
McComb said the academy will sometimes use his district's buildings for larger events. He also said administrators from Milan High School will often make recruitment presentations to outgoing eighth-graders at the academy.
"If you want to make it a positive situation, you should work with (charter schools), not against them," he said.
McComb said South Arbor Charter Academy, which is authorized by Central Michigan University, has been a good neighbor to his district.
"I don't look at it as a bad thing," he said. "I look at it as parents having options."
Lynn Cleary, acting superintendent at Lincoln Consolidated School District in Ypsilanti, agrees that parents should be able to pick the best options for their children.
"As long as (charter schools) are held to the same standards as the public schools, I'm all for variety and choices," she said.
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are state-supported public schools. In Michigan three kinds are allowed:
Public school academies chartered under Part 6A of the revised school code.
Urban high school academies chartered under Part 6C of the revised school code to operate within Detroit.
Strict discipline academies chartered under Public Act 23 of 1999 to serve suspended, expelled or incarcerated young people.
Charter schools may include grades K-12 or any combination of those grades. They may not charge tuition, and must serve anyone who applies to attend, and may not screen out students based on race, religion, sex or test scores.
Students are selected randomly for admission if the number of students applying exceeds the school's enrollment capacity.
Charter teachers must be certified and highly qualified; charter students are assessed annually as part of the Michigan Education Assessment Program. Charter schools cannot be religiously affiliated.
Source: Michigan Department of Education
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