Grand Rapids gets new public high school, with teaching and administrative jobs

Deborah Johnson Wood

When Creston Christian Elementary School moves to the site of the original Ottawa Hills High School this fall as part of the consolidation of Grand Rapids Christian's city elementary schools, it won't leave a huge, vacant building in the neighborhood.

Wellspring Preparatory High School will open September 7 at 1031 Page Street NE. The school is a charter high school operated by Prep Net, LLC and will operate under the founding principles of the National Heritage Academies in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids entrepreneur J. C. Huizenga founded both companies.

Wellspring's launch generates seven full-time-equivalent teaching positions, a full-time administrator job and a full-time office position.

The school will accept 100 freshmen for the 2010-2011 school year and will add a grade level each year. The school is a sister school of Grand River Preparatory High School that opened in 2008.

"We have four National Heritage Academy charter K through 8 schools around the Wellspring location: Walker Academy, Chandler Woods Charter Academy, Knapp Academy, Ridge Park Charter Academy," says Dave Angerer, principal of Grand River Prep. Angerer will work closely with Wellspring Prep during its first year of operation.

"Those students currently do not have a charter high school option. The new school will enter into relationship with those feeder schools, and with the NHA's focus on high performance programs, it's a really good fit for the high school," Angerer says.

Studies include four years of math and English with advance placement in calculus and statistics and language and literature; two years of foreign language with an opportunity for advance placement in Spanish; and opportunities for advance placement in government, chemistry and physics. Seniors will be required to make successful application to college.

Interested parents and students are invited to attend any of three informational meetings. Each begins at 6:30:
Feb. 1 – Walker Charter Academy
Feb. 2 – Chandler Woods Charter Academy
Feb. 3 – Knapp Charter Academy

Source: Dave Angerer, Grand River Preparatory Academy; John Zimmerman, Seyferth & Associates

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Have a development news tip for Rapid Growth? Contact us here.