GVSU trustees approve state's first cyber academy for grades K-12

Sharon Hanks

Grand Valley State University trustees have authorized the opening of Michigan's first cyber school for grades kindergarten through 12 this fall, offering a new and innovative alternative to parents throughout the state.

The new Michigan Virtual Charter Academy will offer a blended curriculum for up to 400 students in a program managed by K-12, Inc. of Herndon, Va., described by university officials as the national leader in online educational curriculum.

Students will spend half of their time with online instruction and the other half face-to-face with a Michigan certified teacher at Learning Centers located in community colleges throughout the state, says Tim Wood, GVSU's special assistant to president for charter schools.

"We're excited about getting started," Wood says. "We think the company we'll be working with, K-12 Inc. is the premier cyber charter school operator in the country. It's now in 28 states and 30 countries and has 65,000 students."

Wood notes there is definite unmet need among Michigan parents for a virtual charter school program. K-12 representatives told GVSU officials they had received more than 25,000 inquires from Michigan cities about starting a cyber school in the state.

K-12 offers a curriculum of 185 courses and 21,000 lessons for teachers. It would provide the virtual charter academy the necessary books, equipment and course materials.

"For this school to add value to the state, we expect the performance to be better than the state average, the same (high standard) as other charter schools," Wood says.

While some parents in the Grand Rapids Public Schools community question the success of a blended curriculum, Wood says K-12 has experienced a very successful academic track record since it started in 2000. "Their data indicates that reading scores are 21 percent above a state's average; math scores are 18 percent above the average," he says, noting it also has a 96 percent parental approval rating.

The program is an ideal option for parents of underserved students who don't have access to good charter schools or other viable options, he adds.

Michigan Virtual Charter Academy could eventually expand to 1,000 students if one-third of its enrollment is a "disenfranchised" student, such as a high school dropout, from either a public or private school, Wood says. Such students won't be hard to find. Michigan has about a 75 percent high school graduation rate, Wood says, with many urban schools experiencing a much lower rate.

Source: Tim Wood, GVSU's special assistant to president for charter schools, Grand Rapids.

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.