Grand Valley State University’s efforts to educate extend beyond the campuses in Allendale and Grand Rapids. GVSU’s 51 charter schools, located all around Michigan but mainly in the Detroit area, are giving young students more options for education and are receiving state recognition for their work.

In a study done by the Michigan State Board of Education, the collection of GVSU’s charter schools was shown to perform better than other schools, with charter school students having better understanding and growth than students in other schools.

GVSU News and Information reported that the charter schools, ranging from elementary to high schools, were assessed based on various aspects, including character, innovation and design.

Timothy Wood, special assistant to the president for GVSU charter schools, said the high achieving institutions are all due to strong administration and students.

“At GVSU we are recruiting national charter school operators to manage our schools,” Wood said. “(They) have successfully operated charter schools in other cities across the U.S. and have a formula.”

Wood said one reason for GVSU’s charter school performance is the students’ academic achievements.

“Our students are performing at a higher level than the other authorizers’ schools in the state,” he said.

Wood also credited the high performance levels to a staff of specialists who use their skills to assist students.

“We have people on our staff who serve as reading specialists, assessment specialists, instructional technology specialists, and class management specialists,” Wood said. “We believe there is a direct correlation in the quality of the operator of the school.”

The charter school teachers are familiar with educating children who live in poverty, which Wood said is the majority of students enrolled in GVSU charter schools – 65 percent of the 25,400 students are living in poverty.

Administrators at all GVSU charter schools have the task of ensuring federal and state laws are being followed, training teachers, board members and principles, and taking on a variety of other jobs.

Wood said the real goal of charter school staff is to provide opportunities for the students and choices for parents.

“(We provide) choice for parents who are in school districts that have failed children for decades by providing them with a neighborhood school that will provide a solid education and opportunity for students to receive a good education,” Wood said.

Admittance to the charter schools is highly sought – News and Information reported that 10,000 students are on waiting lists for various GVSU schools.

Michigan has 32 other charter schools in the state, all with the goal of creating a space for higher education and student opportunity.

GVSU’s Board of Trustees recently approved the addition of new charter schools.

According to GVSU’s charter school website, planning for the programs began in 1994 when the decision was made to start chartering and continued in 1995 with the execution of three GVSU charter schools. The last three schools were added to the list in 2011.

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