Don Cooper, Assistant Vice President for Charter Schools at GVSU, has accepted a new role outside of the university and will transition from the GVSU CSO in mid-July. 

Don has been a valuable member of the CSO team for the past five and a half years. During his time here, he has made significant contributions to the CSO's mission of improving educational opportunities for all students that include:

Don and Rob Kimball, Ed.D., who is the associate vice president and executive associate to the president at GVSU, are working closely to ensure a smooth transition. The CSO will launch a national search to fill the position. Rob previously served as the CSO’s leader from 2017-2021, and will serve as the CSO’s interim director during the search.

Schools should continue to work closely with their GVSU School Support Specialist and GVSU School Consultant on any items during the upcoming leadership transition.

Starting this fall, GVSU undergraduate education students will be eligible to receive a scholarship to complete their student-teaching requirements in a GVSU-authorized charter public school in Greater Grand Rapids.

This scholarship expansion builds upon the Detroit Student Teacher Scholarship, adding 8 new placement spots for future educators studying at Grand Valley.

The CSO is excited to connect GVSU's charter public schools with more teacher placement opportunities that strengthen the K-12 educator pipeline.

Danielle Anderson, Lakeytra Coleman and Tiffani Wilkins all attended Detroit Premier Academy when they were kids. Now, they have returned to DPA to inspire learners who sit in the same classrooms they were in not long ago.

The trio of teachers were featured recently for going back home to give kids from their childhood community the same type of attention and inspiration they received in order to thrive later in life.

More than 500 graduating seniors from GVSU-authorized charter public schools have been admitted to GVSU this year, marking a 70% increase from the number of students admitted at this time in 2022. 

The CSO is looking forward to welcoming hundreds of these students to campus this fall as first-year Lakers!

During National Charter Schools Week, the CSO announced the winners of this year's Photo Contest. It was a close competition, with more than 50 incredible pictures submitted.

The top three overall prizes went to West Michigan Aviation Academy, Cornerstone Jefferson-Douglass Academy, and Byron Center Charter School. Other schools won prizes for subcategories like "Love for Literacy" and "Innovative Instruction."

Thank you to all schools who participated this year!

There are still a few spots available for educators who want to be part of a Teacher Advisory Group in partnership with the National Constitution Center (NCC) for the 2023-2024 school year.

Teachers who join the group will get exclusive support and resources to help teach the U.S. Constitution. The advisory teachers would then be part of a national network that helps the NCC shape the materials offered to K-12 educators. As a thank you, advisory teachers would also receive a trip to Philadelphia at the end of the year.

The opportunity is available to high school teachers in GVSU-authorized charter schools who focus on social studies, government, history, or related topics.

Get ahead on your professional education for the 2023-2024 school year by attending one (or many!) of our summer webinars. Topics will include:

Summer sessions run from June 8 - August 10. Sign up today to secure your spot!

As school boards prepare to discuss budgets for the next school year, the CSO would like to remind all boards that budget hearing notices must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation at least 6 days prior to the budget hearing. The notice should list the date, time, and location of the hearing, as well as where a copy of the proposed budget can be located.

If you have any questions, please contact your GVSU School Consultant.

The Mastermind Network is the best place to get breaking news and updates related to Michigan’s charter schools. The GVSU CSO encourages all school leaders, board members, and charter school staff to join the network to stay up-to-date on special notices and opportunities available to charter schools.

The Michigan Department of Education recently released memos on a number of topics, including:

You can also always receive MDE communication by signing up for news releases based on topics of your choice.