GVSU Board of Trustees update

On April 29, the GVSU Board of Trustees voted on a handful of action items related to GVSU-authorized charter public schools.

Action items included:

Resolution for reauthorization of five schools
Resolution for a site addition at Flint Cultural Center Academy
Resolution for appointment or reappointment of charter schools board members to GVSU-authorized public charter school boards

Additional details for the actions items can be found by clicking on button below.

See more details about the Trustees' actions

People at the Michigan Capitol steps celebrating Charter Schools Week

Get ready for Charter Schools Week 2022!

Charter Schools Week brings parents, students, educators, board members, and advocates together to celebrate the charter school movement in Michigan.

Charter Schools Week 2022 will run from May 9-13. The Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) has planned in-person and virtual activities that schools and families can participate in throughout the week, including an event at the Capitol and specific social media challenges.

Help show off the innovation, passion and success that Michigan's charter schools offer students by joining the celebration!

Learn how to participate in Charter Schools Week 2022

GVSU charter high school leads U.S. News and World Report rankings

The 2022 Best High School Rankings by U.S. News & World Report we released in late April, and a GVSU-authorized charter school was named the top charter high school in the state.

Black River Public School was awarded the top spot, and also ranked as the 14th-best public high school in Michigan.

Canton Preparatory High School and Grand River Preparatory High School also placed well, respectively coming in at #3 and #5 for top charter high schools and #50 and #77 for top public high schools.

See full rankings

GVSU announces GVPrep, a new virtual dual enrollment program

More high school students can now get a head start on college thanks to GVPrep, a new dual enrollment program at GVSU.

GVPrep allows high school students to enroll in virtual college classes and earn college credit with GVSU while still in high school. The courses are free to students and families.

Students enrolled at GVPrep will receive personal support from a dedicated GVPrep Navigator throughout the entire experience, from their first inquiry, to GVPrep course selection, to academic support, to accessing unique GVPrep programming on and off campus. They will also be eligible for additional financial support if they choose to enroll at GVSU.

Students can start enrolling now for fall semester classes.

Learn more about GVPrep

Reminder about changes to NWEA reimbursement process with CSO

The CSO is committed to ensuring that all schools chartered by GVSU have access to the NWEA MAP Test at no cost. Beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year, the CSO is going to change how costs for this test are covered.

The School Aid budget (Sec. 104a) will provide a reimbursement of $12.50 per pupil for benchmark assessments. While the CSO will continue to manage the master contract with NWEA, schools are expected to apply for, and use, these grant funds to pay for test costs. Any that is not covered by this grant will be directly paid by the CSO.

Three things this means for schools:

Plan ahead. While your school will receive a $12.50 per pupil grant from the state to reimburse for costs, just like with other reimbursed costs, it is important to plan ahead to manage your cash-flow.
Work with the CSO on test counts. Just like in previous years, your school will submit test counts to the CSO, and the CSO will work with NWEA on your behalf. This year, schools will be prompted to submit their information via Epicenter.
Be ready to apply for the grant. Last year, the grant application was available in GEMS/MARS and was due in mid-December. Plan for a similar submission time frame.

Please contact GVSU School Support Specialist Jeff Maxwell with any questions.

student sitting outside at table with a laptop

CSO summer webinar lineup announced

Looking to get a head start on professional development for the 2022-2023 school year? The GVSU CSO will be offering webinars to help you strategize for the first day of school.

This summer's webinars will focus on the following topics:

The summer webinar schedule will start on June 9 and go to August 10. All webinars are eligible for SCECHs and are open to any educator from any school.

Board satisfaction survey results

Each year the GVSU CSO invites its charter school board members to provide feedback on how they feel GVSU is doing as their authorizer.

This year, 42% of our board members completed the 2022 Board Member Satisfaction survey. Highlights from the results include:

Overall satisfaction with GVSU = 98% agree or strongly agree
Satisfaction with GVSU School Performance Report = 90% agree or strongly agree
Satisfaction with new board member training = 91% agree or strongly agree

In the recommendations section, common board member requests for next year included advanced and specific training opportunities, more student support opportunities, and continuing to evaluate the School Performance Report format.

Board members can connect with their GVSU School Consultant if they have additional questions.

GVSU CSO researches charter school workforce demographics

The GVSU CSO recently partnered with Basis Policy Research to explore public data related to the demographics of teachers and administrators working in GVSU's charter schools.

The goal of the research was to get a snapshot of where the portfolio currently stands and further inform diversity-focused initiatives for K-12 education.

After reviewing the data, Basis Policy Research recommended that the GVSU CSO consider working with schools to highlight strategies they are using to recruit, hire and retain teachers of color. The researchers also recommended examining the feasibility of "grow your own" teacher programs.

Read the full workforce report

Exterior of Michigan Department of Education building

MDE updates and memos

The MDE has recently released memos on a number of topics, including:

You can always stay up to date with MDE communications by signing up to receive updates on topics of your choice.

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