Summit Academy Charter School District
Summit Academy is a K-12 school system chartered by Central Michigan University and enrollment is open to all Michigan residents. There are two elementary schools, Summit Academy Flat Rock which offers K-7 and houses the district childcare program, and Summit Academy North Elementary which offers K-5 education and is located in Romulus. Also located in Romulus are the middle and high School. Although busing is not offered for students from home to school, busing is available for families with children enrolled at both the Flat Rock and Romulus locations. Rather than rushing from one part of town to the next, parents can conveniently drop all students off at the Flat Rock location and buses will transport older children to the middle or high school and back when school is dismissed. A car pool sign up sheet is also available for parents wishing to make arrangements with other Summit families living near one another. As mentioned above, there are childcare and preschool programs available at the Flat Rock location for infants 6 weeks of age and up. Prices range dependent upon varying factors, but assuming a 40 hour week for one 3 year old child you could expect a weekly cost of $155.00. Discounts are available for each additional child as well. After school latchkey is also available at the Flat Rock location for school age children enrolled at Summit Academy Flat Rock for the weekly rate of $30.00 and is available beginning at 6:00AM and ending at 6:00PM . Who could beat that price?!
Many parents wonder though about the level of education and care their students might receive at a chartered school. I certainly did and with all of the mixed ideas I was hearing about chartered schools I was left confused and with more questions than answers. In my experiences with this particular school though I was surprised by all it had to offer. Grade levels are mixed up a little bit so that each child is learning what they are capable of which I hadn’t expected nor had I ever heard of before. I didn’t know how to feel about this concept until in kindergarten my then 5 year old came home singing “1 plus 1 is 2, 1 plus 2 is 3” and so on. When I asked how she had learned that she replied with “The big kids(1st grader’s) in my class were doing big kid math today and I asked if I could help too so Mrs. So and So said I could do math with them today”. I had come to learn children in close, but differing grades were taught together because as we all know…No two children are alike nor do they learn at the same pace. We also know that children always look up to older children, therefore by grade levels being intermingled, a student who has fallen behind in a subject can be caught up without even realizing they had fallen behind to begin with and younger students who are ready and capable to learn above their grade level expectations can do so and the only thing each child realizes is that they are in class learning just like anybody else. There are also specialists available for special needs students. If your child has any disability or illness that may cause difficulty in keeping up or requires a different form of learning, the school has specialists who will work closely with your child all day, spending time in the classroom along side your child as well as one and one in quiet areas of the school throughout the day. There are also special education programs for children requiring more attention than average students, but less than those with disabilities. At the high school level, children can make arrangements to attend local colleges while still in high school. This program is offered nationally and is known as Dual Enrollment, but what makes this school’s dual enrollment program a little different is that some of the classes offered can be taken at the home school building and count towards both high school and college credits. Summit Academy really goes out of their way to accommodate everybody.
One of the many questions I had when I had first heard about chartered schools was whether they offered clubs, sports, and other activities that were available in the public school system. Summit Academy offers a large range of clubs, activities, sports, and more. Football, ice hockey, floor hockey, basketball, gymnastics, drama, choir, band, and chimes are just a few of the many choices. There are also programs I hadn’t been offered nor had I heard about when I was a student. Offerings such as job corp, VICA which stands for Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, Lego robotics, and even an electric car program. Some of the offerings differ from building to building or from grade to grade so definitely check in with the office about anything of interest.
Another factor I had never experienced before or would have expected in any school setting was the level of care offered by the staff. To this day I wonder how it had ever come to the attention of the school, but after an upsetting family event I was tastefully and confidentially pulled aside by the school principal. She had heard that our family might be having a rough time with personal situations and asked if there was anything the school could offer to help. I declined the offer, but the offer itself was enough to make all the difference. She also wished us her luck and made sure I knew that if ever, anything was needed to please let her know. She approached the subject in a caring, yet nonintrusive way and assured me that all identities would be kept confidential should I ever seek the school’s assistance. At Summit Academy, the staff do not consider themselves just a school system, but one huge family consisting of all students, parents, and staff within the district.
Up until this point in life, I hadn’t dealt with public schools in years. Not since I had last been in school, and I had never dealt with any school from the parental position until now so I had thought that a lot in education had changed over the years. I didn’t necessarily see it as THIS school per say, but schooling as a whole that had changed. When it was brought to my attention that a nearby public school excelled in comparison to not only Summit, but nearly all Michigan schools and Michigan expectations, I transferred my child over thinking that the school system had changed and that I wanted the best education possible for my child. I thought I was doing the right thing. Boy was I wrong. Although there are a lot of benefits to this particular public school, in only weeks I have seen my child’s interest in school and learning decline and increasingly she and I are getting worn out and frustrated. Not only is she now losing interest, she is also falling behind and feeling discouraged. On more than one occasion I have talked with the teacher about how we can work together to make this situation better, as well as have asked about programs or groups to help my child understand and keep up with the faster than fast paced learning but haven’t had much luck. The teacher has been wonderful in giving me ideas or tips to use at home and the open communication she extends to parents is great, but that has been the extent of it. At this particular public school, there aren’t really any programs to offer assistance and if your child falls behind, then he or she is behind. As a parent it falls completely into your own hands. I do all that I can to be involved and help, but I do not have a teaching license nor the patience to be teaching. I also had the belief that as parents we should reinforce what is taught at school and assist our children in learning, but the main basis of a child’s education was the reason schools existed. Students are just students it seems and the numbers are more important than the actual education. Although I do want my child to be pushed to excel, I do not want her to be pushed to the point of misery. If after one last meeting with the public school staff and administrators we cannot come to a resolution, my child and I will be coming home to Summit Academy.
Keep in mind though, that these are just two particular schools. Not all chartered schools are great, just as all public schools are not bad. The needs of your family might be different from my own. Talk to community members about experiences with different schools, search the Internet for ideas about where each school stands academically, but don’t focus on the numbers alone. Just use them as a reference. Also be sure to make arrangements with local schools to discuss what is being taught and the typical workload of students and be sure to ask the “what if’s”. What if things are moving too fast for my child? How might the school help us out? Are there after school programs or teachers that will volunteer their time to assist? Are there sports and activities available? Some schools may even allow you to sit in a classroom for a short amount of time too see first hand what a day at school might be like for your child if you were to choose that school system. As parents we have so much pressure on us to do this, do that, make sure of this and that, but nobody can know what is really right for your family except you. Don’t get caught up into what you should be doing rather than what is best for you. Good luck on your search and when you have found the perfect school for your children, you will know that you have.
For more information about Summit Academy or the programs offered, please call the central office at (734) 379- 9766 or visit them on the web at www.summit-academy.com . To research your school or any other please visit www.schoolmatters.com but keep in mind that these are just numbers for parents to assist in their search for their “perfect” school.
