GRPS not set to commit to proposed charter school

Saturday, July 21, 2007By Dave Murray and Beth Loechler The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- A proposed middle-high charter school in downtown Grand Rapids should be run by Grand Rapids Public Schools, a member of an elite group of businessmen backing the school said Friday.

"We'd like to figure out a way to do this cooperatively with GRPS," John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam Corp., said of the plan to create Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy, which would be modeled after a successful charter school in Detroit.

But if the city schools are not interested in the group's offer to replicate such a school here, Kennedy and others said they will take another route.

The group, known as CEO Partnership for Urban Education, also is a finalist for a charter through Grand Valley State University.

Focused on September

"If we want to get this started in September 2008, which is our objective, we have to look at every avenue we can," Kennedy said.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Bernard Taylor and school board members said they have been talking to the group but are not ready to commit.

Several board members said they were surprised by the group's application to Grand Valley and were concerned by the idea of a charter high school siphoning away city students.

"I'm personally disappointed they would go that route because we've been trying to work with the CEOs," Arnie Smithalexander said. "They need to give Bernard a chance, because if they go outside for a charter, it would undercut anything he's been trying to do."

A successful program


A delegation that included Taylor, four school board members and Mayor George Heartwell toured one of the Detroit schools earlier this year with several members of the CEO group.

Kennedy said the group recognizes a capital campaign would be involved in starting the school, "and we would undertake it, as CEOs , to raise the money necessary to have this school, regardless of how it is started."

The proposed school would start with 64 sixth-graders and add a grade a year for six years, culminating in a 448-student middle-high school.


The Detroit school, which graduated 95 percent of its first class in June, stresses small class sizes, strong ties between students and teachers, no grades and hands-on learning.

It is housed in a $15 million building donated by philanthropists Bob and Ellen Thompson of Plymouth.

The CEO group, which began meeting with Grand Rapids superintendents in the late 1990s, was created to strengthen the city schools, Kennedy said. But as community leaders, the group also has an obligation to the Grand Rapids community as a whole.

"I'm unwilling to say we aren't going to do it if we can't get cooperation from GRPS," Kennedy said.

Also in the CEO group are Alticor President Doug DeVos, Alticor Chairman Steve Van Andel, Steelcase CEO James Hackett, Steelcase Director of Corporate and Community Relations Brian Cloyd and Grand Action Co-Chairman David Frey.

Heartwell said he "encourages" the group to strike a deal with the public schools, then look for ways to spread innovative practices to the rest of the district.

Taylor said he likes the idea of a university prep school but also has been approached about a fine arts school and single-gender buildings. He wants to take time to create a process where such ideas are studied.

Several school board members said they were impressed by what they saw in Detroit but question whether some of the school's features could be economically viable as part of the district, with its unionized teachers and mandated contributions to state pension funds.

"These guys want to do something wonderful, and they're feeling some anxiousness to get it going," said Treasurer Catherine Mueller, who toured one of the Detroit schools.

"But these guys have to realize that this is different than taking a piece of steel and banging it into something. Education is something that will affect students for the rest of their lives, and we have one chance to get it right."

Send e-mail to the author: dmurray@grpress.com