Archive for the ‘School Developments’ Category
Rural Education Matters Receives Notice of Acceptance by Grand Valley State University for Elevation to Phase II of the Application Process .
Grand Valley State University has Awarded Rural Education Matters Phase II Application Status to Open the Charlton Heston Academy in St. Helen, Michigan.
- St. Helen, MI, June 9, 2010: The Michigan, Non-Profit Corporation named Rural Education Matters (REM) received notice today from Grand Valley State University that its charter school application to open a new K-8 public school in St. Helen, Michigan has been accepted and elevated to Phase II status. While movement to Phase II status does not guarantee that REM will ultimately receive a charter authorization, their board president, Jennifer Jarosz feels confident that their application are worthy of consideration. According to a letter from Grand Valley received earlier today, REM was one of eight applications of 57 that were considered in the last review cycle. Jarosz said she thought this notice was a reaffirmation of the efforts of local community members that comprise the majority of the Charlton Heston Academy development team.
- Members of the Charlton Heston Academy development team have been working with a number of local community members, MidWest Management Group, Incorporated from Commerce Township, Michigan, and Essayons Consulting Services from Lansing, since November 2009 to create a new K-8 charter school in St. Helen, Michigan. This initiative was spawned when the Roscommon Area Public School District decided to close the St. Helen Elementary School at the end of this school year, thereby leaving the St. Helen without a public school. If successful with GVSU, the new Charlton Heston Academy will open in September 2011.
Rural Education Matters – Public Announcement
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April 27, 2010
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Legislature Voting to Include Charters in MPSERS
Please contact your elected officials and maintain charter autonomy & flexibility Members of the state legislature will be voting THIS WEEK on SB 1227, a bill which intends to reform the public school employee pension system and save school districts millions of dollars. However, the version of the bill passed by the State House of Representatives this morning MANDATES the inclusion of all charter school teachers into MPSERS, regardless of who hires them!
As a charter school advocate, you know this language would be a huge detriment to the charter school movement. There are currently 454,000 active and retired teachers in MPSERS, and this bloated retirement system is in serious financial trouble. The employer contribution necessary to support MPSERS is going up to 19% of total payroll this year, and the House-passed version of the bill will force roughly 4,000 non-participating charter schools teachers into the system to help foot the bill. The cost of bailing out this pension program could bankrupt charter schools and leave charter students and families without educational choices.
Help MAPSA save your charter school’s autonomy and financial future! We need you to contact your Senator and Representative TODAY and let them know:
Please click here to contact your state Senator and State Representative — and let then know you care about this issue!
You can help to protect the independence and quality of your charter school!
Use your voice to keep charters with CHOICE |
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The Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) has been the unified voice of the public charter school movement in Michigan since 1996. MAPSA represents over 110,000 students, 5,000 teachers, dozens of authorizers and more than 50 education service providers working in 243 public charter schools in the state. MAPSA assists the state’s public charter schools in their mission to deliver achievement, choice and accountability through our advocacy, communications, technical assistance and professional development services. For additional information, please visit www.charterschools.org MAPSA
215 S. Washington Square, Suite 135 Lansing, MI 48933 517.374.9167 p | 517.374.9197 f www.charterschools.org |
This e-mail was sent from Michigan Association of Public School Academies (mapsa@charterschools.org) and forwarded to REM Newsletter Subscribers.
Thank you to everyone that has been with us through this venture. It is an exciting time for St. Helen.
Be sure to visit Rural Education Matters Online.
Meet the new School Board Candidates April 29, 2010 7 pm at the Richfield Township Building
Next Board Meeting is on 5-6-2010 at 7pm at the Richfield Township Hall
Don’t forget to get out and vote for School Board Trustees and Millage Renewals on May 4th. Absentee ballots are available at the township hall.
We released an official press release to many of our local and surrounding area television, radio, and print news sources. Below is a copy of that release:
| Contact: Jennifer Jarosz
Rural Education Matters Phone:989-632-1114 Cell:989-578-8669 |
P.O. Box 838
St. Helen, MI 48656
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Rural Education Matters |
Press Release
Rural Education Matters receives $160,000 Federal Charter School Planning Grant Award.
The State of Michigan has awarded Rural Education Matters, a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation with a $160,000 Charter School Planning Grant to Open the Charlton Heston Academy in St. Helen, Michigan.
- St. Helen, MI, March 18, 2010: The Michigan, Non-Profit Corporation named Rural Education Matters (REM) applied for and received an initial award of $160,000 to plan for the opening of a new K-8 public school in St. Helen, Michigan. While REM has not yet received a charter authorization, their leader, Jennifer Jarosz feels confident that their applications are worthy of consideration and expect to hear from authorizers in the upcoming days and weeks as the window for accepting applications close. “When you receive 100 out of a possible 104 points on the grant scoring rubric, you must be doing something right.” REM has applied for a charter authorization from a number of local and state entities including Kirtland Community College, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Ferris State University and Grand Valley State University.
- Members of the Charlton Heston Academy development team have been working with a number of local community members, MidWest Management Group, Incorporated from Commerce Township, Michigan, and Essayons Consulting Services from Lansing, since November 2009 to create a new K-8 charter school in St. Helen, Michigan with a desired opening date of September 2010. This initiative was spawned when the Roscommon Area Public School District decided to close the St. Helen Elementary School at the end of this school year, thereby leaving the St. Helen without a public school.
As we get close to the official announcement of the approval of our charter school grant we have stepped up our research and negotiation on facilities. We are speaking with property owners, government officials, and lenders/investors.
Obviously we would like to lease/purchase the current school from either the DNR or RAPS as that is our school. A school that has been paid for by the tax payers. It certainly makes the most sense…to most.
Alternatively we have and continue to explore the possibility of other options we have available to us.
1. The Township Board has passed a resolution to support the school and to lease property on Airport Rd. for the sum of $1. If we pursue this option then we would be leasing/purchasing 2 10,000 plus modular buildings equipped for classrooms and school facilities.
2. We have spoken with the owner of Erb Lumber and have negotiated on cost to purchase the building and land. This is certainly an appealing option in lieu of not being able to purchase our current school. As with every option there are pros and cons and in this case the downside of course is the time frame in which we would need to complete renovations. We do believe that this can be done. The main building would house approximately 7-8 classrooms for the younger grades and we would have one 10-12 room modular placed on the property for the upper grades. What is so appealing is that the large building out back can eventually be renovated to house a gymnasium/cafeteria with kitchen facilities.
3. The third option is we have inquired on multiple vacant parcels. This is the last choice as we would need to start from scratch but with temp buildings it is still a viable option.
So in summary we do continue to move forward. It is unfortunate that delays have been put in place regarding our existing school building and that there is a chance that the building will sit empty..potentially for years…when REM is prepared to purchase it for our kids. No matter though…we will be announcing soon where our new school will be located.
On February 15, 2010 REM entered into a contract with Midwest Management Group Inc. Midwest is a provider of Payroll, Human Resource, 401(k), and Health Insurance services for Charter Schools, Public Schools and Businesses.
