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Lighthouse Academy Becomes A New Charter School
Holistic Approach, Unique Curriculum Offered to Educationally At-Risk Students

Lighthouse Academy, the community’s first “street school” dedicated exclusively for expelled students, will expand its offerings for at-risk youth through a new charter school agreement with Ferris State University (FSU).

With its new charter status, Lighthouse Academy will expand for the 2008-2009 school year from its current enrollment of 48 expelled middle school and high school students to approximately 100 expelled, court-placed youth and special education students with behavioral issues.

As an FSU charter school, Lighthouse Academy becomes Grand Rapids ’ first “strict discipline academy” (SDA); charter schools with traditional education and the purpose of teaching at-risk youth. This is the second such SDA charter school in Michigan . FSU has operated the Clara Barton Academy in Detroit since the Fall of 2007.

“ Lighthouse Academy has always filled a critical gap in the community,” said Heidi Cate, principal of Lighthouse Academy . “By becoming a charter school, we can serve even more at-risk youth. These are young people who have run out of educational options.”

According to Cate, an estimated 1,000 Kent County youth are currently not attending school due to expulsions, suspensions or truancy. Lighthouse Academy offers a holistic, individualized teaching model offering smaller class sizes, professional mentors and on-site mental health workers and case management services for students and their families. Additionally, customized learning opportunities ensure that students benefit from working at their own pace.

Lighthouse Academy was founded in January 2005 and serves expelled students from 15 to 20 Kent County school districts. In its first year of operation, students’ grade-point averages increased from a collective 1.9 to 3.83 and attendance increased from 30 percent to 89 percent. Furthermore, 95 percent have been able to get back on track educationally.

“ Lighthouse Academy is a proven program and an ideal fit with our vision of ensuring that all youth, including the most disenfranchised, have access to a quality education,” said Ronald Rizzo, FSU’s associate director of charter schools.

Lighthouse Academy also offers benefits to the community. According to Cate, a youth in juvenile detention costs the community $40,000 per year. Furthermore, 90 percent of all incarcerated individuals have been expelled from, were truant or have dropped out of school.

Ken Van Woerkom, supervisor of Grand Rapids ’ 17 th Circuit Court Family Division, agrees with the value of Lighthouse Academy .

“I deal every day with the problems of our kids, and school problems are one of the main issues,” he said. “It is good to know that they have a resource like Lighthouse Academy .”

"Since coming to Lighthouse Academy, I have changed a lot.  (It) has helped me raise my grades, stay out of fights and plan for my life after high school and it has also changed my outlook on school as a whole."

                                                                         - LA Student

Learn more about Lighthouse Academy

"Now that I've come to Lighthouse, I have the confidence to say that I love school, and to come and try everyday.  I feel I am just as good as everyone else."

                                                 - LA Student

"The best part about Lighthouse Academy is that it's not like other schools...You get to set your own goals and work at your own pace, even if it does take a while to achieve that goal."

                                                - LA Student