Northern Michigan University is bringing up the number of its charter schools to six, with the addition of the South Pointe Scholars Charter Academy in Ypsilanti.
South Pointe will open in the fall of 2012, according to the university, and is a newly-built facility that will start out with kindergarten through fifth grade, with the option of adding up to eighth grade later.
It's the third downstate charter school for NMU; it'll be managed by National Heritage Academies, which also manages the other two, Burton Glen and Walton.
Northern was allowed to charter a new school because Walton was designated as a school of excellence, which means the university is doing a good enough job with its charter schools to open another one, according to state requirements.
The district in which South Pointe will open, Willow Run, was named to the state's list of lowest-achieving schools in 2010, according to
Annarbor.com, so it's likely there will be demand among parents in the district for other education options like this new charter school.
Its other three charter schools are all in the U.P.: there's North Star Academy in Marquette, Bahweting Anishnabe PSA in Sault Ste. Marie, and Nah Tah Wahsh PSA in Hannahville.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Northern Michigan University
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