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Michigan's First Parent-Started School Planned in Ferndale

A Walled Lake mother of four and elementary teacher is planning to open the Great Lakes Anchor Academy on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale, the Oakland Press reports.

 

A new charter school may be coming to Ferndale next fall started by a Walled Lake mother and elementary school teacher, according to a recent article in the Oakland Press.

Amy Niebert is planning to open the Great Lakes Anchor Academy on Woodward in Ferndale in the fall of 2013. The school, which would be the first parent-started school in Michigan, would open with 300 sixth graders and involves a partnership with the Naval Sea Cadets under the U.S. Navy, according to the article.

“We have an unbelievable amount of interest,” Niebert told the Oakland Press.

The school plans to stress discipline and respect for education, and students will be required to wear Sea Cadet uniforms. See the full Oakland Press article for more information. You can also visit the Great Lakes Anchor Academy web site here.

Related Topics: Charter Schools, Great Lakes Anchor Academy, and new school

G. Lankin

1:50 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Where will this school be located? My guess is St. James. I truly hope they have ideas on how to manage the traffic situation! My family and I do not want another 'Edison Academy' debacle.

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Amy Neibert

4:47 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013

I understand that and can certainly appreciate your concerns. As a member of the community I would welcome any input you have regarding the traffic. Please watch for a community presentation coming up in late February/early March. We would love to meet with you and discuss :)

Easydude

8:53 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Why not open the school in Walled Lake? Charter schools are not serving the residents of Ferndale. Charter schools tend to bring in outside problems. I have often wondered, can a city put a limit on the number of charter schools?

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Amy Neibert

4:52 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013

Your concerns are valid. A charter school will also bring in additional revenue to the community by way of parents buying gas, shopping, etc. This particular charter school will be unique in the entire country. With that said, it is difficult to say exactly where the enrollment will be coming from. Please attend a community presentation in late February/early March to discuss these issues. I would very much appreciate your time and look forward to meeting you.

Brian Smith

10:28 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Ferndale already has two "charter" schools. One at Taft and one called University High School. No Ferndale kids go to either of them but the district gets the $$ per student to keep the rest of it afloat.

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Karen Twomey

10:55 am on Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Brian, neither University High nor Taft are charter schools.

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A Teacher

3:42 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Dont be so afraid of change people. Our current system is failing the children. These closed minded comments make me ill.

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Ardy

9:58 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Charter schools are a proven failure and only suck away fiduciary resources from public schools. It's another form of Republican Bleeding of the State as a means to break it so severely that their agenda will seem like chocolate.

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