GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — This year marks 30 years since the start of charter schools in the state of Michigan. One of the first ones established across the state is still open and is here in West Michigan.
13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke with a former student of that school who was called on once before to help mark the school’s success.
“For that picture, I very much remember it, they asked me to raise my hand like I really wanted to answer the question,” said Zach Leipham, one of the state’s first charter school students.
30 years ago, he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine when the publication covered the opening of West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science in Grand Rapids.
“I was seven, first grade. I can remember my first day of school, being in the classroom, not wanting my parents to leave just like any other kid,” said Leipham.
Kerri Barrett is the chief communications officer with Choice Schools Associates. She said, “Charter schools are public schools. They are tuition free, public schools open and available to all students. If you live in an area of a charter school, you can attend there.”
In 1994, Michigan’s first nine charter schools opened. Only four are still open, including West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science.
“Everything about West Michigan Academy I’ve always loved,” said Leipham. “We were always outside, always learning about nature.”
“It’s expected that you’re going to have a little dirt on your uniform when you come home, and I think parents are excited and that’s why they send them here to West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science," Barrett said.
“Anytime I go through hiking trails on anything it just reminds me of being a kid here, getting exposed to nature and learning about it,” said Leipham. “I really feel like I’m like eight years old anytime I’m in the woods.”
With a 62-acre campus, students are able to learn through discovery.
“They have a garden. So, they will be planting and harvesting in the fall. They take the maple trees in the spring and make maple syrup,” said Barrett.
“My imagination could just grow, and my mind could, you know – it was awesome. I was excited about different things and not tied down to a desk all the time," Leipham explained.
Even just during a normal day at school, “high school students are dissecting flat worms to understand that a little bit better. We have students investigating furs to understand the adaptations of the fur and how they utilize it in nature. And then we have making apple cider. I mean, what a Michigan thing to do in the fall,” said Barrett.
The school has changed some since opening 30 years ago when it first became the face of Michigan charter schools.
Leipham talked about what it was like posing for Time Magazine.
“I just raised my hand like I wanted to answer the question.” Adding that, “When it came out, I remember, my family was calling. I had some family that lived in Texas and you pick up the phone, ‘oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.’”
School leaders say charter schools offer a different approach to learning for West Michigan families.
“I think charter schools are so important in our educational system because it gives an opportunity for parents to choose for their child,” said Barrett.
The school has students in pre-k through 12th grade.