A grass-roots
organization in Taylor is preparing to launch a middle school for 235
students near Detroit Metropolitan Airport that will emphasize a
science, technology, engineering and math curriculum based on the
aviation and aerospace industries.
If the proposed Taylor
Academy of Aviation and Aerospace -- or TA3 for short -- grows as
expected, the school most likely will expand into high school grades --
similar to West Michigan Aviation Academy in Grand Rapids, said Lorilyn
Coggins, president of American Charter Education Services Inc. in
Fenton.
"We really do want to replicate what they're doing in curriculum and program activities," Coggins said.
Coggins said she has been
working with Detroit-area supporters for the past 18 months to launch
the academy, proposed to be built on a 2.5-acre vacant and improved
parcel owned by businessman Djamel Tiguert near the southwest corner of
Goddard and Telegraph roads.
"This project is ready to
go for 2014 opening," said Coggins, who has been involved in the
formation of 10 charter schools during the past 19 years. "If we have a
green light by first of April, the modular classrooms could be in place
and installed in time for a fall 2014 opening."
The academy would be using two modular buildings similar to the units used for The Dearborn Academy in Dearborn.
The school, which would
employ about 15 full- and part-time staff members initially, is less
than three miles from Metro Airport in Romulus.
Metro could serve as a
training opportunity for field trips, Coggins said. In addition, school
organizers envision the construction of a civilian airstrip for the
academy in Belleville that students could use as the program grows.
The group -- made up of
Tiguert, businesspeople from Taylor and two aircraft pilots -- has asked
Bay Mills Community College in the Upper Peninsula town of Brimley to
issue a charter to form TA3.
If it issues a charter,
the college would appoint a board of Taylor-area residents to oversee
administration of the academy and enter into contracts to launch the
school.
Bay Mills is also the
authorizer for West Michigan Aviation Academy. "We are hoping since they
authorized West Michigan, we can have our foot in the door, since we
are replicating one of their existing schools," Coggins said.
The Taylor group already
has cleared some hurdles. It received a federal planning grant from the
Michigan Department of Education to create the academy, and it will be
eligible for two years of federal implementation grant money
administered by the state.
That money can be used for expenses such as educational furniture and books, provided the school receives a charter.
Coggins said the group
already has proposed arrangements with the company that would lease the
modular classrooms and a company that would become the employer of
record to fund salaries for the school's staff until state per-pupil
payments could be made after October.
Coggins' company,
established in 2009, would act as the back-office support to help the
school meet its reporting requirements to the board and perform
professional development of staff.
"We learned a little bit by what West Michigan did," said Coggins, who has visited WMAA with members of the Taylor group.
"They opened with a ninth
grade, and it's a little more difficult if you bring in ninth-graders
and you haven't trained them up. So we are going to open with grades six
through eight to instill in the kids the motivation to be the best that
they can be."
http://www.crainsdetroit.com
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