Benito Juarez Academy in Saginaw is a high school meant to address the alarming rate of Hispanic dropouts from area schools. More than 90 percent of 11th-graders at Aisha Shule Academy in Detroit earned state endorsements on the 1999 MEAP test in math and writing. Graduates are pursuing degrees at universities such as Howard, Stanford, Wayne State and Michigan. At the David Ellis Academy in Detroit, students pay rent, car payments and utility bills with personal checks. They receive simulated paychecks based on grade point averages.
Many charter schools use thematic approaches to ignite children's interest in school and learning.
Students at Livingston Technical Academy spend five weeks each semester doing internships at local business. All classes are flush with business principals, including the writing of technical manuals in English. Chatfield School in Lapeer puts primary emphasis on writing. Students produce a newspaper, keep journals, do extensive research papers and communicate with parents via weekly letters. Their writings appear in the local daily newspaper.