The Five Essential Elements

First, these schools are small schools.  These schools in general have higher graduation rates, higher rates of college enrollment, and higher teacher satisfaction.  At University Preparatory Academy all of these elements are in progress.  Each student is placed in an Advisory (their main class) of 16 students, who stay together with the same advisor (teacher) for several years.  This promotes powerful relationships among the students and their advisor.  “An advisory” explains Mr. Pare, a UPA advisor since 2001, “is a support group that helps the student in learning and growing”. With this system no student “falls through the cracks”.  Students also form strong relationships with one another through these advisories.  As one UPA parent, Tracy Price (with three children in the school) said, “It [the advisory] becomes more like a family. The kids care for each other, and I think that helps to build good social character”.

University Preparatory Academy also has an agreement with philanthropist Bob and Ellen Thompson, the Plymouth couple who have committed their personal fortune to improving education and who paid for the construction of and renovation of each of University Preparatory Academy’s charter schools.  The agreement is that University Preparatory Academy must graduate 90 percent of its students and send 90 percent of the graduates on to college.  Of the agreement, Mr. Thompson says, “He’ll [Mr. Ross] either hit those marks or we’ll have an office building there”.  Can we do it?  There are several different reasons why we say we can.

1. All of our students are motivated and can see themselves going to college upon graduating from high school. High school principal, Michelle White, says, “When we talk to our students, every single one of them has a plan to go on to college—and it’s a real plan”.
2. Only two of the 128 students in University Preparatory Academy’s ninth grade class have dropped out of school as compared to public schools where of their about 15,000 students in the ninth grade about 10,000 drop out of school by the 12th grade.  While it can be said that some of these students may have transferred to different schools the sad reality is that most of these students at the age of 16 or 17 have made the life-shaping decisions to drop out of school.  This is not the reality at University Prep Academy.
3. About half of the students at University Preparatory Academy have early admission to Wayne State University, Grand Valley State University, or Henry Ford Community College, under a unique program that University Preparatory Academy initiated.  These students are guaranteed admission to these colleges with scholarship money if they continue to perform well academically.
4. College Admission counselors agree that University Preparatory Academy students are on track for college.  Susan Swieg, executive director of undergraduate admissions at Wayne State University says, “from what I can see it [University Preparatory Academy] is exactly the kind of environment that we would want our kids to come from in order to successfully finish college”. Michelle Gurley, the associate director for recruiting at Grand Valley State says of University Preparatory Academy’s Learning Through Internship (LTI) program, “You find these students interacting with professionals and corporations, as well as college professors.  That gives them the strength and the background they need to be successful on the college campus”.

Second, successful schools “offer every child powerful and enduring relationships with teachers, and provide mentors from the world of work and other parts of the community”.   How do we do this?  We do this two ways.  First, as discussed above, we have advisories, small groups of students with one advisor (teacher).  Not only are the groups small but they stay in these groups for several years, two at the elementary, three at the middle school, and four at the high school.  We know our staff are positive role models and will encourage students to go to college not only through their actions but through leading by example as all staff have received Bachelor’s degrees. Second, students go out on internships through a program called, Learning Through Internships or LTIs—in which students spend part of their school week working in business, professional and civic organizations with adult mentors.  At their LTIs students produce real-world projects and learn about life after college.  As one student, Nyles Price, says an internship “teaches you how to be in a real-life environment, in a work area, and how to make a living.  You’re not going to be in school forever”.  The LTI program starts as early as the middle school where students begin going on Job Shadows.  Job Shadows are continued at the high school as an introduction to Internships which students all eventually go on every Tuesday and Thursday.  At the Elementary level students are exposed to members of the community through guest speakers who bring their line of work to the school, as students are too young to go experience them on their own.

Third, 90-90 schools provide individualized student learning plans that are made according to each student’s skill level, maturity, interests, and learning style.  This is used rather than the traditional “one-size-fits-all” curriculum using text books.  This is accomplished at University Preparatory Academy through learning team meetings where the student, advisor, and student’s parents work together to develop and define the students academic goals for the year.  This group meets every trimester.  Initially they will concentrate on the student’s strengths and interests and develop the plan from here.  This increases the chances that a student will succeed, and success creates self confidence, a prerequisite for a student’s motivation.  The Learning plan will involve traditional subjects such as Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science.

Fourth, preparation for college is the expected path taught at 90-90 schools and at University Preparatory Academy.  College is something most, if not all, of our students expect to attend after high school.  If not college they are geared towards going on to technical schools or skilled apprenticeships.  Not only do we have an onsite College Counselor at the high school, but we also have many programs that encourage students towards the path of college like college visits that can range from a single day college visit to a week long college prep summer camp program.  In addition, we encourage not only the student, but also the family through our Family College Club and family savings accounts for college tuition.  In fact, most of University Prep’s 10th grade students have already spent weeks on college campuses including: Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan.  In addition, some students at the high school have begun taking college courses over at Wayne State University.  And in the Winter Semester of 2006, approximately 1/3 of our 11th grade students took courses at Henry Ford Community College, Wayne State University, or Wayne Community College.

Fifth, 90-90 schools rely heavily on partnerships with the communities institutions.  University Preparatory Academy teams up with colleges and universities, cultural institutions, businesses, government, and community organizations to provide students with experiences that will help them to develop career goals.  Not only do University Preparatory Academy students go out on internships, but they also go out on field trips, and have groups come to the school and perform.  During the 2004-2005 school year the high school had two in school performances one put on by the Pacifica String Quartet. Students also went on field trips to the African American Museum, Rosa Parks Memorial, Detroit Institute of Arts, Ropes course, and many more.  In addition, over the summer select students and staff took a trip to South Africa where they visited for a week.  At the middle school students went to the Science Center and the African American Museum, both they visit often.  Both high school and middle school students often visit Wayne State University and the Detroit Public Library, as both are in walking distance from either campus.