Grand Blanc Academy has completed the required Preparedness and Response Plan. If the state is in:

Phase 1-3, all learning will be conducted online with the teachers. The building will be closed to everyone.

Phase 4 and 5, social distancing will be followed, students and staff must wear face coverings on the bus and in the common areas. The hybrid model of instruction is implemented.

Phase 6, safety measures will be followed for hygiene, responding to positive tests.

For more detail please see the Preparedness and Response Plan posted.

There is no tuition to attend. Grand Blanc Academy is a free public charter school.

Yes, students are required to wear uniforms.

Red, white, and blue collared shirts.

Khaki, blue or black bottoms.

No hoodies.

Generally, a typical school day schedule includes:

Elementary K-6

• 90 Minutes — Literacy
• 90 Minutes — Math
• 45Minutes — Science
• 45 Minutes — Social Studies
• 40 Minutes — Lunch/Recess

In addition, students will receive 30 minutes of a special class two times per week.

Elementary classes have an additional 20-minute recess daily.

Middle School follows a block schedule with 57-minute classes for English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and one special for 45 minutes.

Grand Blanc Academy (GBA) will adhere to your child's Individual Education Plan (IEP) to provide the services determined necessary by the IEP team. We have a speech pathologist on staff who will observe and evaluate your child's needs and provide on-site services. We also have a school social worker on staff who can provide services if deemed necessary. If occupational therapy and physical therapy are included as services your child requires, GBA contracts with the Genesee Intermediate School District to provide those services. They also will adhere to the services as written in the IEP. Finally, GBA has two full-time special education teachers who will provide specialized instruction in your child's area of academic need.

During COVID-19 phases 4 and 5, meals will be served in the classroom.

A code of student conduct has been established by the Board of the Academy. It describes the school’s philosophy on discipline as follows:

“Discipline is the positive direction of behavior toward established standards of conduct, fully understood, and based upon reason, judgment, and consideration of the rights of others. Ideal discipline is self-directed and self-controlled. Schools, communities, and parents share the responsibility for helping students develop self-discipline. When self-control falters and self-discipline fails, disciplinary forces from outside the individual must be imposed to protect the rights of others and to ensure uninterrupted instruction by teachers for students.”

To the extent possible, Grand Blanc Academy applies Restorative Practices to ensure that restitution, learning, and changed behavior are a result of the disciplinary practice. This code of conduct also lists the specific behaviors that warrant disciplinary action.

There are not specific fundraisers developed for the school. Occasionally, students may be asked to help raise money for a field trip or a school-wide activity.

There is a two-week open enrollment period in all schools. During these two weeks, if the number of applicants exceeds the number of spaces in a given grade, a lottery is held. The lottery time and date are set forth in a legal notice in the newspaper during the open enrollment period. The lottery is open to the public. A member of the administrative staff of the school and a member of the Board of Directors are both in attendance at the lottery. First preference is given to siblings of students already enrolled. Once the slots are filled, the remaining names are drawn and put on the waiting list in the order drawn. As spaces are made available in those grades, students are taken from the waiting list. If there is no waiting list in any grade, students are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis.

State Tests are administered just like any other public school. We participate in the same tests and use this data to help drive our school improvement.

Parents should feel confident that the school’s curriculum would help a child excel on the state standardized test because our curriculum is aligned to the state standards and benchmarks. It is also important to know that the school uses the Common Core Expectations that have been put out by the state for all subjects.

The best way for parents to measure academic improvement is to consistently communicate with the child’s teacher. Students are given the NWEA assessment three times per year. Teachers use the data from this test to help form small groups and individualize their instruction for higher gains in reading and math.

Our teachers and staff are continually training to provide differentiated instruction within the classroom to meet the individual needs of all students.

In the middle school, the school departmentalizes the instruction. The students have four different teachers that are highly qualified in the content that they are teaching. The students change classes and have more specialized instruction. In Mathematics, the children are working towards the understanding of Algebra. This is a pre-requisite of most high schools before entering into the 9th grade. In Science, the students do more hands-on lab instruction and have science experiments that they must complete with an integration of technology. In the ELA block, students read novels and use more of a literacy circle approach to instruction. Science and Social Studies follow the overarching themes for each grade level.

Grand Blanc Academy provides each student in grades K-8 with a device. Lessons are conducted in the classroom using the technology provided. Lessons can also be assigned to be completed from home with our online Imagine Learning program in the areas of reading and math.

Our teachers and staff are continually training to provide differentiated instruction within the classroom to meet the individual needs of all students.