Brandon Twp.- When the Brandon Academy of Arts and Sciences opened a year ago in the district’s former H.T. Burt Elementary, 30 students were enrolled. The academy finished the school year with 65 students and when the doors opened for the start of the school year earlier this month, 90 students entered, tripling their numbers from 2013.
The increased enrollment is just one sign of the academy’s success? another more important measure is the accreditation the academy has now received from the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an accreditation division of AdvancED.
‘We have met all the criteria that Michigan says makes you a good school,? said Marilyn Campbell, principal of the Brandon Academy, as well as music teacher. ‘The accreditation means we’re doing the job we’re supposed to be doing.?
NCA CASI provides nationally-recognized accreditation, the purpose of which is continuous school improvement focused on increasing student performance. To earn accreditation, schools must meet NCA CASI’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school and implement a continuous process of school improvement.
Campbell, formerly principal of the Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Lake Orion, approached former Brandon Superintendent Lorrie McMahon last summer looking for a new home for some students and teachers from the school after the church decided to ‘go in a different direction? than what she and some parents wanted to go.
The academy is not a charter school, but as McMahon described, ‘a school within a school.? Campbell, as well as the academy’s six teachers, are on the district’s payroll. The Brandon Academy of Arts and Sciences appeals to parents and students who like blended, smaller class sizes. There is a young 5s class in the academy, and a kindergarten class. First and second grades are taught together, as are third and fourth grades, and so on up to eighth grade.
‘Blended classes are not a new idea, it’s been around for years, but it works really well,? said Campbell. ‘The advantage we have here is if you have a first grader ahead in math, they can be moved to second grade math and it works the opposite way, too? if they are behind in a subject, they can go back and get instruction in the lower grade.?
The academy’s class sizes average about 18-19 students to a teacher and students are offered art, music and physical education, as well as all the extra-curricular activities the district has to offer.
‘We are cost-efficient here and the teachers work very, very hard, instructing at two or more grade levels each,? said Campbell. ‘It can only run because of dedicated teachers that teach two or more grade levels and giving up most, if not all, their time to be teaching. You wear a lot of hats. I teach because I love it. We’re a family here.?
A few openings for students are available, mostly at the middle school level. For more information, call 248-627-1870.