WIRED Innovation: Grand Rapids University Preparatory Acadmeny
Innovation Champion: Doug Ross
The Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy Innovation initially began as the Global School & Accelerated Engineering Innovation, with the purpose of establishing a specialized learning curriculum for developing the skills needed for high-paying jobs of the future.
The Grand RapidsUniversityPreparatoryAcademy is based on a model similar to DetroitUniversityPreparatoryAcademy, which boasts 90 percent of its students advancing to college.
In the first year, Grand Rapids University Prep enrolled 130 sixth- and seventh-graders, with plans to grow to 500 students in grades six through 12. The school is a part of Grand Rapids Public Schools and is the first “center of innovation.” It is an organizational hybrid of the charter school model, combined with traditional programs, to bring creative educational methods into a professional setting.
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