Great Lakes Academy

The school is now ok I guess. I had a child there a few years back. They had a male fourth grade teacher who taught from an African Centered perspective and my daughter learned so much. My daughter and other students loved him. I was later told he found a job closer to home in Detroit. However , he did wake me up to the fact that African American children need to be taught from that perspective. Like Jewish students, Arab students, and all other students are taught from their perspective first and they are thriving. You don't see them getting a 2 out of 10 rating and have parents say the Principal leadership is great.. It's the leadership that drives the car. Now when my daughter and neighborhood students were attending there was a different Principal. This one might be okay but let the children focus on and learn from what make them great first, themselves. If Anyone knows Bro. Render tell him that his parents of his fourth grade class miss him and love him very much and thanks for teaching us that very valuable lesson.
—Submitted by a parent

The principal leadership is outstanding but there are many problems with the after school programs. There are no advanced classes for advanced students and the drop off and pick up of students is terrible but alot of that is due to poor parent involvment.
—Submitted by a parent

The level of academic programs is average. There are some extracurricular music programs. The extra curricular activities are an asset to the school, but the social behaviors of the students need tremendous work. The parent participation is very poor,less than 10% attend PCA.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is wonderful! Its staff is great and realy cares about its students. Its a safe environment to put your child in. It has lots of sports like basket ball and foot ball. And other extracurricular activities like dance, stepping, book clubs (ect.) It has spelling bees and talent shows which get the parents help and input. The kids enjoy going there and the parents love that there kids love it and most importantly that they are safe. The kids have great teachers who devote there time into helping them suceed in all of there goals no matter how high. The teachers love to send home notes that tell you step by step how your child is doing. If he or she needs help the teachers will try and try to make sure your child understands what is being taught.
—Submitted by Willliam Lawson, a former student

This is a great school for normal students. The school offers foreign language starting in Kindergarten, extended day program (for a small fee) in which a parent can choose an area for additional tutoring that their child may need, and science classes starting in elementary school. If you have a child with a disability this may not be the school for you and your child for example they do not have ramps for a child in a wheelchair, the teachers are fairly new and inexperienced with children that need additional behavior reinforcement and forget it if your child has ADHD. The school is based heavily on discipline more than positive behavior reinforcement. The school hired a new energetic At-Risk Coordinator that seems to be inspiring both teachers and students to do their best. My advice would be to visit the school and see if it meet your individual need for your child.
—Submitted by a parent