Eastern Michigan University Charter Schools Office
Becoming a Charter School

Opening a new public school academy (charter school) is a fairly involved process, which requires strong commitment from a dedicated group of individuals. While this task is enormous, it has been done a number of times in Michigan. There are basic steps, outlined below, which would go a long way toward successfully opening one these schools.

1) Determine if there is a need for a public school academy. Key questions to ask:
  • Are there educational needs in your community that are not being met by the traditional public schools?
  • Are there enough families, with school-aged students in your community, who share this view?
2) Familiarize yourself with the charter school movement. Ways to do this:
3) Decide if you want to open your charter school.
  • If the decision is “yes,” then go to step 4
  • If the decision is “no,” then become involved in helping to improve your community’s traditional public school(s)
4) Organize a group of charter school supporters in your community.
  • Develop an educational vision (Mission Statement) for your group
  • Decide upon a reasonable time-frame for opening this public school academy
  • Identify a targeted student population
  • Consider if you want this public school academy to be self-managed or managed by an ESP (educational service provider)
5) Contact organizations that can sponsor your public school academy. These public school academy sponsors (authorizers) include:
  • Public universities
  • Community colleges
  • Intermediate school districts
  • Local school districts
6) Review the charter application process.
  • Eastern Michigan University is not currently accepting applications.
  • Generally, applications will be accepted from January 1 to February 1. However, the actual dates of the application window will be posted to EMU Charter Schools' home page when applications are being accepted.
  • A sample Phase I application is available for your reveiw:
  • The EMU Charter Schools Office must receive the application by the closing date of the Phase I application window in order to consider the application. No applications received outside the Application window will be considered.
  • After the Phase I application window has closed, the Charter Schools Office will review all applications and notify applicants whether or not they have been selected to continue to the Phase II application process.
  • Correspondence and questions may be directed to:
  • For information regarding the application cycle of other authorizers and a list of other authorizers currently accepting applications, visit the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers website.
While success is not guaranteed, if you follow these steps, you have a great chance to establish a public school academy in your community.

Good Luck!
-> EMU Charter School History
-> What is a Charter School?
-> Becoming a Charter School
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