The GRCDC’s status as a stand alone charter is the exterior force that most greatly contributes to its success. While the GRCDC is a chartered public school academy, it is not traditional in that the local public district, [i.e. Grand Rapids Public School] holds the charter. The GRCDC is thus considered a hybrid. The school is autonomous and independent. It maintains its own budget and operations and many of the students it serves live within the district boundaries which has a diverse demographic group, as opposed to most charters were kids travel outside the district to attend school there. The lack of bureaucracy and layers of administration allow for great flexibility and local control over school policy, procedure and practice. This sets GRCDC in a unique place because while it is an American public elementary school and it satisfies the state requirements of the Common Core curriculum standards, the school operates by following the Reggio philosophies such as year long studies and emergent curriculum. As an alternative to traditional education, it is committed to the success of each student, which is achieved by allowing the school to evolve, adapt, and promote change quickly within itself.
The stand alone charter and the autonomy it allows is also is responsible for the strong group of veteran teachers at GRCDC. The teaching staff are all members of the union, and are afforded the same pay and benefits as their fellow members, except in the area of tenure. The GRCDC teachers and paraprofessionals are officially protected from tenure, which means they are immune to displacement due to seniority. This stability of staff and retention of veteran teachers is a key part of the school’s success. As one teacher said, “If we were bumping each other out of positions, it takes away from the coheseive team approach. We are stronger because of the team teaching. We get stronger in our practices.” Another teacher summed it up well when she said, “We were very specific about the bumping idea because in order for teachers to be successful, we needed teachers to have the time to work within the approach. It gives you the courage to take a risk. If you are worried about getting bumped you would not take a risk.”
