A true on-demand public education

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By Charles Carver, Director of Program Advancement, Michigan International Prep School

In essentially every phase of our modern day lives, we can order, view, and make purchases on demand. The ability to craft your own educational journey should reflect those norms of today. At Michigan International Prep School, we deliver an on demand, engaging, and rigorous 21st century education to students grades Kindergarten through age 22.

We are a statewide cyber charter school and we are on the cutting edge of education. Any student in the age ranges mentioned above with a permanent Michigan address can enroll at Michigan International Prep School (“MIPS”). Once enrolled, students can request to receive a school provided laptop as well as a personal, portable wifi device so they can access their course content anytime, anywhere.

Charles Carver

Our students have 24/7 access to their courses – they can work traditional school hours, nights, weekends, holidays, in the backseat on their way up north for the weekend, on an airplane on their way to their figure skating competition, while hospitalized, and so on.

Something very unique about MIPS that sets us apart from other similar schools is that we currently have four physical learning lab locations throughout the state of Michigan. Our current learning labs are located in Ortonville, Oak Park, Sandusky, and Howell.

Our learning lab locations allow our students to drop in five days a week for high level and intense support in their coursework, support on college applications, assistance with the FAFSA, to receive social and emotional support, and to visit with their peers. Our learning labs are staffed with highly qualified Michigan teachers, mentors, and administrators.

The learning lab environment allows students who need the flexibility of our program but still want to have the day to day campus experience they would have elsewhere. Students are able to come in as often as they would like. The learning labs are truly an addition we built to the program to bolster relationships and achievement – if a student prefers to work solely from home, the coffee shop, the library and can manage their studies that way; we do not have a problem with that.

Our mentors remain in constant communication with all MIPS students, regardless if they elect to report to a learning lab or not. Attendance is not measured by appearing at a learning lab location; it is measured by online engagement, participation, and the submission of high-quality work.

MIPS provides a safe haven for those students who may be struggling with anxiety and/or depression. Our model allows those students to work from home so that they can focus on themselves and their well being while also not being marked absent or have their grades lowered due to missing school for critical appointments.

We want our families in this situation to see us as an ally who wants their child to receive all of the support they need so that they can be their best selves and achieve at the highest possible levels. We have a caring team of adults who are prepared to work diligently alongside each family we serve to make sure their child is thriving and happy.

Many students in this day and age struggle with making appropriate behavioral choices all too often in school. The drop-in nature of our learning labs allows students who may be having a bad day to work from home, without punishment, so that they do not lose a day of learning due to potentially getting suspended from school. To us, this is a revolutionary approach. We are asking students to regulate themselves so that they are in control of their own destiny.

We provide a variety of learning platforms that allow us to offer a vast menu of options when a new student arrives at our school. Our team works with the student and family upon enrollment to determine what that student’s learning type is and we work collaboratively to assign a platform that will best meet their needs and ensure a rigorous and productive experience. This approach allows us to make sure each student is getting what they need academically and in a format that best suits their innate learning talents.

Our model truly facilitates students to be able to use their traditional ‘school time’ as a time they can use to further passions and interests they may have. Due to the 24/7 nature of our program, if a student is interested in a certain field, they are able to obtain a paid job or internship working in that field while doing their coursework with MIPS at night.

Students being able to get real-world, professional experience all while working towards their diploma is a huge benefit to attending MIPS. If a student is involved in an athletic or fine arts activity that requires intensive time on the practice field or stage, they have the freedom to set their schedule accordingly so that they can always say “yes” to offers for auditions, try outs, and so on. Our mentors and staff will work to ensure that students in these positions are able to still receive all of the services and care any other student would.

Michigan International Prep School is working very hard to become the best statewide cyber school in Michigan. We are a student and family driven organization and strive to provide the best learning experience possible for our students while giving them ultimate flexibility to go out there and chase their dreams. We are your neighborhood school, online!

For information about Michigan International Prep School, click here.

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.