Linden Charter Academy

“Teacher wins $500K judgment in suit vs. Linden Charter Academy over firing because of racial joke.” Flint Journal (MI), 7/19/11

MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Michigan — A charter school organization is weighing an appeal after a jury awarded more than $500,000 to a former Linden Charter Academy teacher who was fired for what his attorney said was a racial joke...

The school referred all comment to its parent company, the Grand Rapids-based National Heritage Academies...

Lenhoff said Hecht heard many black employees at Linden Charter Academy make racial jokes and that they were not punished.

Hecht had an excellent record on racial relations and had no prior record of any issues with the school, Lenhoff said.

According to the lawsuit, the teacher’s aide complained to the principal and Hecht was called into the office. Lenhoff said Hecht apologized to the teacher’s aide in the meeting...

Hecht, who had worked at the school for more than eight years, is now working as a machine operator at Dow Corning Corp. in Midland and has been unable to get hired for a teaching position.

Read More

Vanguard Charter School Academy

NEW CHARTER SCHOOL FACES CRITICISM OF ITS CURRICULUM. Business Courier (Cincinnati, OH) 21 July 2003

Cincinnati's newest charter school will be managed by a national for-profit company that has faced lawsuits for allowing religious instruction and denying services to special education students.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based National Heritage Academies will manage Alliance Academy in Evanston, which is renting the former St. Mark's Catholic School and will open in late August…

In 1998, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit on behalf of parents who alleged that NHA was violating the separation of church and state at its Vanguard Charter Academy in Grand Rapids. The suit was dismissed in 2000 after the school put policies in place to prevent the types of actions alleged…

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

ACLU OF MICHIGAN CHALLENGES CHARTER SCHOOL FOR CHURCH-STATE VIOLATIONS. ACLU news release 01 Apr 1999 

DETROIT -- Acting on behalf of five parents, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today challenged a Kent County charter school for violating the First Amendment's protections of separation of church and state.

Vanguard Charter School Academy sanctioned prayer in the school, allowed the distribution of religious materials during class, allowed a nearby church to use its facilities rent-free to conduct worship, conducted a mandatory staff retreat with distinct religious overtones and taught creationism as an accepted scientific theory, according to the amended complaint filed today in United States District Court.

Vanguard Charter School Academy teaches children from kindergarten through seventh grade. Like all other charter schools in Michigan, Vanguard is a public school and must follow Michigan's code for public school academies. It is managed by National Heritage Academy, one of the largest management companies in Michigan.

The ACLU is suing on behalf of five parents of students at the school…

Read More

Rochester Leadership Academy Charter School

PARENTS ANGRY OVER SECRET CHARTER SCHOOL SETTLEMENT; March 22, 2010; 13WHAM.com (Rochester, N.Y.) 

A lawsuit between a charter school forced to shut down by the state and the company that managed the school has been settled, but few people know what happened to the settlement money.

The Rochester Leadership Academy Charter School was one of the first in the region when it opened in 2000…

By 2005, student performance had not met targets, and the state closed the school.

“We were very upset and disappointed. There was a lot of crying. There was a lot of kids, parents in disarray again,” said George Moses, who sent his daughter to RLA…

Last fall, the RLA board of directors filed a lawsuit against National Heritage Academies, the company that ran RLA. The suit claims NHA was responsible for the school’s failure and breached its contract with RLA.

The two sides settled the case earlier this month. 13WHAM News obtained the settlement, which has a confidentiality clause. The agreement says NHA would pay RLA $175,000. The RLA board would direct the funds to a non-profit of its choosing.

13WHAM News was unable to find out where the money is now and which non-profit would benefit. RLA board president John Walker did not return two calls for comment. RLA’s attorney also did not return a call. An NHA spokeswoman said the company could not comment because of the confidentiality agreement, but said the company has met its legal obligation…

Moses said he also asked Page what happened to the funds. Moses said Page told him the funds were supposed to be directed to NEAD. Page did not comment, citing the confidentiality agreement he signed as part of the settlement. Moses said NEAD may now take legal action to obtain the funds…

Read More