Board OKs new charter schools, new major

Six new charter academies have been approved by the Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees. The board also approved a new master's degree program in speech language pathology at its April 27 meeting.

Of the six academies that were approved by the board, five are located in the city of Detroit. They are Detroit Edison Public School Academy Chadsey/Condon, Escuela Avancemos!, International Academy of Detroit, Madison-Carver Academy, and the Pride and Promise Academy. 

The other is the Faxon Language Immersion Academy, which will be located in Farmington Hills. 

-- The speech language pathology program will officially begin in fall 2013. Grand Valley students can now obtain an emphasis in speech language pathology through the allied health sciences program housed in the College of Health Professions. 

Beth Macauley, associate professor, said the SLP program meets a need for speech-language pathologists in Michigan and nationwide. In West Michigan, she said, it’s common for SLP positions to remain unfilled for years. The Michigan Speech and Hearing Association stated that a master’s-level graduate typically has four job offers to choose from.