The Bridge Academy of Southwest Michigan getting ready for school year with new education space

 

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Inside the Michigan Works! building on Main Street, teachers and staff are getting ready to welcome back students, but not just any students.

The Bridge Academy of Southwest Michigan formed over a decade ago after partnering with local school districts to offer a high school education to young people that struggled in traditional classrooms and looked to enter the workforce.

“After three different school partnerships, we really evolved into knowing who we were and what we wanted to do, and that didn’t really fit the mold in most traditional K-12 districts, and so we felt encouraged, actually by those districts, to become a charter school,” said Allie Knapp, School Leader at the Academy.

Now, in partnership with Central Michigan University, the Bridge Academy provides high school diplomas to students who may have not been able to continue their education because they’ve dropped out or need to work and provide for their families.

“We want to help come alongside those students to make sure they can get their life sorted out, but also get their school done,” Knapp said.

She added that part of being a charter school, they needed a classroom space for their students to learn and work—and the Bridge Academy strived to create an environment to meet all their needs.

“We believe that environment drives behavior,” said Knapp. “So we want to make sure that our students know that they’re worthy of a clean, fresh, really beautiful space to work in every day, and that sets the tone of the work they’re going to accomplish when they’re here and for them to feel respected and valued by how their space looks is important to us.”

The new facility can hold up to 50 students at a time, and the Academy aims to be flexible to accommodate everyone who enrolls.

“We’re innovative, not alternative, which means we can serve anyone who needs us,” said Knapp.

This is something previous Academy graduates attest to first hand.

In a speech at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Academy, graduate Sha’Vaira Nichols said, “When I didn’t believe in myself, they called, they texted, they emailed, they even showed up for me in the biggest way. They wouldn’t accept me giving up on myself and I’m so grateful.”

“We want to make sure students feel valued and that they have quality access to education, that allows them to be successful, not just for a job in the short term, but a career plan in the long term,” Knapp said.