You won't find us on this list

The Michigan Department of Education recently released its list of the state''s 92 lowest-performing public schools on notice, saying they must improve their academics or risk being taken over by the state. Of those, more than 40 were public schools in Detroit. Are you concerned about the education your child is getting? There are no Leona Group charter schools on the list.

The Leona Group, an education management organization with schools in five states, already has a proven, solid and growing model for successful schools in urban areas. Non-profit charter schools that have contracted with Leona to provide operational services have become islands of excellence in a troubled district. Other charter management companies have had similar successes.

The Leona Group is in continual pursuit of improvement, growth and higher standards and the schools are doing more with less. DPS schools face debt in the hundreds of millions, yet these Leona-managed schools are financially viable and sustainable, have positive fund balances and are achieving academically. According to the MDE, students in charter schools receive, on average, $1,778 less per year in combined state and local financial resources than students in host districts. Nor do charters receive capital funding - but they are having great success.

"We are doing the right things to ensure success for these students, who often come to our schools several years behind grade-level," explains Melissa Cook, communications director. "The challenge is the cap on charters. Our Detroit schools are pretty much at capacity every year and more than two-thirds of the state's 232 charter schools have waiting lists. We want to reach out to more students to provide opportunities - but we need growing room to be able to do so."

The Leona Group manages 14 school sites in the Detroit area; four are high schools. The 2010 graduating classes of the Academy for Business & Technology, Allen Academy, Cesar Chavez Academy and Consortium College Preparatory Academy graduated a cumulative 300 students this year from their safe, small-school environments. Of those, 87% went on to post-secondary education. While the schools' graduation rates soar above the reported graduation rates of traditional DPS schools, the academies face many of the same challenges as the traditional district. The schools accept all students regardless of economic or educational disadvantage. Many students in all three schools are among the first in their families to attend college.

The breakdown: