Meet the architects of the first youth-run recording studio in the world (if rumors of that teen punk studio in Russia are untrue). Concentrate's Richard Retyi gets the skinny on the Neutral Zone's latest and greatest innovation: The Orpheum.
Shoot the moon! There are over 900 non-profit organizations in Washtenaw County, and most are headed up by women. Concentrate talks to a quartet of young women about the personal and professional rewards of non-profit leadership.
The evolution of in Depth Learning has been a bit of an, um... well, learning curve.The Ann Arbor-based firm got its start in 2001 as an Internet-based learning firm, creating programs and applications that let students access and absorb more information online. Today its has moved to video games, putting a new game on the market and developing another."We realized we could do a lot more with gaming," says Res Midgley, president of in Depth Learning.The switch in emphasis has let the company that started with two people, grow to seven including an independent contractor. It recently hired two people and has plans to continue to hire to keep up with its growth. The company has doubled in size in the last 18 months and has high hopes for 2010-11."We have great expectations for the next year and half," Midgley says.It's latest game is called "Drug Scene Investigators," a video game for kids in grades 7-10. The game works to incorporate reading, library search, and decision-making by combining interest in science, heath and mysteries. Users need to figure out which illegal drugs were consumed by game characters, students search the library, take notes, link discovered information with facts, and reason from the evidence to form conclusions.Source: Res Midgley, president of in Depth LearningWriter: Jon Zemke
The expansion of the Michigan Islamic Academy is moving forward now that the project is before the Ann Arbor Planning Commission. If approved this week construction should start this summer. "We are hoping that everything remains on schedule," says Tarek Nahlawi, the program manager for the Michigan Islamic Academy.The Pre-K through 12 school on Plymouth Road plans to double its space within the next year. The 10,000-square-foot complex has been on the city's northeast side since 1987. It now serves 204 students.The $1.5 million project calls for building an additonal 10,000-square-feet standing three stories tall. It will have space for eight classrooms and a cafeteria. The current school, which only has eight classrooms, doesn't have a cafeteria and must use a temporary trailer to accommodate its growth.Construction is expected to take nine months to complete.Source: Tarek Nahlawi, the program manager for the Michigan Islamic AcademyWriter: Jon Zemke
The Washtenaw Intermediate School District got a little help from its friend, the Michigan College Access Network.The school district received an $8,000 grant for its Early College Alliance as part of $250,000 worth of grants that went to 17 similar organizations throughout the state. The money is focused on local college access networks that help more students attend college. These programs help lower the barriers of entry for students, particularly low-income and first-generation students.These grants, which come out courtesy of the Kresge Foundation, first became available last fall and are due for another round of disbursement in September. The idea is to help deepen Michigan's talent pool when it comes to new economy centric positions, which often rely on a college-educated workforce.The Michigan College Access Network plans to dramatically increase the state's college attendance and graduation rates. One of its goals is to raise the percentage of the local population with degrees and credentials from 34 percent to 60 percent by 2025. The $8,000 grants will allow local education and community leaders to determine what their areas can do to encourage more people to achieve a college education. This will serve as the basis for the creation of a broader plan that incorporates things like mentoring, career exploration, tutoring, college placement test preparation and college admission advising. Source: Michigan College Access NetworkWriter: Jon Zemke
Schoolpictures.com has a lot of room to grow in its new home near Eastern Michigan University, and the Ypsilanti-based firm is already starting to fill out the space.The 5-year-old company hired seven people in 2009, rounding out its staff to 41 employees, along with 30 more interns and independent contractors. It expects to hire 7-10 people this year, and all of that is organic growth."We've increased the size of our business by growing our mission," says Skip Cerier, CEO of Schoolpictures.com. "Our goal is to continue to raise money for schools. As cuts came down from the state, schools are in such dire straits that they are looking for other revenues. Schoolpictures.com provides a unique business model that allows us to sustain and grow our business while we raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for schools. That includes $540,000 for 180 schools in 2009. Cerier believes that number would have been much higher in a healthier economy. He has big aspirations for beating that number this year, partly because of an improving economy and partly because of the company's new home.Schoolpictures.com took over the Ave Maria University campus, turning the old mid-20th Century elementary school and other even older structures into a silver LEED campus. It’s first pre-1950 building to reach LEED silver status in Michigan. Now the 21,000 square feet of space that was prime fodder to become building rubble stand as a shinning example of sustainability and economic opportunity.The old Victorian house is being remodeled into a child portrait studio. The idea is the architecture provides a comforting feeling for both kids and families. The school's old gym is now a 2,400-square-foot photography studio that gives the firm's photographers and creatives a lot of freedom."There has been a monumental change in the attitude of my employees," Cerier says. "They are much happier when they have space of their own."Source: Skip Cerier, CEO of Schoolpictures.comWriter: Jon Zemke
A bakehouse, a creamery, a coffee roaster, a candy manufactory... As the Zingerman's food empire expands, they want to make you a more informed citizen. From mozzarella cheese-making to four-day baking intensives, the little deli that became a culinary kingdom offers its customers a long list of mouthwatering classes. It's Yum 101.
The Michigan Islamic Academy is making plans to double down on Ann Arbor by doubling the size of its Pre-K through 12 school.The school has been on Plymouth Road on the city's northeast side since 1987. It now has about 10,000 square feet of classrooms and a temporary trailer there for its school of 204 students.The new plans call for building a 10,000-square-foot addition that will stand three stories tall. It will have space for eight classrooms and a cafeteria. The current school only has eight classrooms. "The new expansion is going to concentrate and put everyone under one roof so we don’t have to use any temporary facilities," says Tarek Nahlawi, the program manager for the Michigan Islamic Academy.The $1.5 million project is still in the planning stages and has yet to go before the city's Planning Commission. Nahlawi hopes to begin work this summer and wrap it up within nine months.Source: Tarek Nahlawi, the program manager for the Michigan Islamic AcademyWriter: Jon Zemke
Green jobs are being created in Ypsilanti's Depot Town now that the Clean Energy Coalition is going on a hiring spree.Nineteen months ago, the 3-year-old non-profit had a staff one, its executive director, Sean Reed. Today it employs eight people, an intern and the occasional independent contractor in its newly opened retail and education space in Depot Town called the Energy Outlet. Three of those hires took place in January and another 2-3 people are expected to be on board by the end of February."Our organization has gone through an aggressive ramp up in staffing," says Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition.The coalition got its start helping find ways to make commuting in automobiles more sustainable. It has since grow to include things like energy audits for buildings and other sustainability-oriented projects thanks to a $15 million grant it received from the U.S. Dept. of Energy this summer.Source: Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy CoalitionWriter: Jon Zemke
Work on the first phase of Ann Arbor's Greenhills School expansion continues to moves along slowly but steadily, with a new finish date set for this spring.The private school is going for LEED Gold Certification, the second highest ranking in the system, as it renovates and expands it school on the city's east side by Geddes Road and U.S. 23. Among the big ticket items is a geothermal heating-and-cooling system.The first phase of the Greenhills School project is creating two new biology labs, a greenhouse, a college counseling center and three new classrooms. The price tag clocks in at about $3 million. The second and third phases, another $3 million in work, include new space for the school's chemistry, physics and middle school science programs, along with other renovations and additions.All phases will equal 10,000 square feet of new classroom and lab space to the rear of the main building. It will also renovate about 40 percent of the existing school of 500-plus students. A webcam of the work can be seen here.Source: Margarite Fourcroy, spokeswoman for Greenhills SchoolWriter: Jon Zemke
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