For the past three years, Mouse has been proud to work with Great Oaks Academy in Warren, MI, a National Heritage Academies school. National Heritage Academies (NHA) is one of the fastest growing public charter school management companies in the United States.

In Fall 2012, we were pleased to welcome three new schools from National Heritage Academies to the Mouse Squad network:

• Fortis Academy in Ypsilanti, MI
• Cross Creek Charter Academy in Byron Center, MI
• Bennett Venture Academy in Toledo, OH

Cross Creek Charter Academy is the most recent addition to the Mouse Squad network, and the CC Might Mouse Squad is just kicking off! Students are excited to begin their Mouse Squad journey, and we can’t wait to hear about the great projects they will be tackling in the coming months.

The Blackout Mouse Squad at Fortis Academy got up and running in October 2012, and their two teams have learned to clean and troubleshoot classroom tech equipment. For one of their first projects, the Blackout Squad set up a network of computers in the school library. 

In January, this intrepid Mouse Squad hosted an open house for their teachers to demonstrate all the ways they will be helping to support technology in their classrooms, and in February they will begin accepting IT help requests from the entire school! Students in the Blackout Squad are excited to transition from learning to doing, and to continue finding ways to support their school!

The Frog Squad at Bennett Venture Academy is tiny but tough!  Five members meet every week after school to work on their Help Desk Certification and troubleshoot and fix ailing computers. The Frog Squad’s biggest accomplishment this year was setting up the hardware for a Brightlink projector in a classroom. In the past, this was a task that was always hired out.  

No one at the school could do it...until the Frog Squad came along! Their motto: “If your computer croaks, call the Frog Squad.”

And last but not least, at Great Oaks Academy the GOA Mouse Squad is getting a reboot with new students joining the team and picking up great new skills! In addition to desktops and laptops, the GOA Squad works on all kinds of peripherals, including projectors, printers, and Classroom Response Systems. In the coming months, Great Oaks Academy will be upgrading a lot of its technology, and the GOA Mouse Squad will be working to help train students and staff to keep the entire school up-to-date with these upgrades.

It’s incredible to see these four Mouse Squads, led by a fantastic group of Mouse Squad Coordinators, continue to learn and grow into unbeatable resources for both tech support and tech education at their schools!

We greatly appreciate our partnership with the National Heritage Academies, as well as our increasing presence in Charter Schools across the country, including in California, Chicago, New York and New Jersey!