Charlotte Smith
Not coincidentally, Ms. Smith grew up in the Cody Rouge neighborhood. Following frustrating stints at Schoolcraft College and EMU where she had no advisors and received no guidance, she landed at Madonna College where she completed her bachelor’s degree in English & History and then added three Master’s degrees! She has served at Cody High School for 26 years and has consistently refused promotions that would take her focus away from the kids, making sure they have all the guidance they need. In addition to teaching English, she coaches the Yearbook team, administers the National Academies Foundation and teaches a special and very popular class called “creating great customer service,” which helps students better navigate their lives after high school.
Charlotte was right there when Oak Pointe converged on Cody HS along with Life Remodeled. She gladly pitched in with Pastor Kurt and his Oak Pointe teams to do whatever could be done to serve students. Some of us remember that the late Dave Gulau was instrumental in launching the Cody Partnership. Illustrating how small our world can be, Charlotte went to high school with both Dave and his wife. Nevertheless, she was skeptical when Oak Pointe pledged to serve Cody for 3-5 years since she had seen so many other organizations come and go. In contrast, more than eight years later, Charlotte sees and cherishes Oak Pointe’s broad commitment to the school. Oak Pointe folks would regularly test the waters to see what ideas might work, both inside and outside the school (like 707). She has referred to Oak Pointe as “a merry band of elves” who would do whatever they were asked regardless of their very different socio-economic backgrounds.
Charlotte prays that everyone will continue what they started since Oak Pointe plays such a vital role at Cody High School, impacting both the students and the staff. She can’t imagine Cody without Oak Pointe. She closed our chat by stating that “At Cody, Oak Pointe is family, and the kids know it!”