First day, fresh start in mid-Michigan school districts

Change was in the air this morning as mid-Michigan's public schools kicked off a fresh school year for thousands of students in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.

In Lansing, new food service and transportation providers were on the job; the district also opened new magnet schools.

"It's a really good start," said Lansing Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul. She said there were a few glitches, including bus delays and students lined up for counselors at Eastern High School.

"They're having a debriefing right now to talk about what went right and what didn't work," Caamal Canul said of transportation. The district buses about 7,000 of its 12,000 students, including some who transfer from one bus to another to get to the district's magnet schools; Dean Transportation took over this year.

Caamal Canul herself drove one student from Averill Elementary to Pleasant View, a K-8 school with a focus on the arts, then drove another student back from Pleasant View to Averill.

Caamal Canul said she also visited New Tech High, a new, future-focused magnet school within Everett High School.

"There were a whole bunch of new enrollees for that program," she said.

In East Lansing, sixth-graders joined seventh- and eighth-graders at MacDonald Middle School and the district's five remaining elementary schools went K-5.

Our staff scattered this morning to bring first-day scenes from schools around mid-Michigan.

Holt: Hiccups at the high school

Principal Mike Willard knew it was coming.

Something was bound to create a hiccup on the first day of classes for Holt High School, especially after hours and hours of planning and logistics for the new school year that features an ambitious new plan to offer a seniors-only campus.

Grades 9-11 are at 5780 Holt Road, the main campus. This year the seniors return to the building across the street, called the North Campus.

In between them this morning was a broken down bus.

"Of course it broke down right in between the two campuses this morning," Willard said. "It's just one of a list of little things that happened that we worked out. We figured stuff like this would happen when dealing with such a large operation."

As a result another bus was brought in and because of the delay and the buses for grades K-6 were 15 minutes late.

"The bus drivers really stepped up and made sure it was handled the best we could," he said.

But he said for the most part, the first day was just that — a first day. Students had plenty of questions and Willard found himself stopped in the hallways to answer those questions all day.

"Some wondered if we had enough parking spaces at the North Campus," he said. "Others want to make some schedule changes now that they are in school."

The district hopes that once wrinkles are ironed out, its plan will succeed. It's the only district in the state that offers a seniors-only campus. College-level courses are being offered for free as long as students qualify.

But for today, Willard is the "answer man."

"The break between classes is 10 minutes now right?" one student asked.

Another student, a sophomore, was accidentally scheduled for a senior campus class.

Some rooms were hot and muggy and teachers requested a fan.

"We knew this was going to come with new territory," he said. "It's a first day and these things are going to happen."

When the final bell rings at the end of the day, Willard said he will get a break.

It will be short-lived, because the cycle starts again tomorrow morning.

— Will Kangas

St. Johns: New leadership in buildings

ST. JOHNS – As the new school year begins, elementary students in St. Johns are meeting their new teachers and their new principals.

Each of the five elementary buildings in the district is starting the year with a new principal.

Michael Winkel is the new principal at Gateway North Elementary. He replaces Laska Creagh who resigned after two years at Gateway.

Winkel was the principal at East Olive last year, a position he held for one year. Before that, Winkel taught second grade in East Lansing.

The size of his new school may be the biggest change for Winkel. At East Olive, he had a staff of seven teachers and fewer than 200 students.

This year at Gateway, Winkel will be overseeing about 360 students, 12 general education teachers, one pre-school teacher, two special education teachers, and three "specials" teachers – art, music and physical education.

But Winkel says his focus remains the same.

"I have a singular focus," he said, "and that is to support the classrooms so the students can be successful."

Principals at the other St. Johns elementary buildings include Anne Marie Potter at East Olive and Eureka; Joe Corr at Riley and Kathleen Jayaraman at Oakview South.

— Sue Lounds

East Lansing: Sixth-graders move up to middle school

EAST LANSING – It's been a busy but fulfilling morning at MacDonald Middle School.

The school opened to three grades today following extensive renovations to accommodate incoming sixth-graders.

Principal Merem Frierson said the first morning has been "busy but exciting," including an assembly where sixth- and seventh-graders heard from a speaker about developing perseverance and grit.

Students also watched a presentation to help them identify teachers and staff, especially important given the addition of more than 20 new staff members.

Seventh- and eighth-graders were also welcomed and had an assembly.

"It's been a busy morning. We've been working through the items which need addressing," she said.

While the new sixth-grade classroom and project-based learning spaces were ready for this morning's first bell, construction continues on some parts of the school.

Expected to be complete sometime in October, Frierson said, are the stairwell, main front entrance and the sixth-grade gym.

— Dawn Parker

Charlotte: Interim super welcomes students

CHARLOTTE – Mark Rosekrans will be the first person to tell you what Charlotte Public Schools has going for it.

The long-time district administrator and newly-appointed interim superintendent spent his morning in front of Washington Elementary greeting parents and welcoming students as they made their way inside.

In between hand shakes and "welcome backs" Rosekrans, 48, openly admits his affinity for the High Street school, with 326 students and 40 staffers.

"This is where my kids went," said Rosekrans. He's been with the district for over 20 years and has served as its associate superintendent for operations for the last 15.

"The first day it's always neat seeing the kids with the apprehension but then the excitement," he said. "It makes us all feel like kids again. This is my 26th first day so, it's always exciting that first day."

The district's Board of Education appointed Rosekrans as its interim superintendent in July, after approving a separation agreement with former Superintendent Nancy Hipskind, who became superintendent in 2007.

The buyout cost the district $150,000. School officials have said they will hold off on deciding whether or not the district should hire a search firm to find a permanent replacement until at least November.

Rosekrans has already been identified as an internal candidate for the job by Board of Education President Julie Kimmer.

Rosekrans said he'll wait to see if the board supports him for the job. Over the next few months he's optimist that he can help the district move forward, though.

"I can't change the past. I'm really most concerned about today and the future and what we do moving forward, what we do for the kids and the families now," he said.

— Rachel Greco

Grand Ledge: Beagle Middle School ROCKS

GRAND LEDGE – Students at Kenneth Beagle Elementary School in Grand Ledge spent their first morning reviewing the behavior expectations for classrooms, hallways, playgrounds and cafeteria.

The slogan for the school is "Beagle ROCKS," which stands for Respect, Ownership, Cooperation, Kindness and Safety. Principal Dawn Kennaugh stressed the importance of students understanding the expectations for behavior in and around the school.

"If students understand the expectations, they will meet those expectations," she said. "But they need to know what kindness looks like in the hallway, or what safety looks like on the playground."

— Alan Miller

Waverly: Colt Early Childhood Center welcomes district's youngest students

DELTA TWP. – There were no good-bye tears Tuesday as a new schedule helped children ease into the first day of school at the Colt Early Childhood Education Center.

The big water main project on Michigan Ave. ground to a halt while kids were arriving, too, making it relatively easy for parents to get into the parking lot.

Principal Shawn Talifarro said young children are often anxious about how they will like what is going to be their home-away-from-home for the next nine months. So are their parents. The Colt plan was designed to make the first day what she called "a better entrance" for both.

The first step this year was whittling down the number of kindergartners, with half arriving for an orientation in the morning and half in the afternoon.

Parents were asked to deliver their children on the first day, so there was no bus routine to get used to immediately.

Waverly human resources director Vince Perkins and staff member Gretchen Mikula greeted everyone outdoors and helped them locate their classrooms, each named for a healthy food.

Parents were then welcomed into the school and asked to help their children make the transition by going on a scavenger hunt to find various important places like the front office and the library.

Children learned they would be anchored in the apple or banana classroom, for instance, then were shown the spots to line up when they get off the bus the next day. Those, too, were decorated with an apple or banana painting.

First day plans also included time for teachers to interact with parents alone, as well as fun activities featuring Pete the Cat, a singing feline known for discovering the cool places at his school.

Pete is also an expert at a certain skill kindergartners need, says Talifarro. He knows how to "go with the flow."

— Mary Jo White