Web Design Students Put Techno Twist on Thanksgiving

Pankow Center web design students studied Thanksgiving while building informative websites on the holiday.

Thanksgiving. Meet the 21st century. In Debra Schmid’s class at the Frederick V. Pankow Center, high school students are studying Thanksgiving, but there isn’t a history text in sight. Using Internet research and their newly acquired knowledge of HTML, these web design students are giving the almost 400-year-old Thanksgiving tradition a decidedly 21st century update.  “We celebrate (Thanksgiving), without maybe understanding why,” Schmid said. “So with a fun project, we can make an assignment (and holiday) come alive.” In each of Schmid’s web design classes, students were given the task to build an “authentic, working, linking, information-giving website” that fellow teens could use to learn a bit more about Thanksgiving. L’Anse Creuse …

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No School on Election Day for Students in Macomb Public Districts

Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse, Utica and New Haven school districts do not have classes Nov. 8.

With almost all of Macomb Township's public schools doubling as election precincts Tuesday, students in Chippewa Valley Schools, Utica Community Schools, New Haven Community Schools and L'Anse Creuse Public Schools will not have classes Nov. 8. School will resume for all students Nov. 9. Polls open in Macomb Township at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Read more about the proposed special education millage on the Nov. 8 ballot.

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Where Do I Vote? Nov. 8 Polling Locations

We've compiled a map of the precincts in use in Macomb Township for the Nov. 8 election. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Come election day, voters will have only one issue to contend with, but that issue promises to directly affect the wallet of each and every property owner in Macomb Township. On Nov. 8, voters will be asked to pass or reject a special education millage, the proceeds of which will be used to offset recent state and federal funding losses in Macomb County's 21 school districts and the Macomb Intermediate School District. The 1.2-mill property tax proposal is expected to raise $27.5 million, or $206 per pupil across the county when first levied in 2011. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Find the location of your precinct using the interactive map above. If you do not know your precinct, visit the Michigan Votes website. Michigan voters…

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Jenny Whalen

2:15 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sorry about that, the map has been updated. All precincts listed now are correct.   more ›

It's the Principal: Q&A with Atwood Elementary's Angela Szczepanski

As October is National Principals Month, Patch asked Atwood Elementary Principal Angela Szczepanski to share her thoughts on the role of school principal and her vision for the Atwood Elementary community.

To honor all the principals who are also our pals, the U.S. Senate has declared the month of October to be National Principals Month. In Macomb Township alone, this includes more than 50 principals and assistant principals who oversee the area's public and private schools. While each principal may have his or her own leadership technique, all have a vision of progress and goal of success for their school community. Patch recently asked Angela Szczepanski, principal of Atwood Elementary School, to share her thoughts on these topics and others. Macomb Patch: How do you define the role of principal?  Angela Szczepanski: I feel my role as a principal is to be a leader for students, parents, and staff. I assist students and parents through …

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In Brief: Voters Asked to Approve Millage for Special Education Funding on Nov. 8

A 1.2-mill property tax proposal is on the Nov. 8 ballot. If approved, this money will be used to help finance programs for 20,000 special education students in Macomb County.

On Nov. 8, Macomb Township residents will be asked to vote on a special education mill of which the proceeds will be used to offset state and federal funding losses in the county's 21 local districts and the Macomb Intermediate School District. The 1.2-mill property tax proposal is expected to raise $27.5 million, or $206 per pupil across the county when first levied in 2011. According to the MISD, this is approximately one-fourth of the $785 per student local schools are losing annually as compared to 2008 funding. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised will fund local education programs, including programs for 20,000 special education students, which is now one in every seven students in the county, according to the MISD.  These …

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L'Anse Creuse Asks Community to Aid Search for New Superintendent

L'Anse Creuse Public Schools has scheduled two meetings to allow members of the community to offer their input on what they would like to see in a new district superintendent.

With the current superintendent, Dr. DiAnne Pellerin, retiring at the end of the month, L'Anse Creuse Public Schools will immediately begin the search and selection process for its sixth superintendent. In the weeks or months leading to the hire of a new superintendent, the L’Anse Creuse Board of Education has appointed Assistant Superintendent of Operations Robert Randlett to serve as interim superintendent. The district has contracted with Cascade Consulting of Seattle to assist with the search and selection process for the new superintendent, and plans to host several focus-group meetings with representative groups and members of the community as well. Two meetings have been scheduled thus far: These meetings are intended to provide a …

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L'Anse Creuse Names Randlett Interim Superintendent

Current L'Anse Creuse Superintendent Dr. DiAnne Pellerin plans to retire at the end of September, leaving her position vacant. L’Anse Creuse Assistant Superintendent of Operations Robert Randlett will step in as interim superintendent.

State Ranks Schools; Sequoyah Elementary Macomb's Highest at No. 414

The basic intent of the list is to allow individual schools to compare their success, as defined by the Michigan Department of Education, to other schools in their district and throughout the state.

In a top-to-bottom ranking of the state’s public schools released by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) today, Chippewa Valley’s Sequoyah Elementary, at No. 414, ranked the highest of all schools serving Macomb Township. New Haven High School was the lowest on the list, coming in at No. 2,603 out of a total 3,011. Because of this exceedingly low rank, the high school was identified as a Persistently Lowest Achieving (PLA) School, which means it must develop and implement “Redesign Plans” approved by the State School Reform Office in the MDE in the next year. “This is important information for schools, parents, and communities to review,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, in a release. “It provides a …

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L'Anse Creuse Offers Select Students 'FastTrack' to GED

A new program through L’Anse Creuse Public Schools will allow qualifying students to test for their GED at no charge and gain valuable work experience while pursuing their GED.

A new program through L’Anse Creuse Public Schools will allow some students to test for their GED at no charge. The students who qualify for this program are those ages 19-21 who meet the eligibility requirements set by Michigan Works! guidelines and funding. These students will be offered an increased credential with a Value Added GED and may pursue their GED through the FastTrack GED + Program. They will also be able to test for their GED at no charge. Students in the program will be able to earn their GED while acquiring the necessary workforce development skills needed to secure employment or to enroll in additional training opportunities. These skills will be tested during participation in a 12-week paid work experience after …

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Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse High Schools Miss the Mark on Federal Academic Goals

Chippewa Valley, L'Anse Creuse, New Haven and Utica districts made adequate yearly progress overall, but individual schools in each district failed to meet the goals.

No Child Left Behind’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) testing has meant mixed results for Macomb Township’s school districts, with high schools in Chippewa Valley, L’Anse Creuse and New Haven failing to meet the federal academic goals this year but with the majority of elementary and middle schools achieving the target goals. This failure on the part of the township’s high schools mirrors the decline reported statewide, with the percentage of high schools making AYP dropping from 81.9 percent last year to 60 percent this year. Overall, Michigan schools saw a 7.1 percentage point decrease in students meeting the federal academic goals, from 86 percent of schools in 2009-10 to 79 percent in 2010-11. Chippewa Valley Schools  Tested in …

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