PPROGRESS The County Press SECTION A
February 26, 2012
www.mihomepaper.com
Memo from the Publisher
PROGRESS Past, Present and Future
T
he County Press has been recording Lapeer County history for more than 173 years. Founded as Plain Dealer & Lapeer County Democrat in 1839, the newspaper went through a number of mergers and name changes to become The Lapeer County Press in 1946. In 1984, then publisher Bob Myers shortened the paper’s name to The County Press.
All five school districts in Lapeer County, despite challenges, are implementing new programs and expanding the use of technology in the classroom to provide the best education possible for area students.
Despite challenges
EDUCATION progressing in Lapeer County
BY JACOB HUNSANGER 810-452-2609 • jhunsanger@mihomepaper.com
M
ichigan’s economy may be slowly recovering from what has been termed “the Great Recession,” but the public education system is still reeling from the effects of budget cuts and population decreases. However, Lapeer County school districts are taking this as a moment for selfreflection, internal reorganization and a critical growth and development stage moving local education squarely into the 21st century. “Education in Lapeer County is progressing at a rapid pace,” said Steve Zott, superintendent of the Lapeer County Intermediate School District (LCISD). “Our schools are working harder than ever to meet the needs of students while responding to such issues as declining enrollment, demands for accountability and transparency, advances in technology and legislative mandates.” Lapeer County is divided into five school districts, the largest of which is Lapeer Community Schools. The other four districts are North Branch Area Schools, Imlay City Community Schools, Dryden Community Schools and Almont Community Schools. At the northwest corner, the northern tier and northeast corner of the county students also attend Brown City, Marlette, Mayville and LakeVille schools. Lapeer is also home to Chatfield School, the only charter school in the county. There are also two parochial schools in the county, Bishop Kelley Catholic School in Lapeer and Imlay City Christian School in Imlay City. Until recently, North Branch Wesleyan Academy was operational as a third choice in private education, but like other schools in Hadley, Elba and elsewhere, the school closed its doors a few years ago. Lapeer County is also home to the Lapeer County Education and Technology Center in Attica Township, operated by the LCISD where students from all five school districts are able to take additional classes in specialized, hands-on courses that teach valuable, real-life vocational skills. The advanced EdTech center is continually growing its programs, which include robotics and engineering, culinary classes and a full-service automotive department. Education does not stop at high school in the county, however. The
Matt Wandrie (left) welcomes home LCS art teacher Nathan Denryter from Afghanistan. As the new Lapeer Community Schools superintendent, Wandrie is pushing education into the 21st century while dealing with declining enrollment.
community is also served by Mott Community College, a satellite campus of the main community college in Flint. Mott provides local residents the opportunity to earn technical certificates through offerings like the Certified Nurse Assistant program. Many high school graduates also take advantage of MCCLapeer to earn their first two years’ college credits, for a fraction of the cost, before continuing on to a more traditional four-year university. Several schools in Lapeer County have become known locally and statewide for outstanding achievements in a variety of fields — academically, athletically and in the arts. However, serious budget problems and other threats to education have forced educators and administrators to reevaluate local school districts in the past few years, occasionally resulting in some seemingly radical changes. Recent changes announced at Lapeer Community Schools include closing Maple Grove and Seaton elementary schools, along with looking at a year-round school, focus schools, new virtual learning opportunities, and the possibility of returning to only one area high school. Public schools, which receive funding from the state based on the number of students enrolled, have been hurt by the sluggish local economay. LCS currently receives $7,046 per student, and while that per pupil funding is more than in SEE EDUCATION, PAGE 4A
School administrators agree that the best asset in Lapeer County’s education system is the dedicated staff of teachers and support staff.
It sounds a little odd to say that a newspaper is recording history when we usually think in terms of the newspaper business as reporting current events. But today’s current events are tomorrow’s history. When you pull out that County Press clipping of Johnnie’s big basket or Jennie’s volleyball victory 10 or 15 or 20 years from now, you’ll be looking at history. Your kids’ history. Our county’s history. Today, The County Press brings you a big chunk of future history in the form our annual Progress Edition. The County Press has been publishing the Progress Edition since about 1965. Whether it started as a Bob Myers brainstorm or he borrowed the idea from another publisher, I’m not sure. Like a lot of Myers’ newspaper innovations from that era, the Progress Edition idea was emulated by other publishers across Michigan and around the country. But nobody did their Progress Edition better than Myers and The County Press. I remember going through my first Progress Edition at The County Press in 1973. The entire newspaper staff was mobilized early in the year to plan and produce the stories and ads that would appear in the huge Progress Edition in early March. The newspaper staff referred to the edition simply as “Progress.” Much midnight oil was burned in The County Press offices as reporters, ad reps and typesetters labored to pull everything together for what was always the biggest and best-read paper of the year. So just what the heck is this special edition we call Progress all about? First and foremost, it is about our county’s businesses and the people who make those businesses go. Who owns and runs the business? Who works there? What do they make, sell or service? What makes them special? This is good stuff. This is the stuff that makes up what my good friend Todd Muir calls the fabric of Lapeer County. Through the articles in today’s edition we all get a chance to catch up with our friends in business and meet the folks in business we might not know yet. Secondly, this year for the first time in many years, The County Press reporting team brings you a group of stories about other aspects of life in Lapeer County: our schools, farming, government, manufacturing, arts & culture. Our reporters cover these beats every week and report the news. For today’s stories, we asked our reporters to give our readers an overview of these institutions from the perspective of “Progress.” That is, what are the movers and shakers in these areas doing to move their organizations forward and in doing so, to move Lapeer County forward? The County Press is proud of our role in recording the current events and history of Lapeer County. I am especially proud of the work our team has done in creating today’s Progress Edition for all of you. Technology has improved since my first Progress experience in 1973, but you can bet our team was burning the midnight oil to pull this one off and I thank them all for their effort. I’ve written over the past year about how our owner, Rick Burrough, has invested in this newspaper. I’ve written about our local roots and local commitment. I’ve written about how everyone who works for this paper has rededicated themselves to restoring this newspaper to the greatness it once achieved under Myers’ ownership. Those things, along with today’s Progress Edition are our Progress story. I hope you enjoy today’s paper. I hope you clip the story about your business, or about the business that you, your family member or friend works for. I hope you put that clipping on your bulletin board or refrigerator to enjoy and show off for a while. And when the newsprint starts to yellow a little, I hope you carefully fold that clipping and put it in a special place. Several years from now, you’ll come across that clipping, maybe with your kids or grandkids looking on, and you’ll share a little history. Remind them that you and your kin are part of the fabric of Lapeer County. Thank you for reading The County Press. — Wes Smith, Publisher