Schools

Glen Oaks to celebrate completion of renovation project

Glen Oaks Community College later this week will host a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to recognize the completion of one project and the start of another. Set for 10 a.m. Thursday, the fanfare celebrates the end of the school’s north campus renovation project. Meanwhile, college officials will mark the beginning of the south campus renovation project. Funding for the $7.3 million renovation …

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Local students recognized by CTE

The St. Joseph County Career & Technical Education (CTE) Consortium recognizes several students who were recently nominated by their instructors for their outstanding performance during the first semester. These students have distinguished themselves among their peers by demonstrating dedication, perseverance and commitment in their CTE programs.  Instructors commonly describe these students as having a strong work ethic, within and outside …

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Annual evaluation for TR schools superintendent

Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Nikki Nash earned a rating of “effective” following her annual evaluation. Board of Education members approved the evaluation Dec. 18. Areas in the evaluation included professional practice, student growth and progress toward district goals. Her overall rating was 3.33 on a 4-point scale. The mark is higher than her evaluation score of 3.21 a year …

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New communications & marketing director at GOCC

Glen Oaks Community College has announced the hiring of its new executive director of communications and marketing. Denise DeVries is joining the college, replacing Valorie Juergens. Juergens is retiring in January after more than 11 years with the school. A Portage resident, DeVries was previously the senior manager of marketing and communications for Special-Lite Inc., a custom commercial-door manufacturer in …

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School millage renewal approved in Burr Oak

Burr Oak Community Schools taxpayers Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a renewal request centering on a sinking fund. Renewal of a nearly 3-mill amount came in the form of 127 votes in favor to 35 against. Projected to raise about $160,000 annually over the course of its four-year life, the newly approved sinking fund will take effect in 2025. District officials said …

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Construction project at Glen Oaks

Glen Oaks Community College officials have secured an architect to aid with development of a new, on-campus building. College officials are planning to have a new agriculture building constructed and during last week’s meeting, Glen Oaks Board of Trustees members OK’d the hiring of Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne to handle the task. The college, however, is waiting for approval …

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Tri-Alpha searching for new inductee

Glen Oaks Community College’s Alpha Alpha Alpha chapter is looking to induct a Glen Oaks graduate into its honor society. Tri-Alpha was founded in 2018 and the Glen Oaks Chapter was established in 2022. It is a national honor society for first-generation college students. A student is considered first generation if neither parents, step-parents or legal guardians ever obtained a …

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Sturgis High School – Big wins in state competition

Sturgis High School’s manufacturing class brought home eight first-place finishes during a recent state competition. The latest Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society, in fact, saw the Sturgis team bring home more award-winners than any other participating school. Led by instructor Jeff Wanamaker, the class bested Sturgis’ six state champions it claimed in 2019. The goal of the MITES competition is …

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Centreville – Discussion continues regarding ballfield complex

Plans to name a ballfield complex in honor of a noteworthy graduate were put on hold Monday by the Centreville Public Schools Board of Education. Class of 1995 member Matt Thornton went on to enjoy a 13-year Major League Baseball career as a pitcher with six different MLB teams. While Thornton, a former MLB All-Star, may have seemed a logical …

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Michigan public schools won’t be given A-through-F grades anymore

Michigan will ditch a system that gave A-through-F grades to public schools each year after state education officials called the system overly simplistic and a duplicate of federal requirements. The Michigan School Grades System, which was narrowly passed in 2018 by the Republican-led Legislature, assigned each public school in Michigan letter grades and rankings based on the school’s annual performance in …

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