By Kaitlyn Campbell
A Clare County school district is ready to have their students back for another school year, and they’ve made some changes in order to help with their success.
Clare Public Schools had an overall successful school year last year, said superintendent Jim Walter.
“Enrollment continued to bounce back from the COVID era, and we expect around 1,600 students for enrollment this year,” Walter said. “That’s a strong number for us, probably leaves us the second largest district in the RESD. We have expanded programming this year to include preschool, so we have one preschool classroom beginning this year. And the board intends to, if they pass the resolution tonight (8/14), will go back to the voters regarding a bond issue on the November 7 ballot.”
There are a couple of things that Walter is hoping to see from Clare students this upcoming year.
“First and foremost is being present,” he said. “Attendance slid off quite a bit during the COVID years, some for obvious reasons. There are a number of things that we all could have done better in society, but we need students to be present. That’s part of what it means to participate in the social and the academic fabric of a school. Your friends are here, your teachers are excited to have you here, and the best way for learning to take place is consistent attendance. It’s just as important as it is in the working world.
“Number two, we’re always trying to improve engagements for students so students have an opportunity to use what they learn to solve problems and participate in the world. They’re thinking about real world problems as they learn, many times basic skills, but how they would apply them to solve problems in the world. And then of course we’re always working on our reading and math and communication abilities. Kids who can read successfully, can speak successfully, are good at working with others and have very strong math skills will have a lot of choices in life, and that’s what we want for kids. There’s nothing wrong with just having a job, but what we really want for our kids when they graduate from Clare is to have choices in terms of what they’ll make a career out of.”
To help kids succeed this year, there have been some changes in curriculum and an increase in staff members.
“We are piloting a new language arts curriculum and math teachers will be choosing the materials to pilot as well for later this fall,” Walter said. “So we’re trying to improve the curriculum resources we use, number one. Number two, we have more staff members than ever before, more teachers. Our professional staff number is close to 100 staff numbers now. More paraprofessionals, academic interventionists. So we’ve tried to bring more people to the table, so to speak, to help our students, to be present for our students, and we’re making some changes to curriculum over time. Right now we’re just in the pilot stage, but we anticipate making those changes, and then again, all of our efforts to keep kids engaged. We’re still very heavy in the project-based learning as well.”
Clare Public Schools is looking forward to seeing their students return to the classroom.
“Staff just came back today (8/14), and it’s always wonderful to hear stories of summertime with their families and their adventures, but I think we all look forward to having the kids back,” Walter said. “That’s really where our energy and enthusiasm is directed and it also comes from them. So having the kids back is always a big deal because we’re trying to improve their options for their adult life and we’re trying to unlock their potential, and that is a lot of fun. It’s challenging sometimes, but it’s a lot of fun to see kids find out what they’re capable of becoming.”
There are many things that Clare students should do to prepare for the school year.
“The first thing they get to do every day is choose their attitude,” Walter said. “You can choose to be tortured by school or you can choose to make the most of it and enjoy school, and that’s the most important thing all of us do every day. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a student in school or you’re working somewhere, you get to choose your attitude. The second thing I think kids need to do is be prepared to give great effort. If you want to succeed at something, it takes a little more than just showing up. Showing up is step one, but giving great effort is an excellent recipe for succeeding. The third thing that I think of in our community is showing people you care, so the manner in which you show people you care about your academics, the manner in which you show people that you care about others and that we do take care of others. Those are the three things that I would want kids to be thinking of as we lead up to next week.
“Lots of little things: checking your schedule, come to open house, learn where your classes are, meet your teachers. All of those things are going to happen anyway. They will be very helpful if you can do them in advance and get the lay of the land. But the big picture items matter the most.”