Traverse City News and Events

Transition Plans Ramp Up At Old Mission School

By Beth Milligan | March 28, 2018

Efforts to launch a new charter school at Old Mission Peninsula School in September are ramping up – with a recent enrollment period attracting 127 students, two new directors set to be announced next month, a school board of directors formed, and multiple community events planned for the facility this summer.

After receiving its charter authorization from Grand Valley State University, Old Mission Peninsula School held its open enrollment period earlier this month, marking the first opportunity for students to sign up to attend the K-6 school. According to Allison O’Keefe of the Old Mission Peninsula Education Foundation (OMPEF), the school surpassed its initial target goal of 120 students, registering 127 students during open enrollment.

“That surpassed our goal of the minimum number of students we needed to be successful as far as our state funding was concerned,” says O’Keefe. “We have a cutoff capacity of 190 students for our first year. We haven’t even really advertised or put out our full marketing…so we know enrollment is going to increase as the year goes on. August is a huge month for enrollment.”

Should the school exceed its capacity for any particular grade, a lottery system will be used to determine admission. The total number of students at the school will eventually determine the number of faculty hired. Michael Smiley, president of the newly formed Old Mission School Board of Education, says the school has not yet made any official hires but is preparing to announce the staffing of two key positions in April: the director of academics and director of operations.

“We’ve also received a lot of interest and applications from all over the country (for teaching positions),” says Smiley. “We’re not concerned about having enough teachers.”

Old Mission Peninsula School is also in the process of ordering its new curriculum to allow for faculty training in the coming months, using EL Education’s “comprehensive, standards-based literacy program” offered as a partnership between Harvard Graduate School of Education and Outward Bound. Faculty training in the curriculum will take place in the coming months. O’Keefe says the school is also finalizing a contract with Angel Care Preschool & Childcare to offer on-site daycare this fall for infants, 1-2 year-old toddlers, and 3-4 year-old preschoolers. Enrollment for the daycare program is expected to begin in April.

Several events this summer are also planned to help strengthen community outreach for the school, according to O’Keefe. The school is planning a community ribbon cutting ceremony at the property on July 1 when OMPEF officially takes possession of the building from Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), to be followed by a public picnic at Bowers Harbor Park. The school will also launch a summer camp called Camp Island View for 4-5 year olds and 6-8 year olds that will offer weekly themed camps between July 9 and August 24. Camps will run daily from 9am to 4pm and are $230 per week (registration for camps is open online now). Old Mission Peninsula School will have its own float along with other local schools as part of the National Cherry Festival’s Junior Royale and Cherry Royale parades this summer, according to O’Keefe, and plans to host a community farmers market on the school property on Fridays during the months of July and August. “That project has been a total passion of mine, because it brings in the community,” says O’Keefe.

Meanwhile, OMPEF has raised $1.65 million of its $2 million goal to finance the school’s September launch and is working on securing more. O’Keefe says foundation representatives already know that $2 million “won’t be enough” to sustain the school long-term and are now focused on longer-term financial models. “We’re moving forward to try and obtain an endowment so that funding things like field trips won’t be a question,” O’Keefe says. “Our fundraising goal is forever increasing.”

Old Mission Peninsula School’s conversion to a charter school will also coincide with Peninsula Community Library’s departure from the property. The library is preparing to build a new community facility on 5.25 acres on the corner of Island View and Center roads. According to an update released by the library last week, the organization has raised $1.76 million of its $2.5 million fundraising goal for the project, with groundbreaking on construction expected to begin this summer.

Several rooms in the new facility now have dedicated names attached to major donors, including the community meeting room (The Friends of Neahtawanta Room), the building itself (Nancy and Bill Davy), the library’s new coffee bar (Jon and Sue Kinne), the Friends Room (Friends of PCL), the Reception Area (Paula Kelley), the Children’s and Teens’ Areas (Tom’s Food Markets), the Local History Room (Tim Carroll), the Children’s Garden (the Beers Family), and the back porch (Jim and Fran Krupka). Naming opportunities still exist for areas including the front porch and carriage house – donations staff hope will put the project closer to its fundraising finish line.

Peninsula Community Library will also host a major fundraising event for the new facility on Monday, April 9 at 6pm at the Boathouse Restaurant called Books at the Boathouse. The event includes appetizers, dinner, dessert and wine, an appearance from New York Times best-selling author Angie Morgan, a live auction, and an update on the new library plans. Tickets are $150 – $100 of which is tax deductible – and are available at Peninsula Community Library.

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