BCS District Update

After a very busy summer, we've had a great start to the 24-25 school year at Bronson Community Schools! There's something very exciting about a new school year and the opportunities it will bring to our students: from academics to the arts and athletics - we're honored to serve and here to support every student, every day!

Bronson Community Schools is launching a new initiative facilitated by the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) to create a three- to five-year Strategic Plan. The process will include community and staff input events, data collection and other efforts to create a shared vision and goals for the future of the district and strategies to achieve them, all while using scarce public education resources in the most effective and efficient way.

Be on the lookout for more information and opportunities to provide input in this process as we work to choose 3-5 priority goals to implement over the next 3-5 years.

We welcome these new staff members to the Bronson Community Schools team:

• Connor Michael, Jr/Sr High School Social Studies Teacher
• Lisa Kubel, Jr/Sr High School 7th Grade Math/PE Teacher (through December 2024)
• Nicole Summers, Ryan Elementary Paraprofessional
• Laurali Gates, Anderson/Ryan Elementary Library Paraprofessional
• Tia Weaver, Ryan Elementary Paraprofessional

We continue to have the following openings for teaching/support staff.

• Jr/Sr High Math Teacher
• Jr/Sr High English Learners (EL) Teacher
• Jr/Sr High English Learners (EL) Paraprofessional

Job postings and the application process can be found here: https://www.bronsonschools.org/district/resources/employment

We appreciate the partnership we have with Johnny's Markets/Bronson Shell Station for the following fundraisers for Bronson Community Schools!

The Bronson Shell Station has designated and marked one pumping station (pumps 7 & 8) as "The Giving Pump" and will donate 1 cent/gallon of gas pumped on that pump back to Bronson Community Schools. This fundraiser runs until October 31st.

Last year, the Jr/Sr High School came in 2nd place in this challenge and received $1,000! We're participating again this year and appreciate your votes! Vote once a day from September 9 - October 18 at https://johnnysmarkets.com/school-spirit/

Please see below for updates and pictures of projects in progress and/or completed this summer!

Additional progress pictures can be found on our district Facebook page.

Please contact Superintendent, Kate Wall with questions you have about these projects.

New student desks, tables, and chairs were fully installed, district-wide, before our annual open house. Additionally, staff received training on the new interactive touch panel displays that we received to provide more engaging teaching and learning opportunities.

New student furniture (K-12) was purchased with the Milliman Trust funds.

Interactive touch panels were purchased with Title funds (federal grant funds) for the elementary buildings and sinking fund dollars for the Jr/Sr High School.

In our 6th grade classrooms, we used general fund dollars to install epoxy floors (rather than maintaining painted concrete) to better withstand normal wear and tear.

It's amazing to see how these projects have transformed learning spaces and experiences!

The food service projects at Anderson and the Jr/Sr High School continue toward completion. Crews are working on getting everything installed and functional for full operation and inspection. Both kitchens have new ovens, ventilation, and fire suppression systems.

At the Jr/Sr High School, a new rolling overhead door was installed between the kitchen and cafeteria for better flow of student traffic during the lunch periods.

We thank our families and food service staff for their patience and flexibility with our limited menus as we work to get these projects completed so we can offer the food selection and variety that students are more used to.

These projects were funded by food service funds that we were required to spend down and sinking fund dollars.

Ryan Restrooms were completely renovated this summer with them being functional before the start of the school year. We are waiting for permanent lighting to be installed inside the restrooms - but have temporary lighting in place.

This project was fully funded with sinking fund dollars.

We utilized the remainder of the Milliman Trust funds, a donation from the Bronson Athletic Boosters, and grant funds to support students experiencing homelessness to purchase a 10-passenger van. General Fund dollars were used to purchase a second van. They will be used to transport students experiencing homelessness to/from school, they will also be used to pick up food for families in need and deliver the food bags to schools in the district. We will also use them to transport smaller athletic and academic teams to events.

Vans were delivered on Tuesday, August 13th. We have installed radios in them and are waiting on cameras to be installed and Bronson Viking wraps to be applied and then they'll be ready to transport our students!

The lead time on a new transformer to provide the energy/power needed to run this system has halted the full completion of the HVAC/air conditioning project at the Jr/Sr High School. We continue to work with contractors on getting a confirmation of a date for it to be in-district.

The HVAC project is funded with COVID-Relief (ESSER) funds and sinking fund dollars.

Each building releases a newsletter each month. Find the most recent newsletters linked, below:

Anderson Elementary

Ryan Elementary

Bronson Jr/Sr High School

The Official 2024-2025 School Year Calendar can be found here: tinyurl.com/bcs24-25cal

Monday, September 9th @ 6:30 pm in the Bronson Jr/Sr High School Library with a Board Workshop beginning at 6:00 pm.

Board Agendas can be found here:

https://www.bronsonschools.org/administration/school_board/board_agendas

Minutes from Board Meetings can be found here:

https://www.bronsonschools.org/administration/school_board/board_minutes

Click the links below to find the Facebook pages that are affiliated with our district. School personnel are the administrators of the pages. *If you have information share that is specific to a student, please do not message these pages. Instead, please call the school directly.*

Bronson Community Schools

Anderson Elementary (Grades K-2)

Ryan Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Bronson Jr/Sr High School (Grades 6-12)

Bronson Viking Athletics