Wayland Union Schools

The Wayland Union School Board held their regular August meeting in the Fine Arts Center on Monday, August 9, 2021 where roughly 25 people attended.

The school board welcomed new administrators, Adam Valk, as the Wayland Union High School Athletic Director, and Karri Bailey, as the Wayland Union Middle School and High School Assistant Principal. Mr. Valk will supervise high school athletic programming as well as the Fitness Center and pool. Mrs. Bailey will share time between the middle and high schools focusing on students in 8th and 9th grades.

There were five individuals who submitted public comment, two of which passed and agreed with the statement of the first speaker.

The Superintendent’s report, which is available for the public and is located on Board Docs on the district’s website, stated the district’s plans for preparing for the 2021-2022 school year. Students are returning to school five full days a week. At this time, there is no mandate or public health order for mask wearing and will be optional for parents to decide. Masks will also be optional on school buses. Dr. Hinds said the ACHD and MDHHS have published recommendations for the 21-22 school year, however none have issued public health orders for schools.

The district is still obligated to report confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 at schools under the Emergency Order under MCL 333.2253. These will be placed on the district’s website. There is no guidance or requirements at this time from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) regarding Extended COVID-19 Learning (ECOL) Plan requirements. The district is still required to provide contract tracing information to the health department and 2-3 WUS employees will increase their hourly schedule to assist with data entry. This increase will be paid by ESSER funds.

The district has purchased Swivls, a recording and streaming device, to increase access to instruction during extended absences. The devices arrived on Friday and teacher training will begin next week. These devices were purchased with ESSER funds.

Other items on the agenda included passing the teachers and aides contracts and the 2021-2022 schedule of rates. Purchase cards for teachers have returned to pre-COVID amount of $600 per elementary classroom. This is from the casino revenue which allows the teachers to purchase school supplies for elementary students.

Our K-8 summer school is in the last week of its 8-week learning program. Our students have had unique experiences including trips to the Fire Station, Ebersole Nature Center, and the Animal Barns at the Barry County Fair. Kudos to the staff members who contributed to the success of our Y5-12th grade students during summer programming. Our Kids Read Now program continues to go well. 1948 books have been reported as read by 51 students who have completed the program. Baker and Dorr are neck and neck in terms of the average number of books read per student with Steeby following close behind. If you know a student in grades Y5-3rd grade, ask them if they’ve reported their Kids Read Now books this summer. Students have until September 3rd to report their books as read and receive a prize.

Please contact Superintendent Dr. Hinds if you have any questions or concerns about this summary (or any other topic) at hindsc@waylandunion.org or at (269) 792-2181 extension 3001.

The district welcomes all Wayland Union Families to the Return to Learn Carnival on Monday, August 16, 2021 from 5:00 - 7:00pm at the Wayland Union High School Parking Lot (Rain date is 8/17/21). There will be rides, food, games, dunk tank, and lots of fun. You don’t want to miss it!

*Please note: This is a summary of the meeting. Official board minutes will be approved at the next regular board meeting on Monday, September 13, 2021.

Website: waylandunion.org
Location: 850 East Superior Street, Wayland, MI, USA
Phone: (269) 792-2181