Beaver Island Community School

Last updated
Beaver Island Community Schools
Address
37895 Kings Highway [1]
Beaver Island
, Charlevoix , Michigan , 49782
United States
District information
MottoCustomized learning in a unique island community. [2]
GradesPre-Kindergarten-12
SuperintendentWil Cwikiel [3]
Schools1 [4]
Budget$2,328,000 2021-2022 expenditures [4]
NCES District ID 2604350 [4]
Students and staff
Students53 (2023-2024) [4]
Teachers7.52 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024) [4]
Staff19.04 FTE (2023-2024) [4]
Student–teacher ratio7.05 [4]
Other information
Website www.beaverisland.k12.mi.us

Beaver Island Community School is a public school district in Charlevoix County, Michigan. It serves Peaine Township and St. James Township, which are located on Beaver Island. [5]

Contents

The district consists of a single school serving all grades. Wil Cwikiel, the superintendent, also serves as the school's principal. [1] The school has 53 students [4] as of the 2023-2024 school year, down from 96 students during the 1999-2000 school year [6] due to declining birth rates. A unique challenge for the school is that due to its small size, small fluctuations in enrollment have a large impact on funding. [7] The school board has seven members elected to four-year terms. [6]

History

The district was founded in 1898. [8] At one time, there were two one-room schoolhouses in the district, but the schools consolidated in town around the mid-20th Century. Because few teachers would live on such a remote island, Catholic nuns were employed by the school, although instruction was secular. In 1974, the school hired the first full-time teacher who was not a nun. By that time, school board planned to ultimately replace the nuns with lay teachers. [9]

As of 1985, honor-roll students with perfect attendance were treated to McDonald's hamburgers four times a year, but the meals had to be flown in from Charlevoix.

In 2007, voters approved a nearly $4 million bond issue to build an addition and improve the school building. [10]

Historic enrollment

References

  1. 1 2 Beaver Island Community School. "Beaver Island Community School" . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  2. ↑ Land Information Access Association. "Beaver Island Master Plan 2023" (PDF). Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ Beaver Island Community School. "Staff" . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Beaver Island Community School". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
  5. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Charlevoix County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Ballotpedia. "Beaver Island Community School" . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Capitol quips". Grand Rapids Press. March 11, 2002. p. D4.
  8. ↑ Ashton, Dixie (June 2, 1985). "Small town graduates". Grand Rapids Press. p. 32.
  9. ↑ Clock, Bob (September 4, 1974). "Beaver Island gets first full-time lay teacher". Petoskey News-Review. p. 30.
  10. ↑ Michigan Department of Treasury. "2007 STATE QUALIFIED SCHOOL BOND ELECTION RESULTS" . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  11. ↑ "The Beaver Beacon" (PDF). The Beaver Beacon. June 1956. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "School to graduate two". Escanaba Daily Press. May 26, 1962. p. 1.
  13. ↑ Clock, Bob (September 4, 1974). "Beaver Island gets first full-time lay teacher". Petoskey News-Review. p. 30.
  14. ↑ McKesson, Michael (March 13, 1983). "32 miles of watery isolation separate Beaver Island from the rest of the U.S.". Ann Arbor News. p. 18.
  15. ↑ Ashton, Dixie (June 2, 1985). "Small town graduates". Grand Rapids Press. p. 32.
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