ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – A new school year is just around the corner. All week long, WZMQ 19 is checking in with U.P. school districts to see what’s new and what families need to know.
The halls of Escanaba Area Public Schools are quiet as they await students’ return, but that hasn’t been the case at the sites of several facility upgrades throughout the summer.
“We’ve been hard at work, not just cleaning schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Coby Fletcher. “When our students come back to Lemmer, for example, they’re going to see a brand new playground out there.”
Much of the equipment has just been installed, giving students new ways to play and exercise at recess.
“I drive by that building several times a day, and it’s nice to see kids already out there testing the equipment out,” Fletcher laughed, “so we know it works!”
Other major updates have been focused on athletics, like the construction of restrooms between the high school tennis courts and track.
“Thanks to a generous donation a few years back, we added four new tennis courts,” Fletcher said. “We have a total of eight now, so that area gets a lot of usage so we felt like it would be a good idea to put some restrooms out there.”
The Eskymo Fan Club’s bleacher project has also recently been completed at the football field.
“The school district kind of cleaned things up and then sealed the concrete in the stadium,” said Fletcher. “The Fan Club paid for all new bleachers, some new individual seats. It’s a roughly half-million dollar project, so I think people will appreciate the new seating that’s there when football gets started.”
On the academic side, the district had added Advanced Placement Precalculus to its course catalogue.
“Kids who want a little extra challenge as they prepare to take the next step in their lives will have that opportunity,” Fletcher said. “We want kids to explore their talents and develop their talents, and that means giving them a lot of things to choose from. I think it’s a safe bet that we offer more than anybody else around us. Even as money gets tight, that’s just been an emphasis of our district.”
Despite the lack of a school aid budget from Lansing, Fletcher assures parents that programs like free student meals will not be going anywhere.
“You’ve heard a lot of districts talking about potentially moving away from the free breakfast and lunches for students,” he said. “There are multiple programs that allow districts to take advantage of that, and we’ve been very deliberate and very careful in choosing the programs that will allow us to maintain that, so there are no anticipated changes for us for the next school year.”
With Escanaba Area Public Schools heading into the fall fully staffed, Fletcher says it is shaping up to be another great school year.
“This is the best time of year,” he said. “It’s nice to see all of the work that goes into our buildings over the summer to get everything ready for the kids, but if you don’t have students in the hallway, it just doesn’t feel right. We’re excited to welcome everybody back.”
Parents can find the school calendar and other important information at eskymos.com.
