Innovative instruction is taking place in our schools all across our three-county area.
Here's one of the latest.
We thank the Oceana County Press for this story.
It's a Bike Rodeo & Book Ride Giveaway!
Mark Saturday, May 13, on your calendar!
From 10 am until noon, the ESD's Great Start Collaborative PreK Program and Shoreline FORCE will host a Bike Safety Rodeo and Book Ride.
This two-hour event on the campus of West Shore Community College (WSCC) is FREE and totally family friendly. All ages are welcome.
There will be variety of activities for kids at the Rodeo, including helmet checks, bike inspections, bike safety tips, and giveaways.
Right nearby will be the Great Start Collaborative's Book Ride, which will inspire children to build their interest in reading and encourage healthy activity and quality family time.
The ESD's Adaptive Driving Program delivers safe driving skills and success. Read about it in the story link below provided by the Ludington Daily News.
Here are the dates for the District Health Department #10's Immunizations and Hearing, Dental, and Vision screenings.
Please mark your calendar.
Spiderman and Elsa look forward to seeing you.
Through the sponsorship and coordination of Brian Dotson, Director of the Region 9 MiSTEM Network, an expert in reptiles came to Mason County to introduce every 4th grader to the world of snakes.
Click on the link below for the full story in the Mason County Press.
CTE students in the Criminal Justice Program are going the extra mile to remind the public about the dangers of impaired driving.
Thanks to this story and video from the Mason County Press, you can learn more about the students' "Strive for a Safer Drive" campaign.
The old saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" has stood the test of time and is now proving itself to be an effective strategy for area school leaders and other professionals to use in improving safety for their students, parents, and staff members.
With this goal in the forefront, West Shore ESD Special Education Supervisor Amanda Unger and the ESD Administrative Team are coordinating a Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training on January 17 at West Shore Community College.
The training is open to community agencies, local school districts and units of law enforcement which serve Lake, Oceana, and Mason counties.
The training will be led expert Dr. Melissa Reeves. Along with her formal presentation, she will work with more than 50 school, mental health, and law enforcement leaders to develop processes necessary for identifying behavioral threats and implementing appropriate interventions to keep our students, parents, and school staff safe.
"Even though the threat assessment process is new for us, everyone is rolling up their sleeves to make sure the program is successful," said Chad Skiba, the behavior management and safety coordinator with the West Shore ESD. "Sadly, the threat of violence is not something any of us can ignore today."
Skiba believes it's important to utilize a fact-based, systematic process for identifying, assessing, and managing potentially dangerous or violent situations.
"We're taking an all-hands-on-deck approach," he said. "Getting more people trained in the threat assessment framework will help us engage with students prior to they choose violence as an option. We'll be able to better target additional support and resources."
Dr. Unger agreed.
"We want to thoughtfully and caringly identify those students who may pose a threat to themselves and others," she said. "This not only helps prevent a crisis from occurring, it connects those students and their families with on-going help from the community."
Unger believes teamwork is the key ingredient.
"No counselor, sheriff's deputy, school principal, or psychologist can carry out this process alone," she said. "This is why the January 17 training is critical. When it comes to proactively identifying and responding to potential threats, a number of pieces to the entire puzzle need to come together. We're blessed to live in a region that has so many dedicated and talented professionals involved."
About 600 3rd-graders from around Lake, Mason, and Ocean counties experienced a variety of "hands-on" career activities at a two-day event hosted by West Shore Community College and the ESD's CTE program.
This amazing event inspired students to think about the many future opportunities awaiting them if they keep studying and keep pursuing their dreams.
Click on the link below to read Rob Alway's excellent post in the Mason County Press.
It's a wonderful time of year. Along with blooms in full force, our high school grads are celebrating with their family and friends at commencements, honors ceremonies, and open houses.
You'll enjoy this story by Kim Beardslee of graduate Keeton Capling who refused to let autism hold him back.
Click the link below to see her post in the Mason County Press.
Teacher consultant, Sarah Hresko, shared a story about a student who recently exited the special education program. Sarah is a teacher consultant for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Read what Sarah wrote below!
"Ashton Maynard is a 5th grade student at Hart Middle School. Ashton was born with a moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. He wears a hearing aid and a cochlear implant. Ashton advocates for his own needs in the classroom and is able to tell others with confidence about his hearing loss. Ashton is a great student to have in class. He attends to the teacher, is respectful, completes his work, and works well with his peers.
In the past Ashton has received speech services. He has also received direct services from myself, Sarah Hresko, the teacher consultant for students who are Deaf and hard of hearing. Working with Ashton over the past 7 years has been such a positive experience in my career. When I met Ashton he was struggling academically. It has been truly amazing to see Ashton's progress over the years. He has made significant academic gains, and he is currently on the honor roll. It is bittersweet to exit Ashton from special education services. Ashton is a wonderful role model for children with hearing loss and I know that he will continue to amaze us all."
At the West Shore ESD, we're passionate about walking with students of all needs and abilities, and are always glad to celebrate alongside our students and families! Congratulations, Ashton, and thank you for sharing, Sarah!
As the intensity of the pandemic eases, students of all ages are struggling with a variety of thoughts and feelings.
This recent post in the Ocean County Press by Kim Beardslee presents a great review of how Pentwater Public Schools and health experts are partnering to make a positive difference.
You can count on the WSESD!
The ESD's Instructional Services staff members know success in math is essential for students, too. So they are creating and giving away math literacy materials and resources to promote positive experiences in math to schools and families in Lake, Mason, and Oceana Counties.
Click on the link below to read the story from the Mason County Press about the ESD's Math Moments.
In late February, the Great Start Collaborative for the West Shore Educational Service District partnered with the Friends of the Ludington State Park to sponsor a lantern-lit book walk. The wonderful children's book, The Mitten by Jan Brett was appropriate for the weather. And as you can imagine, all participants had a delightful time. Click to see the article and video created by the Mason County Press.
Students in the CTE Construction Trades program recently participated in a fire safety demonstration with the local fire department, put together by Instructor, Aaron Tarsa. In preparation for the event, students built Palmer Dollhouses; a small structure that exhibits how a fire can spread throughout a house.
During the demonstration, fire fighters started a small fire in the bottom bedroom and allowed the fire to spread throughout the house. They explained to students why the fire moved through the building, how to prevent it from spreading, and the importance of following building codes. Students also had the chance to practice using a fire extinguisher, in case they ever need to on a job site.
In the Construction Trades program, first year students primarily focus on classroom learning, small building projects, and various trainings and demonstrations throughout the year. Second year students have the opportunity for off-site internships, practicing skills like framing, electrical, and plumbing.
Demonstrations like this are a great example of the applied learning model used at the CTE. In the classroom, students are learning basics in construction skill, safety training, good work habits, and technical knowledge. Seeing these things in action is not only exciting but also reinforces what students are learning in the classroom.
Thank you to the volunteer fire department for coming out and making this day such a success!
Be sure to read this great article by Mason County Press about the food programs going on in some of our local districts! Students are able to get food grown by Michigan farmers as part of their school lunches. The article talks about Mason County Eastern, but Hart and Shelby School Districts also participate in this! Here at the West Shore ESD we love seeing all of the wonderful ways our community works to best serve our students.
Oceana CAN is hosting their 7th Annual Oceana County College and Career Fair will take place on Wednesday, February 16th, 2022 as a masked, in-person event at Shelby High School. The event will be engaging Juniors, as well as some Seniors this year, to ensure they have high quality career and college exploration opportunities. We hope we can count on you as a sponsor of or participant at the event this year.
For more information about Oceana CAN, follow the link below. If you have questions prior to the event, please e-mail Alyssa at alyssa.merten@oceanacan.org or call
231-301-8210. We hope to see you there!
Our Career and Technical Education Automotive Technology Program received a generous vehicle donation from NAPA Auto Parts of Ludington! Read more in the Mason County Press article using the link below.
Thank you NAPA Auto Parts of Ludington!
Meet Barbara Sims of Hart, Executive Director Oceana County United Way
Our WSESD is Proud to Partner with Barbara Sims. Barbara and her husband Tom have been residents of Hart for more than a decade. It was nearly 10 years ago that they opened their delightful children friendly bookstore Storybook Village in downtown Pentwater.
To say they love life in our West Michigan area would be an understatement - as would attempting to cap the passion Barbara has for Early Childhood Education.
Barbara is one of the strongest advocates for the provision of quality preschool and early years education you could find. Our school districts, parents, students, and staff are fortunate to have her in their corner.
As the Executive Director of the Ocean County United Way (Lakeshore), Barbara consistently promotes local and regional collaboration to maintain and improve the kinds of programs that touch all aspects of life. She shared that there are many ways for individuals to step up and impact their own communities - which is what Barbara tries to encourage.
Local superintendents and other school leaders in our three-county WSESD region know Barbara well and are vocal in being proud to partner with her. Walkerville superintendent Tom Langdon shared that Barbara cares about WPS schools and students. He also mentioned that every spring, she attends high school graduations throughout our area to award United Way scholarships to our grads. Teachers and students alike know that Barbara and all of the United Way partners are doing what they can to help them succeed.
Literacy is another passion for Barbara - as evidenced by the United Ways active match participation in the Dolly Parton Foundation - where the foundation strives to get high quality books mailed into the homes of preschoolers every month.
It is folks like Barbara Sims who help make our region a wonderful place to learn, earn, and grow a family. No doubt you are, too - and if you would like to connect with Barbara and get more involved - please contact Barbara directly or WSESD Superintendent Jason Jeffrey and have a friendly chat.
The more the merrier!
Barbara Sims / United Way
barbara@unitedwaylakeshore.org
Barbara at Storybook Village / Pentwater
www.StoryBookVillageofPentwater.com
Did you know our ESD offers an employability skills class for high school students with disabilities?
It is offered morning and afternoon at the CTE, located on the campus of the West Shore Community College.
About 26 students are in the class and Kim Beardslee's recent article in the Mason County Press provides a super overview.
Just click on the link below.
Congratulations to our EC Summit Leadership team on their Outstanding Educator Award! Check out the 3:05 mark of this video to hear some comments from Brenda, Sara and the team. We have much to be proud of!