Welcome Back Cavaliers!

We are very excited to begin another successful school year on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, however, I would like to draw your attention to many accomplishments at Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools during the 2014-15 School Year.

Academic Excellence

The C-A High School Class of 2015 was arguably the most accomplished graduating class in many years. In all, the Class of 2015 was offered over $4.8 million in scholarships from colleges and universities across the country. In addition, a record, ten graduates from this class met the stringent requirements to be recognized on the Carman-Ainsworth Academic Hall of Fame. Ten C-A graduates earned Advanced Placement Scholar, Scholar with Honor, or Scholar with Distinction recognition from the College Board for their excellence in three or more Advanced Placement Courses.

Accolades Beyond the Classroom

In addition to the many classroom accomplishments, students across our fine district represented Carman-Ainsworth in numerous county, state, national, and world competitions. Our Robotics programs continued to excel, posting numerous victories. In fact, for the second consecutive year, Big MO (High School) earned the right to compete at the World Robotics Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. Our students also excelled in the fine arts, earning individual accolades in theatre and music, along with state-level recognition for our instrumental music programs.

Carman-Ainsworth was also well-represented at the elementary level with our 5th-6th grade Book Bowl Team being crowned the county-wide Division I Champions, while our Randels Elementary Odyssey of the Mind Team placed second in the state competition, earning the opportunity to compete in the World Championships at Michigan State University. Our students certainly represented our community well and enjoyed tremendous opportunities!

Fiscal Responsibility

In February, the district completed the successful sale of its 2015 Refunding Bonds in the amount of $9,650,000. The Bonds will be used for the purpose of refunding a portion of the School District’s outstanding 2005 Refunding Bonds and to pay the costs of issuing the Bonds. In doing so, the district reduced the Bond interest expense approximately $950,347 for the taxpayers. This will lower debt payments over the next 5 years. In the two previous selling of refunding bonds, the School District reduced interest expense approximately $699,244 in 2011 and $813,210 in 2012.

In addition, as a result of the concessions agreed to by all Carman-Ainsworth employees, 2014-15 became the second straight year that the district was able to add to our Fund Balance, even with continued fluctuations in student enrollment. These successful efforts in addressing our structural deficit, while also reducing the Bond interest expense burden on our tax payers, is evidence of our continued efforts to remain fiscally responsible.

We are proud of what we accomplished last year, but we are even more excited about the new programming and ongoing improvements that our students will benefit from in the 2015-16 School Year.

Onsite Dual Enrollment at Carman-Ainsworth High School

For the first time ever, Carman-Ainsworth High School students will be able to take college courses without leaving the C-A High School Campus. We are proud to partner with the University of Michigan-Flint to offer a 13-college credit Pre-Engineering Program as well as a 13-college credit Medical Science Program for C-AHS seniors. In addition, through a partnership with Mott Community College, and as an outgrowth of our Federal STEM Early College Expansion Program Grant, C-AHS juniors and seniors will have an opportunity to enroll in American Sign Language, African-American History, and Forensic Anthropology courses…again, onsite at C-AHS. These programs are tremendous opportunities for our students that eliminate the common barriers of transportation and extra-curricular activities that often keep our students from accessing dual enrollment options. The results thus far are tremendous: 44 students are enrolled in these programs with the opportunity to earn 527 college credits, which combined with our summer Accelerated Graduation Opportunity (AGO), totals 68 students and 628 college credits while still in high school. Not to be outdone, students at C-A Middle School are slated to earn over 330 high school credits while still at the Middle School. To be certain, there are high expectations and plenty of excitement surrounding academics in our secondary buildings.

Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Programming District-wide

Beginning in Fall 2015, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools will become the first district in Michigan to offer the nationally recognized Project Lead the Way (PLTW) STEM curriculum to students in ALL of our traditional K-12 buildings. All students in grades K-5 will have the PLTW Launch Program, which is an entirely project-based STEM program that engages students in science education, teaching teamwork and critical thinking skills. Students at the C-A Middle School will be able to elect courses in the PLTW Gateway Program, including “Design & Modeling” and “Automation & Robotics.” In addition, students at C-A High School may elect courses in PLTW Engineering or PLTW Biomedical Science. We realize that STEM education is critical for students to be able to compete for jobs locally now and globally in our future, thus, we have gained and leveraged many grant opportunities to offer this program to all of our students as opposed to magnet buildings where only a segment of our population might benefit.

VICTORY Alternative Education Programming

This year we are excited to implement the VICTORY (Virtual Individualized Commitment To Opportunities Reached with Your) Educational Plan for students enrolled at Atlantis Alternative High School. The VICTORY Educational Plan is a format that applies a blended learning model that can provide students with uncommon options for those wishing to complete requirements for earning a high school diploma. The program allows students to work at an individual pace on highly engaging on-line courses with onsite support from highly qualified teachers in all core content areas. In addition, students benefit from having an individual mentor as well as a student success team, working collaboratively towards meeting their individual goals. We are looking forward to working with students in a partnership that can, and will, ensure their educational success.

Clearly, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools is committed to continuous improvement and is leading the way with new and innovative opportunities for our students. However, we realize that educating all children is a shared responsibility. Parents have countless opportunities to become involved in their child’s education and are encouraged to do just that! We want to invite our community members to help support our children as well by volunteering your time and resources. Volunteer registration information can be obtained in your building office.

I am confident that together we can continue to ensure that all students meet their academic, social and emotional success in school. Please do not hesitate to share any ideas, questions or concerns with me at stunnicl@carmanainsworth.org

Welcome Back Cavaliers!

Steve

Steve Tunnicliff, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools