Superintendent

GLPS Families,

As we continue to ensure that we are living up to our mission of Growing Learners and Preparing Students, I wanted to focus my update today on progress we are making in two brand new career-focused programs within our district.

The first is the opening of the Dave and Betty Morris School for Agricultural and Natural Sciences. We are hosting a ribbon-cutting and open house for the new school tonight from 6-8 p.m. (it is located at 9911 West Grand River Road, Grand Ledge, MI  48837), as we have completed the construction on the main building. Starting with the second trimester, we will begin welcoming students into the program. High school students will have the opportunity to take a double-blocked course there, and K-8 students will all visit the program through a one-day-long experience per class. The Morris teachers have been busy planning and developing programming, and they are ready to begin working with students! Lessons around plants, animals, and understanding where our food comes from will be central to the BK-12 experiences there. Development is continuing on the Morris site, as we are in the design phase of adding a greenhouse, a barn, and a sugar shack, where students will learn how to make maple syrup! For more information, including an overview of the student programming at the site, check out our website.

The second opportunity under development in the district is our proposed culinary arts program, which will be housed at the Wacousta Commons building. We just received confirmation that we are receiving a $400,000 grant from the state to help offset program start-up costs, as we bring the old Wacousta kitchen up to par as a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen. We hope to begin renovations on the kitchen, as well as the classroom spaces that will house the program, in the coming months. If all goes according to plan, we will open the program to high school students in the fall of 2027. This will meet a need for our students, as many indicate an interest in food-related careers in the educational development plans they complete throughout high school.

Finally, as I wrap up today, I want to share an updated FAQ document for the upcoming November bond proposal. We have received a number of questions from you and the broader community about the proposed projects, so we have gathered those questions and the answers to them in this document. It can be found, along with additional information, at GLcomets.net/Bond2026. As a reminder, for a complete overview of district projects, please check out the Bond 2026 slide deck on the page, or the Bond 2026 video playlist, which houses the videos we share each week (if your building’s video is not there yet, don’t worry; we are continuing to release new ones until we cover all of the sites). We are committed to complete transparency, and the questions you ask allow us to better communicate, so please continue to reach out. As a reminder, the email address for questions related to the upcoming Bond is bond2026@glcomets.net. Or stop by and talk to me at an informational open house at our Sawdon Administration Building on Thursday, October 15th from 6-8 p.m.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your children every day. I am proud to learn and lead here in Comet Country, and I appreciate your continued support. Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!