By Kalvin D. Perron
Staff Reporter
BAY MILLS - According to Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School Program Facilitator Kathleen VanHouten, OCS is currently in the process of trying to remedy the factors that may have culminated in the exodus of children from the school. The OCS student body, which totaled 124 students on the last day of school last year, has dwindled to 108, down roughly 20 percent. Since the amount of funding the school will receive is directly tied to its enrollment, a lower student count could spell financial disaster for the school.
In an attempt to rectify the situation, VanHouten said that staff at the school have been working diligently to create a solid structure and routine for the school day. While VanHouten admits that OCS, like any new school, will have to overcome many obstacles, she said it is important that the community continue to stand by their school.
"I want to personally thank those who have stuck by us during our adolescent years and ask that they continue to support us," VanHouten said of the parents who stood by the school as it experienced some minor growing pains. "We will continue to do everything in our power to make OCS a positive, safe environment where students can reach their full potential."
VanHouten said factors, such as students moving away, lack of transportation, and behavioral and safety issues, could all be attributed to the decline in enrollment. The school now buses students on their new 70-passenger school bus. The OCS Board of Directors approved a discipline matrix and follows the Chippewa County and Bay Mills Truancy Protocol. These steps, along with a more hard-line approach that could include long-term suspension or expulsion for repeat offenders, will have a positive effect on limiting and controlling student behaviors, VanHouten said.
"We're trying to implement a more proactive approach with our students at OCS," she said. "Instead of there being only consequences for bad behavior, we're looking at giving them incentives for good behavior."
VanHouten said that it is important that the community concentrate on the positive aspects of the school, instead of focusing on only the negative. For example, she said that OCS is currently working on a comprehensive kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum that encompasses local Ojibwe history and culture.
While Mosaica will be looking at the curriculum on a macro level, OCS will be looking at it on a micro level that is more specific to the area. Treaty rights, hunting and fishing rights, local history, tribal government and culture are all concepts that will be incorporated into the curriculum, VanHouten said. While the Michigan approved Social Studies Paragon Curriculum will still be taught at the school, OCS will add their own element that parallels it, she added.
"We're really excited about incorporating our local culture and history into the curriculum," she said. "By allowing the students to see history from their own point of view, it will help solidify their cultural identity."
