Superintendent Search
The TCAPS Board of Education is currently accepting applications for the position of Superintendent of Schools. Applications must be submitted before 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 20th. The position announcement can be viewed here.
Search timeline:
- February 20, 2015—Application deadline
- February 24, 2015—Candidate screening
- Week of March 9, 2015—First interviews
- Week of March 16, 2015—First and second interviews
- Week of March 23, 2015—Candidate selection
- July 1, 2015 or soon thereafter—Start date
Opportunity to Provide Input
Members of the Board of Education will gather community input and feedback about the superintendent search at the next Coffee Conversation on February 26th. The Coffee Conversation will be held at Horizon Books (243 East Front Street) from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Superintendent Search Frequently Asked Questions:
Measles: Information for Parents
As the risk of measles (also called rubeola) increases after the Disneyland-¬related outbreak, we wanted to share some important information with you from the Grand Traverse County Health Department.
Measles is caused by a virus and was formerly a common childhood disease. It is one of the most contagious diseases known. It is characterized by fever, runny nose, cough, “pink eye”, and eventually a total¬ body rash. Additional complications include diarrhea, pneumonia, and inflammation of the lining of the brain. Two or three of every 1000 cases are fatal. An infected person puts the virus into the air just by breathing ¬ no coNCugh is necessary. The measles virus will live in the air and on objects for at least 2 hours, infecting 90% of susceptible people even after the infected person has left the room.
A concern for schools is that a child who develops measles can pass the virus to others even before that child becomes sick. A child who is susceptible (unvaccinated) and exposed to the virus may not develop the typical symptoms for as long as 21 days. This means that if your child is not up to date with the MMR vaccine and a case is diagnosed at your child’s school, your child will not be able to attend school for at least 21 days.
Fortunately, there is a highly effective vaccine against measles. Ordinarily given at 12¬15 months of age with a second dose at 4¬6 years, the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine will prevent measles for 90¬95% of people who contact the virus, and the protection is life¬long. There is general agreement in the scientific community that the vaccine is very safe. Like any vaccine, it takes some time after it has been given before the body develops a reliable immunity, which could be up to 6 weeks. So, if you or your family members are considering getting the vaccine, don’t wait.
To learn more about thNe measles virus, visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/index.html
Public Health nursing staff from the Health Department are also available to answer further questions you may have, call 231-995-6125.
NCAA Signing Day for TC West and TC Central Athletes
Central High School's Seth Tice and Ethan Campbell on signing day.
Traverse City West Senior High School's Zack McGuire committed to Northwood University to play football and TC West’s Cameron Sipple will play men’s soccer at Western Michigan University. Traverse City Central High School’s Seth Tice and Ethan Campbell have both signed to play football at Michigan Technological University.
TCAPS Educators Selected to Conduct State Honors Choirs
Wendee Wolf-Schlarf, TCAPS Music Coordinator, has been selected by the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA) to conduct the SSAA Women’s State Honors Choir at the Michigan Music Conference next year. An SSAA choir is composed of two Soprano sections and two Alto sections. In addition, Tamara Grove, Traverse City Central HiTCgh School Choir Director, was selected by the MSVMA to conduct the SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass) State Honors Choir at the 2017 Michigan Music Conference. Congratulations to these exceptional educators who are recognized across the state for their talent.
Boardman Building Celebrates 100 Years
Parker Hobbs classroom at the Boardman School.
The Boardman Building, which currently houses TCAPS’ central office, turns 100 years old this year. Formerly an elementary school, the building was converted into administrative offices in 1970. The current Boardman Building was built in 1915, after the original building burned down a few years earlier.
The Boardman Building has seen the school district grow from what was once called the Public Schools of Traverse City into Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) in 1979. Over the last 100 years, the area has changed and TCAPS has grown with it. From serving 1,500 students in 1960, to the 10,000 students TCAPS serves today, Traverse City has had a proud tradition of offering high quality educational opportunities for all.
The Boardman Building turns 100 years old this year.
TCAPS/YMCA SPLASH Program Set to Launch
TCAPS, in partnership with the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA, will launch the SPLASH program, which provides in-pool water safety and confidence training to third grade students at no cost to families. Students will attend five, forty-five minute sessions at the new YMCA pool, once per week. The program will begin in mid-February and will focus on the following:
- Week 1 Pool Safety
- Week 2 Backyard Pool Safety
- Week 3 Boating Safety
- Week 4 Beach Safety and Cold Water
- Week 5 Celebration, Water Parks and Diving Tips
The dates and times for each elementary school classroom will be shared with families by the classroom teacher. Transportation will be provided by TCAPS. The SPLASH program has been generously funded by members of the community and the YMCA.
February Local Harvest of the Month
FoodCorps and NW Michigan Farm to School will be featuring beets in classrooms and cafeterias during the month of February. Click here to find fun facts, a craft idea and a recipe featuring the beet. For more information about FoodCorps in the classroom, visit: http://www.tcaps.net/departments/food-nutrition-services/foodcorps/.
Bus Safety
School buses provide the safest transportation to and from school.
Did you know that school bus riders are safer than vehicle passengers when traveling to and from school and school-related events? A bus’s size, structure, and safety components provide the greatest passenger protection. Plus, the TCAPS bus technicians are nationally recognized and we have a professional team of bus drivers who make getting students to school safely their number one priority. For more information about bus safety, visit: http://www.nhtsa.gov/School-Buses.
Snow Days 
A snow drift covers a local roadway. Large drifts can make driving on area roads difficult or unsafe.
Tough winter weather is a part of life in northern Michigan. TCAPS covers 300 square miles and a wide variety of terrain, including hills, highways and back roads. In order to get real-time information about weather conditions, including reports on road conditions, visibility, blowing and drifting, “road checkers” are sent out to survey the conditions beginning at 3:00 a.m. Drivers provide reports from areas across the district and TCAPS communicates with the Grand Traverse Road Commission and meteorologists from the National Weather Service to ensure the best information possible is gathered before making a school closing decision. A decision to close school is made by 4:30 a.m., if possible, or by 6:00 a.m. at the latest.
Once the decision to hold school has been made and transportation is in progress, the district must uphold the decision. While it may seem to make sense to cancel school after 6:00 a.m. or to turn buses around if the weather worsens, TCAPS does not do this for a number of important reasons:
- Students cannot be returned to empty homes. Some TCAPS students are as young as 3 years old.
- Students who have not been picked up by a bus would be left waiting at a bus stop.
- On inclement weather days, the bus is still the safest mode of transportation for students to get to and from school.
Local media outlets, the TCAPS website and the TCAPS Transportation Hotline (231-933-1955) are all ways to get information about Traverse City area snow day closures. The Transportation Hotline also has information about individual buses that are running more than 10 minutes behind.
Will snow days have to be made up?
The state of Michigan currently allows schools up to six snow days. TCAPS has had four snow days so far this year. The decision to make up additional days would happen at the beginning of April, after the majority of snow days are expected to have occurred for the year.
TCAPS 24/7
TCAPS 24/7 is a resource designed for students, grades K-5, to use when school is closed due to inclement weather. Students can access a number of age and grade appropriate lessons using a computer or mobile device. Many of the lessons come from resources that students are already using in the classroom, including math lessons from Khan Academy. It also allows students to continue lessons they were working on in class or to try something new. Participation is voluntary, but students can submit their work to their teacher when they have completed a lesson. TCAPS plans to continue to add to the site and welcomes feedback from parents and students about how to make the resource as useful as possible.
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