ID’ing the changing faces, spaces and tech as students report to class

In two districts, parents will now track the location of their children’s school bus

By Matthew Fahr

Bond funds continue to be spent, superintendents continue to be on the move and new administrators continue to move up throughout Oakland County as the new school year begins.

Money from school improvements bonds dating back four years are paying for building upgrades and new facilities throughout the 28 school districts in the county. Voters continued supporting local districts this year by passing school improvements in Avondale and Bloomfield Hills in May, while Madison voters approved a continuing school millage.

It has been a busy year beyond classrooms for many Oakland County school districts. Ten of 28 districts, or 35.7%, have hired new superintendents or are recruiting new ones.

Farmington Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Delgado is the latest superintendent to leave his district. He is staying in the county, having accepted the position of deputy superintendent of the Oakland Schools Intermediate School District on July 9.

We reached out to all of our school districts, and here is what we’ve learned parents and students will see this fall.

BERKLEY SCHOOLS

There will be a few new administrators around the Berkley school district at the start of the new school year and new furniture in several buildings funded through the 2023 bond.

New faces: Director of Finance: Jenna Romain Director of Facilities and Operations: Chris Smallwood Athletic Director: Matt Rawlik Rogers Elementary School Principal: Andrea Hasse Comfort Crew (Therapy Dogs): Yuki, Samson, Beatrice, Parker, Millie, Korra.

New places: Maintenance building construction is underway with a completion date at the end of December 2025, funded through the Sinking Fund. Hurley Field Turf and Track will be complete by the end of this month. It is funded through the Sinking Fund.

BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Students at Birmingham Groves High School will drive into a new parking lot this year and there will be additional parking at Seaholm High School. There will also be new classroom furniture at Groves, Seaholm and Birmingham Covington.

Reconstruction of auditorium entrance and facade is underway at Groves and construction to main offices at Seaholm and Groves will continue.

New faces: Deputy Superintendent of School Administration — Cory Heitsch Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources — Susan Smith Director Director of Operations & Facilities — Richard “RC” Hunt Groves HS Principal. — Othamian Peterson Derby Middle School Principal — Jack Gitler Pembroke Elementary Principal — Colleen Hoyne Director of Special Services — Audra Holdorf Groves Athletic Director — Ross Gauthier

BLOOMFIELD HILLS SCHOOLS

New faces: Rick West was chosen to replace Pat Watson as district superintendent. Watson retired in July 2023 after parents and others called for his resignation over the district’s handling of a controversial diversity assembly.

Randy Liepa and Keith McDonald served as interim superintendents after Watson left.

West was deputy superintendent of the Troy School District before his selection in May.

Radhika Issac was named principal at Lone Pine Elementary and Tamarcus Southward was named assistant principal at North Hills Middle School.

New places: The grand opening of the new Bloomin’ East preschool will be at 7 p.m. on Aug 27.

The new school will replace The Bloomin’ preschool at Fox Hills.

When it opened 54 years ago, Fox Hills was an elementary school for kindergarten through fifth graders.

It remained an elementary school until the early 1980’s, was closed for a few years and reopened as The Bloomin’ preschool at Fox Hills in 1985. Except for three years where high school students also used a few classrooms at the front of the building, it remained a preschool for almost 40 years.

Thanks to funding from the $200 million 2020 school improvement bond four elementary schools received the following upgrades this year:

Data infrastructure (cabling) Public address and notification systems Video surveillance Secure vestibule/front entrance at Lone Pine Elementary Secure vestibule/front entrance, office reconfiguration, and new art room at Eastover Elementary New fire protection implementation and upgrades at Eastover and Lone Pine.

CLARKSTON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

There will be a few new faces overseeing students at Sashabaw Middle School and Clarkston Junior High this fall.

Jordan Stoyek, who was the dean of students last year, is now the assistant principal at Sashabaw. Amy Wade-Tiffner is now the dean of students. She was the dean at CJHS last year.

Former teacher Mark Magni takes over for Amy Wade-Tiffner as the new dean of students at CJHS.

Lori Banaszak has been named director of technology and instructional services and Kevin Emmons as technology manager for the district.

The district will have 40 new educators and dozens of new support staff members this year as well.

New Places:: Clarkston broke ground at Clarkston Junior High School on May 20, marking the official start of construction for the new junior high school.

The school’s main entrance and office have moved to what used to be the auditorium entrance and box office. Construction on the new gymnasium will be underway in the large courtyard area in front of the school.

Due to construction, there will be temporary and permanent changes to the traffic flow at Clarkston Elementary and CJHS. For this year, the changes are minimal impacting the CJHS parent and bus drop-off locations. Parents can find details on the changes at the Clarkston district’s website: www.csdk12.org.

HAZEL PARK SCHOOLS

New Faces: The district is welcoming several new faces to their leadership team this year: Carla Beach (Hazel Park Junior High Principal), Shiela O’Kane (Hazel Park Junior High Assistant Principal), Lisa Bernys (United Oaks Elementary Principal), Karla Graessley (Director of Community Schools), Julie Kaminski (K-12 Teacher & Learning Supervisor), and Heather Agueros (Webster Early Childhood Center Supervisor).

New Places: Hazel Park will continue with the second year of their Fire Academy. Hazel Park is the only district in Oakland County with a partnership with Oakland Community College Fire/EMS Training. The program offers Hazel Park High School juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn free college credits toward a Fire Academy Certificate.

The high school will open this year with a newly remodeled cafeteria and a woodshop program has been added at the junior high.

The district will kick off the school year with their annual Hometown Huddle, which coincides with the first home football game of the season. This year, it will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 at Hazel Park High School. The free event will feature over 50 tables of resources, local businesses, and community services.

HOLLY AREA SCHOOLS

New Faces: While administration positions remained unchanged, Holly Area Schools will welcome over 20 new teachers to the district this fall.

New Places: This fall, Holly will open its new Construction Trades Center, which will house skilled trades programs offering students professional certifications for high-demand, good-paying careers.

They will also be celebrating the opening of the newly renovated Holly Stadium with a new track and athletic turf field, which will be a venue for athletic competitions, physical education, band performances and more.

The new Holly Middle School is scheduled to open in fall 2025.

The district is also introducing a new Parent Outreach Program that will provide district families with increased support, parent workshops, and connections to community partners.

HURON VALLEY SCHOOLS

New faces: The start of the 2024-25 school year is going to be a little different at Huron Valley Schools, as they welcome new principals to three of their buildings.

Ryan Smith was selected as the new principal of Johnson Elementary. Smith was an elementary and middle school teacher in Novi and Detroit and most recently served as a principal in the Swartz Creek School District.

Robert Brazier will be the new principal of Spring Mills Elementary. Brazier served previously at Clarkston Schools, as well as teaching undergraduate courses at Oakland University..

Sara Fraza will be at the helm of Oak Valley Middle School. Fraza was the assistant principal for the past two years and was promoted when former Principal Shawn Durso retired at the end of the last school year.

New places: Construction projects also continued throughout the district from the 2019 Bond and Sinking Fund and will be ongoing as projects begin from the $361 million bond approved in May.

One of the largest projects this summer was water improvement to White Lake Township and Bogie Lake Campus. White Lake Township and Huron Valley Schools have partnered to bring township water to the Bogie Lake Campus.

The township built an iron filtration plant and a new water main line that runs to the southeast corner of Lakeland High School. The new lines and system are in place and will be ready for the start of the school year.

Huron Valley will be using a state of the art bus management tool this fall to enhance student safety, streamline bus communication and manage routes at the touch of a button.

The software is called BusRight. A GPS system was installed in all Huron Valley school buses that will tell drivers exactly where their routes are with a voice-activated direction.

Every bus location can be tracked by Supervisor of Transportation Belinda Tallent. If a bus is off route or if there is an emergency with the driver or the student, first responders will know exactly where they are located.

Parents will be able to download the app and get real time notifications on where their child’s bus is.

“This will be extremely helpful especially in the winter months when the buses are moving more slowly and may fall behind schedule. Parents will know exactly where their child’s bus is so they won’t be concerned or need to call the transportation department,” said Director of Communications Barb Roethler.

The system will be rolled out at the start of the year with the parent component following shortly after an initial test period.

LAKE ORION COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

More than one-third of the school districts in Oakland County will start the year with a new superintendent or are looking to fill the position. Lake Orion is one of those districts.

New faces: Heidi Mercer was selected as the new superintendent for Lake Orion schools in July.

The board of education completed its five first-round interviews and after a brief discussion, the board came to a unanimous 7-0 decision.

She had been in the district for 28 years and has served in a variety of roles, including the past 16 overseeing academics in the assistant superintendent position.

Mercer succeeded Ben Kirby, who took over in Lake Orion July 2020 and began his new role in the Forest Hills Public School District in Grand Rapids on July 1.

Tony Palmeri was named Webber Elementary principal and Brad Bailey and Danielle Bredemus were named as assistant principals at Lake Orion High School

New places: Media Center renovations have been completed at Oakview and Waldon Middle Schools.

NOVI COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Novi schools have new people in new roles throughout the district, but none of them are new to the district.

New places:

The two-year renovation and expansion of Novi Meadows (grades 5-6) is nearing completion. New spaces for Novi Meadows are second floor classrooms, gymnasium, cafeteria, science and music rooms. The renovation was part of a $185 million bond passed in 2019.

“Our Novi Meadows space is pretty amazing to see,” said Supervisor of Communications and Community Engagement George Sipple. “The classrooms are built to have monitors on each end of the classrooms, so there is no ‘front of class’ view. The monitors on either end create equity for students on either side of the room.”

Novi High School’s new mechatronics lab also opens this year. Students signed up for Mechatronics 1 for the 2024-2025 school year. Students who take Mechatronics 1 will gain knowledge and experience in quality measurement, CAD, CAM, 3D Printing, Laser cutting/engraving, Electrical, Fluid Power, Mechanical, and Robotics.

In 2025-26, students will be able to take Mechatronics 2 and build on their skills and complete projects incorporating CNC Programming, Robotic Arm Programming, Programming Logic Control and Electric Motor Control.

PONTIAC SCHOOL DISTRICT

New faces: New principals were assigned at several buildings in the district.

Teni Clark-Franklin was named principal at Pontiac High School. She has been serving as interim principal since January.

Sebrina Shields has been named as principal at the Kennedy School.

New places: The district will continue extensive renovations and upgrades across the district including major updates to buildings including Herrington Elementary School during the school year.

As part of the first round of disbursements from the Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program, Pontiac received $9.75 million to purchase 25 electric buses, which are expected to arrive this winter.

Ohio-based First Student will operate and maintain the new electric school buses with additional funding for the infrastructure provided by DTE Energy’s Charging Forward program.

“We want to show our students and community the investment we have in their futures which not only includes their educational well being, but the environmental well being as well,” said Bill Holcolmb, Energy and Technology Innovation specialist for Pontiac schools.

Pontiac will also roll out a transportation app for families later this fall.

The app is a real time GPS tracking and student transportation monitoring program. It will allow parents and guardians to track and receive statuses of buses and trips and timely updates should unexpected delays occur.

ROYAL OAK SCHOOLS

New faces: Royal Oak has 36 new staff hires this year, including counselors, teachers, paraprofessionals, physical therapists, speech pathologists, and secretaries.

They have added a third assistant principal at Royal Oak Middle School, Angela Mallory, and a new principal at Royal Oak High School, Don Loomis.

New places: Sinking fund and bond work was completed over the summer at seven schools, including:

• Royal Oak High School pavement improvement.

• Addams Elementary office remodeling with a secure entryway. Kitchen remodeling. Masonry restoration.

• Addams Early Childhood Center office remodeling.

• Northwood paving improvements include two lanes for pick up and drop off.

• Oakland Elementary brick and roof work. Oakland celebrates 100 years as a school in 2024.

• Kitchen at Keller Elementary and classroom addition.

• Royal Oak Middle School has a new lift for students to get to the mezzanine area.

There is also a map available for parents showing new traffic flow areas for drop off and pick up at Royal Oak Middle School — https://roms.royaloakschools.org.

SOUTHFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

New faces: The Southfield University K-12 Academy welcomed Sakina Bolden as the new head dean and Martin Sanford will serve as the 9th through 12th-grade associate dean.

Kathy Slate will serve as the 6th through 8th-grade associate dean and Courtney White will serve as the kindergarten through 5th grade associate dean.

Thompson K-8 International Academy introduced Porsha Eubanks as its new principal earlier this year. She was formerly the principal of Vandenberg Elementary School.

Orlando Bogins is the new principal at McIntyre Elementary School. He previously served as the dean of the University Middle and High School Academy.

“We are excited to see these dedicated leaders step into their new roles,” said Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Green. “Having already been valuable members of our district, their proven commitment to education and their fresh perspectives will enhance our schools and further our mission to provide an exceptional education for all scholars.”

New places: Starting in the 2024-25 school year, MacArthur K-8 University Academy and University Middle and High School Academies will unite under one unified identity as University K-12 Academy.

To begin the 2024-2025 school year, Alder Elementary, serving over 300 kindergarten through 5th grade students, boasts a brand new building.

Although still located at 19100 Filmore in Southfield, the building has undergone a significant overhaul, transforming the school’s look and feel.

Adler has new playground equipment, increased security with new doors and windows, new flooring, maintenance and architectural improvements.

Stevenson Elementary School will temporarily relocate to Eisenhower Elementary School and the Vandenberg World Cultures Academy and Thompson K-8 International Academy have officially merged into one school.

The district has also launched a new website that went live on Aug 23, www.southfieldk12.org.

SOUTH LYON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

New faces: South Lyon announced two new appointments this summer.

Ross Baker has been named the new principal of Brummer Elementary School, and Abraham Hughes will take on the role of director of safety and security for the district.

Baker joined South Lyon in 2002 as a teacher at Bartlett Elementary, where he taught 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades until 2008.

In 2018, he became the administrative intern at both Centennial Middle School and Millenium Middle School, and for the past five years, he served as the assistant principal at Millenium.

Hughes served in the City of Wayne police department and served as a Protective Security and Special Events Coordinator with the University of Michigan.

New places: A non-homestead operating millage expected to generate $15 million per year was passed in February. Millage funds will support day-to-day operations, including salaries for teachers and support staff, transportation, maintenance and extra-curricular programs for students.

TROY SCHOOL DISTRICT

New faces: Daniel Trudel was named assistant superintendent for business services.

He served as the accounting supervisor with the Avondale School District until 2020, when he transitioned into the role of assistant superintendent of financial services.

The district also named new administrators: Aurel Malutan — Director of Finance Matt Jansen — Director of Athletics, Enrichment, Continuing Education, and Wellness Kristin Crowe — Principal of Wass Elementary School Trevor Harker — Special Education Supervisor Mike Munaco — Supervisor of Career Readiness and Technical Education Ben Cronin — Assistant Principal of Athens High School.

New places: Troy has been busy this summer with several bond projects.

Construction began on the new Smith Middle School. Troy Union, Martell, and Morse Elementary Schools will finalize playground updates by the end of the summer. Barnard, Bemis, and Hill Elementary School playground updates are underway and will conclude in the fall.

Troy and Athens High School athletic field upgrades will continue, and Costello, Hamilton, Leonard, Schroder, Wass, and Wattles elementary schools, along with Baker Middle School and IA East, will start the school year with new furniture.

The district will be launching The Troy School District Early College this year. Troy has partnered with Lawrence Technological University to provide an early college experience focusing on Computer and Cyber Security Sciences for district high school students.

WALLED LAKE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

The Walled Lake board of education appointed Taneia Giles the new principal at Wixom Elementary and Jami Rose new principal at Loon Lake Elementary this summer.

New faces: Giles comes from Ann Arbor Public Schools, where she served as an elementary administrator for the past six years. Most recently, Giles has led Pattengill Elementary in Ann Arbor as principal for four years.

“I am truly honored to join this esteemed school community filled with a group of dedicated and talented team of educators,” said Giles.

Rose joined Walled Lake in 2019 and most recently served as assistant principal at James R. Geisler Middle School for the past three years. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal at Walnut Creek Middle School.

“I am incredibly excited to join the Loon Lake Elementary School family as its new principal,” said Rose. “I am passionate about creating a nurturing and engaging learning environment for all students.”

Adam Scher was appointed as Dublin Elementary’s interim principal for the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Scher comes to Dublin Elementary after serving as principal at Bloomfield Hills’ Way Elementary for 17 years before his retirement.

“Transitional times often raise anxieties and concerns,” said Scher. “Please be assured that your questions and concerns will always be a priority to me. I have had many, many, years of experience opening buildings for the new school year and understand how important each detail can be.”

New places: New facilities are in the works after voters Walled Lake passed a $250 million 30-year improvement bond in May by a comfortable margin of 69% yes to 31% no.

Superintendent John Bernia said the first projects will begin the summer of 2025. Walled Lake Northern High School will receive upgrades both inside and outside the building.

He said this fall the district and stakeholders will evaluate their facility studies and determine things such as where a new adult transition home will be and the best use of the former Wixom Elementary.

WATERFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Waterford schools Superintendent Scott Lindberg is leaving the district after five years on the job. The Waterford school board approved his retirement effective Dec. 31.

Lindberg has overseen several changes in administration and staff positions to start the 2024-25 school year.

New faces: Mott High School Principal Kristen Woods Helms Mott High School Assistant Principal Polly Crosley Donelson Hills Principal Matt Provost Mason Middle School Principal Stephan Henning Interim Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, PreK-5 Darin Holley Assistant Superintendent, 6-Post Secondary Steven Wolf Assistant Athletic Director for Kettering High School and Pierce Middle School Shane Hynes Assistant Athletic Director for Mott High School and Mason Middle School Colin McGran.

New places: Bond money from 2020 continues to fund projects throughout the district.

Houghton Elementary, Beaumont, Donelson Hills and Grayson elementary school playgrounds were all updated this summer. The remaining elementary school playgrounds will be updated in Summer 2025.

Updated at Mott High School: Auxiliary gym Rebuilding of art rooms, nutrition lab and consumer tech rooms, plus a corridor added Staff and student bathrooms Complete parking lot renovation, including asphalt, light poles, sidewalks and underground piping.

The new $30-million Stepanski Early Childhood Center, the first new school in Waterford in over 50 years, will open this fall. A grand opening will be held at 10 a.m. on Sept 14.

WEST BLOOMFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

New faces: Jessica Cohen was named as director of student support services. She has a history of experience throughout the county.

“After a rigorous and comprehensive search process involving several rounds of interviews, on-demand performance tasks, and an onsite visit in the West

Bloomfield School District, Dr. Jessica Cohen rose to the top as an exceptionally qualified candidate for the role of director of student support services,” the district said in a statement.

Cohen served as the director of student support services for the Brandon School District for the past two years. Prior to her work in Brandon, Cohen was the assistant director of student support services for Huron Valley Schools and a teacher consultant for the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.

She started July 1.

New places: Both the Scotch and Gretchko elementary playgrounds were updated this summer as West Bloomfield transitions to offering grades K-5 at all four elementary schools. The playgrounds also include music and outdoor learning spaces and are designed to be inclusive so students on the spectrum and those with mobility issues have areas that appeal to them and make it easier for them to connect with classmates.

The transition to four elementary schools this fall has led the district to offer STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) programming at all elementary schools and aligns with the middle and high school programming.