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Burt Township School District
Grand Marais High School in 2021
Address
27 Colwell Avenue
Grand Marais, Michigan 49839
Alger County
United States
District information
GradesK–12
Established1885; 139 years ago (1885)
Students and staff
Students33
Teachers6.35
Student–teacher ratio5.2[1]
Other information
District area238.6 sq mi (618.0 km2)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website
Back view of Grand Marais High School

Burt Township School District is a school district headquartered in the community of Grand Marais in the U.S. state of Michigan.[3] The district serves the entirety of Burt Township.[4] The district covers a very large area of 238.57 square miles (617.89 km2) in northeastern Alger County.[2][A]

The district has a single school building, with elementary on the first floor and secondary on the second floor.[6][7]

History

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Old school building in early 1900s
Burt Township School Forest, 2016

The district's history dates to 1885 when a small school was built in Grand Marais serving 50 students. As the area boomed in the early 1900s, the district's attendance grew to 520 students in 1905. The current school building, originally known as Grand Marais High School, was completed in 1929 at a cost of $125,000.[8] The building, which overlooks Lake Superior, is a two-story brick structure with high ceilings and oak-trimmed interiors.[9]

Ira W. Jayne was school superintendent at the onset of the 20th Century.[10] In 1936, The Escanaba Daily Press touted the district's "modern public school system, which offers the children of the community educational advantages comparable to those offered by other cities in the Upper Peninsula."[11]

Beginning in 1983, the school district implemented a novel telephone teaching program. The program, which included microphones and electronic blackboards allowing students in Grand Marais and teachers in Marquette to remotely view each other's work, was funded with a $22,000 grant from the state and made it possible for students to participate in classes offered by the Marquette Public Schools in subjects including art, foreign languages, and advanced mathematics. At the time, it was the only school in Michigan to use telephone teaching.[9] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the district has instituted remote learning. which is used as needed.[12]

In 1954, the Burt Township School received an award from the Northern Michigan Sportsmen's Association for its outstanding conservation education program.[13]

In 1984, the Burt Township school system spent more per pupil ($4,958) than any other school district in Michigan.[14] In 2007, the teachers' union voted to become "local only" and disaffiliated with the National Education Association and the Michigan Education Association.[15] In 2018, the voters of the township approved a bond authorizing expenditure of approximately $1 million for maintenance of the school building.[16]

As the area's population declined in the late 20th century, so too did the school's attendance.[8] As of 2007, the school attendance stood at approximately 70 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.[15] By 2015, attendance had declined to 30 students.[8]

The district's future was called into question in 2019 by a proposed cut in a state program providing funding for school districts in remote areas. Governor Gretchen Whitmer used a line-item veto to eliminate the cut.[17][16]

The school has also served other purposes, including the library serving the community at large and the gymnasium serving as a community recreation center.[9] The Burt Township Schools own a 1,300-acre school forest adjacent to Lake Superior, bordering on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.[8]

The schools are unranked by U.S. News & World Report, which has compiled demographic information on the district's population and students.[18]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Another source puts it at 230.5 square miles (597.0 km2).[5]

Citations

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  1. ^ "School Detail for Burt Township School". Common Core of Data, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Square mileage of Michigan school districts, as of May 22, 2018" (PDF). State of Michigan. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Contact Us." Burt Township Schools. Retrieved on July 21, 2018. "Burt Township Schools 27 Colwell Ave P.O. Box 338 Grand Marais, MI 49839"
  4. ^ Michigan Geographic Framework (November 15, 2013). "Alger County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Burt Township School District, MI School District (Unified)". Census Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Elementary." Burt Township Schools. Retrieved on July 21, 2018. "Our elementary school consists of grades Kindergarten through 5th grades and is housed on the first level of our school building."
  7. ^ "High School." Burt Township Schools. Retrieved on July 21, 2018. [...]students at Grand Marais High School, housed on the second level of our building,[...]
  8. ^ a b c d "About Us: Burt Township School History". Burt Township School District. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Thomas BeVier (March 25, 1986). "Telephone transmits lessons to UP school". Detroit Free Press. p. 7D – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Marquis, Albert Nelson (1914). The Book of Detroiters: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Detroit (2nd ed.). Chicago: A.N. Marquis. p. 266. JAYNE, Ira W., lawyer; born, Fenton, Mich. , 1884; son of Daniel G. and Alice C. (Waite) Jayne; A.B., University of Michigan, 1905; married, Dec. 27, 1911, Jean Farland Bilton, of Detroit. Superintendent of Burt Township schools, Alger County, Mich., 1905-7
  11. ^ "Grand Marais High School". The Escanaba Daily Press. May 9, 1936 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Coronavirus (Covid-19) Hub". Burt Township Schools. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "Conservation Education Programs Included In Curriculums of Upper Peninsula Schools". The Escanaba Press. October 1, 1954 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "School outlay rise smallest in decade". Lansing State Journal. March 29, 1984. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Burt Township teachers vote out MEA, NEA". Michigan Education Report. Mackinac Center for Public Policy. August 15, 2007.
  16. ^ a b Bailey, Trent (October 2, 2019). "Whitmer's vetoes "crippling" small northern Michigan school districts". ABC 10 UP.
  17. ^ "State budget cuts could mean the end for Burt Township Schools". TV 6: Upper Peninsula Source. October 3, 2019.
  18. ^ "Burt Township Schools". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
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