Schools

Organizers of last month’s Three Rivers Area Mentoring’s annual walleye dinner and silent auction report the event was a success. The $17-per-person meal was held March 23. TRAM Executive Director Todd Bannon said more than $5,000 was raised after expenses. He said about 150 people took part and more than 80 items were donated for the silent auction. Proceeds from …

A Three Rivers teacher and a paraprofessional were recently recognized by the St. Joseph County Parent Advisory Committee. Young 5s teacher Brea Bennett was honored as PAC’s “Teacher of the Year,” while Nichole Sturwold was named “Support Staff Employee of the Year.” They received recognition April 8 at Andrews Elementary by PAC member Tawnya Fleckenstein. Bennett and Sturwold will be …

Glen Oaks Community College later this week will host a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to recognize the completion of one project and the start of another. Set for 10 a.m. Thursday, the fanfare celebrates the end of the school’s north campus renovation project. Meanwhile, college officials will mark the beginning of the south campus renovation project. Funding for the $7.3 million renovation …

The St. Joseph County Career & Technical Education (CTE) Consortium recognizes several students who were recently nominated by their instructors for their outstanding performance during the first semester. These students have distinguished themselves among their peers by demonstrating dedication, perseverance and commitment in their CTE programs.  Instructors commonly describe these students as having a strong work ethic, within and outside …

Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Nikki Nash earned a rating of “effective” following her annual evaluation. Board of Education members approved the evaluation Dec. 18. Areas in the evaluation included professional practice, student growth and progress toward district goals. Her overall rating was 3.33 on a 4-point scale. The mark is higher than her evaluation score of 3.21 a year …

Glen Oaks Community College has announced the hiring of its new executive director of communications and marketing. Denise DeVries is joining the college, replacing Valorie Juergens. Juergens is retiring in January after more than 11 years with the school. A Portage resident, DeVries was previously the senior manager of marketing and communications for Special-Lite Inc., a custom commercial-door manufacturer in …

Burr Oak Community Schools taxpayers Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a renewal request centering on a sinking fund. Renewal of a nearly 3-mill amount came in the form of 127 votes in favor to 35 against. Projected to raise about $160,000 annually over the course of its four-year life, the newly approved sinking fund will take effect in 2025. District officials said …

Glen Oaks Community College officials have secured an architect to aid with development of a new, on-campus building. College officials are planning to have a new agriculture building constructed and during last week’s meeting, Glen Oaks Board of Trustees members OK’d the hiring of Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne to handle the task. The college, however, is waiting for approval …

Glen Oaks Community College’s Alpha Alpha Alpha chapter is looking to induct a Glen Oaks graduate into its honor society. Tri-Alpha was founded in 2018 and the Glen Oaks Chapter was established in 2022. It is a national honor society for first-generation college students. A student is considered first generation if neither parents, step-parents or legal guardians ever obtained a …

Sturgis High School’s manufacturing class brought home eight first-place finishes during a recent state competition. The latest Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society, in fact, saw the Sturgis team bring home more award-winners than any other participating school. Led by instructor Jeff Wanamaker, the class bested Sturgis’ six state champions it claimed in 2019. The goal of the MITES competition is …