Schools

The average percentage of St. Joseph County students who tested proficient on new 2015 state assessment tests was below the state average at every grade level and in every subject. A report compiled by the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District shows that score disparity was greatest on the fifth-grade social studies test, while the countywide grade-level averages in English …

Fewer Michigan schoolchildren are getting immunization waivers, a drop that state health officials attribute to a year-old rule that requires parents to first talk with a local health department about the risks of not being vaccinated. Preliminary numbers released by the state Thursday show nearly 8,000 fewer waivers from the last school year, a 41 percent decline from about 19,100 …

Two area high school students have been nominated by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton to United States Service Academies. In all, Upton made 16 service academy nominations for the 2015-2016 academic year. The group of young men and women has excelled academically and athletically in their respective schools and have gone through an extensive selection process, Upton stated in a media …

Mendon Community Schools made a minor personnel move during the district’s board of education meeting last week. Board members approved changing the employment status of Pan Cook from part-time kindergarten aide to full-time second-grade aide for the balance of the school year. Mendon alumna and Kalamazoo Valley Community College student Jenna Griffith was subsequently hired as a part-time kindergarten aide, …

Members of the Mendon Community Schools Board of Education have authorized a special election for the renewal of 18 operating mills. The non-homestead property tax renewal ended its 20-year life with the 2015 tax levy. Its continuation will allow the district to collect tax dollars from properties that are non-homestead within its boundaries. District officials said the 18 mills generate …

Mendon Community Schools Board of Education members gave interim superintendent Roger Rathburn a vote of confidence Monday, as the seven-member panel agreed to extend Rathburn’s contract through the 2016-17 academic year. Rathburn joined the district after board members agreed last spring to not continue to participate with Centreville Public Schools in a shared-superintendent agreement. Rathburn said he’ll confirm his decision …

Authorities say a 13-year-old girl stabbed a boy in the neck with a pencil while they were on a school bus in Calhoun County. Battle Creek police responded Thursday afternoon to the stabbing, which took place after crude comments were being made toward the girl on the Battle Creek Public Schools bus. Police say the 12-year-old boy was treated for …

Glen Oaks Community College is the recipient of an ambulance that will assist students in emergency training, thanks to a donation from LifeCare Ambulance Service of Battle Creek. Glen Oaks President David Devier said the college recently partnered with Michiana Healthcare to offer Medical First Responder and Emergency Medical Technician courses. The ambulance, he said, will provide these students with …

A 10-year board of education member in Three Rivers was named its president Monday. Pete Bennett, 62, was nominated and ultimately selected to serve as leader of the seven-member panel. He takes over the duty from Waneta Truckey, who inherited the role after Mike Bosma last summer gave it up but remained on the board. Susan Schmidtendorff was chosen vice …

A Cass County judge did not take action on an appeal regarding the effort to recall three members of the Three Rivers school board. With the 40-day window for circuit court Judge Michael Dodge closed, organizers of the attempted recall against Pete Bennett, Diana DeGraaf and Erin Nowak started collecting petition signatures Saturday. Dodge in early December was assigned the …