Charlevoix Public Schools
| Charlevoix Public Schools | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
104 E. St. Mary's Drive[1]
, Charlevoix County, Michigan, 49720United States | |
| District information | |
| Grades | PreKindergarten–12[1] |
| Superintendent | Mike Ritter[2] |
| Schools | 2[3] |
| Budget | $14,689,000 2021-2022 expenditures[3] |
| NCES District ID | 2608730[3] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 786 (2024-2025)[3] |
| Teachers | 57.56 (on an FTE basis) (2024-2025)[3] |
| Staff | 113.29 FTE (2024-2025)[3] |
| Student–teacher ratio | 13.66 (2024-2025)[3] |
| District mascot | Rayders[1] |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
Charlevoix Public Schools is a public school district in Northern Michigan. In Charlevoix County, it serves Charlevoix, the townships of Charlevoix and Norwood, and parts of the townships of Eveline, Hayes, and Marion. In Antrim County, it serves part of Banks Township. [4]
History
The first school in Charlevoix was a log structure built in 1861. New schools were built in 1868 and 1873. A fire destroyed the 1873 school in 1889 and it was rebuilt in 1890. Elementary schools were built on both sides of town in 1895.[5]
In 1902, a new Charlevoix High School was built on Mason Street near Grant Street next to the 1890 school. It was also known as McKinley High School, named after U.S. President William McKinley.[5] In 1903, a normal school, or teacher training school, was established within the school that gave post-secondary students experience teaching in rural schools.[6]
A new school was built in 1928 on Grant Street, and the 1890 school was then used for storage until 1945, when it was demolished. The Grant Street school contained the high school until 1961, then continued to house the elementary school, and then became a middle school in fall 1969.[7] Architecture firm Warren Holmes, Powers Company of Lansing designed the building.[8] It became the city's public library in September 2006.[9] The old kindergarten room of the school, now the Belvidere Room of the library, featured a round brick fish pond. The teacher kept dry clothes for any student who fell in.[5]
Ray Kipke served as the high school football coach between 1928 and 1949, and his last five teams were undefeated. The high school mascot, the Raiders, was renamed the Rayders in his honor.[10][11]
The current Charlevoix Elementary was originally the junior/senior high school, opened in fall 1961. The 1902 high school was then torn down.[12][13] Eight years later, a new elementary school opened on Division Avenue.[14]
The current middle/high school opened in fall 2002. BETA Design Group was the architect. It was funded by a 1999 bond issue that also funded conversion of the former middle/high school into a dedicated middle school and renovation of the elementary school.[15]
In fall 2013, students in grades seven and eight joined the high school and the building became Charlevoix Middle/High School.[16] The closed middle school became Round Lake Educational Center, a multipurpose building, but a bond issue passed in 2017 to rebuild much of the building to become Charlevoix Elementary.[17] The new Charlevoix Elementary opened in January 2020.[18]
Timeline
Schools
| School | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Charlevoix Middle/High School | 5200 Marion Center Road, Charlevoix | Grades 7–12. Built 2002.[15] |
| Charlevoix Elementary | 108 E. Garfield, Charlevoix | Grades PreK-6. Built 1961,[12] substantially rebuilt in 2020.[18] |
References
- ^ a b c d Charlevoix Public Schools. "Charlevoix Public Schools". Retrieved March 17, 2026.
- ^ Charlevoix Public Schools. "About Us". Retrieved March 17, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Charlevoix Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences.
- ^ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Charlevoix County School Districts (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
- ^ a b c Charlevoix Historical Society. "Schools". Retrieved March 17, 2026.
- ^ Miles, David (March 14, 2024). "Looking Back: Reminiscing on Charlevoix's educational legacy". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.).
- ^ "R.O. Carr named principal of Charlevoix's "middle school"". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.). February 14, 1969. p. 3.
- ^ "Blueprints of A New School Building for Charlevoix, Michigan" (PDF). Charlevoix Public Library. City of Charlevoix, Michigan. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
Architect name visible on blueprint image
- ^ "Charlevoix Public Library opens Monday". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.). September 22, 2006. p. A3.
- ^ "Red Rayders pay tribute to Ray Kipke". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.). September 9, 1991. p. 13.
- ^ "Charlevoix High School The Rayders". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.). September 4, 2015. p. A6.
- ^ a b "Class of '61 last to graduate from old Charlevoix High School". Traverse City Record-Eagle. June 2, 1961. p. 2.
- ^ "Office of Gordon Cornwell, architect". Traverse City Record-Eagle. June 3, 1961. p. 10.
- ^ "Barnes Construction Company...". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.). August 25, 1969. p. 8.
- ^ a b Hetler, B.J. (August 27, 2002). "Charlevoix raises the curtain on new school". Petoskey News Review (Petoskey, Mich.). p. 1.
- ^ Murray, Mallory (October 18, 2013). "Students, staff transition to newly combined middle/high school". Petoskey News Review (Petoskey, Mich.). p. A11.
- ^ "Charlevoix Public Schools plans new elementary site; county to buy existing one". Petoskey News Review (Petoskey, Mich.). December 26, 2017. p. A7.
- ^ a b Doyle, Annie (December 12, 2019). "Charlevoix Elementary: New year, new building, new start time". Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, Mich.).