Swartz Creek Community Schools

Swartz Creek Community School District

Location of Swartz Creek School District within Genesee County, Michigan
Location
Genesee County, Michigan
United States
Coordinates 42°57′43″N 83°49′35″W / 42.96194°N 83.82639°W / 42.96194; -83.82639Coordinates: 42°57′43″N 83°49′35″W / 42.96194°N 83.82639°W / 42.96194; -83.82639
District information
Established 1840 (1840) (1st Organization)
1842 (1842) (3rd Organization)
1947 (1947) (Consolidation)
President Brian Mitchell
Vice-president Nick Chiros
Superintendent Jeff Hall
Asst. Superintendent(s) Adam Hartley (Instruction), Fletcher Spears (Personnel/Business)
Other information
Intermediate District Genesee
Website swartzcreek.org

Swartz Creek Community School District is a public school district in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and in the Genesee Intermediate School District. The School District serves the City of Swartz Creek, parts of Flint, Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, Clayton Township, Argentine Township and Village of Lennon even over into Shiawassee County.

History

In 1840, notices were posted to organize a school district in Miller's Settlement and included parts of Flushing (Clayton Township in 1846) and Mundy Townships (Gaines Township in 1842) extending a half mile south of the current City of Swartz Creek limits. For the initial two years, no taxes were levied and tuition was charged to the parents of the students with classes held in a log schoolhouse with the first teacher, Jane Watlkins of Grand Blanc, taught for three months. With the third year and a third district organization, taxes were levied to build a new schoolhouse to replace the burnt down previous schoolhouse. Those settled west of Miller's Settlement, Ryno Settlement, were not content with the control of the district lying with those from Miller's Settlement. With the creation of the Begole School district on Bristol in Flint Township, Ryno Settlement members claimed that current board members were in Begole and therefore illegally a member of the district board and elected Ryno Settlement residents and allies as replacements: Aaron B. Ryno, director, Philander McLain, treasurer and John M. Nash, moderator. They then changed the district's boundaries to exclude the "removed" board members. County school inspectors overruled the Ryno board's changes. Ryno versus Miller's residents continued on into 1846 when six special meetings where held in which four times a school was voted on to be built in Ryno and rescinded an equal number of times. Nonetheless a new building was built in 1853 at Miller and Morrish Roads (now Holland Drive), referred to as the "Little Red School House". Some time in the future the Ryno Settlement was separated into its own school district as it will later merge with other districts. An addition was built on a few years later and while waiting for that addition other space was rented.[1]

In 1891, the original Little Red School House was replace with a new Little Red School House on Morrish Road South of the railroad station. Two years of high school was added with an additional space in 1903. Swartz Creek was only one of a few schools that offered any High School grades, so many students from neighboring school attend for high school. Flint and Durand offered all four year of high school and was where most went after Swartz Creek to finish high school. In 1910, a kindergarten program was started by renting space in the Odd Fellow Hall on the Corner of Miller and Morrish Roads with Agnes Richardson as the first kindergarten teacher.[1]

To meet the need of the community for the students to finish high school in the district, Stanford Tappan Crapo donated in 1928 land (five acres) on Miller Road and $40,000 for the purpose of building a gym and auditorium at a school there. A school with 10 classrooms and the gym/auditorium was design and built by 1929 and was named Mary Crapo School in honor of Mary Ann Slocum Crapo. The system purchased a bus fleet at the end of 1945 to bring in high school students from seven neighboring districts. In that same year, a hot lunch program was started.[1]

Consolidation

In 1947, Swartz Creek, Crocker, Hill, Kline, Fletcher, Grove, Irish, and Ryno School districts voted to consolidate into the Swartz Creek Rural Agricultural Community School District. Schools in those districts included Calkins at Morrish & Corunna Roads, Crocker at Linden and Bristol Roads, Fletcher at Seymour and Grand Blanc Roads, Green at Seymour and Corunna Roads, Grove at Seymour and Grand Blanc Roads, Hill at Hill and Jennings Roads, Kline at Sharp and Reid Roads, and Ryno at Van Vleet and Miller Road. Begole School at Bristol and Elms Roads was joined to the district in 1948. At this time, students were being sent throughout the district with some kindergarten at the new Odd Fellows Hall, Begole and Fletcher as elementary with 1st through 4th grades, K–8 at Crocker and Grove as a middle school (fifth and sixth grades). It also saw expansion in programs with a school band begun and driver's education course first being taught.[1]

Annexation of the Gaines School was completed in 1962 and its school was converted into an elementary school.[1]

Years Director Treasurer Moderator[1]
6-10/1840 Peter Miller David Miller Philander McLain
1941 Emir Woodin Daniel Miller Elisha Martin
Spring 1942 Joseph Goodrich A. L. Elsswork Jacob Rall
10/1842 Joseph Goodrich David Miller (1) Peter Miller (1)
10/1842 Ryno faction Aaron B. Ryno Philander McLain John Nash
1853 Caleb H. Howes (1) Enos Miller (1) A.C. Brewer (1)
1868–1869 Charles McLain Ira Gilbert Kellicut
Years President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Trustees
1928 E. G. Smith none Fred Holland Frank Kennedy Fred Smalley Floyd Larobardiere
1949 Frederick Dieck (1) Raymond Syring (1) Ernest Boardman (1) John Pajtas (1)
1958 John Fick (1) Lyle Laroardiere (1) Austin Van Norwick (1) Leonard Morrish (1) Raymond Syring (1)
1976 Roger Verrell F.D. Bloss (1) Richard Sovis (1) Erma Courter Herbert Ratliff Patricia Schoenfield
2006–2007 John Knickerbocker Brian Mitchell Chuck Shults Michael Bean Nick Chiros Dallas Gatlin Brian Sepanak
2007-? John Knickerbocker Brian Mitchell Nick Chiros Carrie Germain Chuck Shults Dallas Gatlin Brian Sepanak
Current Brian Mitchell Nick Chrios Brian Sepanak Carrie Germain Lorraine Ahearne Ken Engel Chris Studer

1) Exact board position unknown

Years Superintendent (High School) Principal
1929 Merton S. Vincent none
1945–1949 Edmund Bremer Orel Champney (1948)
1949–1960 Orel Champney Elden Buell
1960–1971 Elden Buell
1971–1975 John Dickey (1)
1976-? Richard Fitzgerald
?-2001 Charles Townsend Sheldon Safer, Michael Dodge
2001–2005 Roy Pearson Michael Dodge, Michael Vanderlip
2005–2007 Jeff Pratt Michael Vanderlip
2007–? Jeff Pratt Sandra Macut
Current Jeff Hall Sandra Macut

1) Interim Superintendent after John Dickey was Robert H. Brown, Assistant Superintendent of schools in charge of finance.[1]

Buildings

Building Type Built Location
Mary Crapo School Alternative High & pre-school 1929 Swartz Creek
Swartz Creek High secondary 1958 Swartz Creek
Swartz Creek Middle secondary 1967 Swartz Creek
Gaines elementary 1880 Village of Gaines
Syring elementary 1959 Swartz Creek
Morrish elementary 1964 Mundy Township
Elms Road elementary 1966 Swartz Creek
Dieck (Van Vleet Road) elementary 1969 Clayton Township

Sports

Swartz Creek Community School
School Swartz Creek High
Conference Flint Metro League
Athletic director Sue Calvo
Location Swartz Creek, Michigan
Varsity teams football, cross country, basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Soccer, Tennis, Swimming, Lacrosse, Track, Golf, and of course, Ice Hockey
Nickname Dragons
Colors
     Red       White       Black
Website Swartz Creek Athletics
Class A
Year Joined/Rejoined 1968/2006
League Start End
County C 1950 1960
County B 1960 1968
Flint Metro 1968 1976
Big 9 1976 2006
Flint Metro 2006 present

[2]

At the Little Red School House No.2 back in the late 19th century, Swartz Creek Schools started its sports tradition starting with a championship girls baseball team followed by a winning boys baseball team. In the 1940s, the football team earned the county championship trophy awarded by the Flint Journal, which nicknamed the Swartz Creek Teams as the "Dragons", after which the yearbook was called the dragon. Swartz Creek belong to the County B League then joined the Flint Metro League upon its founding in 1968[3] until the 1976 when they joined the Big Nine Conference. The Cross Country squad had extraordinary success racking 15 Big Nine Conference championships, many Greater Flint Area Champions, Regional Champions, multiple state meet appearances with runners up in 1982 and State Championship in 1986. Given the even large schools in the Big 9 that were some times classified as AA making teams uncompetitive in league play, Swartz Creek returned to the Flint Metro League in 2006.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hayes, Yutha (1976). Going up the Swartz. Swartz Creek: Bicentennial Commission of Swartz Creek. pp. 108–124.
  2. ↑ Michigan High School Football: Swartz Creek Dragons
  3. 1 2 Tunnicliff, Greg. "Balance, competitiveness, friendships keep league rolling". Flint Journal (Advance Newspapers). p. 2. Retrieved 2007-09-17.

External links

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