Tiny Bois Blanc hires long-term substitute teacher for one-room schoolhouse

• With a few weeks until school starts, Bois Blanc Pines School District approves a plan for long-term substitute teacher
• Many Michigan schools have teacher vacancies but the geographic remoteness of the island makes the one-room schoolhouse’s search more complicated 
• The person hired for the district will be expected to pursue a program to earn her teaching certification 

With just weeks to spare, tiny Bois Blanc Island has found a teacher for its one-room schoolhouse. She wasn't hard to locate. She's also a school custodian, a real estate agent in town and rents kayaks for Lake Huron.

Members of the Bois Blanc Pines School District school board voted Tuesday to hire an island resident to become their long-term substitute teacher. 

The person has previously worked as a substitute for the K-8 district, which is expected to have four students this fall.

She is not a Michigan certified teacher but the district plans for her to enroll  in a “grow-your-own” program where she works toward earning a teaching credential while working in the school and does not have to pay for college tuition. 

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"I'm committed to being here, and I love the island,” Michelle Reynolds told Bridge Michigan Wednesday morning. “And I love the community, and working at the school has taught me that the most important thing the school needs is someone committed to being here.”

At a school board meeting Tuesday night, board President Cindy Riker relayed information provided by the district superintendent Angie McArthur. According to those documents, prior to a Friday Bridge Michigan article about the school vacancy, the district had received three other applications.

Riker said none of the other applicants were “really qualified.”

Last week, Riker told Bridge the one-room schoolhouse setting provides an opportunity for individualized instruction.

But the district’s geographic remoteness also makes it a challenge for the district to find a teacher. The island is accessible by ferry during the summer months but only by plane in the winter months.

With school starting in a month, though, Riker said McArthur encouraged the board to move forward with this job candidate.

Conversations about grow-your-own certification options started July 24, Reynolds was offered the position on Monday, July 29, and she accepted the position on Sunday, Riker said. 

The state allows districts to request permits for long-term substitutes. In order for the permit to be renewed, the substitute teacher must be working toward earning a teaching credential. Reynolds has an associate degree from Michigan Technological University. The state permit process also requires that the district assign a mentor teacher to the substitute. 

Reynolds will be paid about $46,300 in her first school year, including a one-time, $3,000 signing bonus and another $3,000 stipend for completing coursework. 

The district anticipates the substitute will be accepted into a grow-your-own program. But if she is not, Reynolds would receive up to $10,000 in tuition reimbursement. Riker said the district would use a federal program to pay the education expenses, meaning it would not be out-of-pocket money for the district. 

The district anticipates allowing Reynolds to continue providing custodial services. 

Last week, Bridge reported the district expects to have four children start the school year but one family with three children may leave at some point in the fall, meaning the island would only have one student for the remainder of the school year. 

Riker said there is a possibility of having a full-time teacher’s aide through December and then a part-time aide for the rest of the school year but it depends on student enrollment. 

Reynolds told Bridge she will be preparing lesson plans and that the intermediate school district will pair Reynolds with another teacher that she can turn to when she has questions. She does not know yet who the person will be. 

Christine Hasbrouck, a grandparent of a student and someone who worked as a classroom aide last year, told Bridge she has reservations about the hiring plan. 

She said Reynolds “is one of the hardest-working women she’s ever known,” but the job has challenges and she wants to see the district provide mentorship and other support. (She said Reynolds is also her real estate agent.) 

Hasbrouck said she wants to believe the substitute teacher will be able to juggle teaching four children with varying curriculums, going to school for a teacher certificate and ensuring that Hasbrouck’s grandson doesn’t fall behind. Hasbrouck’s grandson has an individualized education program, which outlines specific services he receives. 

“It’s not like a regular school district for one grade. She’s responsible for four different curriculums — I’m telling you, I've done it just as an aide. There's so many hours and responsibilities that are going to come on Michelle’s shoulders. It’s hours of preparation work and hours of planning. She’s going to need help.” 

Four out of the five board members were present at the meeting, and all four voted yes on the plan. 

School board member Amanda Beugly said during the meeting she thinks “it’s great that we are supporting an islander,” but “it’s sad” the district could not get a teacher who “had tons of experience.” 

Beugly, who told Bridge last week she would keep her two children in a virtual charter school if the district didn’t find an experienced teacher, told Bridge after the meeting Tuesday that she plans to do just that.

“We are fully supporting Michelle now that she’s our teacher,” Beugly said. “We want to make sure that she has the support that she needs to be able to really thrive in this position.”