Dear Families,

As we continue to build momentum this school year, I’m excited to highlight some of the exciting events and important updates happening across our district.

In this edition of MacGregor’s Message:

• Homecoming 2024

• Howell High School Student to Lead National Group

• Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future Bond Update

• Local Contractors Meeting

• Middle and High School Student Survey

• Livingston Educational Service Agency Special Education Millage

• Howell Carnegie Library Survey

Next week is our annual Homecoming Week. From our district-wide spirit week to the Homecoming Parade through Downtown Howell and, of course, Friday Night Lights at Memorial Stadium, homecoming in Howell is truly special. I love how our entire community embraces the celebration and puts its Highlander Pride on full display. This year, the Homecoming Parade will begin at 5 p.m. and travel west down Grand River from National Street to Center Street. The Homecoming Game will begin at 7 p.m. under the lights of Howell High School’s Memorial Stadium. I hope to see you at both.

Howell High School senior Militza Algredo-Huerta has been selected as the Hope Squad National Council co-president for the 2024-25 school year. Militza has been a leader in the Howell High School Hope Squad for four years and has helped grow the program and the support it provides within the school and district. As a member of the National Council, Algredo-Huerta will continue to serve Howell’s Hope Squad while representing the organization on a national level. In this role, she will be able to educate others about the importance of suicide prevention, share her passion for mental health awareness, expand the Hope Squad’s reach, and help shape its programming. To read more about Militza and the Hope Squad, please visit https://bit.ly/3Tr3aOM. 

Work and planning continue on projects funded by the Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future Bond. After nearly a year of planning, we are nearing the end of the design phase for the replacement Northwest and Southwest elementary schools and the major renovation at Highlander Way Middle School. On Monday night, the Board of Education approved a proposal to improve the Howell High School Freshman Baseball diamond. At Three Fires Elementary, fences are installed, and grass has been planted on several of the new youth baseball and softball fields. The replacement of the turf field at Parker Middle School will begin next week and will be completed by the end of November so that it is ready for our spring sports season. The Parker Stadium will be closed to the public during the turf replacement. Additionally, new furniture for Innovation Academy has been ordered and is beginning to arrive. To stay up to date on all of our bond-funded projects, please visit HowellSchools.com/Bond. 

Also related to the bond is a meeting for local contractors we are hosting on Monday, September 23, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. at the Livingston Educational Service Agency. During the meeting, local contractors will be introduced to the upcoming projects, learn how requests for proposals and bid notices will be shared, review bonding and insurance requirements, and discuss the qualification process, offering valuable insight into the bidding process. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions. To read more about the meeting, please visit https://bit.ly/4ge9WRS.

As part of a partnership between the Highlander College and Career Council and Youth Solutions Select, a non-profit designed to help schools build sustainable, multi-year career development programs, we will be administering a survey to students in grades 6-12 at Highlander Way Middle School, Parker Middle School, and Howell High School. Howell High School students will take the survey on Friday, September 27. Highlander Way Middle School and Parker Middle School students will take the survey on October 2. You can review the student survey questions at https://bit.ly/3XnFFY7. If you would prefer that your child not participate in the survey, please complete our opt-out form at https://bit.ly/4e31CD8 by Thursday, September 26, 2024.

On Tuesday, November 5, residents of Livingston County will vote on a proposal to renew and restore the county-wide Livingston Educational Service Agency (LESA) special education millage. If approved, this millage proposal would continue to fund services for more than 3,500 students with special needs in local school districts. These funds support programs like Unified Sports, work readiness, peer-to-peer initiatives, and paraeducators. While federal and state mandates require support for special education students, they do not provide total funding. The millage helps fill this gap, ensuring these mandates are met without diverting resources from other students' educational needs. To learn more, please visit https://bit.ly/3yYj7VT or consider attending one of the three upcoming informational meetings at LESA on September 19 at 5:30 p.m., October 3 at noon, or October 17 at 5:30 p.m.

As the Howell Carnegie Library plans for the future, they need your help. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the library's services. Please consider participating by completing a short survey. Access the survey at http://bit.ly/HCLsurvey or at howelllibrary.org. You may also complete a printed copy of the survey on your next visit to the library. The information gathered will directly influence the Howell Carnegie Library’s efforts to improve library services for all. If you have any questions about the survey or the library’s planning process, please contact Director Holly Ward Lamb at 517-546-0720 ext. 112 or [email protected].

I hope you have a great weekend. Go Highlanders!

Sincerely,
Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.S.
Superintendent
Howell Public Schools