October 19, 2005
Small school, big ambitions
Traverse Bay Community School builds 200-seat auditorium
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Students at the Traverse Bay Community School romped and played, learned and raised money Friday during the school's second annual Hike-a-thon.
Gathering pledges and raising funds for the arts department, the students also learned about tennis, drew large silhouettes of each other, learned about the Appalachian Trail through hiking and watched kayaking and Frisbee demos. They completed their hikes on a portion of the extensive trails that snake through the school's 250-acre grounds, which are situated in the corners of Union and Whitewater townships.
Last year, the first Hike-a-thon raised money for a playground. With the current construction of a 200-seat auditorium and a multi-purpose room, hike organizers earmarked this year's proceeds for the various arts activities at the school. The addition is slated for complete next winter.
"The current library area was the multipurpose room and everything was done in that room, like plays and performances," said Robin Smith, co-chair of the Family Council. "The new auditorium is a huge, huge thing for us, something that was planned from the beginning and we're finally able to do it."
While the school declined to release the exact amount of money raised during the Hike-a-thon, Smith noted it was smaller than last year's total. She attributes this to a general outpouring of support among school families to help people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Many families told her they had already given their maximum annual charitable donations to those causes.
"It was still a very successful event," Smith said. "Our school is small and the people who go here are very civic and community minded - they are just givers."
In addition to its emphasis on the arts, nature plus outdoor activities and study are an integral part of education at Traverse Bay Community School. Most days and for a range of classes, students can use the extensive grounds for fun and learning. They can study everything from biology to chemistry to botany just outside their classrooms.
The Hike-a-thon and other activities last Friday reflected that passion by teaching or demonstrating a variety of outdoor activities.
"It's very unique here," said Tess Nottle, whose son Spencer, 12, has attended the school for eight years.
The Traverse Bay Community School began ten years ago and has held a steady enrollment of around 200 students during that time. Founder Mark Child said that number is the optimal target for the student body. It is key to sustaining the small student-teacher ratio and the sense of community that form the foundation of the school's success.
"Bigger than that and it becomes difficult to know the students," he noted.
An education professor in Connecticut, Child came to Michigan and established the school to apply education theories he had taught for years. Michigan passed early laws strongly supporting charter schools so he was drawn to the state to practice what he had preached.
"For me this was kind of an opportunity to put into practice a lot of things I was encouraging students to do," he said.
Instead of traditional single age groupings by grade, the Traverse Bay Community School is organized into multi-age villages. The primary, middle and upper villages are grouped roughly into grades K-3, 3-5 and 5-8. The multi-age concept allows teachers to guide a student's learning and growth beyond just one year.
"Because of the multi-age groupings, teachers can be with the students over multiple years," Child noted.
The arts, which at the school include music, fine arts and drama, are one vehicle for students to meet another of the school's missions: to find their spark and nurture it.
"We also feel that it is very important for students to find the thing that they are talented with and interested in and give them the opportunity to pursue those interests," Child said.