If you liked College for Kids, you’ll love Career Academy for Kids! CA4K is a new take on the former College for Kids summer day camp. With more diverse sessions aimed at offering kids a variety of opportunities to try their hand at new skills, a new name was in order! CA4K is a three-day summer program of enrichment classes operated by Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District. Classes are designed to help students currently enrolled in grades 2-8 experience a particular field of interest in-depth and hands-on.

NEW LOCATIONS FOR 2019: Career Academy for Kids will be held in two new locations for 2019. Due to construction at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, CA4K programs will take place at Harbor Springs Middle School/Shay Elementary and at the Boyne City High School campus. The course listing will clearly state which class is at which location. The High Flyers course will still take place at Pellston Regional Airport.

Course descriptions will be online around Feb. 1, 2019. Online registration opens on April 15, 2019. For now, save the date and check back soon for CA4K 2019 classes!  Additional CA4K information 

Two Char-Em ISD staff members will be recipients of an OPIE Award at the spring ceremony recognizing Outstanding People in Education, to be held on May 8, 2019, at the Odawa Casino in Petoskey. Tracy Tunison and Debbie Elzinga will both be honored, along with other area educators.

Tracy Tunison is a speech pathologist for Char-Em ISD, serving Petoskey preschoolers ages 3 to 5. She has been a teacher for 20 years; 4 years in the K-12 setting and the most recent 16 years in early childhood. Debbie Elzinga, a Char-Em ISD transporter, is also being honored with an OPIE award. Elzinga has worked for Char-Em ISD’s Transportation Department for 15 years. Read more about the Char-Em ISD OPIE Award winners!

Michigan State Police inspectors meticulously review nearly 17,000 school buses around the state each year – one at a time - to ensure that children are being transported safely in vehicles that are well-maintained.

Safely transporting the children in its care is a responsibility that Char-Em ISD’s Transportation Department takes seriously – and it shows. The ISD has once again landed a 100% safety inspection rating from the MSP for this year’s inspection.

Each day, Char-Em transports about 125 special needs students to and from their homes to any of five different school sites via 24 buses. Those buses accumulate more than 600,000 miles per calendar year. 

Read the full media release about the 100% Safety Inspection Rating

In late November, amid the rush and anticipation of the holiday season, nearly 70 local educational professionals gathered to strategize about a new approach for school safety in the new year ahead. Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District administrators convened a local Threat Assessment Training, which featured national trainer Frank Zenere, a school psychologist and crisis management specialist for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Zenere has responded to dozens of crises, including the devastating Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings.

“Char-Em ISD continues to respond to the needs of our 11 local public school districts and to help them in every way we can,” said Jeff Crouse, Char-Em ISD Superintendent. “School safety continues to be of paramount concern."

Ben Hicks, Char-Em ISD’s Director of Special Education, coordinated the training.

Read the complete article about the Threat Assessment Training

TEACHER’S ASSISTANT: Char-Em ISD is looking to hire a Special Education Teacher's Assistant to work within our programs. An Associate's degree or higher is preferred, as is demonstrated ability to work with students of varying developmental levels. Please review the complete job description, including instructions for applying

SYSTEM ENGINEER: The ideal candidate will have at least an Associate's degree in computer science, open systems technology, information systems or similar; three years of work experience providing technical assistance and support in a service environment preferred. Complete job description and instructions for applying

Precious cargo aboard! Char-Em ISD is looking for substitute bus drivers and riders/aides for our multiple bus routes to and from Char-Em programs. Flexible hours and days mean you choose when you can provide coverage of routes. Char-Em pays for all required driver training (written testing and on-road testing), so experience is not necessary. Experience working with special needs children is not required, but is helpful, as is a compassionate personality. Because of the wide geographical area covered by Char-Em, we pay you from when you leave the house to get to your assigned transportation route each day that you work. Routes may be in Charlevoix, Emmet and northern Antrim counties. Those interested may also start as (paid) aides rather than driver, to see if the job is a good fit.