TRAVERSE CITY -- The region's public schools soon could offer elementary foreign language programs, universal preschool and personal student computers, using state grant dollars intended to spur innovation.
The Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District is one of 13 school systems chosen for Project ReImagine, launched to encourage schools to propose new and creative ways to teach students.
Administrators have not yet learned grant details, including its length and award amount. The state also could use the ReImagine districts in an application for federal grant funding.
"This will require all of us to change," ISD Superintendent Mike Hill said. "It will require every ounce of collaboration and teamwork that we have."
Among initiatives being pursued are a regional International Baccalaureate curriculum, more online course offerings and closer networking between individual school districts so students can access the same courses and services, regardless of where they live.
School administrators met Friday to begin planning, including identifying priority areas and establishing a project timeline.
Early childhood and preparing students for life after high school are emerging as early priorities, Hill said. Some program elements could be in effect by the start of the next school year.
Hill said it's possible districts could receive millions of dollars with the grant. He expects to learn more at a state meeting next month.
"We're trying to reinvent how we do business in a funding crisis," Hill said. "This reform needs to be embedded into each district."
Districts need to think of education as more than kindergarten through 12th grade, since children begin to learn early in life and continue after graduating, said Jayne Mohr, associate superintendent for Traverse City Area Public Schools.
This effort could bring new students to the area, in turn stimulating the economy, Mohr said.
Combining with multiple districts will help smaller ones offer enhanced programs to students, said Derrel Kent, superintendent of Alba Public School in Antrim County.
"We're not sitting back and saying we're doing a pretty good job already," Kent said. "Each step as we go along becomes more and more feasible."
