For the love of learning, for all

The Hancock Public School Board meeting on Oct. 17, nearly empty except for school officials, library officials, and reporters. Photo by Sydney Wilmot.

The Hancock Public Schools Board of Education had a sparse audience to their October assembly, in stark contrast to their standing-room-only August meeting. The minutes were passed, the discussion and updates for different projects of the Hancock Public School were presented. Finally, came the time for visitor comments.

There was silence.

Following the principal reports, the approval for the contract with the Portage Lake District Library (PLDL) was then put to a vote. It was recommended by Superintendent Steven Patchin, moved by Board Secretary Michael Lancour and seconded by Trustee Rod Paavlova.

Before it was voted on, information was put forth by Patchin to distinguish it from the previous contract.

“The big thing is the potential membership fee,” he said. “We talked about serving the tax paying community, and it was brought up we were interested in those outside our tax paying community, but there should be a fee just like Portage Lake District Library has on the other side… it came out to a cost of round about $24 per [card].”

This means if a household wants to utilize the Hancock Public School’s library but lives outside the tax paying community that has full access, the household can pay $24 to purchase a library card to check out items.

PLDL Director Katrina Linde-Moriarty explained that some people may wish to buy multiple cards because of the checkout limit. The PLDL circulation policy states 25 items can be checked out on one card.

After the extra information was presented, the partnership was put to a vote. The motion passed unanimously.

The PLDL and Hancock Public Schools will continue their contract until Oct. 31, 2023.

Linde-Moriarty inherited this collaboration after it was created after seeing “that PLDL could help… [and] previously, due to funding structures, it wasn’t feasible to have a librarian in that role or to staff the library at all. It was teacher and volunteer run, so we had the skill set on hand at PLDL to help, and I think we have our work cut out for us moving forward to see [what the] next step in the process would be.”

The library partnership began with a three-year contract with the school that started in Nov. 2018, but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the partnership, the library was run by teachers and volunteers.

“They only had the plan for it to be a stepping-stone to see if it was possible to either expand the district or to show people within the Hancock School District what a well-staffed library could be and how big of a resource it could be, not only for the students but for all of the residents,” said Linde-Moriarty, who started as PLDL’s director earlier this year.

This vote on the contract is the second amendment made to the agreement to extend the partnership.

In response to being asked about the dissent that was present at the last meeting, Linde-Moriarty said, “I think a better way to talk about [it] would be the misinformation around the situation… what is interesting is there is less than a dozen public school libraries in Michigan. They are mostly in the UP, and mostly in the peninsula, so we are very unique.”

They said the contract the council had just voted on was unique in the state, so there were no models to follow and “a lot of new ground to cover in what that partnership looks like.”

How communication with community stakeholders is handled is one of those things.

“I thought we were doing a pretty decent job about being transparent about the efforts that we were making in administering the library, and then we got different feedback,” Linde-Moriarty said. “So we took in that feedback and analyzed it and worked together with the school district to find solutions to move forward, and really try to recontextualize what our focus is for the future, but we still don’t have the answers, and that’s what I’m looking forward to exploring.”

Find more information on the Hancock school Public Library programs and more here.

New problems call for new solutions

Hancock Public Schools adapts old extracurricular programs, launches new ones, to adapt to virus precautions

For many, 2020-21 was the strangest school year and most challenging ever for students.

The most frustrating aspect for all concerned was the unknown and the fact that everything could change in a minute. Jesse Kentala is the principal at Hancock Middle School. He said all year long students and their parents had questions.

"Will there be a basketball season? How about spring concerts? What about graduation? There was just never a firm timeline at the state or national level and information changed constantly.”

He said the key to survival was that everyone had to learn to be adaptable and more importantly, creative.

Kentala said there wasn't an area of school life that was not impacted in some capacity by the pandemic. Hancock, like all other local districts, worked creatively to keep student programs and clubs moving forward.

"For example, our band concerts moved to a virtual platform so parents and the community could still enjoy these fine musicians. The middle school drama club performed ‘A Christmas Carol,’ which was filmed and shared with families."

Even the time-honored middle school camp experience was modified. Because Camp Nesbit was not open due to COVID-19, the school worked with Camp Michigamme in Marquette Couty to give 6th and 7th-grade students a unique camp experience that, Kentala said, “created lifetime memories.”

Photos provided by Jesse Kentala

The impact of the pandemic on athletic programs received considerable attention and subsequent pushback from the parents of student-athletes.

“It was hard to miss the activism and pushback from parents regarding the sports season rollercoaster. Letters were written to the state, videos were created and shared online and social media blew up with slogans and protests,” Kentala said.

What was less visible was the impact on non-sports-related programs and the missed opportunities by so many students. With a significant number of students turning to online platforms or even home-schooling options, Kentala said many school programs and clubs suffered as a result.

“After-school programming was hit hard and many of these programs shrunk or even closed down completely, causing us to rethink how we provided extracurricular opportunities for our students.”

Noting that there was nothing fun about the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentala said it allowed for a creative approach to many non-athletic clubs and organizations.

“We understood the importance of providing students with opportunities to lead and grow, but we couldn't provide them in the same mode as in the past. As Alice Walker said ‘You can't step in the same river twice. The river is different and so are you.’”

Rather than focusing on what they couldn't control, Kentala said they elected to set their sights on what they could. Working with Finlandia University, Hancock started an e-sports team for both middle and high school students. The Coding Club met in socially distanced spaces with virtual instruction allowing students to grow in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

He said Hancock's service organizations, specifically the National Honor Society, altered their approach to volunteer hours.

“At one point before the holiday break, the entire Hancock Middle School sang carols to the elderly at Portage Pointe while high school students delivered care packages to students and families affected by the pandemic. It was a beautiful event.”

Kentala said the upcoming school year is looked at with excitement with renewed energy and an emphasis on filling the gap that COVID-19 left.

“At Hancock, we are switching to a trimester system that will allow students the opportunity to take many new and elective courses. We are aiming to create classes and clubs that give all students the opportunity to learn, lead and grow.”

Among those opportunities are an investment club allowing students to invest money in the stock market in real-time. There will be a "Girls who Code" club for middle school students with a passion for STEM. And there's more.

“The Civil Air Patrol is allowing middle and high school students the chance to learn to fly and our robotics team is continuing to do great things in a much anticipated non-COVID-19 environment.”

Kentala said that learning from the challenges and disappointments of the very difficult pandemic impacted school year has made the district more determined than ever to give students the best experiences they can.