School Information

(Reed City School pictured above.)

School District Profiles

Reed City Area Public School

The Reed City Area Public School District is conveniently located in central-lower Michigan at the crossroads of the US l3l expressway and US l0 highway in Michigan's Osceola County. This rural district has an approximate enrollment of 2,000 students K-12 with just over 100 full time teachers. The district operates five school buildings including G.T. Norman Elementary School (grades l-5); Reed City Upper Elementary School (grades 4-5); Reed City Middle School (grades 6-8); Reed City High School (grades 9-l2); and Reed City Community High School (alternative education, adult education, and preschool). The Reed City Middle School facility opened in l993, and a new Transportation Center opened in 200l.

All school buildings in the Reed City Area Public School District are fully accredited by the North Central Association (NCA). The five- year process was completed in 2000, with another five-year cycle already in progress. The NCA accreditation process insures that our schools are setting goals and working toward the attainment of those goals.

Reed City School Buildings

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Pine River Area Public School

The Pine River Area Schools, with the parents and community, will provide educational opportunities enabling each student to develop the skills necessary to become a productive member of a changing society. In order to provide outstanding leadership and better serve the Pine River Area Schools, the School Board/Superintendent Governance Team, commit to the following Standards of Practice:

      • Place Children First: Keep the focus on student learning and what is best for all students. There will be no personal agendas.

      • Seek First to Understand: Listen empathetically, respectfully and courteously to all.

      • Be Honest and Trustworthy: Keep confidences, trust others and be trustworthy. They will follow through by doing what we say we will do.

      • Be Positive and Collaborative Team Members: Model positive attitudes and seek collaboration and consensus.

      • Learn: This is a learning organization. Inquire and know the research and facts. They will model continuous improvement by our own professional development as we seek to be a better leadership team.

      • Link to our Community: Link from the schools to the community. They will seek to communicate well and seek better ways to inform and be informed by our community.

Pine River School Buildings

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School History

Pinora Township had more schools in it, than any other township in Lake County. As a result of this, a fairly huge problem has manifested itself. Since there were so many schools, it has been difficult to find historic information on many of them. In other words, on four of the eight schools discovered, only the district name is known. This is extremely unfortunate - - and this is why a report such as this should have been written before (at least 40 to 50 years earlier, when people would remember Grandma talking about (so-in-so) school.

Here is a list of the eight schools. If someone has any information on them please with write or e-mail with the names of the schools.

1. District #1 School. We think Rosenburg was known as District # 1. But originally, District # 1 school was in the northeast corner of Section 3. Peris C. Monroe sold a piece of land to District # 1 on August 1, 1873, for $45.00. A school was built there and it lasted for about ten years.

2. Second District # 1. The Rosenburg School. According to old - - and some new - - reports, the district school in Section 3 was torn down, and a new one was built in Section 35, and it became known as the Rosenburg School. Records show that in 1883, Adam Schultz and wife sold a piece of property to District 1, on October 20, 1883. According to some reports on file with the Lake County Historical Society, the Rosenburg School closed its doors in 1963.

3. District # 2. School (also known as the Stowe School). The property on which the Stowe School was located was deeded over to the township on October 8, 1873, by William S. Langworthy, and Henry Stowe (and their spouses). The cost of the acreage was $10.00. The old school is still standing, I am told. Originally, the land where the Stowe School is (or was), was homesteaded by Reuben Wibert in the early 1870s. Henry Stowe later bought the property and built a saw mill there. Orin Bush bought the property surrounding the Stowe School from Mr. Stowe, later on. Some maps call the lake about a mile north of Bush Lake, or Stowell Lake, but it should be called Stowe Lake.

4. District # 3. The Spears Grove School. A portion of Section 33 was deeded to the township on January 3, 1876, by the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad (Note: between 1850 and 1871, certain railroads were encouraged to lay new tracks; the government would give alternate square-mile sections of land, for a distance of six miles on each side of the railroad; the G R & I entered into the land grant in 1856; this was part of a land subsidy program where the federal government gave away over 214 million acres (as an incentive to the railroads to build new tracks). The school itself was build by John W. Hoover in 1875 or 1876; it was the first schoolhouse that was built in the township; its first teacher was Julia S. Lathrop. It lists George Pregitzer as the last teacher in 1941. The school was named for the Spears family, who owned acreage near the school.

5. District # 4. This school shall forever remain as District # 4 unless someone out there helps us out. Here are the few things that we know about it: It was in Section 18; the land on which it was located was deeded to the township on February 2, 1884; and it was closed right after the turn of the century. (It certainly must have had a name other than District # 4).

6. District # 5. The Deer Lake School. This was located in the extreme northwest part of Section 6. (There is a little discrepancy here, as some old records show that it was in the northwest corner of Section 12 that it was sold to the township by Peter Dagen, on November 22, 1892, for $15.00) Anthony Clemente Jr. states that great-great grandfather donated the land to the township about 1889 or 1890. Mr. Clemente also states that a huge pine tree is the only remaining evidence of the Deer Lake School (his mother who was a student there, planted it (together with her classmates) in 1931. (Again, he states that it is in Section 6). One thing is certain, differences enter in, and both cannot be correct unless there were two Deer Lake Schools. Mr. Clementes mother (who attended the Deer Lake School, was LaVerne C. Clothier (when she attended there). Mr. Clementes grandmother (LaVernes mother) also attended the Deer Lake School. (Please note that Harriette Dagen was Mr. Clementes grandmother).

7. Section # 8 School. There is on record a school that once existed in Section 8. So little is known about this school. But here are a couple of things: its was near the corner of 8th Street and the Frank Smith Road, and it was in operation about 1900. Things that we would like to know are: What was its name? Who were some of its teachers and students? And when it came and went?

8. Section 36 School. Mrs. Collier held school in the log home belonging to her and her husband, George W. Collier, who was the first Sheriff of Lake County. This was in the early 1870s. Nothing more is recorded, but here are a few questions: did the school ever move to regular school (in the section)? who were some of its students, and when exactly did it come and go?

Pinora Township
Lake County
pinoratwp@pinoratwp.org