Website Lab
Test 123
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Font Awesome possibilities . . .
SO... for our GLcomets.net website, I used Foxbright and added a "Plain Text / Embed Script" block (this block can be found in the "Special Content" section when you add a new block in Foxbright)... and then I pasted in the embed code from Canva. I think it looks pretty good.
STORY BLOCK block is below
TESTING STORIES FUNCTIONALITY - Story Block
Please view my message
here if you need translation services.
September 18, 2026
GLPS Families,
We had a wonderful first full week of school this week, after three in a row with only four days, and it is great to see the learning routines and structures throughout our classrooms. It is safe to say that the 2026-2027 school year is now in full swing! I want to start this week with a reminder that a couple of weeks ago, I provided some engagement opportunities for you, and I would invite you to revisit them if you are interested. Here is the link for the Caregiver School Improvement Team, here is the one for the Wellness Committee, and here is the one for our Portrait of a Learner Input Sessions.
For today’s update, I want to spend some time further explaining the Portrait of a Learner philosophy and process that is a focus for us this year and moving into the future. We have been working with an organization called the Future of Learning Council for a couple of years to help guide our learning in this area. In fact, we hosted the group’s monthly meeting this week, and had nearly 300 innovative educators from around the state here at Sawdon, learning and collaborating around creating more student centered learning environments. We know that our students are heading out into a workforce and post secondary environment that requires a wide variety of skills, and we want to ensure that their time at GLPS is preparing them for that reality. Our work with the FLC is centered around developing learning systems that ensure our students have those skills, and that our pre K through 12th grade programming is setting kids up for success.
The foundation of that proposed successful pathway is the development of a Portrait of a Learner, which is a set of skills that are cultivated from the moment a student steps into our district until they graduate. By identifying these skills, and then ensuring students learn them, we can better align resources to ensure that all kids can thrive during their time at GLPS and then when they graduate. We have worked with our Caregiver School Improvement Team and district leadership teams to gather feedback and input on how to define those skills, and starting next month, we will expand that out to get additional input from staff, students, families, and the community. After gathering those thoughts and ideas, we will distill it all down into a reasonable set of competencies that we want all students to have, and then build the systems to ensure that all students demonstrate mastery of them. We plan to share the set of competencies in December, so stay tuned!
As we wrap up this week, I want to remind you to take a look at our 2026 bond page, and make sure you set aside September 29th and October 15th from 6-8 as we will host community open houses here at Sawdon to answer questions and discuss the projects in detail. In the meantime, I truly appreciate the opportunity that I have to learn and lead here in Comet Country. Thank you for your support, and as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
Newsletters via Stories
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4-24-26
GLPS Families,
It is hard to believe, but next Friday is May 1st! I am always amazed at how fast things move after spring break, but this year, in particular, it seems to be moving at light speed. Spring is a busy time of year in a school district, with a lot of events, learning, and celebrations happening, but it is also a time when it is important for us to pause and reflect on all of the people who do the work to make our district run and create a positive impact on students, families, and our community.
To those ends, I often share this graphic with our staff, reminding them that regardless of their role, they are all educators who impact the achievement of our students.

In our strategic plan, one of our belief statements is that We believe the GLPS staff are professionals who are vital to the health and future of the Grand Ledge community , and that is on full display every day across our district and Comet Country as a whole.
Last evening, the Grand Ledge Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards dinner, where it recognized Delta Center kindergarten teacher Darbi Carter as the Teacher of the Year, and Willow Ridge Dean of Students Lauren Patrick as the Support Staff of the Year, and they were both deserving winners among many deserving nominees for teachers and support staff. The event, and those nominations, were yet another reminder of how integral our staff is to the success of our community.
I share this with you today, because in the months of April and May, there are a number of days set aside to celebrate all of the people who make such a difference in our schools and communities. These are all listed in this table, and represent a wide range of our employee groups.
Date | Recognition Day | Focus Group |
April 1–30 | National Occupational Therapy Month | School OTs helping students with motor skills and sensory needs. |
April 1 | Paraprofessional Appreciation Day | Instructional assistants and classroom aides. |
April 4 | School Librarian Appreciation Day | Media specialists and library staff. |
April 6–10 | National Assistant Principals Week | APs who handle the "heavy lifting" of discipline and operations. |
April 19–25 | National Volunteer Week | Parents, community members, and boosters. |
April 19–25 | National Library Week | The broader celebration of school and public libraries. |
April 22 | Administrative Professionals Day | Your front office staff, secretaries, and registrars. |
April 28 | School Bus Driver Appreciation Day | The transportation team. |
May 1–31 | Better Hearing & Speech Month | Celebrating Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. |
May 1 | School Principals Day | Building leaders and instructional heads. |
May 1 | School Lunch Hero Day | Food service staff and cafeteria workers. |
May 4–8 | Teacher Appreciation Week | The entire teaching faculty. |
May 5 | National Teacher Day | The focal point of Appreciation Week. |
May 6 | School Nurse Day | Healthcare staff and clinic assistants. |
May 8 | School Communicators Day | PR, communications, and social media staff. |
May 18 | National Speech-Language Pathologist Day | Specific honors for the SLP team. |
So, throughout the next few weeks, as we wind down the 2025-2026 school year, please make sure that you take time to thank the school staff who make GLPS such a wonderful place to learn and grow. Whether they have an identified day across these months or not, everyone who interacts with our students and schools on a regular basis shapes the positive educational experiences that we are proud to deliver.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve this community, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your children every day. Have a wonderful weekend; as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!

Dr. Bill BarnesSuperintendent of Schools
STORY LIST block is below
John Szczerowski Named Teacher of the Year by MSBOA District 8 May 13, 2026
Here is the 2026-2027 School Calendar! December 9, 2025





