Ingham County Sheriff's badge
Ingham County

Keeping schools safe: Deputy watches over county

By |

Schools should be places where students feel safe and parents feel their children are being protected. The increasing number of school threats and incidents has caused many to feel less safe on school properties. The sheriff’s office of Ingham County and school resource officers such as Deputy Megan Jordan work to combat that. 

The most valuable protection that the sheriff’s department has for schools is a dedicated school resource officer. The officer’s main duty is to maintain safety and security while building relationships with students. 

The position is funded by Delhi Township and is in charge of the buildings in the Holt school district, as well as other parts of the county, with about 5,600 students and 800 faculty and staff. “It’s really like a small city, for one cop,” said County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth. 

Ingham Intermediate School District director of facilities and safety, Steve Rusnock, said the school resource officer is a significant benefit for the district. 

“Coordinating with the sheriff’s office and school resource officers helps to give that extra feeling of security for all the students and parents, not to mention the faculty,” said Rusnock.

Ingham County
Logo that resembles adult holding up child

Ingham schools consider masks, attendance rules

By |

The Ingham County Intermediate School District considered the new post-COVID normal as t took up attendance and mask mandates Feb. 15. Most public schools rely on attendance-based funding. Until now, even throughout the pandemic, schools lose funding when attendance falls below 75%. Since the return to in-person learning, schools across the country have seen attendance fluctuate because of exposure-induced quarantines.

Education

Ingham Intermediate Superintendent Kogut to retire at end of school year

By |

By Austin H. Goodman

Ingham County Chronicle

Mason, Mich., – The Thorburn Education Center was host to the monthly Ingham Intermediate School District Board meeting on Tuesday. Typically, meetings call to order at 6 p.m. EST, but at February 17th’s meeting the board decided to hold the meeting at 5p.m. The search for a new superintendent began following the meeting. Mr. Stanley Kogut will be retiring at the end of the spring semester, after ten years as superintendent and working within the district for 25 years,

Kogut began his tenure as superintendent in July 2005 and is most reputable for his work in collaborating with other districts “to really accept that it is the I.S.D. responsibility to be accountable for student achievement.”

According to the superintendent, he believes in “serving before you lead” to secure trust in his peers. Kogut said he understands that it is no short task to have everyone make sense of your methods or techniques, “It is about building that trust up over the years and making sure that there is a benefit to them and everyone else.”

Kogut will be ending his career within the Ingham I.S.D. in June with the conclusion of the 2014-2015 school year. Listen to the Ingham County Chronicles’ first podcast for interviews from Tuesday’s Board meeting with Michael Flowers and superintendent, Stan Kogut. 

Education

Three school districts expecting new technology

By |

By Erin Eschels
Ingham County Chronicle staff writer

Bonds have passed in Waverly Community Schools, Okemos Public Schools and East Lansing Public Schools that give them money to purchase and update their technology. On Feb. 18, the Ingham Intermediate School District Board of Education discussed what the future looks like for these districts. Waverly Community Schools normally functions on a 5-year cycle of replacement for instructional computers with secondary equipment being replaced in between. Now, with extra money to spend, Waverly’s Director of Technology Al Momrik said, “We hope to continue to purchase technology equipment for classrooms, such as interactive boards, document cameras, projectors, DVD burners, etc.

Education

Online schools becoming more popular, increasing Ingham's enrollment

By |

By Erin Eschels
Ingham County Chronicle staff writer

This year’s total enrollment has gone up from about 800 to 1,500 students in the school district. However, some of this 115 percent increase includes virtual students, which seems to be picking up. On Feb. 18, the Ingham Intermediate School District Board of Education had their regular meeting at the Thorburn Education Center in Mason, Mich. The members of the board discussed topics dealing with enrollment, budgets, and position changes within the district.

Education

Mason students receive free tuition at The Early College at LCC

By |

By Amanda Cowherd
Mason Times staff writer

On Monday, Feb. 10, Steve Rosales showed a presentation about The Early College at LCC, a free program he directs, to the Mason Board of Education. All Ingham County sophomores are invited to apply to The Early College, informally known as TEC. Students in TEC leave their high schools and receive a blended high school and college education for three years. Rosales, who works for Lansing Community College, compared the program to taking an 11th, 12th and 13th grade program.