Ealy Elementary to Close as Part of West Bloomfield Schools Plan

No other closures are imminent as part of Board of Education vote on facilities and enrollment study recommendations.

The West Bloomfield Schools Board of Education voted Monday night to close Ealy Elementary School in fall 2013, among other decisions on school buildings. Parents, administrators and staff packed the West Bloomfield High School media center for the Board of Education's vote on recommendations from an ad hoc committee formed earlier this year to study facilities and enrollment. Some parents from Ealy and Doherty Elementary School, which was also considered for closure spoke out in support of a sense of community in times such as these. The recommendations were made on the basis of efficiency and cost-cutting, noted those speakers wearing "spirit wear" in endorsement of "their school." The ACS building, located at the site of the old Scotch …

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West Bloomfield School Board Considers Closing Schools

The West Bloomfield School District Board of Education listened to a final report from Western Demographics on school enrollment and facilities utilization.

Edited: 11 a.m., Aug. 28 To reflect updated costs for transportation Schools may close in the West Bloomfield district after the Board of Education considers recommendations suggesting its enrollment is not high enough to fill all six elementary schools. "We have enough students to operate four elementary schools and we have six," said Shannon Bingham, of Western Demographics, Inc., who presented a school closure and redistribution plan to the board on Monday night at West Bloomfield High School.  The district had a mild decline in enrollment in recent years, which is expected to continue, according to Bingham's research. Total school utilization is 80 percent and there are 3,276 empty seats in the district, according to his research. …

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Ealy Students Create 'Wax Museums'

A lot of hard work and effort goes into Mrs. Cowell and Mrs. Houck's fifth-grade class projects.

West Bloomfield Ealy Students Help Dedicate Freedom Center

A DVD of students singing patriotic songs and thanking military personnel will be played on continuous loop at the newest addition to McNamara Terminal in Detroit Metro Airport.

JoAnn Martin uses Veterans Day as an opportunity to teach her son Maxwell, now a fourth-grader at Ealy Elementary School, about thankfulness. This year, Maxwell will show returning military what he has learned, as part of a student delegation that will be present at the dedication of the Freedom Center on Friday at McNamara Terminal in Detroit Metro Airport (DTW). The delegation of several students, parents, teachers and administrators, solely from Ealy, will present military personnel returning home from the Middle East on Friday with a video, recorded last week at the school by third-grade teacher Marla Gartner and volunteers, to thank them for their service. The video will play on a continuous loop at the Freedom Center. The students' …

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Ealy Elementary Blood Drive Shores Up Low Supply

PTO president Marla Wujczyk said that the 29 pints donated Friday will help the American Red Cross recover from canceled blood drives this winter.

Teachers, parents and even the Ealy Elementary principal agreed to give blood on Friday during a drive sponsored by Ealy's Parent Teacher Organization. Twenty-nine pints of blood were donated to the American Red Cross during the drive.  “The teachers of Ealy really stepped up to the plate, and the principal, Roderick MacNeal, donated blood,” said PTO president Marla Wujczyk, 45, who has one child attending Ealy and another at Orchard Lake Middle School.  “It’s so great how many people responded from Ealy and around the community.” “I keep hearing about a lack of blood supply and I like to be of service,” said Jonny Kest, 43, of Birmingham, as he donated blood. “It’s an easy decision for me.” Wujczyk pointed out that the Red Cross considers…

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