Huron Valley Schools Boast Triple Threat Appeal

Parents, students and Huron Valley faculty members packed the (LHS) cafeteria at the Board of Education meeting on Thursday night to applaud several individual and team recognitions for accomplishments in academics, athletics and the arts. 

A few of the recognized achievements included:

• The HOT team, compromised of students from LHS, Milford High School (MHS) and International Academy (IA) West, won the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Michigan State Championship. The went on to participate in FIRST World Robotics Championship from which footage will be featured in a documentary airing on the Discovery Channel later this summer.
• MHS senior Holly Downey won first place in the 11th Congressional District Art Competition with her painting, “Self Portrait.” Downey’s work will be displayed in the Conner Tunnel of the U.S capital for one year, and she will receive tickets to visit her display.
• Also placing in the 11th Congressional District Art Competition was MHS senior, Amira Hegazy who came in third for her painting, “Spherical Reflections.”
• Over one hundred total students from LHS and MHS were recognized as Advanced Placement Scholars in varying degrees. Patch contributor, , was just one of the many student achievers.
• State Championships were won by the MHS Men’s Boardercross Team and by the LHS Girls Boardercross Team.
• Both the LHS Girls Competitive Cheer Team and the LHS Boys Swim and Dive Team received first-time accomplishments as KLAA North Division Champions in their respective sports.
• After winning their sixth consecutive MHSAA District and Regional Championships, the LHS Girl’s Softball was runner up in the State Championship.
• The LHS Boys Bowling Team was the MHSAA Regional Bowling Champions.
• LHS Boys Varsity Tennis and LHS Girls Competitive Cheer Team both received All-State Team Academic Honors. 

A presentation given later in the evening showed the increased cumulative grade point average of individuals involved in either athletics or arts, as opposed to those who do not participate in co-curricular activities. 

A three year study using data from 2008-2010 was done by LHS Athletics Director, Greg Michaels, and MHS Athletics Director, Chris Ceresa revealed the following:

Michaels and Ceresa also found athletes to have higher average ACT scores (21.44 for athletes compared to 19.99 for non-athletes) as well as higher graduation rates (98.57% of athletes graduate compared to 88.15% of non-athletes). 

A similar presentation was given regarding participation in the Fine Arts programs which were also linked with higher average GPA’s.

These presentations come at a time when the district is possibly facing unprecedented budget cuts. With athletics and arts on the potential chopping block, a case was made for their positive link to academic achievement. 

Some other notable points of interest from the evening include:

• The Board unanimously moved to approve the achieved tenured status for 18 district teachers. Charles Dittmar was absent from the evening’s meeting.
• All items on the consent agenda were unanimously passed. This included the purchase of 26 SMART Boards for the Special Education Department (see the attached video for a brief introduction to the SMART Board capabilities).
• Two Grass Roots Public Forums will be held on May 18 to present information on why community members should care about cuts to school funding. The first meeting will be at LHS from 10–11:30 a.m., and the second meeting will be at MHS from 6:30–8 p.m. (see attached flyer for more information).
• The Huron Valley Education Association will be hosting a rally to celebrate public servants and public service on May 26 from 4:30–6 p.m. at Central Park in Milford. All varieties of public servants are encouraged to attend. 

The Board meets next on May 23 at 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School for a budget work session.