Beaver Island Community School

Beaver Island Community School is a public school district in Charlevoix County, Michigan. It serves Peaine Township and St. James Township, which are located on Beaver Island.
The district consists of a single school serving all grades. Wil Cwikiel, the superintendent, also serves as the school's principal. The school has 53 students as of the 2023-2024 school year, down from 96 students during the 1999-2000 school year due to declining birth rates. A unique challenge for the school is that due to its small size, small fluctuations in enrollment have a large impact on funding. The school board has seven members elected to four-year terms.

History

The district was founded in 1898. At one time, there were two one-room schoolhouses in the district, but the schools consolidated in town around the mid-20th Century. Because few teachers would live on such a remote island, Catholic nuns were employed by the school, although instruction was secular. In 1974, the school hired the first full-time teacher who was not a nun. By that time, the school board planned to ultimately replace the nuns with lay teachers.
As of 1985, honor-roll students with perfect attendance were treated to McDonald's hamburgers four times a year, but the meals had to be flown in from Charlevoix.
In 2007, voters approved a nearly $4 million bond issue to build an addition and improve the school building.

Historic enrollment

1956: 4 graduates.
1962: 64 students.
1974: 55 students, including 7 seniors.
1983: 65 students and 5 full-time teachers.
1985: 75 in September, 63 in June.
1999: 96 students
2023-2024: 53 students