The BC Office

Celebrating the people, moments, and ideas moving Brown City Community Schools forward!

We are excited to welcome Buddy Berry, Superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools in Kentucky, to Brown City on Tuesday, November 3!

Buddy has gained national attention for his innovative approach to education and for helping transform a small, rural school district into a place known for creative learning environments, student engagement, and thinking differently about what school can look like.

What makes his story especially exciting for us is that Eminence is not all that different from Brown City. It is a small district where relationships, community connections, and finding ways to create big opportunities for kids are incredibly important.

Throughout the day, Buddy will work with our students, staff, and administration as we explore innovative teaching and learning, creating memorable experiences through Surprise & Delight, and developing our own Portrait of a Graduate: a shared vision of the skills, experiences, and characteristics we want every Brown City graduate to possess.

We Want YOU to Be Part of the Conversation!

We are hosting two community sessions where Buddy and our administrative team will share ideas, discuss our vision for the future, and hear from our families and community members.

☕ Morning Session — Coffee & Doughnuts

Tuesday, November 3 | 8:00–9:00 AM

🍕 Evening Session — Pizza & Conversation

Tuesday, November 3 | 4:00–5:00 PM

Location: Brown City High School Shop (You may enter through the shop doors. The shop is located on the northeast side of the building).

Both sessions will take place in our high school shop, giving attendees an opportunity to see some of the exciting CTE opportunities we are developing for our students.

Whether you are a parent, grandparent, graduate, business owner, or community member, we want your voice to be part of this conversation! Please plan to join us for one of the sessions.

We have some exciting news to share! Brown City Community Schools has been awarded an additional $400,000 through Michigan's Section 61v CTE Expansion Grant, bringing our total STEM and CTE grant awards over the past several months to approximately $850,000!

This latest award will help us expand hands-on learning opportunities into our junior high through a partnership with Milestone C, connecting students to experiences involving robotics, engineering, coding, electronics, automation, 3D printing, and other emerging technologies.

Earlier this year, we received a separate $400,000 grant to expand our high school CTE programming through SME PRIME, along with $50,000 in MiSTEM funding to help transform our high school library into a district STEM Innovation Hub.

Together, these investments are helping us build a more connected pathway of opportunities for students as they move through Brown City Schools.

Our goal is to give students more opportunities to explore their interests, develop real-world skills, discover career possibilities, and learn by doing.

We are incredibly excited about what these opportunities will mean for our students—not just today, but for years to come.

$850,000 in new opportunities. One goal: Better experiences and brighter futures for Brown City students!

Things are getting a little spooky (and creative) at Brown City!

For the past couple of years, our staff have participated in a pumpkin decorating contest. This year, we're taking things to a whole new level with Pumpkin Palooza!

We've expanded the fun to include our students and families, giving everyone an opportunity to show off their creativity and perhaps even outdo some of our staff!

On Friday, October 30, our schools will be filled with creative pumpkin designs as students and staff get a chance to check out the entries and enjoy some Halloween fun.

We are excited to see the creativity, imagination, and friendly competition this new event brings to Brown City.

Who will have the most creative pumpkin? Will our students outshine the staff? We can't wait to find out! 🎃

Our elementary school was filled with smiles, laughter, and lots of love on Friday, October 9, as we welcomed grandparents and special guests for our annual Grandparents Day celebration!

Students had the opportunity to share special performances, including songs and poems, before welcoming their guests into classrooms for cookies, cider, and time together.

One of our favorite parts of the day was inviting grandparents and special guests to write positive affirmations for their grandchildren. These simple messages of love, encouragement, and support are something we hope our students will remember long after the day is over.

We also held a special drawing, with four lucky students receiving tokens for our book vending machine!

A huge thank you to Ms. Doud for preparing our younger students for their musical performances, our fifth- and sixth-grade teachers for helping students prepare their presentations, and all of our elementary staff for making the day so special.

We also want to thank Duane Lange for sharing our Launch and helping us end the celebration with a meaningful message about the important role grandparents play in children's lives.

Most importantly, thank you to all of the grandparents and special guests who joined us. The relationships and memories you build with our students are something truly special!

There are some pretty creative things happening at Brown City Jr./Sr. High School, and our students are helping bring them to life!

🎨 Classroom Entrance Artwork

Students in Ms. Winklepleck's high school art classes have begun transforming the spaces above classroom doors with creative artwork, designs, and inspirational sayings!

Before picking up a paintbrush, students worked directly with teachers to brainstorm ideas and develop designs that reflect the personalities of the classrooms and the people inside them. It's a great example of students collaborating, using their creativity, and leaving a positive mark on their school.

📚 The Literary Graveyard

Meanwhile, students in Mrs. Hayward's senior English class are bringing literature to life in a slightly spooky way!

Their Literary Graveyard project will be on display near the southeast corner of the high school this week. It's a fun and creative way for students to showcase their learning while adding a little Halloween spirit to our campus.

We love seeing our students use their creativity to make learning memorable and our schools a little more exciting!

One of our goals this year is to encourage staff to find creative ways to bring a little extra fun, excitement, and joy into the school day.

Through our Surprise & Delight program, staff members share ideas for creating memorable experiences for students, and each month we recognize four individuals or groups who have helped make those moments happen!

Congratulations to our first winners:

• Ashley Grubb — Preschool: Halloween popcorn bar and ghost Slurpees!

• Madison Burgess — 1st Grade: Doctor Day, featuring hands-on activities and learning about the human body.

• Jenna Welke — 2nd Grade: Fort Day, where students spent the day learning in their classroom forts.

• Jr./Sr. High Cafeteria Staff: Celebrating student birthdays with a special birthday song and a free cookie!

Each of our winners received a free drink coupon to Oui Café, right here in Brown City, as a small thank you for going above and beyond to create special moments for our students. We love being able to recognize our staff while supporting a local business!

These are the moments that help make school a place students look forward to being. We can't wait to see what our staff come up with next!

Here is a quick video link for our Surprise and Delight winners!

If you've been inside Brown City Jr./Sr. High School recently, you may have noticed some changes taking place!

We're working on two exciting projects that will transform existing spaces into new opportunities for our students.

📚 A New Hallway Library

An area of lockers in our high school hallway has been removed, and custom bookshelves are being installed to create a new hallway library!

This project is getting close to completion, and in the coming weeks, we hope to have the shelves filled with books that students can browse and check out on their own.

It's a simple way to make books more accessible and encourage students to discover something new to read!

🚀 Our New STEM Innovation Hub

The transformation of our former high school library into a districtwide STEM Innovation Hub is also underway!

This space is being redesigned to provide students and staff from across the district with opportunities to explore technology, engineering, design, manufacturing, robotics, and other hands-on learning experiences.

Work is progressing on flooring, ceilings, lighting, furniture, equipment, and the overall design of the space. Our goal is to have the Hub ready for students and staff sometime during the winter months after the first of the year.

Much of this transformation is being made possible through our recently awarded CTE and STEM grants, with a portion of the improvements also supported by Sinking Fund dollars.

We are excited to watch these spaces take shape and look forward to sharing more progress pictures as the work continues!

Same buildings. New spaces. More opportunities for kids!

One of the great things about Brown City is the strong connection so many of our graduates continue to have with our schools and community.

Over the past month, I've had the opportunity to connect with several BCHS alumni, and it's been exciting to hear their stories, learn about their careers, and explore ways they might help create opportunities for our current and future students.

A few of those conversations have included:

• Giving Back to Brown City: Meeting with a graduate who has a tremendous passion for Brown City and our students and is exploring the possibility of making a donation to support our schools.

• Connecting Careers to Classrooms: Talking with an alumnus working in the skilled trades about a possible virtual "Career Zoom" with our CTE students, sharing their career journey, experiences, and advice for students considering a similar path.

• Exploring Grant Opportunities: Beginning conversations with another graduate about a potential grant opportunity that could provide additional support for our district.

I also recently met with representatives from the Sanilac County Community Foundation to discuss scholarship opportunities for our students, with a particular focus on the Seager-Swartz Scholarship.

While these conversations are still in the early stages, they are great reminders of the connections that exist between our schools, our graduates, and our community.

Our alumni have so much to offer—not just financially, but through their experiences, expertise, connections, and willingness to invest in the next generation of Green Devils.

We're excited to continue building these relationships and finding new ways to bring our alumni back into the Brown City story.

Once a Green Devil, Always a Green Devil!

At Brown City Community Schools, we believe it's important to continue investing in our facilities so they can serve both today's students and future generations of Green Devils.

We are beginning the planning process for a potential May 2027 bond extension that would maintain our current debt millage rate rather than increase it.

Over the coming months, we will be working with our architects, construction managers, and financial advisors to evaluate facility needs, explore possible improvements, and develop preliminary project costs.

Some of the general areas we are evaluating include:

• Building Infrastructure: Heating, cooling, roofing, windows, and other facility improvements.

• Safety & Security: Continued improvements to help maintain safe learning environments.

• Technology: Updating classroom technology, equipment, and district infrastructure.

• Learning & Activity Spaces: Exploring improvements that support STEM, CTE, fine arts, athletics, and other student opportunities.

• Long-Term Maintenance: Continuing to care for our existing buildings and facilities.

No final decisions have been made about which projects would be included. We are still in the planning stages and want to make sure we have accurate information before determining priorities.

As this process moves forward, we will continue sharing updates through The BC Office and will provide opportunities for families, staff, and community members to learn more, ask questions, and share their thoughts.

Our goal is to make thoughtful, fiscally responsible decisions that provide the best possible opportunities for our students while protecting the investment our community has made in its schools.

Great schools don't happen by accident. They take planning, care, and a community working together.

What a great week of school spirit, fun, and Green Devil pride at Brown City!

From dress-up days and pep assemblies to PowderPuff football, our Homecoming parade, and Friday night's football game, it was wonderful to see our students, staff, families, and community come together to celebrate!

Our elementary students even joined in the excitement with their own dress-up days and special activities, making Homecoming a celebration across the entire district.

A big thank-you to everyone who helped organize the week's activities and to our community for showing up and supporting our students.