5 New Things to Know About High School Consolidation in Bloomfield Hills

A unified is slated to open on one or two campuses in the fall of 2013. Voters in the Bloomfield Hills Schools district will choose on May 8 whether to approve $58 million of a $78.7 million plan that will fund renovations and new construction at Andover High School.

If passed, construction is expected to be complete by fall 2015. If the millage proposal fails, the schools will still consolidate, but will continue to use both the Andover and Lahser High School facilities.

Here's another update on recent developments and what's coming ahead:

Transition Forums Scheduled

The Bloomfield Hills Schools administration is inviting parents of students currently between the sixth and 10th grades for a series of meetings geared toward the transition plan, should voters approve the May 8 ballot proposal.

All meetings are from 7-9 p.m. and are open to the public at:

• March 13: Andover High School
• March 20:
• March 21:
• March 27:  

Transition Forum Topics

District officials will outline the entire transition plan and review their 160-point implementation process that began last school year. Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Ed Bretzlaff said they will walk parents through the process grade-by-grade in scenarios where the millage passes or fails. In addition to the brief update, the district will gather input and try to answer questions from the public.

New Website Features

The district's website was recently overhauled and now has multiple links to key information about the bond proposal prominently displayed in the center. Features include a 41-minute video of the ; a PowerPoint presentation outlining the reasoning for the bond and the consolidation plan; and detailed information about the instructional impact of consolidation and the district's transition plan.

Teacher Pairings

Bretzlaff said the district wants to put together advisory groups that pair students with specific teachers that they can look to as mentors during the transition process. These groups will not replace the role of school counselors, but will "help support the counseling functions to develop a set of experiences unique to each grade," he said.

Mascot Design

The , but how the Bloomfield Hills High School Black Hawks will be represented must still be determined.

The district is opening the candidate pool for a Black Hawk logo to all students, community members and staff who can submit original artwork for consideration by March 26. All designs must be submitted as email Jpeg attachments to mascot@bloomfield.org.

The Andover and Lahser art departments will oversee a committee of judges who will whittle the number of entries to between three and five finalists. Students from fifth to 10th grades will vote through the district's internal Internet-based communication system March 27-29. The winning artist(s) will receive Spirit Wear incorporating their design and have a commemorative plaque outlining their contribution to the school's new identity at Bloomfield Hills High School.

For previous coverage of the high school consolidation process follow these links: