Fraser Public Schools

Fraser Public Schools is a public school district located in Fraser, Michigan.

The current superintendent is Dr. David Richards.^[1]

Fraser Public Schools educates about 5,400 students. The majority of students were categorized as white, followed by black, with only 1-2% of the students Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic. By gender, the school district has a fairly even amount of male and female students.^[2]

The district contains the following schools:^[3]

Fraser Public Schools Logo

• Thomas Edison Elementary
• Thomas Dooley School/Early Childhood Center
• Dwight Eisenhower Elementary
• Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary
• Mark Twain Elementary
• Dr. Jonas Salk Elementary
• Walt Disney Elementary
• Howard C. Richards Middle School
• Fraser High School

Technology is strongly integrated throughout Fraser Public Schools. In 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office registered the trademark Where Learning Drives Innovation® to Fraser Public Schools. Classrooms in Fraser Public Schools are equipped with Promethean Boards (interactive whiteboards) and ActivExpressions (student response clickers). During the 2012-2013 school year, Fraser Public Schools completed the largest iPad deployment in Michigan and deployed 5,000 iPads to students.^[4] The high school is currently offers virtual and hybrid classes, offering students more options and better preparation for college.^[5] Fraser Public Schools also partnered with Rochester College 2012-2013, offering college courses at no cost to Fraser High School students.

Fraser Public Schools is recognized as one of the best Communities for Music Education in the country by the NAMM Foundation.^[6] The Fraser High School Music Department annually competes in Heritage Music Festivals around the country, receiving invitations to the Festivals of Gold. Performances by the Fraser Singers, the Fraser Symphonic Ensemble, and the many Fraser Bands in Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Gettysburg, Virginia, and even several performances on the stage of the prestigious Carnegie Hall, in New York have been recently added to the long list of their performance venues. Due to the hard work of directors James Rodgers, Pasquale Pascaretti and Nicholas Charland, the Fraser Public Schools Music Department has created a strong reputation for the school district.

Board of Education^[7]

• Gerry Gauthier, President
• Laura Edghill, Vice President
• Jim Birko, Secretary
• Ron DelVillano, Treasurer
• Carole Bannister, Trustee
• Linda Corbat, Trustee
• Kathy Roberts, Trustee

1:1 iPad Deployment

Students in Fraser Public Schools are becoming 21st century learners via access to their own mobile devices. The District’s recent 1:1 mobile device initiative, funded by the passing of the District’s $19.9 million bond in 2011,^[8] was noted as the largest iPad deployment in Michigan^[9] and ranked as one of the largest K-12 iPad deployments in the world.^[10] Students in grades 3-12 In 2013, the District produced a series of video segments on the recent initiatives in the School District.

Where Learning Drives Innovation®

In 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office registered the trademark Where Learning Drives Innovation® to Fraser Public Schools.^[11]

College Courses at Fraser High School

Fraser Public Schools partnered with Rochester College at the start of the 2012-2013 school year in a program that features college courses taught by Fraser teachers on the high school's campus. The program is offered at no cost to the students.^[12]

Awards and Recognition

• Fraser Public Schools completed the largest iPad Deployment in Michigan history in 2013.^[13]

• Fraser Public Schools was named a Best Community for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation in 2012 and 2013.^[14]

• Fraser Public School's won an Award of Merit from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) in 2012,^[15] the Golden Achievement Award by NSPRA in 2013,^[16] and two Distinguished Awards from the Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) in 2013.

• The Director of Educational Technology and Information Systems for Fraser Public Schools, Kris Young, was awarded the Technology Coordinator of the Year by the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning in 2013.^[17]

• The District's K-8 Media Specialist, Lori Wetzel, was recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2013.^[18]

• Mark Twain Elementary was awarded the Bronze HealthierUS Schools Challenge Award by the USDA for the 2012-2013 School Year.^[19]

• Fraser High School Broadcast Students received award for the best anti-bullying video in the nation in 2013.^[20]

• Fraser High School journalists win Student Emmy for productions in 2012 and 2013.^[21]

Gregory Austin

In August 2013, former Fraser Public Schools teacher Gregory Austin was sentenced to a 15-year sentence on the account of child pornography.^[22] Austin, a teacher at Dwight Eisenhower Elementary in the Fraser district, solicited at least 12 students, among many other children, male and female from the ages of 14 to 17, for images of their genitals. He posed as a woman online, and stored 133 photos on his computer and cell phone.^[23] According to the United States Attorney's Office of Southeastern Michigan: "Gregory Austin, age 33, of New Baltimore, Michigan, was charged with three counts of production of child pornography for manipulating young boys, through Facebook, to create pornographic pictures of themselves."^[24] Austin is currently being held in federal prison for his crimes.

References

External links

• Fraser Public Schools Homepage
• Fraser Public Schools Board of Education
• Fraser High School Website