Carpenter Elementary School in Lake Orion, one of Michigan’s first balanced calendar public schools, will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary on Friday, June 3, 2016, and the public is invited to a special ceremony with students and staff at 10 a.m. that morning.
Lake Orion Community Schools opened the balanced-calendar building in 1996, with more than 300 students.  Over the past 20 years, Carpenter’s popularity has grown significantly with a waiting list in some grades.  Today, the school’s 450-plus kindergarten through fifth-grade students academically perform among the very best in the award-winning school district.  In fact, the Michigan Department of Education ranks Carpenter among the State’s top one-percent of all elementary schools based on academic success.
Teachers and parents attribute this in large part to the students’ ability to retain information better due to a shorter summer vacation, better attendance and more opportunities to intervene if a student is struggling.  During multiple breaks throughout the year, students also take advantage of innovative educational intercessions.
In Michigan, the number of balanced-calendar schools grows each year, many of them modeled after Carpenter.  The trend is blooming across the country, too.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of public, balanced-calendar schools in the United States grew by 26 percent from 2007-12.  Today, more than 3,700 schools operate year-round across the country with 3 million-plus students.
During Carpenter’s 20th Anniversary celebration, speakers will include Rose Edwards, Carpenter’s first principal, from 1996-2008; Kerri Anderson, who held the role from 2008-14; Principal Adam Weldon and Superintendent Marion Ginopolis, as well as current students.  The Lake Orion High School marching band also will be performing.
The highlight of the morning will be the recreation of the school’s original dedication ceremony.  In a fitting tribute, 18 sets of butterflies, representing Carpenter’s 18 classes who have passed through the halls, will be released.  Like the school calendar, the butterflies represent the students’ metamorphosis from fall to winter to spring to summer students.  From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, the winged creatures and Carpenter students both continually grow and flourish year-round.
In addition to the morning festivities, you will have the opportunity to speak with the current and former principals, Superintendent Ginopolis, students, staff and parents.  Later that night, the school’s Parent-Teacher Council is hosting a special carnival event for Carpenter families to enjoy.