Mackinac Island School District

Mackinac Island School District is a public school district serving the city of Mackinac Island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The school district occupies a land area of 4.35 square miles (11.27 km²) and a total area of 18.84 square miles (48.80 km²), which includes Mackinac Island and the uninhabited Round Island. The district was established in 1848.[1]

Mackinac Island School District
Mackinac Island Public School
7846 Main Street (M-185) Mackinac Island, Michigan 49757
District information
Grades	Pre–K through 12th
Established	1848 (1848)[1]
President	Jason St. Onge
Vice-president	Terry Andress
Superintendent	Amy Peterson
Schools	1
Students and staff
Students	63 (2021–22)
Teachers	9
Student–teacher ratio	7:1
Other information
District area	4.35 sq mi (11.27 km2) (land) 18.84 sq mi (48.80 km2) (total)
Website	Official website

It is governed by a school board of seven elected members. One school building, on Lake Shore Drive, is sufficient to serve the entire island, which has around 63 pupils in grades Pre–K through 12th for the 2021–2022 school year. There are 9 teachers employed at the school as well as 3 support staff. The original structure of the present school building was completed in 1969 and consists of seven classrooms, an office, a kitchen and a multipurpose room that was used as a gymnasium and cafeteria. In 1970 a portable classroom (which is still used as a storage building) was purchased and in 1974-75 a group of students constructed an industrial arts building which was attached to the portable classroom. The Mackinac Island Public School has recently undergone additional modifications to the building. In 1992 a library and a science room were added to the main building. In 2000 a full size gym equipped with locker rooms and a balcony, which is used as a weight room, were added to the northeast end of the school. The office was relocated, a computer lab and a classroom were added and many of the original classrooms were remodeled. These recent additions have more than doubled the size of the school. In 2020 a new gym floor was installed and the roof was replaced.[2] The school's basketball, soccer, volleyball, track, cross country, and golf athletic teams, the Lakers, play in Michigan's Northern Lights League with other rural, island-based and small-enrollment schools in far northern Michigan.

Mackinac Island's Lakers have a traditional rivalry with the teams fielded by Lake Michigan's Beaver Island. The two islands have had an antagonistic relationship since the 1850s.[3] With 26 pupils enrolled in ninth through twelfth grade eligible for varsity athletic competition in the 2021–2022 school year, Mackinac Island Public School is the second smallest public school, and eighth smallest overall, of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's 760 member high schools.[4]

MIPS operated the Thomas W. Ferry School, named after former U.S. Senator Thomas W. Ferry, from 1867 until 1960–1961. The Ferry School met in the historic wood-frame Indian Dormitory. After state lawmakers asked the Island to build a brick school building, MIPS constructed a new structure built to meet standards of health and safety. The Mackinac Island Public School opened for instruction on September 11, 1961.[5]

In the fall and spring students walk or ride bicycles to school because MIPS has no school bus, as traditional motor vehicles are banned on the island. In winter many take snowmobiles.[6]" For transportation on the mainland, such as for sports games, the district shares a school bus with the St. Ignace School District.[7]