Get Involved

Parent Involvement Catalog

Click here to read our parent involvement catalog to see how you can get involved!

Early Childhood Center

Our Early Childhood Center holds a variety of events throughout the year for students. Parents are encouraged to get involved and help with the events.

Some of our annual events include:

  • Visit to Paulson’s Pumpkin Patch
  • Halloween Party
  • Thanksgiving Feast
  • Christmas Party
  • Field Trip to Belding Public Library
  • Valentine Tea
  • Parent/Child Cooking Day
  • Reading Carnival
  • Bike-A-Thon
  • Outside Fun Day
  • Beach Day

If you would like to get involved at our Early Childhood Center, visit our office or contact us directly at 794-4713.

Ellis and Woodview Elementary

Our Elementary Schools, Ellis (K-2) and Woodview (3-5) invite parents to get involved in their children’s educational lives at Belding Area Schools.

Here are some ways you can get involved:

  • Tutoring in the classroom (based on the teacher’s needs for the year)
  • Parties (Halloween and Valentine’s Day)
  • Chaperone field trips

Our Parent Teacher’s Organizations coordinate volunteers for the following:

  • Mobile Dentist
  • Picture Days
  • Field Day
  • Teacher Appreciation Week
  • Box Tops for Education
  • Fundraising
  • Book Fair

If you would like to get involved in our elementary schools, contact Ellis Elementary at 794-4100 or Woodview Elementary at 794-4750. Or, visit the building offices directly.

Belding Middle School

Parents are welcome to get involved with our extra-curricular activities and in our classrooms.

Here are some ways you can get involved:

  • Chaperone class trips or activity nights
  • Tutoring/coaching in the classroom (please call ahead to make arrangements with the teachers)
  • Athletic events – concession sales
  • Mentoring
  • Lunchtime support (playground supervision is always helpful or become a lunch buddy)
  • Career Day or Junior Achievement presenter
  • After school clubs – we would love parents to share a hobby or interest with students

Parent volunteers are also welcome to help coordinate service learning activities, fundraising, and other school events such as Mix-it-Up Day.

If you would like to get involved please contact your child’s teachers or call 794-4400.

Belding Area Schools

Business Office

The centralized activities of the Business Office include, but are not limited to: accounts payable and receivable, budgeting, cash management, payroll, employee benefits, and grant administration. The Business Office is also responsible for submitting data to the State of Michigan pertaining to student, staff and fiscal information.

Belding Area Schools

Central Office

Belding Area Schools and our community have a lot to be proud of. To read the most up-to-date school information, click here for the Superintendent Updates from Leslie Mount.

Belding Area Schools truly is, “The right size. The right choice.”

Belding Area Schools

High School Counseling

High School Counseling

The guidance office at Belding High School is committed to helping students experience a quality education. We do this by creating a safe, orderly, healthy and nurturing environment. The high school has a comprehensive counseling program that is designed to address mental, physical, social, and emotional development of each student.

Every generation faces new and more demanding decisions regarding relationships, careers, transition, violence, and many self-destructive behaviors. These issues cause confusion and feelings of helplessness for many young people. When young people are faced with these issues they are not able to achieve their full academic potential. The counselor’s main focus with students is to help them become avid learners. The programs developed in the guidance office cover all aspects of the child’s life.

Our focus is helping students deal with the everyday issues in their personal life while directing them towards their future. We strive to help students with family issues, academic concerns and relationship issues, while directing them towards being a productive member of society.

Help for students is achieved through several different avenues which might include:

  • Group Counseling
  • Peer Mentoring
  • 504 Plans
  • Classroom Accommodations
  • Career Planning
  • Individual Counseling
  • Parent and Family Intervention

Our office also collaborates with several community agencies. This collaboration is designed to help students and families find assistance in all areas of their life.

Belding Area Schools

Middle School Counseling

What We Do

School Counselors help children by

  • Promoting positive attitudes among students toward self, family, peers and community.
  • Assisting students in learning how school performance relates to future opportunities.
  • Developing and delivering classroom guidance lessons that teach skills such as health decision making, resolving conflicts and respecting others.
  • Working collaboratively with students, parents and teachers to identify and remove barriers to learning.
  • Supporting students by teaching skills for achieving success.
  • Helping students to recognize and make the best of their abilities.
  • Counseling with students individually and in groups.
  • Providing support during personal crisis.
  • Orienting new students.

Counselors are the heart of the school by

  • Helping create a safe school environment where children can learn.
  • Working with students on attendance issues.
  • Coordinating referrals to outside agencies.
  • Helping design interventions to enhance student success.
  • Developing community partnerships to enhance student career awareness.
  • Helping teachers create a positive learning environment.
  • Helping students learn anger management, conflict resolution, and mediation skills.
  • Helping parents, teachers and administrators learn how to meet the needs of all students.

School Counselors Can Help in Many Situations

“My parents are getting a divorce. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I’m new here and I’m having trouble making friends.”

“I have a lot of difficulty dealing with my stepchild.”

“Fred scores high on standardized tests but hardly makes passing grades in school.”

“Karen always tells me she doesn’t have homework, but I found out she isn’t doing it.”

“I need some ideas for helping students to get along with each other.”

“Bill hasn’t been himself lately. He seems too preoccupied with something.”

“I have a bad temper and need to learn how to control it.”

“Mary has been absent from school an awful lot this year.”

“My dad gets so angry when he’s been drinking.”

Parents can call the school counselor at any time for a phone conference or to set up a school visit.

Belding Area Schools

Facilities

What we do

On a daily basis, our custodial, maintenance, and grounds staffs maintain 438,540 square feet across the district’s nine buildings, and approximately 20 acres of outdoor athletic facilities. That’s equal to 290 average single-family homes!

Belding Area Schools

Food Service

Balanced Choice Meals

Our goal is to provide your child with a balanced meal every day. What does this mean? Chartwells, with the help of nutritionists, chef’s, food service directors, parents, and students have designed menus that provide top-notch nutrition along with great taste! We are providing your child with whole grain buns and rolls, reduced fat cheeses, and more fresh vegetables and fruits. Even our Ala Carte line and snack machines now provide healthier snacks with less sugar and fats.

Online Account Access

Parents can access their food service records using their Skyward account information. If you do not have a login please contact our Technology Department by calling 794-4553.

Belding Area Schools

Special Education

Special Education

Belding Area Schools, in cooperation with the Ionia Intermediate School District, offers special education programs and services for school district residents who qualify from birth to age 26.

A continuum of specialized programs and services is offered for the speech and language impaired, learning disabled, emotionally impaired, cognitively impaired, physically impaired, and otherwise health impaired students. We also have programs and services for those students with autism spectrum disorders and early childhood developmental delays. The continuum includes consultant services, resource room programs, categorical classrooms, and departmentalized programs. At our middle school and high school levels, services focus on transition needs that will enable students to be as successful in adult life as practicable.

The special needs of every student are considered when developing an individual education plan (IEP). Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in the planning and implementation of their child’s program.

A major emphasis of Belding’s special education programs and services, in accordance with Federal and State mandates, is to provide maximum involvement in the rigorous general education curriculum to the extent possible for each particular student, while recognizing the unique learning needs of each of these students. Innovative programs involving team teaching, community based instruction, pre-vocational exploration, and vocational programming at Heartlands, a vocational program housed at the Ionia Public High School, have been implemented and continue to be provided to our students.

Professionals who support special needs students include the instructional staff, school psychologists, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, vision therapists, hearing consultants, paraprofessionals, speech and language therapists, teacher consultants and the director of special education.

Program Facts

Federal Legislation, the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA), mandates that services will be provided with funding available from local, county, state, and federal sources. Special Education services are offered to any student from birth up to twenty-six years of age who qualify as handicapped in one or more of the following areas:

Visual (VI)
Cognitive Impairment (CI)
Autism (AI)
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Physical (PI)
Other Health Impairment (OHI)
Hearing (HI)
Severe Multiple Impairment (SXI)
Emotional (EI)
Speech &Language Impairment (SLI)
Learning Disability (SLD)
Early Childhood Development Delay (ECDD)

  • An Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team, consisting of parents and staff, meet to determine eligibility for services and develop the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) to be followed.
  • A continuum of services is provided in each of our buildings.
  • Some children with highly specialized needs may attend programs outside of our district. These programs are operated jointly with Ionia Public Schools and/or the Ionia County Intermediate School District.

The Ionia County Intermediate School District provides the following staff to our District to assist in the delivery of services to our students:

  • ASD Consultant
  • Special Education Director
  • Speech Therapists
  • School Psychologists
  • HI Consultant
  • Physical Therapist
  • Social Workers
  • PI Consultant
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Student Para-educators
  • VI Consultant
  • ICT Consultant
  • Educational Employment Training Specialist (ETS)

Special Education opportunities exist locally and in center programs operated by Ionia Public Schools and/or the Ionia County Intermediate School District. The programs and services range from classrooms full or part-time to speech and language therapy, school social work and/or teacher consultant services.

Programs and Services

Diagnostic Services
Diagnostic services are provided to children who are suspected of having an educationally related handicap or are currently identified as being eligible for special education services. Staff with expertise in specific areas of special education is available to evaluate and assess children. Diagnostic staff works closely with parents and school personnel as part of the Individualized Education Planning (IEP) Team to determine eligibility for special education services.

Early Childhood Center
The ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) program is designed for young children with disabilities or developmental delays. The center offers specialized programming for the children, ages two and one-half through age six, for up to five half days per week, or as determined by the student’s IEP. Through individual and small group instruction, the preschool program allows each child to grow and learn in a language based, hands on, developmentally appropriate setting.

Resource Room and Categorical Classroom
These classroom programs provide a structured environment in which students receive additional support in academic and/or social areas. Services may be provided in a separate classroom, the general education setting and/or a small office. Emphasis is on specific goals and objectives to develop social, emotional, and/or academic growth. Each child participates in the general education curriculum to the extent possible as determined by the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team.

Speech and Language
Speech and Language services provide needed communication skills, which are foundational to reading and writing, and the general learning process. These services can be in the form of evaluations, therapy and consultation with parents and teachers. Speech and Language therapists may be a member of the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team to assist in the evaluation, identification and placement decisions of special needs children.

Consultation Services
Consultant services are provided in specific disability areas of need. This service may include direct instruction, consultation with parents and staff, and/or coordination of services between home, school, and outside agencies. In addition, the teacher consultant may be a member of the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team to assist in the evaluation, identification and placement decisions of special needs children.

Social Work
School social work service is provided to students with emotional and/or behavioral challenges that are interfering with their ability to be successful in school. Support may be provided to the student through individual and/or group counseling, or consultation with staff, parents, and outside agencies. School social workers may also be a part of the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team to assist in an evaluation, identification, and placement decisions of special needs children.

Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy enhances the participation of the student in the school setting. These services focus on fine motor skills (play, coloring, cutting, handwriting), visual/perceptual skills (reading, puzzles, coloring), self-care skills (eating, dressing, hygiene, toileting), and sensory processing skills (coordination, muscle tone, balance). Strategies are incorporated into the child’s curriculum to facilitate learning. The Occupational therapist works with students, parents, and staff to help the student develop and/or adapt daily living skills. Occupational therapists may also be a part of the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team to assist in evaluation, identification and placement decisions of special needs children.

Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is provided to students who have physical challenges. Services may include specific exercises, gross motor and developmental activities, gait training, and/or modifications to the student’s educational program. The student may also require specialized equipment (e.g. wheelchair, walker). Services may include consultation with staff, parents, and the medical community to provide continuity of services. Physical therapists may also be a part of the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team to assist in evaluation, identification and placement decisions of special needs children.

Transition Services
Transition services are provided to all students beginning at age thirteen and continuing until graduation, the completion of postsecondary goals, and/or aging out. These services provide activities to meet individual goals and prepare students for adult life. The services may include planning for classes, vocational education, post high school options, employment training, independent living, and community involvement. The focus is on developing goals which assist students in transitioning from school to the adult world. Transition services decisions are made by the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team based on the students Transition Goals.

Prevocational/Vocational Education
Prevocational education prepares students with life skills to set and achieve personal and career goals. The goals may be accomplished using structured activities to combine academics, communication, decision-making, career awareness and exploration. Employability skills are practiced in both school and community settings. In addition, high school students have a variety of options for vocational education opportunities. These options are explored and pursued with students, parents, and staff during the transition process. The Educational Employment Training Specialist (ETS) is often included in this process at the Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) Team meeting.

Belding Area Schools

Technology Department

Who We Are

Bond Projects

The bond passed in February of 2010 included funds for many technology upgrades that will greatly benefit our students and prepare them for the future. Click here to view our technology updates and how our classrooms will be fully interactive by the year 2013.

Our Department

The technology department of Belding Area Schools consists of four members, the director of technology, the network engineer, the information systems technician, and our administrative assistant/help desk person.

Our Role

Our role in the District is to provide technological systems, service and safety to all members of this organization.

Our Tasks

Network Tasks

We install and maintain a network which keeps all of the computers connected and sharing resources such as the Internet, data, applications, etc. Our network consists of switching equipment, data, virtual, Web, application, and e-mail servers, firewall security, Internet filtering, and e-mail spam filtering.

Desktop Tasks

We install and maintain desktop computers, laptops, and terminal service units. It is our job to make sure that our end users have the correct tools, which work properly, so that they can move forward and accomplish their educational and administrative goals.

Our Future

We also provide for the future growth of technology by looking for new opportunities to leverage new technologies which assist in the process of the delivery of instruction and administration. This is accomplished by working with the District Technology Committee, the Curriculum Department and other local and State committees.

Belding Area Schools

Transportation Department

Serving Your Children with Safety in Mind

The Transportation Department has recently taken delivery of two new buses. We plan to have them on routes sometime in September of 2011. These buses were purchased with money earmarked from the recently passed bond issue. In our State Police inspection last spring, we again received a perfect rating. This is the 23rd year in a row! We are one of the very few schools in the state which can claim such a record. Congratulations to Mechanic Bob Doty and the rest of the Transportation Staff. Be assured our bus fleet is in top notch condition.

We will start the school year running basically the same route as at the end of the last school year. Several routes have been eliminated or consolidated mainly during the noon time. Unless you have been notified, there will be no change in your child’s bus ride. We are looking forward to providing another year of safe transportation for your child!

Belding Area Schools

Board of Education

Board of Education Members

The Board of Education consists of officials elected by the voters of the district to establish policies that will best produce the educational achievement needed by students and to do so within the financial limitations of the district.  The Board shall carry out its functions openly, while seeking the involvement and contributions of the public, students and staff in its decision-making processes.

Belding Area Schools

Bond Projects Updates on our ongoing bond projects

On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, district residents of Belding Area Schools voted to pass a bond extension for $38.8 million. It passed with an overwhelming majority and we are very excited about all the great things happening now and in the future because of it.

By the fall of 2013, the following projects will be completed:

HIGH SCHOOL
• Renovation of science labs
• Permanent walls to academic areas
• New performing arts center
• Expansion to student commons
• Improvements to outdoor athletic facilities
• New competitive gym
• Technology upgrades
• PA/Phone system upgrades
• Security upgrades
• Indoor walking track
• Baseball field restructuring
• Softball fields updated
• Resurfaced track

MIDDLE SCHOOL
• Roof replacement
• Upgrade of ventilation systems
• Electrical upgrades
• Gym upgrade – complete
• Expansion of cafeteria
• Technology upgrades
• PA/Phone system upgrades
• Security upgrades

ELLIS
• Drop-off/Pick-up area and parking
• Replacement of 1920s portion
• Upgrade to 1970s portion
• 12 new classrooms
• Art area
• More accessible bathrooms
• Technology upgrades
• PA/Phone system upgrades
• Security upgrades

WOODVIEW
• Two new classrooms
• Technology upgrades
• PA/Phone system upgrades
• Security upgrades

Click here to view our April 2011 Bond Project Update.

Click here to view our technology updates.