The holidays were extended for The Leelanau School thanks to our neighbors to the northeast at The Homestead.  Yesterday, we received word that The Homestead was upgrading and renovating their conference areas, and as a result had a wonderful array of gently used items that they were kind enough to donate to The Leelanau School. “They sent photos and detailed descriptions of all the items and it quickly became obvious that the chairs and whiteboards in particular would be put to very good use at our school,” said JD Friley, Head of The Leelanau School. The items were ready to go by the next morning and Leelanau students and staff loaded them into trucks and unloaded them in our Learning Commons and in our Karman Activity Center. It didn’t take long for the students to find them and give them the big thumbs up. The dark brown chairs are perfect in our Learning Commons, because they allow us to rearrange the space quickly and gather in circles, around desks and in quiet study areas.  Plus, the color and texture will hide dirt!  The chairs they...

When you’re a parent, one of the most painful things you can experience is watching your child struggle. It can be agonizing, because even though every ounce of your being wants to make things better, sometimes it seems like nothing works. My younger son, Josh, started having difficulties in school in seventh grade. An extremely bright kid, he had been a model student up until then. Learning was easy for him and keeping up with his schoolwork was never a problem. So when things took a turn for the worse, my wife and I were perplexed.

Thanks to dedicated Staff, Donors, and Board Members The Leelanau School is pleased to announce that it has completed their $4 million LeelaNow Campaign. This campaign was a key element in a successful debt reduction and financial restructuring program. Through guidance from the Board of Trustees, smart business management, sophisticated fundraising, and generous outside financial support, the school has successfully placed itself on a sound and sustainable financial base.

Read more about the newly resurfaced tennis courts at The Leelanau School and how they came to be!

These days, some schools frown upon trips that take kids out of school, even if the travel is educational. For example, the principal of a school in Pennsylvania made the news recently when she told a father that his children would receive unexcused absences for accompanying him on his trip to Boston to run the Boston Marathon. For that principal, time away from school apparently means that children aren’t learning. At the Leelanau School, we think differently.