How Our Kids Transitioned into Northern Michigan Schools

The local schools are really what drew us to move to Harbor Springs. We were living in Atlanta, GA with a first grader and preschooler. Looking ahead to the later years of elementary and middle school, it seemed the only way to access a high-quality school was either moving to a remote suburb or paying astronomical private school tuition. Fortunately, this was the same time that the company I was working for started offering the option for remote work, and my wife and I jumped at the chance to relocate to Harbor Springs.

  First impressions of Harbor Springs Public Schools – We toured the schools before finalizing our move and were so impressed. What really caught our attention was the manageable scale of the school – you felt like you were walking into somewhere that was personal, where everyone knew each other. In contrast to our daughter’s first-grade class in Atlanta that had 36 students, the classes ranged in size from 16 to 18 students with only three sections. We were also blown away by the resources available to the kids, everything from their own personal recording studio with Mr. Byma to swim lessons in the school pool, on top of the usual academics and extracurriculars. 

  Five-minute commute and no carpool line – Dropping the kids off on the first day, we were nervous about how they would do but couldn’t help but love the five-minute commute and the absence of the 30-minute carpool line we had endured in Atlanta.

We literally dropped them off and got back to the house before our coffee got cold.

  Amazing teachers – Where the reveal of which teacher your child was assigned was a huge source of stress for us and our fellow parents in Atlanta, in Harbor Springs it was a non-event. Our kids just finished up 9^th and 12^th grade and we can honestly say that their teachers all along the way have been fantastic (with a possible exception of a teacher during the COVID year who struggled with the online format).

  Accessible athletics – While being such a small school means that our teams aren’t necessarily able to excel on a state level in everything, it also means that kids get to be kids and try out just about any sport they would like without a high-pressure environment. And they can learn to support one another with teamwork and sportsmanship just as well as at a much larger school.

Looking out for each other – There is just something different about being in a school where everyone knows each other. It is truly a community and people look out for each other. Usually because it is the right thing to do but also occasionally because the mom of that kid whose lunch you are tempted to steal plays tennis with your mom, so it really wouldn’t be a good idea.