Ferndale Magazine—Spring 2025

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ESTIMATED

ZERO MILL INCREASE OVER 2024 RATES

VOTER DETAILS & LOCATIONS ON PAGE 10

Sample Imagery. Actual layout and design to be determined after voter approval.

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Proposed renovations and reconstruction at Ferndale Middle School would open up new possibilities for collaboration and project-based learning.

CONTENTS

A new Music Suite at Ferndale High School would bring band and orchestra together with new collaborative spaces and improved storage for equipment and instruments.

The Future is Flexible Adaptive classrooms and spaces for secondary education.

PAGES 3-4

Distinguished Middle School & High School Strengthening school identity to seperate FMS from FHS would support student development and community.

PAGES 5-6

Turning Up the Volume

GRAPHIC: Site Improvements Map

Integrated and expanded music education spaces to support orchestra, choir, and band programs.

View the map of ongoing and proposed improvements at Ferndale Middle & High Schools.

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CREDITS Story Contributors: Tim Burke, Linden de Leeuw, Elon Jamison, Diana Keefe, Brady Mills, Jason Naumann, Grace Peterhans, Kimberly Schroeder, Tom VanDeGriend, Felicia Wright Senior Editor: Robert Tolbert Photos: Jeremiah Sanders, GMB Superintendent, Ferndale Schools: Camille Hibbler Deputy Superintendent: Felicia Wright Board of Education: President Sandra N. Dukhie, Vice President Lisa Kaiser, Secretary Jonathan Turner, Treasurer Jackie Hart, Trustees David Crumrine, Mark de la Vergne & Erin Molnar 1

www.FerndaleSchools.org

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ESTIMATED

ZERO MILL INCREASE OVER 2024 RATES

Superintendent Camille Hibbler cuts the ribbon to unveil the new Ferndale Lower Elementary building alongside Principal Diana Keefe, Board of Education members, city officials, and neighbors.

VOTER DETAILS & LOCATIONS ON PAGE 10

Dear Ferndale Families, Neighbors, & Community Partners, If you’ve stepped inside the brand-new Ferndale Lower Elementary, you’ve seen firsthand the incredible transformation our students experience every day.

Bright, modern, and built for 21st-century learning, this space is more than just a school—it’s a launchpad for our students' futures!

Here’s what’s ahead:

And here’s the best part—it was made possible by YOU! Every brick, every classroom, every innovation is a direct result of our community’s unwavering support. Over the past five years, your commitment has helped shape environments where students thrive, teachers inspire, and learning comes to life in so many of our classrooms.

We’re excited to carry this vision forward. We are asking the community to vote May 6th on a bond proposal for $114.8M in capital improvement funds at an estimated no tax-rate increase over the 2024 millage rate. These funds would support the next phase of this transformation, focused on Ferndale Middle and High Schools and continuing the goals established in 2020. Over the next year, we will embark on a 12-14 month planning and development process with GMB architects, Ferndale Schools staff, and YOU—our community—to finalize plans that will create a modern learning environment designed for student success, health, safety, security, and energy conservation.

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A dedicated and age-appropriate Middle School environment with secure entryways.

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Expanded learning spaces with larger classrooms and collaborative areas.

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A brand-new Music Suite for band, orchestra, and vocal music programs.

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Remodeled and upgraded instructional and fine arts spaces.

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Improvements to outdoor learning areas and athletic fields.

This is more than construction—it’s an investment in our students, our schools, and our future. We are committed to making these improvements in partnership with you, ensuring our schools continue to be a place where all students thrive.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey!

Camille Hibbler

Superintendent, Ferndale Schools

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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

The Future is Flexible 21st Century Learning Environments

Sample Imagery. Actual layout and design to be determined after voter approval.

Innovation and collaboration are essential to contemporary and future workplaces. As automation increasingly replaces manufacturing jobs, entrepreneurs and employees alike are expected to perform multiple tasks using multiple sets of tools. Every day, most workers jump between physical and digital space. Traditional classrooms struggle to prepare students for these roles and expectations. Let's explore what it takes to create a 21st Century Learning environment, and how bond funds would achieve those goals.

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New classrooms built at FMS would be 30% larger if the bond passes on May 6th, 2025. The new space could be used for research stations, reading nooks, maker spaces, or a variety of other needs identified by staff and students. Flexible furniture would also make the space adaptable to project-based learning and distributed focus areas.

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www.FerndaleSchools.org

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

EVOLVING CLASSROOMS A priority of the bond proposal is to enlarge classrooms by adding approximately 30% more space inside. FHS & FMS science labs are programmed to be 200 sq ft larger, with flexible floor plan improvements that transform traditional rooms into learning labs and makerspaces. As the district has done in other buildings through the 2020 bond, this increased footprint enables more movement and flexibility. Instead of remaining seated and facing the chalkboard, students are encouraged to move about the classroom for a portion of the day. Educators have found that designating specific areas of the classroom to certain learning or work modes within the classroom—as within the modern workplace—teaches students to segment their workload and delegate activities to appropriate areas. This is made easier with flexible classroom furniture and technology that encourage student choice.

Extended learning areas invite independent study & small group collaboration.

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Changing the environment has also been shown to stimulate the brain and improve learning. Often, collaboration is encouraged with group zones and cooperation areas. Proposed improvements also include breakout rooms for small groups or individuals to collaborate with acoustical privacy when projects demand higher focus (or higher volume).

Breakout rooms offer acoustical privacy and integrated technology for project-based learning.

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BREAKOUT ROOMS

Sample Imagery. Actual layout and design to be determined after voter approval.

EXTENDED LEARNING AREAS Early plans for the 2025 bond improvements include multiple extended learning areas on each floor of the new addition.

These large shared spaces are directly off the corridor and immediately adjacent to the classrooms. Access will be shared by 3, 4, or 5 classrooms for student collaboration and project-based learning. To further stimulate the brain, these spaces would include varied seating, writeable surfaces, and integrated technology.

Our vision of aligning student experiences across the district is a continuation of the 2020 bond work, once again partnering with GMB—an educational services firm who has supported recent improvements. “Our approach goes beyond the fundamentals of technology, flexible furniture, transparency, natural daylight, and indoor air quality—these are just the baseline. True transformation happens when space is designed to adapt to evolving educational needs, empower educators, and inspire students to engage, collaborate, and thrive.”

Grace Peterhans is the parent of two students at Ferndale Upper Elementary and FMS. She learned more about the bond proposal at the State of the District. "Expanding the common areas to allow for collaboration and experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting is exciting. Ferndale students deserve modernized accommodations that take both educational and safety concerns under consideration."

Sample Imagery. Actual layout and design to be determined after voter approval.

Read more about Learning Zones in Ferndale Classrooms »

VISIT » FerndaleSchools.org/Zones 4

WHOLE CHILD

Distinguished Middle School & High School Middle school is a time of transition for every student.

Providing an environment for pre-teens to comfortably learn and interact is essential. The proposed bond projects at the Pinecrest campus would create a new corridor structure for 6th-8th grade classrooms with age-appropriate amenities.

Children grow the capacity for more connections and community as they mature. This results in a larger ideal range for student populations, with 6th-8th grade thriving among 125-200 peers. Currently, the entire middle school population of over 500 students is dispersed across the 2nd and 3rd floors, occasionally intersecting with high school students. The bond proposal would achieve this ideal scale for student learning and reduce the social pressure of mixed grade-levels in the following ways:

• Dedicated Middle School corridors • Grade-level neighborhoods • Improvements & modernizations to every classroom in the entire building

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Through grade-level neighborhoods and a dedicated middle school corridor, Ferndale Middle School students can experience the optimal population range for their developmental age.

All FMS Students

FMS Grade Level

1,200-1,300

450-550

125-200

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FMS + FHS Students

FMS students transition between classrooms, often sharing corridors with high school students. To reduce anxiety and social pressures at this critical stage of development, the proposed bond project would clarify the distinction between Middle & High School spaces.

www.FerndaleSchools.org

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ESTIMATED

ZERO MILL INCREASE OVER 2024 RATES

VOTER DETAILS & LOCATIONS ON PAGE 10

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Common areas, grouped classrooms, and visual cues like color pallettes can all be used to establish a cohesive grade-level neighborhood as part of middle schools bond improvements.

Sample Imagery. Actual layout and design to be determined after voter approval.

NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS

MAKING DISTINCTIONS

Limiting interactions across grade levels is a proven strategy for reducing social pressure and increasing self-confidence for any age range. This can be achieved by grouping classrooms and shared spaces into 6th, 7th, and 8th grade neighborhoods where students spend most of their day. We've centered the new Ferndale Lower Elementary similarly through K, 1, and 2 neighborhoods where students interact and thrive. Continuing this transformational work of the 2020 bond projects, we have similar improvements planned at the Ferndale Middle School corridor. By designing intentional learning environments that foster meaningful interactions, we can actively support students' physical and emotional well-being.

Ferndale Middle School students are encouraged to experience music, drama, robotics, advanced STEAM courses, and athletics to explore their interests and identity. These opportunities are supported by proximity to Ferndale High School, and those benefits will only increase with improvements to every classroom on campus. However, construction plans would establish more consistent separation between middle and high school students.

SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS Secure environments continue to be a priority, as they were in 2020 bond improvements. The entryway location would be the same with increased security made possible by a secure vestibule, as we have constructed at Early Childhood and Elementary buildings. The new office space would provide the amenities parents and visitors need without access to student spaces.

One planned improvement would relocate the Middle School band room adjacent to the FMS gym, while increasing its scale for student safety. While Middle School students would also retain access to shared spaces—including the auditorium, cafeteria, and courtyard—they would continue to utilize these spaces at separate times from high school students.

All of these improvements would bring Ferndale Middle School & Ferndale High School environments inline with Ferndale’s preschool, elementary, and other high schools—child-centered, age-appropriate learning spaces that empower our students to succeed.

See the inspirational new Lower Elementary building »

VISIT » FerndaleSchools.org/New-Lower 6

MUSIC EDUCATION

Turning Up the Volume The last time the music program was moved around was 20 years ago. Since then, music staff have found very creative ways to store all of this stuff.

It isn’t easy or practical, and that can have an impact on education. That’s why we are turning up the volume!

Right-Sizing Spaces for Music Education

Large instruments like tubas, trombones, percussion instruments, oboes, and upright basses take up major space in music rooms.

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www.FerndaleSchools.org

MUSIC EDUCATION

STUDENT DIRECTED LEARNING SPACES Small ensemble spaces added to the Music Suite will allow for more peer-to-peer collaboration and small group work.

Student-directed learning in music supports the curriculum goals district-wide that foster student leadership and executive functioning.

GREATER HARMONY This capital improvement will also create clearer boundaries around Ferndale Middle School by moving the FHS Band Room out of the SW corner of the campus. This space, adjacent to the Middle School gym, will be renovated for middle school music students. Moving band and orchestra spaces together in the arts extension of the high school will extinguish the need for hundreds of band students to enter the Middle School wing for band practice. Middle school students will still access orchestra, theatre, and choir rooms in the east wing.

Adjacent to the band room and orchestra room, the Music Suite will also add individual and group practice rooms, library storage, and offices.

STORAGE SPACE

Storage space is needed for large instruments like the tuba

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Adjacent storage for instruments and equipment will not only support collaboration. It will also prolong the life of valuable equipment. Orchestra instruments require temperature and humidity stable rooms. “Right now instruments are stored next to big windows in a room with a drafty garage,” according to Orchestra Director Linden de Leeuw. Marching Band requires keyboards, drumline, and the massive sousaphones which aren’t used in Concert Band, as well as flags, rifles, and other equipment for color guard and winter guard performances. Keeping all these items together and in good condition will be a breeze with new facilities.

New library rooms will also house over 300 linear ft of sheet music collected by concert band, marching band, orchestra, and ensembles. Orchestra alone has over 1,600 pieces of sheet music. These collections are worth over $100,000!

A LASTING IMPACT “I think it will be transformative,” said High School Band Director Elon Jamison. “For students, [a dedicated music suite would result in] more obvious collaboration. Students will be rehearsing at the same time, and the ease of integration will be dramatically improved.” Elon Jamison has led the High School Marching Band to 11 State Championship victories.

“I’m also a community member, with an 8th grader and 3rd grader in Ferndale Schools. And I’m very excited for the opportunities this will provide to my own children.”

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ZERO MILL INCREASE OVER 2024 RATES

VOTER DETAILS & LOCATIONS ON PAGE 10

View the performance arts calendar »

VISIT » FerndaleSchools.org/performances 8

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Site Improvements Map DISCLAIMER: ACTUAL LAYOUT AND DESIGN TO BE DETERMINED AFTER VOTER APPROVAL

EXISTING BUILDING DEMOLITION

ACADEMIC ADDITION

MS OFFICE ADDITION HS OFFICE ADDITION

FINE ARTS ADDITION

FHS TO FMS BAND ROOM CONVERSION

MUSIC SUITE ADDITION

ATHLETICS ENTRY ADDITION

Proposed projects on the 2025 bond Upcoming projects funded by the 2020 bond

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UPCOMING 2020 BOND IMPROVEMENTS ATHLETICS ENTRY ADDITION

FINE ARTS ADDITION

Small classrooms would be demolished to make room for expanded, modernized learning spaces.

Improved dressing rooms for theatre department

Reduces transit time for students

Backstage access improvements

Expanded set construction room for stagecraft

Modernized, flexible classrooms built for collaboration with technology integration

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www.FerndaleSchools.org

PROPOSED 2025 BOND PROJECTS DEMOLITION OF 1950S CLASSROOM BLOCKS

MIDDLE SCHOOL OFFICE ADDITION

Small, distant classrooms would be demolished to make room for expanded, modernized learning spaces.

Increased security at visitor entry point

ACADEMIC ADDITION

MUSIC SUITE ADDITION

Separating Middle & High School identities and spaces

New High School music rooms to accomodate greater collaboration

Reduces transit time for students Modernized, flexible classrooms built for collaboration with technology integration 30% larger classroom footprints & extended learning spaces for group work

More space for student services

Appropriate equipment and sheet music sturage MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND ROOM CONVERSION

Renovate current HS band room for Middle School

Expanded common areas for more efficient school day transitions

How To Vote VOTE EARLY IN-PERSON

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Saturday, April 26th – Sunday, May 4th 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on all days except Thursday.

12:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursdays FERNDALE & ROYAL OAK TWP RESIDENTS

Absentee ballots became available March 27 and can be filled out and returned at any point prior to the election.

ON ELECTION DAY

Hazel Park Community Center 620 West Woodward Heights Boulevard Hazel Park, MI 48030

Tuesday, May 6th

OAK PARK & PLEASANT RIDGE RESIDENTS

Find your polling precinct location

Oak Park Community Center 14300 Oak Park Blvd.

Oak Park, MI 48237

State of Michigan Voter Information Center

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index

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Paid for by Ferndale Public Schools, 2610 Pinecrest Ferndale, MI 48220

ALIGNING LEARNING EXPERIENCES AT EVERY GRADE LEVEL

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2025 BOND PROPOSAL

On May 6, 2025, voters in Ferndale, Royal Oak Township, Oak Park, and Pleasant Ridge will consider a bond proposal that would provide major improvements to the Ferndale Middle & High School Building:

Reimagining our Middle & High School Learning Environments:

Improving our Middle & High School spaces...

Modernized Classrooms Collaborative Learning Spaces Separating MS/HS Spaces New Middle School Offices

... to support learning like our Elementary spaces!

Music Room Addition

If approved, the proposal would generate $114,800,000 for significant renovations with no projected increase to the current tax rate.

0

ESTIMATED

ZERO MILL INCREASE OVER 2024 RATES

MAY 6 VOTE BY

Find an overview of the bond proposal at ferndaleschools.org/vote