Published: April 29, 2008 09:56 am         

Education Newsmakers: 04/29/2008

-- College of Saint Benedict (St. Joseph, Minn.) junior Molly Maxbauer has been selected to receive the Lynn Gresser Political Science Scholarship. Maxbauer will receive $250 for the fall 2008 semester.

-- Angela Fowler, a junior at Kalkaska High School, was the top State winner in a poster contest sponsored by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). She will receive $100 and a pizza party for her entire 4th-hour Vocational-Transitions Class. In addition, she is eligible to win at the national level, which could result in a $500 savings bond and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

-- The Gaylord Diocesan Spelling Bee had 23 participants in two divisions, with each grade level performing in front of family and friends. Local winners included Level I (grades 4-6): Allie Rutkowski, Gaylord (home school); Level II (grades 7-9): Megan Carlson, Gaylord Middle School, and Raechel Lenz, Mancelona (home school). The four attended the State Spelling Bee in Standish and did well, with the opportunity to compete again next year.

-- The State of Michigan Department of Education announced that The Greenspire School has been awarded a planning grant for up to $160,000 to be used for the planning and development of a public charter school serving grades 6--8 in the Traverse City area. The Greenspire School was one of 21 schools around the state of Michigan to be awarded a planning grant.