All TCAPS buildings, including TCAPS Administration, are closed on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. No employees should report to work on Tuesday unless their supervisor contacts them for essential work. This includes first, second, and third shift employees.
about 11 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

School is Closed: All TCAPS schools will be closed on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, due to inclement weather. Students in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual Enrollment classes should follow the direction of the instructors for those programs.

For more information on snow days, including how they are communicated and how decisions are made, visit www.tcaps.net.

about 15 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.
All TCAPS buildings, including TCAPS Administration, are closed today, March 16, 2026. No employees should report to work today. This includes first, second, and third shift employees.
about 20 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

Update: The TCAPS Administration at Glenn Loomis Building will open at 11 AM. Staff who usually report on a school closure day should report at 11 AM.

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All TCAPS buildings will open at 11 AM on Monday, March 16, 2026. No TCAPS staff should report prior to 11 AM.

1 day ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

School and Afternoon Activities Canceled - Monday, March 16, 2026

All TCAPS schools are closed tomorrow, Monday, March 16, 2026, due to inclement weather. All afternoon activities are also canceled. Students in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual Enrollment classes should follow the direction of the instructors for those programs.

For more information on snow days, including how they are communicated and how decisions are made, go to www.tcaps.net.

1 day ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Schools are closed due to inclement weather.

Free Meals at TCAPS! 🍎🥪

TCAPS is offering free breakfast and lunch meals at every building, every school day.

Free breakfast is served daily! TCAPS Food and Nutrition Services reminds parents and students that TCAPS offers free breakfast before the start of every school day at every building in the district.

Secondary buildings offer breakfast in the cafeterias, and elementary buildings offer a convenient "Grab & Go" breakfast for students to enjoy in the classrooms or the cafeterias. TCAPS encourages every student to grab a free breakfast to ensure they have the energy necessary to excel! 📚

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

4 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services graphic with vegetables and the text: FREE MEALS!

SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Friday, March 13, 2026 due to inclement weather. Students in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual Enrollment classes should follow the direction of the instructors for those programs.

For more information on snow days, including how they are communicated and how decisions are made, go to www.tcaps.net.

4 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, Thursday, March 12. 🔔

For questions, please contact your school directly.

5 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day

More Than Just Rhymes: Why Poetry is a Powerhouse in CKLA!

Did you know that in our CKLA curriculum, poetry isn’t just a "fun break"? It is a foundational tool for building brilliant readers from Kindergarten all the way through 5th Grade.

Here’s how our students grow through the power of verse:

K–2 (The Sound of Language): Our youngest learners use nursery rhymes and basic poems to master Phonological Awareness. Rhyming helps them hear the "chunks" in words, making it a secret weapon for early decoding!

3rd Grade (The Bridge to Fluency): This is where it gets magical. Students focus on prosody: learning to read with expression, rhythm, and heart. Poetry teaches them that punctuation isn't just a dot, it's a breath.

4th & 5th Grade (The Depth of Knowledge): Upper elementary students dive into verbal reasoning. They deconstruct metaphors, personification, and imagery, turning "simple" stanzas into deep lessons in language comprehension.

Whether it’s a Mother Goose rhyme or an Amanda Gorman masterpiece, poetry helps our students weave the "Language Comprehension" and "Word Recognition" strands of the Reading Rope together.

5 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
A 3rd-grade class dressed in black for a poetry slam. They pose in their classroom before a digital board listing poetic devices.
Gemini said A student stands in a dim classroom presenting a "Snow Day" poem on a digital screen to classmates seated on a colorful rug.
Students sit at light wood desks in a classroom "Poetry Cafe," working on illustrated poems with colored pencils. In the background, a projector displays a "Poetry Cafe CAFE" sign featuring a cartoon illustration of cats at a bistro. The students are smiling at the camera.
Two elementary-aged boys sit at a long wooden counter in a sunlit classroom, focused on writing on worksheets. The boy in the foreground wears a blue and orange varsity-style jacket and dark green pants, while the boy next to him wears a black long-sleeved shirt. Large windows to their right let in bright natural light, and other students are visible working in the blurred background.
A classroom "Poetry Cafe" display featuring a small wooden table and stools on a colorful rug. The bulletin board behind it is decorated with a brick pattern, a yellow striped awning, and paper coffee cups labeled with poetic devices .

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day on Thursday, March 12. 🔔

For questions, please contact your school directly.

7 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day

One of Mr. Swegles' favorite things to do is read and during March is Reading Month, he's sharing his love of books and reading with our Eastern Stars. During the month, Mr. Swegles will share a book with every classroom in the school. Today, he read with Mrs. Edwardson's kindergarten class.

7 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
Mr. Swegles is sitting in front of Mrs. Edwardson's kindergarten class reading a book that he is holding out to the side.
Mr. Swegles is seated in front of the class holding a book out to his side and reading to the students sitting on the rug in rows in front of him.

Congratulations to our STAR students of the week for March 2nd-6th! This awesome group was up to the task of being safe, trustworthy, attentive and respectful. Way to go!

8 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
Six students standing against a brick wall, one each for grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The student second from the right is holding a star of the week pencil between his two hands. The student on the right, who is on a no-photo list, has a smiley face emoji sticker over his face.

High fives all around to members of the Traverse City Central Football team and Coach Eric Schugars who visited Eastern this past Friday to help us celebrate March is Reading Month! We always look forward to this annual event when players visit classrooms to read with students as a class or in small groups. . Our students look up to the players and are excited to hear them read or read with them. And, as an added bonus, we get to check in with some of our Eastern alumni! Thank you Central Football for shining bright!

8 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
A group of Traverse City Central football players standing in a staggered line in the Eastern lobby wearing their football jerseys
Two Traverse City Central football players sitting at the front of a classroom reading to a group of third graders who are sitting in front of them. The player on the right is reading from an open book while the player on the left looks on.
A Traverse City Central football player is seated in a chair holding an open book; he's seated in front of a small group of students who are looking up to him.
A Traverse City Central football players sits in a wooden chair holding a book in his lap while five students sit in front of him looking up at him and listening.
A Traverse City Central football player sits among seven students; the football player is talking to one of the students holding a book.
Three Traverse City Central football players are sitting in front of a class of second graders reading a book. The player in the middle of the three is holding a book out to his side reading while the other two players look on.

Eastern 's Writing Celebration is in full swing! It's a display in our school lobby of writing from every student from Junior Kindergarten through 5th grade - a way to showcase and celebrate the many skills learned through classroom work. Students, staff, family and community members are invited to read the writings and make comments. Way to go Stars - what an opportunity to truly shine!

19 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
The Eastern Elementary lobby with four rows of long tables with student writing on the tables and students and adults on either side of the tables reading the writing and writing comments.
A row of tables with pieces of student writing lining both sides of the tables. Students and adults are leaning over to writing comments and read the writing.
Part of two rows of tables with student writing on top of the tables. One adult is holding one of the writing pieces to read it. Other adults are standing on the sides of the tables to read student writing.
One Eastern male student is bent over a piece of writing, holding a pencil writing a comment on the page.
An Eastern female student wearing glasses and a backpack is folding back on page of student writing while reading the next page.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, Thursday, February 19. 🔔

Note: There is no school for students tomorrow, Friday, Feb 20 (Teacher Work Day).

Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa

View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6

For questions, contact your school directly.

26 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day

Mrs. Hites' first grade classroom celebrated Chinese New Year yesterday! The Wang family, whose son is in the class, shared the holiday's history, customs and information with the class. Students learned the Chinese words for joy and peace as well as 2026 being the Year of the Horse and finding their Chinese Zodiac animal. Thank you to the Wang family for the gift of this experience!

27 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
A second grade boy looking through a festive cardboard frame decorated for the Chinese New Year that he is holding.
Two second grade girls looking through a festive cardboard frame decorated for the Chinese New Year that they are holding.
A second grade boy looking through a festive cardboard frame decorated for the Chinese New Year and he is holding a small red banner with Chinese language symbols on it..
A second grade boy looking through a festive cardboard frame decorated for the Chinese New Year that he is holding.

Mrs. Fak's second grade classroom is wrapping up a project called Valentines Across the United States. The goal was to help students develop map skills by gathering valentines from all 50 states. Mrs. Fak and the class requested cards from friends and family far and wide. As cards came in, students mapped the location from where it came and counted the number received: 98 cards from 37 states and 5 countries! In addition to cards, several people sent facts, pictures, and gifts from their locations and students showed their appreciation by writing thank you notes. While the project began with a map-skills focus, it grew to include heartfelt lessons in writing, connection and gratitude.

27 days ago, Eastern Elementary School
Two second grade students, one boy and one girl, each holding a Valentine card in front of their bodies with two hands.
Two second grade boys standing in front of a window wall covered with Valentines taped to it. The boys are holding up their arms pointing to the valentines.
A smiling second grade boy holding a card open that is taped to a wall of displayed valentines, using a finger to point to the greeting card message.
Two second grade girls standing in front of a map of the USA that has red dots indicating the 37 states from which they received valentines and also using their hands with a pointed finger towards the valentines.
A landscape picture of the window wall of the classroom to which all the received valentines are taped.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day this Thursday, February 19. 🔔

Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa

View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6

For questions, contact your school directly.

28 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day

In the spirit of the winter Olympics, this week students in PE have been introduced to the sport of curling! Our PTO funded a proposal at the end of last school year to purchase equipment in response to growing interest. The week has been filled with the learning of sport, skills, strategy and also fun! Maybe we have some future Olympians in the making!

about 1 month ago, Eastern Elementary School
A group of elementary students in a line crouching on the gym floor, two have curling rocks in their hands waiting to release them to slide across the gym floor to a target not pictured.
One female student and one male students crouched on the gym floor. The male student has released a curling rock from his hand and the female student is waiting to release her curling rock.
The photograph spans the length of the gym. In the foreground is the curling target and two curling rocks are in the middle of the floor. Four students in the background are a team of curlers that have released their curling rocks.
Another group of four students crouching on the gym floor; three have curling rocks and one has released it from their hand.
Four students in the gym, all holding curling rocks, one student has released the rock across the floor.
Word Smithing In Progress! Or Chain Reactions We Actually Like!

If your student has been talking about "chains" lately, don't worry—they aren't auditioning for a construction crew! They are mastering one of the most powerful tools in our CKLA Skills toolkit.

What exactly is Word Chaining?

It’s a fast-paced "mental gymnastics" game for the brain. We start with a word like cat, and by changing just one sound at a time, we transform it: cat → can → fan → fin.

Why it’s a Game-Changer:
- Phonemic Awareness: It trains the ear to hear the tiny differences between sounds.
- Decoding Speed: It builds the "muscle memory" needed to recognize patterns instantly.
- Confidence: Using our Word Chaining Folders, students get hands-on practice manipulating letters, turning "scary" big words into a series of small, manageable shifts.

Our students are proving that building literacy is all about making the right connections!
about 1 month ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
A young student smiling at the camera while sitting at a school desk. They are working on a CKLA activity with a white board containing various letters and phonics tiles.
A young student smiling at the camera while sitting at a school desk. They are working on a CKLA activity with a white board containing various letters and phonics tiles.
A young student smiling at the camera while sitting at a school desk. They are working on a CKLA activity with a white board containing various letters and phonics tiles.