Parents & Families

TCAPS believes education is a partnership between our schools, students and parents. The following resources are intended to assist families in staying connected with our schools and curriculum. If you are unable to find what you are looking for or have a suggestion for improving the website, please contact us at info@tcaps.net.

 

Thank you for considering Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) for your child’s educational journey. We are delighted to partner with you to help your child and every student reach his or her potential in an engaging, inspiring and challenging environment. Below are a few links to help you get acquainted with  TCAPS. Should you need additional assistance or have any questions, please contact us at info@tcaps.net. 

This area is intended to assist our current TCAPS families in finding the most commonly sought after information. If you are unable to find what you are looking for or have a suggestion for improving the website, please contact us at info@tcaps.net.  

Calendars

Communications

Notifications & Policies

Student Handbooks

All in a School Day

School Meals

Paying Tuition / Fees

Extracurricular/Learning Opportunities

Common Forms

Volunteering

School Closings & Alerts

On the day of a school closing or when an important message needs to be shared, an Alert screen will appear every time the district and/or all school home pages are opened. (This is an embedded feature of the website and is not affected by pop up blockers.) Archived alert messages can be found on this webpage. 

To subscribe to the School Closings & Alerts RSS feed, click on the orange RSS feed icon found at the end of the School Closings & Alerts title below to obtain the url to add to your RSS feed reader.  Note: announcements will only be made when school is closed. There will be no "open" announcements.

TCAPS will also send text alerts to staff and families provided that they have opted in to receive text alerts from the district. This will allow the district and schools to share important and timely information with staff and families via text messaging, including snow day alerts. All text messages will come from the same number (87569). If you do not currently receive text messages, you can always opt in at any time by sending the word YES to 87569 and make sure your phone number is on file with the school. Texting is limited to contact numbers tied to the district’s staff and student databases, therefore is not available to the general public. 

School closing information will continue to be shared via our normal methods: all local media stations, the district Facebook/Twitter feeds, and the bus hotline (231.933.1955). School closings are announced as early in the morning as possible, but can occur as late as 6:00 a.m. 

PDF DocumentView additional snow day FAQs

Sample School Closing Alert

Sample School Closings Pop Up

2024-2025 Orientation, Open House, & Kindergarten Signing Days

Kindergarten Signing Days

TCAPS Kindergartners are invited to attend "Signing Day" (previously Kindergarten Round Up). Students and families are invited to explore their new school, meet teachers, and gather all of the information they’ll need for a successful school year!

Signing Day Dates

  • Blair: August 26, 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

  • Central Grade: August 26, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • Cherry Knoll: August 26, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

  • Courtade: August 22, 2 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • Eastern: August 22, 9:00AM-3:30PM

  • Long Lake: August 22, 9:00AM-3:00PM

  • Silver Lake: August 20, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

  • Traverse Heights: August 22, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • Willow Hill: August 22, 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

  • Westwoods: August 22, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Open Houses

TCAPS open houses allow students the opportunity to see their school and classrooms, meet with teachers, ask questions, and pick up school supply lists or any other items needed to start the school year.

Open House Dates

  • Blair: August 29, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

  • Central Grade: August 28, 5:00 p.m. - 6: 00 p.m.

  • Cherry Knoll: August 29, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

    • Last names A-L 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

    • Last names M-Z 6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

  • Courtade: August 28, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • Eastern: August 29, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

    • PS: August 29, 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    • JK: August 29, 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

  • Long Lake: 

    • PreK/K: August 29, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

    • 1st-5th: August 29, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • Silver Lake: August 29, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (JK-5th)

  • TCAPS Montessori: August 29 Open House & Community Gathering (for TCAPS Montessori students and families ONLY.  Not open to the public.) 

    • Toddler 8/28 - 8/30 by Appointment, Lead Directed

    • CASA 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    • Lower El, Upper El & Adolescent Community 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

  • Traverse Heights: August 29, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • Willow Hill:

    • PreK: August 28, 4:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.

    • JK/K: August 28, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

    • 1st-5th Grade: August 29, 5:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.

  • Westwoods:

    • August 28, Preschool, Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten - 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

    • August 28, 1st Grade through 5th Grade - 6:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

  • East Middle School

    • August 25, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

  • West Middle School 

    • 6th Grade: August 28, 6:00-7:00 PM

    • 7th Grade: September 11, 6:30-7:30 PM

    • 8th Grade: September 12, 6:30-7:30 PM

Secondary Orientations

TCAPS middle school and high school orientations allow students to visit their school and classrooms, meet teachers, pick up their supply lists, class schedules, and chromebooks, order yearbooks, and get ready for an exciting year ahead!

Orientation Dates

  • Central High School

    • August 19, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

    • August 20, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • East Middle School

    • Last names A-L: August 19, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

    • Last names M-Z: August 20, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

  • Traverse City High School

    • August 20 & 21, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • West Middle School

    • Last names A-L: August 21, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

    • Last names M-Z: August 22, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

  • West Senior High School

    • Freshman Kick Off: August 19, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

    • Freshman Parent Meeting: August 19, 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

    • All Students: August 20 & 21, 9:00 a.m. -6: 00 p.m.