Hudsonville committee highlights Eagle Heights alternative diploma, new career pathways and increased FAFSA support

Hudsonville Public School District committee members described the district’s Eagle Heights alternative-education program and a districtwide push to map career pathways and computer-science offerings during a committee presentation; the discussion also noted two part-time FAFSA staffers who have helped increase federal financial-aid completion.

The committee said Eagle Heights offers an 18-credit Michigan Merit curriculum diploma for students who face barriers to meeting the district’s standard credit requirements. The program, presented as a school-within-a-school at the high school and led by Mr. Kessel and Mrs. Jeske, is in its first year and is on track to award diplomas to about 21 students.

Committee members said the Eagle Heights program grew from committee review of student transition data following the COVID-19 period, when some families pursued all-online education. Presenters said some students who transfer back to district high-school settings found it difficult to reach a 28-credit requirement under the trimester schedule; committee members described that barrier as a key reason to create an 18-credit pathway so students have a viable route to a diploma.

The committee framed the Eagle Heights diploma as a recognized credential that still allows graduates to seek employment, enlist in the military or enroll in community college. Committee members emphasized that Eagle Heights is intended to give students and families a clear diploma option and a place within the high school.

District staff also reviewed career-exploration efforts at the high school led by Chad Sytsma, identified in the presentation as the high school’s career explorations coordinator. Sytsma’s work supplements a business-department teaching assignment and brings outside speakers into seminar classes to expose students to local jobs and careers.

As part of building continuity across grades, the committee highlighted new course offerings shaped by the committee’s work: a middle-school Medical Detectives course and a high-school STEM math course the presentation called “Math in Action.” Committee members said they are aligning course descriptions so students, counselors and principals can communicate more clearly about course sequences and create clearer pathways from elementary through high school.

The presentation said the district received a 99B grant from the state of Michigan to focus on computer-science offerings K–12. Committee members said those funds supported attendance at a state conference and created district days for teachers to meet and align curriculum; the work produced a K–12 course map and refinements to high-school course offerings.

The committee described an upcoming rollout, led by the counseling staff, to present formal career-pathway maps (for example: business and entrepreneurship, health sciences) so students know which courses best prepare them for postsecondary choices. Members said that work was informed by school visits, including a visit to Adlai Stevenson High School, whose approach to packaging courses into pathways the presenters cited as an example.

Finally, the presentation noted the district has two part-time FAFSA staff helping increase FAFSA completion; the committee named David Howard as one of those employees.

No formal vote was recorded in the committee presentation. The district described these items as implementation and rollout steps to be led by counseling and school staff in the coming months.