A dream job opportunity has just opened up: On a remote island in Michigan, known for its solitude, a teacher is being hired for a school for four children, but with one condition.
Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron is home to approximately 100 people and is known as the smallest school district in the state.
According to state records, Bois Blanc Pines School has never had more than five students enrolled at a time in the past decade.
While working in this one- or two-classroom school may seem like a dream, the island’s weather conditions and lack of connectivity make it nearly impossible for the administration to retain any teachers.
Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron is home to about 100 people and is known as the smallest school district in the state.
It has been nearly impossible for former teachers to find affordable, weather-resistant housing that can also withstand the elements.
There are also very few transportation options, as most locals rely on motorized vehicles to navigate the many miles of unpaved roads and trails.
The only way to get to Cheboygan, which is the closest mainland, is by ferry in summer and by plane in winter.
As a result, year-round residents tend to stock up on food before the ferry stops coming and going when it gets colder and then coordinate with each other to buy plane tickets in the colder months when they need to get into town.
The island also has a small shop/restaurant, a tavern, a post office, a fire station, a municipal office, a church and a chapel.
Bois Blanc Pines School has never had more than five students enrolled at a time in the past decade and is now struggling to find a teacher due to the island’s weather conditions and lack of connectivity.
The island also has only one small shop/restaurant, one tavern, one post office, one fire station, one municipal office, one church and one chapel.
Christine Hasbrouck, a teacher’s assistant whose 11-year-old grandson is one of the school’s K-8 students, said: Michigan BridgeI tell everyone, “We’re a remote Alaska with no mountains.”
“That’s what we are here. And a lot of people don’t understand that we’re not like Mackinac Island. Our ferries don’t run three-quarters of the year or all year long.”
In addition to the island’s unique challenges, school board president Cindy Riker also believes it is impossible to find a teacher willing to teach students ages 5 to 14 during the current national shortage.
‘Our challenge now… not just because of the island but because of the way teachers are in this world now, there is a huge lack of them.
“Getting an experienced teacher is probably out of the question,” he told the publication.
The current staffing issue is becoming a major concern for parents on the island, as many worry about the quality of primary education their children receive.
There are also very few transportation options across the picturesque island, as most locals rely on motorized vehicles to navigate its many miles of unpaved roads and trails.
The current staffing issue is becoming a major concern for parents on the island, as many worry about the quality of primary education their children receive.
School board member Amanda Beugly said that while she wants the island to be her family’s permanent home, she won’t allow her fifth-grade son and seventh-grade daughter to start a new school year at the academy without an “experienced teacher.”
“I think it’s such a challenging position that you need to have that experience because you don’t have the same support structure in a one-room school that you would have in a regular school where you have other teachers that you can turn to for help,” the concerned parent noted.
David Arsen, a researcher at Michigan State University, explained that if the district can’t hire someone soon, it can turn to a certified teacher who works remotely and instructs students online, leaving a classroom aide to help students in person.
