1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 As the academic year draws to a close, the latest episode of the Hornet Hive podcast presents a thoughtful recap of the 2025-26 school year and a look ahead to an exciting future for Williamson Community Schools. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Lewis and joined by superintendent Dr. Adam Spina, this episode is packed with celebrations, milestones, and a glimpse into innovative changes coming to the district. Whether you're a parent, educator, community member, or alum, this is one episode you won't want to miss. Honoring Successes and Transitions The conversation begins with an enthusiastic congratulations to the graduating class of 2026, highlighting their leadership and the positive impact they’ve had on the district (01:10). The episode also takes time to recognize retirees whose careers have touched countless students and helped form the backbone of the district’s legacy (01:49). As Dr. Adam Spina emphasizes, both graduates and retirees leave behind strong examples of dedication and success. Celebrating School Achievements Williamson’s commitment to excellence is evidenced through a cascade of local, state, and national accolades received by its schools this year, including Discovery Elementary’s recent recognition as a Michigan Green School (02:28). Notably, the often-unsung preschool program earned the highest possible state rating, reaffirming that the district’s pursuit of quality truly spans from preschool through high school (03:02). Momentum of Summer Projects and Bond Initiatives Listeners get an inside look at the bustling summer projects, particularly those funded by the 2024 bond initiative. From major facility upgrades—like new flooring, lockers, and parking lot improvements—to the flagship construction of Explore Elementary, change is literally taking shape across campuses (05:08). Dr. Adam Spina expresses particular excitement about new technology upgrades in middle and high school classrooms, designed to create dynamic, flexible learning environments (06:13). Leadership Changes for a Thriving Future This episode introduces listeners to the incoming leadership team—a trio of seasoned, community-rooted educators stepping into new administrative roles (08:13). The commitment to cultivating leaders from within shines as a core tradition at Williamson, sustaining the district’s supportive and innovative culture. Why Listen? Dr. Christopher Lewis and Dr. Adam Spina remind us that communication and collaboration are the lifeblood of a thriving school community. Stay up to date, stay engaged, and celebrate these transitions and triumphs by listening to this standout episode. The energy, optimism, and dedication shared here speak to an exciting path forward for all Hornets—don't miss it! &amp;nbsp; TRANSCRIPT Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:20]: Welcome back to the Hornet Hive. I'm your host, Dr. Christopher Lewis, one of the members of the Williamson Community Schools Board of Education. Really excited to be back with you again this week. And we're getting toward the end of the year and that means I've got Dr. Adam Spina on with us, our superintendent of schools. And we're going to chat a little bit about the closeout of one year as we're moving into the summer and really just catch back up after a little bit of time. Dr. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:46]: Spina, welcome back. Dr. Adam Spina [00:00:47]: Thank you, Chris. Looking forward to sharing some of the highlights of this past school year and maybe a preview of some important beginning of year dates as we start thinking ahead to the 2627 school year. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:00]: And it has been an exciting year. There's been a lot of things that have been happening over the year, a lot of wins and celebrations for the district itself. But I know you've got some that you want to share as well. Dr. Adam Spina [00:01:10]: Well, first and foremost, as we wrap up the school year, I always want to make sure we acknowledge what is kind of the culminating result of our efforts, our collective efforts as both educators and parents and the community as a whole, which is congratulating the graduating class of 2026. They've been a phenomenal group of students, outstanding senior leaders who set a great example for all the other students the district. And I'm very hopeful that they're very positive impact will continue to permeate over the next many years as the kids had an example to see what right looks like and success looks like, follow in their footsteps. So I wanted to start with that also wanted to make sure that we acknowledge the many retirees that we have from the district. We'll be concluding very successful careers here and have made an impact on hundreds if not thousands of students during their time. We've posted information about those folks specifically online if you if you're curious but very privileged to have had the time we've had with those outstanding educators and support staff members during our time in Williamston. And I know they have created a tremendous legacy due to their hard work and dedication. Just as far as the year end, I always publish our community newsletter that goes out typically over Memorial Day weekend. Dr. Adam Spina [00:02:26]: And so I've touched on a lot of the main accomplishments. I mean the Summit up this has been another very successful year for the school district. We've continued to win local, state and national accolades for the performance of our schools and the results that are students have achieved perhaps one that was more recent that I was not able to include in the newsletter was that Discovery elementary was recently named a green school by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for their efforts to focus on environmental education and stewardship. And so I want to make sure we also acknowledge that our preschool often doesn't get some of the headlines, perhaps that the other buildings do. But our preschool this year was also rated at the very highest level by the state of Michigan that a preschool learning institution can achieve. So it is truly a pre K12 effort here with each of the buildings having distinguished itself over the course of the 2526 school year as they always do. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:20]: You know, as we always move into our summer months, they tend to be even busier than a lot of times what happens during the year. Even though tons of things are happening, especially for our facilities and grounds crew as we're preparing for our next school year and with our bond projects. And we also have a lot of things that are happening this year. So talk to me a little bit about what are some of the things that you are planning to have happen over this summer before students come back in the fall. Dr. Adam Spina [00:03:48]: So typically in August there is a maintenance, custodial and technology department barbecue that the administrative team supported by our secretarial unit usually hosts. And I usually make a couple comments at that, thanking the group for all their efforts over the summer. And I feel like they're going to start to not believe me anymore because I've said I think almost every year this is the busiest summer we've ever had. And I repeat it like every year. And unfortunately the way things are lining up for this summer, well it's not unfortunate but it's just a reality that the way things are lining up this summer is it's going to again be the busiest summer we have had that I can recall. There's a combination of both the normal summer maintenance which involves reconditioning of classrooms, deep cleaning, all those once a year type of things that are done to prepare school for the fall. But on the top of that there's a number of special projects, many of which are highlighted on our bond website and funded by the August, August 2024 bond initiative. But there's also a lot of other non bond funded special projects. Dr. Adam Spina [00:04:50]: Everything from sidewalk repair, paving, we're installing new lockers in the pool at the, at the high school, the community pool. I mean just, just it goes on and on. So you have all that plus all the regular stuff plus the bond work and we are right in the busiest part of the bond cycle. This summer. So obviously, I think most of the community is aware that the flagship project from that bond, which is the construction of Explore elementary, that is proceeding time at this point. And we can actually start to see the drive and the staff parking lot start to take shape with footings and foundations for the actual school scheduled here to begin in the next few days. Parking lot paving at the high school, if you've driven through there, you know that's obviously a big need. That project will commence over the summer and finish in mid July as well. Dr. Adam Spina [00:05:36]: Flooring projects throughout the middle and the high school, updating a lot of areas that have damaged or very old flooring. One of the exciting things that we're doing, at least for me, is the completion of this 10 year plan that we've had to create all of our secondary classrooms having a very modular approach to how instruction takes place. And this involved the flexible seating furniture that was installed last year. To a lesser extent, the flooring updates, although we are in some rooms removing cabinets to create larger classrooms since a lot of that storage is no longer needed. Last year we also put in new projectors and screens. But the really exciting thing we're doing this summer in our middle and high school is we're installing Microsoft Surface Pro devices as well as screen beams that will allow the teacher to interface with their computer from anywhere in the classroom, while they're also able to use the flexible seating furniture to configure the way students sit and work with each other instantaneously. This really removes a very outdated traditional modality of a central point or singular point of instruction, which is again, the teacher standing up by the board in front of the class. With this new setup, there is no front of the class. Dr. Adam Spina [00:06:47]: Any student can interact with the Surface Pro from any place in the room. They can sit in any kind of large groups or small groups or any other way that the teacher wants their classroom configured. And it's just a very exciting opportunity now that our educators are going to have to really enhance their instruction and maximize student engagement using technology, in addition to the engagement strategies that are tried and true, that don't require technology. So a lot going on there. But that's one project in particular as a, as a teacher that I'm really excited about. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:18]: Earlier you talked about the fact that we have had a number of different retirements this year. Some of those retirements are our leadership, you know, at our middle school, at our high school. But we have other leadership changes that are coming and the district's going to be looking a little Bit different in regards to who's leading in the district as we move not only into the summer, but into the fall as our students return. Talk to me about some of these changes and what these changes look like. Dr. Adam Spina [00:07:46]: We have a pretty long tradition in Williamston of having internal candidates who have are longtime Williamston educators and have been involved in an number of different initiatives or extracurriculars, special projects, work their way into leadership responsibilities. And that is again the case this year as we have had to move forward with some very significant leadership changes in certain spots in the district. It's fairly well known, but just in case. So Dr. Delp is retiring at the high school and Chris Armour, who has been the assistant principal there now for about six years, he will be moving into the principal position. And Chris is a longtime Williamston educator and coach and has established great relationships throughout the community and in the high school, parents, faculty, students, and he's going to be an outstanding leader for them beginning next year in that new capacity. Likewise, Adam Supanowski, who has been the assistant principal at Williamston Middle School and brings seven to eight years of administrative experience both in Williamston and elsewhere with him, will assume the responsibility as a middle school principal as Deborah lafleur retires after a very long and distinguished career as an educator and administrator in the district. Similarly, we've created a new role in central office. Dr. Adam Spina [00:09:10]: It's going to be called the Director of Student Services. And Michelle Rosa, who has worked in Williamston for, for many years off and on in different capacities and had gone on to assume different leadership roles in other areas before returning back to the district in this new role, is going to be assuming that position. Michell is an expert in special education, which is one aspect that that role will include. But it will also oversee Section 504, Title 9 and Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, initiatives in the district. So really excited about those three individuals and the leadership that they're going to bring to the district and also especially beneficial that they're longtime Williamston educators who live in the community. They're all in from that perspective because they live here, they work here, their families are here, and very much excited about what the future holds with this, this new leadership team assuming those roles. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:05]: And as a lot of parents know, the calendar for the school year is a negotiated item. So it was just released recently and I know there's some changes that are coming up with the calendar that parents should be aware of. Can you talk a little bit about that? Dr. Adam Spina [00:10:21]: As you mentioned, the calendar is a negotiated item as part of the contract with the Williamston Education Association. Both the association and the Board of Education have rat modified a new contract and with that allows us to publish details regarding calendar for next school year. One of the changes that we'll see in the calendar is that open house dates for the 2627 school year are going to be split over two days. So on Monday, August 17, that will be the elementary open house. And the following day, Tuesday, August 18th, that will be the secondary buildings. The middle school first a small break and then the high school following that. The first day of school for students next year will be on August 19th. That is a Wednesday. Dr. Adam Spina [00:11:07]: And the additional details on the calendar can be viewed at our website@gowcs.net well Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:11:13]: Dr. Spien, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being here today and for giving us a great overview of some of the things that have happened this year, but also some of the things to look forward to this summer. It's going to be a busy summer, but it's going to be an exciting one. It's so exciting to see all of the things starting to move with our bond project and being able to see the future of our district really starting to transform in front of our eyes. I hope that you have a great summer. I know we'll be talking again as we go through the summer but and we'll be giving some more updates as we get closer to the start of the school year. But thank you to you and for you as community members. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:11:50]: I just encourage you as always to stay in contact. Stay in contact with Dr. Spina with our district and be able to talk to us as we go forward. Communication is really important and this is one way in which we try to make sure that we are staying in touch with you. But we definitely want you to stay in touch as well. Wishing you all the best as you go into your summer months. Look forward to having you listen in the future and we'll see you again soon here in the Hornet Hive. The Hornet Hive Podcast http://gowcs.net <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/41538500/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/202627190