Past and present students say goodbye to Schalm Elementary

CLAWSON — The 2023-2024 school year has come to an end, and with it the final class of students has walked the halls of Schalm Elementary School.

Schalm  Elementary School is going to be torn down after a decision to sell the property, and all students at Schalm and Kenwood elementary schools will be relocated to Clawson Elementary School, which is being created from the former middle school.

Kenwood will continue to be used for preschool students and has undergone improvements. Unlike at Schalm, there was no final walk-through for the public at Kenwood. The school district’s physical transformation  is being funded by the 2021 and 2023 bonds that voters approved.

Bianca Sines, the principal of both Schalm and Kenwood, thinks that the decision to merge the schools was the correct one, and she looks forward to continuing to work with students and staff under the same roof.

“It is what’s best for our district at this point. Because I work here, I want Clawson to stay alive, and right-sizing in this capacity is the only way to do it,” Sines said. “I know change looks different for everybody, and I think in the long run, it’s going to be what’s best for Clawson.”

To commemorate the end of Schalm and the beginning of the merger, Sines set up a week for people to visit Schalm and say one final goodbye.

“There were more people that came through than I would have ever expected,” she said. “There were more older generations than (current) students. I had people that came through that went here in 1984.”

Tracy Irwin, the mother of a 2024 fifth grade graduate of Schalm, Daniel Irwin, said that her opinion as a parent is that the change could either be exciting or stressful, depending on the student.

“Kids are resilient. For the kids who are in kindergarten, they are going to adjust very well,” she said. “But I think that the kids who have been there for a couple years, I’m thinking about the current fourth graders, I think that will be an adjustment.”

Irwin herself did not attend Schalm, but while doing the walk-through she got to see multiple generations of Schalm students and teachers walking the halls one last time.

She said that the connection they had to Schalm was unique and shows the impact the Schalm Community had on students over the years.

“I think that what makes it a little bit different is that Clawson is such a small-town community, even though we are in the middle of everything,” she said. “The school has been around for a long time, and the generations of families who have gone to that school know that they love it.”

The bonds that were formed between Daniel Irwin and his teachers was one of the most significant reasons why Schalm was a special part of his growing up.

“The most special part was probably my kindergarten classroom, because that was the best class I have ever been in,” Daniel Irwin said.

Tracy Irwin said that since starting at Schalm, Daniel has gotten to know almost every teacher in the school.

“He had this sort of amazing group of teachers that would work with him, and he was able to get extra help,” she said. “It was, honestly, like as a parent, I felt very fortunate that we were able to have such a great support system in the school.”

Elementary students who attended either Schalm or Kenwood will begin classes at Clawson Elementary School at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.