Traverse City Area Public Schools

Traverse City's first public school district was founded in 1871 when Boardman, Central, Elmwood Avenue, Oak Park, and Union Street Independent Schools united. Today, all of these schools are closed, but Boardman, Central and Union Street school buildings are used for other purposes. Since 1871, many other schools around the area have been annexed and built.

In 1997, because of overcrowding at Traverse City Senior High School (TCSHS), which had become the largest high school in Michigan, a second high school was built, and opened in early 1998. The new high school became Traverse City West Senior High School, and the former TCSHS became Traverse City Central High School.^[8] This succeeded the split of Traverse City Junior High School into Traverse City West Junior High and East Junior High in 1992.^[9]

In the mid-2000s, due to dwindling attendance, five elementary schools closed their doors: Bertha Vos, Glenn Loomis, Norris, Oak Park, and Sabin Elementary schools. Also, until the 2009–10 school year, elementary schools in the district had grades K-6, junior high schools had 7–9, and senior highs had 10–12. However, at the beginning of this school year, the 6th grade class was moved to the junior highs (renamed middle schools), and the freshman class was moved to the senior high schools.

In 2011, the original Long Lake Elementary closed to be rebuilt nearby. This was the first time since 1997 that the district had opened a new building.

In March 2016, TCAPS decided to close Bertha Vos International School and Interlochen Community. Officials almost closed Old Mission Elementary School, but an unknown donor has pledged to pay about $100,000 to keep it open. In May 2016, the nearby Kingsley Area Schools decided to look into purchasing the Interlochen.^[10] For both 2015 and 2016 the TCAPS Japanese exchange program, in which TCAPS students exchange with Japanese ones for one week, has been completely paid for by an anonymous donor.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2017, Eastern Elementary closed for a rebuild, similar to the rebuild of Long Lake Elementary six years prior. The project lasted the entire 2017/18 school year, and was completed in summer of 2018. The students were moved to the nearby vacant Bertha Vos, which closed the previous year. This project cost around $10 million.^[11] Also in 2017, a Traverse City food company called Food for Thought bought the vacant Long Lake Elementary School building, which was used as an elementary school before 2011. The company remodeled the elementary building into a warehouse.^[12]

Also in 2017, both Traverse City Central and West High Schools were named among the most challenging in the country.^[13]

In 2018, TCAPS has three vacant properties around the Traverse City Area. It is unknown if these properties are to become schools, but TCAPS has expressed feelings of building a new district headquarters, replacing the old Boardman Building in Traverse City. Also in 2018, Old Mission School became an independent district, further lowering the number of elementary schools in the district.

In 2019, Paul Soma retired as superintendent of TCAPS, and Ann Cardon took over.^[14] However, that October, Cardon resigned, due to tension between her and the school board. Former superintendent Jim Pavelka took the position of interim superintendent.^[15] On May 20, 2020, Dr. John VanWagoner, former superintendent of Alpena Public Schools, was elected to become the next superintendent. VanWagoner was elected by the board 7–0 over Denise Herrmann, former superintendent of the Roseville Joint Union High School District in Roseville, California.^[16][17] VanWagoner was officially hired in June 2020.^[18]

Also in 2019, TCAPS announced their intent to rebuild their Montessori school at the old Glenn Loomis Elementary, set to open in the 2021–2022 school year.^[19] Proposed locations included east of Thirlby Field, its current location west of Thirlby Field, or on Franke Road near Meijer. In January 2020, TCAPS voted to build on the Franke Road location. The school officially opened in June 2023, after years of delay.^[20] This succeeds a number of school rebuilds and remodels around the area, including the building of remodeled front entrances at Courtade, Willow Hill, Silver Lake Elementary schools, as well as West Middle School, during summer of 2019, and Westwoods and Blair in 2020. Blair, Silver Lake, and Westwoods Elementary schools had also been expanded in the previous years to accommodate a higher number of students.^[21]

The following table lists members of the current TCAPS Board of Education (as of 2025):^[39]

Most of the district is in Grand Traverse County. It includes the portion of Traverse City in that county, as well as the following townships: East Bay, Garfield, Long Lake, Peninsula, and Union. It also includes portions of Acme, Blair, Grant, Green Lake, and Whitewater townships. Census-designated places in this county within the district are Chums Corner, Grawn, and Interlochen.^[41]

A portion of the district is in Leelenau County. The district covers that county's portion of Traverse City and sections of Elmwood Charter Township and Solon Township. This section includes Greilickville.^[42]

A portion of the district is in Almira Township, Benzie County. This section of the district includes most of the Hardwood Acres CDP.^[43]

Thirlby Field in Traverse City, which seats 9000, serves as a neutral ground between the athletic teams on Traverse City's west and east sides. The stadium is used by both Traverse City West and Central, as well as St. Francis High School, as a home field for football, soccer, and lacrosse. Both high schools also use Howe Arena and Centre Ice Arena for ice hockey and figure skating. The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA complexes are used for swim meets. Both high schools in the district, as well as middle schools, have their own football fields, used for smaller football games, as well as track and field. These schools also have their own baseball, softball, and tennis court complexes.

• 
  Blair Elementary School
• 
  Central Grade School
• 
  Cherry Knoll Elementary School
• 
  Norris Elementary School (closed 2008, now an art studio)
• 
  Sabin Elementary School (closed 2006)
• 
  Silver Lake Elementary School
• 
  TCAPS Montessori (formerly Glenn Loomis Elementary School)
• 
  Willow Hill Elementary School
• 
  Westwoods Elementary School

• List of high schools in Michigan
• Education in Michigan