Welcome to Vassar Public Schools. We are located in Tuscola County in a friendly community of about 7,000 residents. We are currently the only district in our county with district-wide accreditation through AdvancED. This is an achievement that we have worked for and of which we are extremely proud. Vassar will continue to work together with parents and community to enhance the curriculum and to bring a more advanced education to our students for a successful future.
The Vassar Public School District is located approximately fifteen miles east of Saginaw and seven miles northeast of Frankenmuth in Tuscola County, an area commonly referred to as the “Thumb” of Michigan. The area making up the school district was first settled in 1849 by Mr. Townsend North who was awarded 3,000 acres of Tuscola timberland for building a bridge across the Cass River in 1835. He and James M. Edmunds named the area after James’ uncle, Matthew Vassar, who later founded Vassar College in New York. The area that makes up the school district was primarily used for lumber production until 1881 when forest fires ravaged the area; ironically, this benefited the county by clearing the land for agriculture which is still active today.
While farming is still an active part of the community, it accounts for a small portion of the earned income of this community. Much of the farming in the community, which is west of the City of Vassar, is made up of large, single family farms.
Over the last ten years the area has experienced a decline in the overall population. The district’s school population has also decreased with a current student population around 1,400 students. The demographics of 87.4% Caucasian, 6.8% African American, American Indian 3.6% and Hispanic 4.1% has been stable over the last ten years both within the community and within the school district.
The children of this community are educated on three campuses within the City of Vassar. Townsend North Elementary School, built in 1952, houses our B4K and Headstart programs. Central Elementary School, our newest building built in 1995, handles the educational programs for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Vassar Middle School was built as an addition to the High School in 1969 and handles grades 6 and 8. Finally, the High School, which was built in 1960, addresses the needs of our students in grades 9 through 12.
Just east of the City of Vassar, the district also handles the educational needs of Pioneer Work and Learn, which is the state’s largest private juvenile detention center. Run by Wolverine Human Services, the facility has approximately 300 adjudicated youth “campers” housed for periods of six months to a year. During their stay, the district, through its on-site staff, provide educational programs leading to a high school diploma.
The district has adopted a common code for behavior expectations called the Vulcan Values. These include:
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
These expectations are defined by each building's staff to create developmentally appropriate procedures. The primary goal of the Vassar District is to create an environment where students feel personally safe and mutually respected so that they are productive members of the school community.
In closing, we would like to welcome you to our school district and our community by way of this website. Please take some time to view the information provided on this site. We hope this will give you a better understanding of our school district and our community as we work together to assure the success of our children.