Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/when-everything-went-sideways/5025556/
*Photos and tables can be found in the pdf version of this article.
You do not have to go far to find natural beauty in Michigan. Known as the “Great Lakes State,” it has an enormous freshwater coastline that stretches up, around and through two separate peninsulas and is bordered by four out of the five freshwater Great Lakes: Huron, Michigan, Erie and Superior. Many of you may be able to locate Michigan on a U.S. map from its unusual mitten-shaped lower peninsula, which Michiganders use to their advantage when explaining directions or locating home.
Our early childhood programs can be found in southwest lower Michigan (imagine me enthusiastically pointing to my hand), under the guidance of an Intermediate School District in Cass county. Our ISD is named after Lewis Cass, a central figure in Michigan’s history, who created the state’s Great Seal, with plenty of flora and fauna in the design as a nod to the raw natural wonders of the state.*
In Cass County alone, there are 140 lakes. Cass is known for its rural nature and farming communities. We have about 3,000 children ages 0-5 living in our county, and close to 40 percent receive assistance with food (Kids Count, ...