Stevenson High School

Dear Stevenson High School families,

As we get into the fall, senior students are beginning to start the college search and application process, if they haven’t already and our underclassmen and juniors are in search phase. UCS College Central page has virtual college visit information, and will be updated with more college information as we get into the fall!

Quarantines continue to be required for any student that has not been a confirmed positive (PCR proof) within 90 days of contact or is not fully vaccinated.  Those two groups are not required to quarantine unless they are symptomatic per the guidance of the Macomb County Health Department .  The quarantine is 10 days from the day of contact. That day is not day 1, but day 0 in this number and they return on day 11 after a full 10 days of quarantine. Recent changes allow for a reduction in quarantine from 10 to 7 days.  

The change reads, “The quarantine period may be reduced to 7 days if the contact receives a negative viral (PCR or antigen) test performed at least 5 days after exposure.”  That test must be done by a medical institution and cannot be a home test.  

We had a couple quarantine letters go home this week.  We continue to adjust to the changes from the Macomb County Department of Health and follow their guidance.  As is the case, we are doing our best to reduce interruptions during the day and not pull quarantined kids until after school.  It is important that you make sure phone numbers and emails are updated in your PowerSchool Forms so that we have the right contact information. 

We continue to remind our students and families that the Health Department continues to strongly recommend masking as a preventative measure for stopping the spread of COVID. We continue to require that all students and staff to self-screen before leaving their homes. I thank you in advance for your cooperation. 

Friendly Reminder: Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

During the past school year, Utica Community Schools provided your family with a temporary “hot spot” to support learning during remote instruction.   As we return to full in-person learning this year, internet access through the hot spot will be discontinued, effective August 16. The hot spot should be returned to your home school the first week of classes.

 If you are interested in continuing to receive access, we want to make you aware of the Emergency Broadband Benefit.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit program is a direct subsidy for internet access to households that qualify.  If you do not qualify for the subsidy and require internet access, please contact your building principal for further assistance.

WOW, Comcast, and AT&T all participate with the program.   The EBB program allows households to receive up to a $50 per month subsidy for internet access.  

The link to a page that has an explanation of the program is https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit

Links to the individual company programs are:

WOW: https://www.wowway.com/emergency-broadband-benefit

Comcast: https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/ebb

AT&T: https://www.att.com/help/ebb/

While all three internet providers have different internet service plans, WOW does provide a high-speed internet plan that, after subsidy, will provide access at no cost.

It is important to note that you do not have to be a new customer to qualify for this program.  Existing customers can apply for the program and have the monthly subsidy credited directly to their account.

The Transportation Department has been contacting families when it is anticipated that delays will be greater than 10 minutes through automated phone calls, emails, and text messaging. If you have not signed up for the UCS text system, text “Y” to 67587. The good news is that we should be seeing some relief over the next few weeks. As road construction project season comes to an end, we will be able to return to our normal routes and you should see some improvement in many areas. In addition, we have more than 10 new drivers going through the training process and should be on the road shortly once the process is completed (training and certification takes several weeks). We are still in need of about 30 more drivers; if you are aware of individuals interested in becoming a bus driver, please have them contact 586-797-7113.Thank you for your continued support and understanding. 

Please welcome the following new SHS Staff members:
Hello Titan Families, my name is Bill Szlaga!!  I am a proud product of UCS attending Schuchard Elementary, Jeannette Junior High and graduating from Utica High School. I spent 15 years teaching at Jeannette Junior High teaching various Social Studies classes and was the schools AD, 4.5 years. I also worked at Ford High School teaching AP World History, AVID, and was Ford's AD and even sat in for a quarter as Associate Principal.  I spent the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year at Shelby Junior High as an Administrative Intern as Assistant Principal.  I have coached for over 20 years in UCS here at Stevenson coaching various levels of boys' basketball and was the Varsity Boys' Basketball Coach at Ford for the 2015-2016 season.  I am excited to be the first person to be an Associate Principal and Athletic Director in UCS and look forward to meeting as many Titan Families as possible.  Go Titans!

Hello, my name is Tod Rawling, and I am excited to join the Stevenson team this year. I will be teaching the Design and Engineering classes as part of the MADE Academy. This will be my sixth-year teaching. I worked as an engineer for 35 years at an automation company in Sterling Heights prior to teaching. I graduated from Utica High School a long time ago.  I am looking forward to taking my experience and passing it along to the students here at Stevenson.  

Hello, I am Lisa Brooks, the attendance clerk serving Stevenson HS in the A.M. and Ford HS in the P.M. I am Stevenson alumni and look forward to working with you this year.

I am Ms. Beckwell the Photo and Film teacher here at Stevenson Highschool! I am in my 4th year of teaching. I look forward to an awesome year!

Hi!  My name is Ann Danko, and I am the new MADE CTE Automation teacher.  I have over 15 years of industry experience, both in automotive and defense.  This, however, is my first-year teaching.  I have two Bachelors, one in Materials Engineering from the University of Michigan and one in Plastics from Eastern Michigan University.  I have spent the last 6 plus years working in the district with the LCCE programs at IKE and most recently Malow.  I am married and have two great kids. My husband, Dave, is also an engineer.  He works as a sales manager for an automotive sealing company. My daughter, Kendall, is an 11th grader over at IKE and a member of the Varsity Dance Team. My son, Xander, is a 10th grader at IKE, and he is my travel baseball player. As a family we enjoy spending as much time as we can on our boat during the summer and traveling whenever we get the opportunity.  I am extremely excited to be part of the Stevenson Family and am looking forward to a great year.

Hello! My name is Maestra Williams, and I will be teaching Spanish 2, 3, 4 and AP this year.  I have previously worked between Stevenson and Henry Ford II for the past couple years- but I am ecstatic to officially be a Stevenson Titan full time! I am beyond passionate about teaching Spanish and am very much looking forward to helping my students to fall in love with the language as well! 

Margaret Grzic - I am happy to be assigned to the UCNECT Program this school year.  I come from Jeannette Jr. High, and before that Eisenhower High School. This is my 16th year teaching students with special needs in the LCCE program. I am married with two daughters, and I have a fifteen-month-old granddaughter. I am looking forward to a really good year!

I'm Mackenzie Davis and I am a teacher for the UCNECT Program. I just graduated from Wayne State in the spring, so this is my first year with my own classroom (finally!). I did my student teaching at Davis Jr. High in the LCCE room, then went over to Jenette and subbed for 5 weeks in the LCCE room there. It was an exciting summer for me that started off with graduation, an engagement, then getting my dream job! The teachers and administrators that I have met during my time in Utica have all gone out of their way to help me with 
everything and make me feel welcome. Life has been busy, but I couldn't be more grateful to be where I'm at now. I'm excited for this next year and all the excitement that will come with it.

Hello to everyone in the Stevenson community! My name is Madison Ristovski, and I am the new 10th and 12th grade English teacher. This is my 3rd year in UCS after a two-year stint coaching college basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy. Prior to entering the "real world", I was a former University of Michigan women's basketball player! GO BLUE! I love spending time with family & friends, watching sports, & traveling. I am very excited to be a Titan and a part of the Titan family. The staff and students are wonderful to work with. I am looking forward to a great year! Go Titans!

Yvonne Hopp has been teaching at the secondary level for 20 years -- all in Utica Community Schools! Throughout the years, she has taught English, Speech, Drama, Journalism, Newspaper, and Yearbook and has also coached girls' basketball and sponsored Drama Club. Mrs. Hopp is blessed with a husband and three wonderful sons.

Hello, my name is Ronald Pinto. I graduated from Utica High School in 2016. From there, I studied and played baseball at Rochester University for four and a half years. I did my student teaching in the Fall of 2020 and graduated in December of 2020. Now I am here teaching Biology and Astronomy in my first year of teaching high school.

My name is Jennifer Young, and I am a Special Education teacher. I live in Plymouth with my husband and two boys, David, 10 and John, 7. I have two dogs and a cat and love to garden and read! 

My name is Lauren May, and I am so excited to be one of the new art teachers at Stevenson this year. I have bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and Art Education from College for Creative Studies, and a master’s in art from Wayne State University. I have taught every grade kindergarten through college, and I am looking forward to teaching our fantastic high school students. As well as being a wife and mom of two toddlers, I am also a professional working artist, and I can’t wait to share the professional side of art making with my students. 

Parents & students, this is a great time of year to remind all drivers that pedestrians have the right of way in the parking lot. I urge all pedestrians to quickly move through the parking lot and watch for cars. Your safety is our number one priority

Please note: any fast-food deliveries brought to SHS should be placed on the table in the vestibule. We do not call students down, you will have to text your child and let them know their food has arrived. 

Titan families, SAVE THE DATES

Our 2021-2022 Stevenson High School Open House will take place on Thursday, September 23rd beginning at 7 pm. This year’s Open House will be fully virtual. Watch your email over the next couple of days for further information and direction. We look forward to “seeing” you at Open House! 

Lastly, virtual conferences are scheduled for Thursday, October 7th. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.. More information to follow.