News File Photo The Alpena High School marching band marches by in the homecoming parade in October.

ALPENA — As the school year comes to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on all that has happened over the past nine months.

The 2026 ice storm and snowy, cold weather caused a number of school cancellation days for Alpena Public Schools students this school year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 5797 on May 26 to forgive snow days for school districts affected by unpredictable winter and spring weather.

APS was able to have days forgiven for the 2026 ice storm under that bill, but not for the flooding that occurred in April since no school days were cancelled for that weather event.

The district had 16 cancellations this school year for weather events and a water main break. One day school was open but they did not hit the required attendance numbers for that day to count, Superintendent Dave Rabbideau said.

Michigan school districts typically can have six cancellations forgiven and apply to waive three more.

School was originally scheduled to end on June 10, but will now end on June 15, meaning the district had a total of 12 of their 16 cancellations forgiven.

Overall, the school year has been marked by policy changes like implementing the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) Foundations program at the district’s elementary schools. UFLI Foundations is a literacy program that uses the science of reading for instruction.

The district has been looking to the future for its facilities and making plans as student enrollment continues to decline. A couple of community forums took place this school year to gauge the community’s response to suggested changes by architecture firm Kingscott.

Graduation is coming up on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for AHS students. ACES Academy students had their graduation ceremony Wednesday night at Art in the Loft. There are a total of 242 candidates for graduation this year between AHS and ACES.

Rabbideau said that the ACES class of 31 students was the largest to graduate from that program since 2017.

Students saw success in FFA, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), and Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society (MITES) competitions this year, among other achievements.

The district still faces challenges with staffing shortages, but Rabbideau said they are in a much better place than in years past. School districts across the nation are experiencing shortages.

“We are experiencing the same shortages and challenges as any other school district,” Rabbideau said.

It is particularly difficult to find and retain bus drivers and special education staff for many districts. Rabbideau said that the district has been proactive in seeking candidates to fill those roles.

He said they are in the process of analyzing staff survey data from Rehmann and developing plans to respond to the feedback from that.

“We are definitely heading in a positive direction,” he said.

Additionally, the school year has been marked by progress on the district’s strategic plan. The five pillars of that plan are academics and programs, whole child development, personnel, family and community partnership, and stewardship.

“Our progress in the strategic plan has been significant this year,” Rabbideau said. “I’m excited that we are going to see some movement in academic achievement and employee satisfaction.”

Reagan Voetberg. News Staff Writer. rvoetberg@thealpenanews.com.