Red Cedar Elementary Comes Back to Life

Having sat quiet and shuttered for several years, Red Cedar Elementary School at 1110 Narcissus  off Harrison Avenue is once again bursting with activity and lesson plans.

While the Red Cedar neighborhood school has been utilized in recent years for students displaced during construction of the Robert L. Green and Glencairn elementary schools, it was closed down after the 2013-2014 academic year due to budget constraints and dwindling enrollment in the surrounding community. Despite mixed reactions to the decision, the school officially reopened in 2020 when students were learning online due to the pandemic.

“The [East Lansing] Board [of Education] essentially made a promise to the community in 2017,” School Board Vice President Chris Martin said, “that if the bond passed, Red Cedar would be reopened. And when it did [pass], the district kept our promise.”

While the other four elementaries in the district were essentially rebuilt from the ground up, Red Cedar received a much-needed facelift.

“Red Cedar already had a beautiful footprint,” ELPS Assistant Superintendent Glenn Mitcham said. “But we restored the amphitheater, improved the playground and had the courtyard redone to specifically gear it toward our preschool students.”

In addition to its sections of Young Fives, kindergarten, and first through fifth grades, Red Cedar is also home to one section of Early Childhood Special Education and the 31 students enrolled in the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP).

GSRP is a state-funded program that offers free preschool for families experiencing environmental risk factors, families who speak English as a second language (ESL), those with low incomes, or other issues that can put children at disproportionate risk. Once GSRP seats are filled with those meeting the criteria for free preschool, leftover seats are offered to the wider community. 

WIth its proximity to Michigan State University and housing that is frequented by international students – 1855 Place on Harrison and Spartan Village south of Trowbridge – Red Cedar Elementary School is home to many of the district’s international students. 

Shannon Hilliard is an ELPS alumna and also has a son in the first grade at Red Cedar. 

“I love our school and they have done a wonderful job meeting my son’s needs as a traditional learner as well as addressing special needs and ESL students,” Hilliard said. “I love the diversity in our school. My son is always meeting kids from other countries.”

Hilliard is an active participant in the Red Cedar Family Council and commends Principal Rinard Pugh and the teachers at the school.

“Principal Pugh makes time for the kids and parents [and] is visible each morning at drop-off and pick-up interacting with the kids and parents,” she said. 

Mitcham agrees administrators and staff make Red Cedar special.

“Our staff is super dedicated to its students,” he said. “They’re going to do great things with that school.”