Newsletter - March 2, 2025

Written By Matt Kahl

How can you help today?

Our biggest goal in March will be for every household with children 0-9 years-old to fill out the GPPSS Headcount Survey. (We will be sending reminders. 🙂) If you’ve already signed up to volunteer, we’ll be in touch soon for help distributing flyers.

Three things you can do:

1. Complete the survey! Be on the lookout for a small white postcard with the GPPSS seal on it starting March 10.

2. Tell everyone you know with kids in Grosse Pointe Park south of Jefferson.

3. Let us know if you want to volunteer to help spread the word

We have an official date for the headcount survey.

It’s being mailed starting March 10!

What is it?

As mentioned in our last newsletter, due to your letters to the school board (!!), the school district decided to mail an official headcount survey to every single address South of Jefferson. Now it’s our job to make sure that survey accounts for every 0-9 year-old in Grosse Pointe Park that lives south of Jefferson.

Do you have kids? Fill it out.
Do you know neighbors with kids? Get them to fill it out. Homeschool your kids? Fill it out.
Do your kids go to private school? Fill it out.

Obviously the district is interested in hearing from parents who are planning on attending GPPSS. However, there are specific questions for parents who send their children to private school or elect to homeschool. Those parents will have the opportunity to answer “Yes”/”No”/”Unsure” regarding whether they would send their child to Trombly if it reopened. They also will have the opportunity to tell GPPSS why they chose to not attend.

FAQs

When will the survey be mailed to me?
The target date is March 10. In order to achieve delivery as close to March 10 as possible, Trombly United is working with the Fox Creek Postal Office to ensure that delivery goes smoothly.

What if I don’t get a postcard, need help, or have a question?

We’re here to help! There are three things you can do:

  1. Go to Trombly United’s Headcount Survey page and fill out the help form. We will get back to you quickly!

  2. Send an email to Trombly United at info@tromblyunited.org and we will get back to you quickly.

  3. You can contact the polling firm EPIC MRA by calling 517-886-0860 or emailing Mr. Kelly Sullivan at kelly@epicmra.com.

How long do I have to complete the survey?

We recommend you fill out the survey as soon as you get the postcard. The currently stated deadline from GPPSS is March 28, however, that could be extended if any mailing problems arise.

How long will it take to complete?

Our guess that it takes between 5 seconds and 5 minutes depending on your household and how detailed of a response you’d like to give.

GPPSS has informed us this is a very short survey. The length varies based on your answers, but it’s essentially asking “How many children 0-9 do you have in the house and what are their ages?”

Despite our recommendation that GPPSS also ask further questions for people without children aged 0-9 y.o. in the house, those surveys will be very short. As soon as you answer “No kids” the survey is over.

No kids 0-9? Fastest
Kids 0-9 and planning on GPPSS? Fast
Kids 0-9 but either “unsure” or not planning on GPPSS? Fast, but a couple open-ended questions

I don’t have any children 0-9, do I need to complete the survey?

Despite our recommendation that GPPSS also ask further questions for people without children aged 0-9 in the house, those surveys will be very short. As soon as you answer “No kids” the survey is over.

All submissions are useful information to the district.

If you are in support of Trombly reopening, we recommend you also send a letter to the school board to voice your support.

Why is my household being asked to complete this survey if we don’t have children aged 0-9?

Even if your household doesn’t have children in the 0-9 age range, your participation is still extremely valuable. The survey helps provide a complete picture of the community, which is important for planning school programs, services, and resources. By completing the survey, you are helping ensure that the needs of all households—both those with and without young children—are understood.

Does this mean Trombly will reopen?

The results of the headcount survey aren’t a guarantee of anything. But, Trombly will not have a chance at reopening without accurate and comprehensive data.

After five years of no movement. The existence of this survey is positive momentum for Trombly.

If my child goes to Defer, but lives in the Trombly catchment area, would they have to attend Trombly?

In short, no. GPPSS has mentioned at school board meetings that this would be an option presented to parents. We believe the survey includes a question as to whether or not you’d prefer to send your child to Trombly as well.

To be clear, there are no plans yet to reopen Trombly. But we think reopening it would benefit Defer students inside and outside of the Trombly boundaries. The choice is yours to stay at Defer, however we would love to see you return to Trombly.

Latest News

GPPSS School Board Votes “Yes” on accepting bids to replace Trombly’s windows

In a unanimous vote, the school board passed the motion to pursue bids on replacing Trombly’s windows. This was promoted loud and clear by those of you who attended the Facilities Meeting and those of you who sent letters to the school board. Thank you!

There is potential to receive preferential pricing on this work because Trombly is currently closed. This would allow crews to perform the work during the school year, which is usually not the case for companies who usually bid on school repairs.

Matt Kahl
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Newsletter - February 20, 2025