It’s a relic from a bygone era: At one time, Michigan had some 7,000 one-room, multi-grade schoolhouses. But only eight to 12 remain open, with most in the Thumb, said Rochelle Balkam, chair of the Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association.
On Bois Blanc (whose school technically has two rooms), year-round residents stock up on groceries before the ferry stops and then coordinate with each other to buy plane tickets in the winter months when they need to go into town.
Locals praised the school’s last teacher, who left for personal reasons, and say there are many challenges to finding a replacement: Living on an island isn’t for everyone, teachers are hard to come by and the job demands flexibility to teach students who range in…
