Running Header: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLAN

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Jodie E. Annis
Wayne State University

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLAN

Introduction
The small village of Kingsley, located in Grand Traverse County within Northern
Michigan was reported by the United States Census Bureau in 2010 to have a population of
1,480 (Kingsley, 2014). This rapidly growing suburb of Traverse City, MI is quickly outgrowing
its current school facilities and is struggling to keep up with the growing need for public
transportation.
Kingsley Area Schools
The overpopulation of the Kingsley Area Schools began when the village of Kingsley,
between 1990 and 2010, doubled its population, growing from 740 residents to 1,480 residents
(Kingsley, 2014). This rapid growth, developed the need for a new High School to be built in
1998. With people migrating to Kingsley to enjoy the high ranking schools and a more country
setting the village is currently finding themselves in need of a new elementary school.
Currently there are 512 students in grades K-4 (Kingsley, 2012). According to Carrie
Hoeflin, pupil accountant, the Kingsley Elementary School building only houses 389 of these
students. The remainder are housed at the Middle School and in portable buildings in the school
yard. The overcrowding has forced the school to place fourth grade students in the Kingsley
Middle School building. For many individuals living within this small community the
overcrowding of the school is unacceptable. One concerned parent shared with me during an
interview that her daughters teacher is concerned that if a fire were to happen she would not be
able to get all of the children out safely (personal interview, December 1, 2014).
In order to gain support for a new elementary school within this community, this worker
will need to focus efforts at the township level. Kingsley Area Schools services the entire
township of Paradise, therefore Paradise Township in its entirety will need to be educated on the

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needs of Kingsley Area Schools.

In the past, Paradise Township has voted to pass a millage that

enabled them to build a new high school facility. This history gives this worker hope that the
community will be willing to continue to support the future of this community.
Public Transportation
When I was a child, growing up within the village of Kingsley, there was not any form of
public transportation for the general population. Bay Area Transportation Association (BATA)
serviced adult foster care homes within the community, but did not pick up the general public.
As time went on BATA developed dial-a-ride, which picked up individuals when they called and
asked to be picked up. This process could take hours to travel just 15 or 20 miles.
BATA, in recent years has improved their service, but has yet to become a common form
of transportation for the general public. BATA has one bus stop within the village of Kingsley
that has scheduled pick up times once every hour between 6:30am and 7:30pm (Village, 2014).
While this is a huge improvement from the dial-a-ride program that required riders to schedule a
pick-up with no guarantee of a pick-up or drop-off time, it is still not efficient enough to
encourage the average citizen to consider this a reliable option.
To make a lasting change within the BATA system, this worker will need to focus her
efforts at the village level. More people would need to begin riding BATA on a regular basis for
them to increase the number of buses on their route, making it more efficient for the rider. For
this reason, this worker will focus efforts on educating the public on the benefits of utilizing
public transportation, as well as raising awareness of the changes that have been made to BATAs
system in recent years.
In the past BATA was only utilized, in the Kingsley area, by mentally handicapped
individuals. This history has developed a tainted picture of what public transportation is. Many

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLAN

people feel that it is not safe for the general public. This worker will need to raise awareness
about mentally disabled individuals as well in order to shift the population that is riding BATA.
In recent years the use of BATA has continually increased encouraging increased usage. This
gives this worker hope that through continued education this community will embrace the idea of
increasing their use of public transportation.
Major Institutions
The small village of Kingsley has many different institutions offering services to this
community. This village has four churches, with a wide variety of worship styles, a youth
center-The Rock, a youth health care center-K-Town, physical therapy center, a lab, and two
pharmacies. These institutions offer a wide variety of services to the community that make the
village of Kingsley an attractive place for people to call home.
Local churches are funded primarily through personal donations, no state or federal funds
are used to run these programs. The Rock youth center is a non-profit organization funded
through local donations, grants and volunteer staff. K-Town is a county run health care center,
funded and run with county funds. The other organizations are for profit organizations ran by
employed staffing. In addition to all of these institutions, Kingsley offers a high ranking, K-12
school system. Federal funds are used to support a free and reduced lunch program for low
income students. The record of excellence continues to encourage the population of Kingsley to
grow. This continued growth is causing the school to become overcrowded and increasing the
need for improved public transportation.
Risk Factors
The village of Kingsley is an attractive community to surrounding areas. It boasts an
excelling school system, low crime rate and rural country living. While the average income in

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLAN

the Village of Kingsley is climbing it still comes in under the national average of $50,046
(Kingsley MI Census Records, 2014). In 2009, over 21% of the residence living within the
Village of Kingsley fell below the national poverty level (Kingsley, 2009). This community has a
median age of 32.6 years, 8.3 years below the state of Michigans median age. This depicts
Kingsley as a young community. This young demographic increases the need for adequate
educational facilities, yet the low income level increases the risk of the community being unable
to meet the needs of its residents.
Analysis
Link to Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SXPC78H
Link to Survey Results: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-5KBVDKJV/
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
In researching the Village of Kingsley, this worker developed a survey. 57 community
members completed this survey. This was given to a random selection of the population through
posting it on a community Facebook page as well as this workers personal page. The link was
shared by several individuals allowing for many to have access to the survey. All who completed
the survey received a disclosure statement ensuring that they were aware of the purpose of this
survey.
Of the 57 respondents, all had graduated high school and 35% had obtained and
associates degree or higher. The income range of the respondents was wide; 45% earn more than
$49,000 a year, 33% earned between $15,000 and $30,000 a year, 19% earned between $30,000
and $49,000 and only 1 respondent earned between $0 and $15,000. Depending upon the family
size of the respondents a large percentage of these may fall under the federal poverty line. With
this knowledge it become apparent that the majority of families may benefit from an efficient

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form of public transportation, yet when asked only 3 respondents had ever utilized the current
public transportation system. More than 36% of the respondents stated that if the public
transportation system was more efficient they would utilize it. This response makes it clear that
the need exists.
In order to encourage change in the public transportation system with the Village of
Kingsley, the village needs to determine what changes would need to be made to make the
system work for a higher percentage of the population. Do routes need to be altered? Do routes
need to be added? Is safety on the bus a concern? Is it cost effective? These questions can only
be answered through further questioning of the general public.
After these questions are answered education of the general public would need to take
place. Many people within the community may not be aware of the changes happening making
them unable to utilize the new system. This type of education can happen through mailings,
town meetings, phone calls, and bulletin boards throughout the community.
In order to implement these changes this worker would need to contact agencies working
with low income families that may need immediate assistance with public transportation. This
worker would begin by contacting the Department of Human Services and local churches to try
to gain support for pursuing these changes. BATA is a for profit organization, therefore working
with them is going to be critical in determining what steps need to be taken to accomplish the
needed changes to better serve the community.
KINGSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Of those that took the survey nearly 48% had children currently attending Kingsley Area
Schools, with 33% having children attending the overcrowded Kingsley Elementary School.
When asked if they felt their childrens schools were overcrowded, 35% stated that they felt it

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was, while 65% felt that their childrens school was not overcrowded. This high number stating
no concern for overcrowding might be due to them not having children attending the elementary
school. This worker feels that further research may be needed to determine if elementary parents
specifically feel that the school is overcrowded.
In order to increase the backing of the community this worker feels that the general
public needs to be educated on the needs of the school. This could be done through mailings,
phone calls, town meetings, and word of mouth. Once public awareness has been raised the
village would need to begin seeking funding for a future building project. This typically occurs
through a township vote to pass a millage. When asked if they would be willing to have their
taxes increased to fund a new building project for the school the response was nearly divided
down the middle; 45.61% YES and 54.39% NO. Through education this difference could be
made up allowing for a new millage to be passed to fund a new school.
The low income levels of the community may also have an impact on the number of
individuals being willing to fund a new building project through increased taxes. Increasing the
number of residence with a college degree, in the long term, may increase the pay while at the
same time possibly increasing their willingness to pay increased taxes. This would be focusing
on long term results, possibly benefitting the next generation. Increasing the help school
counselors provide in college planning would be a good place to start. With the majority of the
parents lacking a college degree, they may be unable to help their student pursue higher
education. Making this service more readily available through the school may begin to increase
college attendance.
The local school board would be a primary partner in accomplishing this plan. The target
population that would need to be educated on the need would be the single and retired

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community that do not have children within the school system. These populations would be
unaware of the need, therefore would most likely be unwilling to help until they become
informed. The other population that might not support this plan would be republican voters.
This population typically does not support increasing taxes and therefore would need to be
educated on the needs and how their tax dollars are helping the next generation.
Conclusion
The Village of Kingsley, with its growing population has a promising future. Many
improvements have been made and much focus has been placed on continuing to improve the
community. The history of this community affords much hope that the community will support
the needed changes for servicing lower income families and the next generation of young people
within the local school.

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLAN

References
Kingsley Area Elementary School. (2012, November 29). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from
http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/michigan/kingsley/kingsley-area-elementaryschool/#overview
Kingsley MI Census Records - Community Information for Kingsley. (2014, September 17).
Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.americantowns.com/mi/kingsley/info
Kingsley, Michigan Population History 1990 - 2013. (2014, May 23). Retrieved November 12,
2014, from http://www.biggestuscities.com/city/kingsley-michigan
Kingsley, Michigan Poverty Rate Data. (2009). Retrieved December 2, 2014 from
http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Kingsley-Michigan.html
Village Loops. (2014, December 1). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from
http://www.bata.net/maps-schedules/village-loops.html