I’m excited to begin my second year as the superintendent of Dowagiac Union Schools and welcome you to the 2025-2026 school year!  Over the last year, we have worked hard to establish a school culture that is led by trust, partnerships, and great communication.   The Board of Education, administration and staff of Dowagiac Union Schools are working feverishly to prepare for a great year!   The Administrative and Directors Team held a retreat this past week in preparation for the upcoming school year, and we are focused on “Teamwork” and “Positivity” this upcoming year and believe this will have a tremendous impact on our students and school community. 

We have had very little turnover with our teachers this summer. This is great news, and a sign that our school culture, our belief in our professionals, and our commitment to growing and improving our team is having a positive impact.  As many of you know, Dr. Dunn and Dr. Wightman both resigned from the district to take on Superintendent roles, and we are proud and excited for them and their new opportunities.  Hunter Reed was chosen to replace Dr. Dunn and will be serving as our Director of Curriculum & Grants while Greg Guernsey replaces Dr. Wightman at the middle school and will serve as our new principal.  We are very excited and feel very fortunate to have landed and attracted both of these outstanding educators to our district.  

Jane Phillips is currently directing our transportation team, as our previous director left to take on the South Bend School Corporation director role, and she is coordinating bus routes and preparing the bus fleet for the start of school.  The maintenance/custodial department, led by Jamie Williamson, is putting the finishing touches on the buildings in preparation for students.  Counselors and social workers are teaming up to coordinate last-minute schedule changes and classroom assignments for students.  Food service is getting orders placed and meal areas prepped and ready to go.  Technology is getting all the student Chromebooks tuned up for the year.  Secretaries are ready to greet our students and families and assist in whatever capacity is needed.  And, fall sports are up and running.  

The summer break has provided the necessary time for our educational team to rest, reflect, and recharge as we begin the new year.  We are ALL ready to welcome our students back from summer break!  And, in late July, 20 our staff attended the Professional Learning Communities Institute in Lincolnshire, IL and they are fired up and ready to get the school year started.  

I am committed to establishing a culture in our school community that will have a lasting impact on our students and families.  Let’s continue to grow our relationships this year, work together as a team, and remain positive for our kids!

We look forward to welcoming new and returning students on the first day of school, Monday,

August 25, 2025.

GO CHIEFTAINS!

Greg Blomgren

Superintendent of Dowagiac Union Schools 

District Calendar

2025-2026 School Year Calendar

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/dhs/page/athletic-information

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/duhsathletics

PlanetHS: https://studentcentral.bigteams.com/?keyword=%2Fuser%2Fsignin&schoolID=0

Phone: 269-782-4470

Additional information regarding food service will be coming out next week.

As summer draws to a close, I wanted to remind parents of some areas that need to be visited before school starts.

Immunizations: The State of Michigan Public Health Code Act 368 requires that all students entering school must be fully immunized against vaccine preventable diseases such as Measles. Dowagiac Union Schools is required by the State of Michigan to report all vaccine data for all Kindergarteners, 7th graders, and all new students to our district. This reporting is done in November and February of each school year. Students who are not completely immunized must receive the vaccines or they can be excluded from school. Each building secretary and myself are diligent in accessing immunization records to ensure that our students are completely immunized to hopefully protect themselves and others from vaccine preventable diseases.

Please check the immunization status of your child to ensure he/she is up to date with immunizations. This can be done at your child’s primary care physician or at the local health department. You may be asked to provide the school a copy of the immunization record.

Medications at School: The Dowagiac Union School District knows that there are occasions when your child will need to take medication while at school. The entire policy is located on our DUS website in the school nurse section.

A Few Main Topics:

1) Any medication, even over the counter medication must have a medication authorization form signed by the physician and parent each school year. These are located on our website as well as in each school building. This must be completed fully prior to the medication being brought to school.

2) Medications MUST BE brought to school and picked up from the school by a parent or guardian. Please do not send your child’s medication to school with him/her as they can be subject to disciplinary action.

3) All medications must be picked up at the end of the school year or they will be discarded.

You may contact me, Suzanne Dorman, with any questions or concerns.

Required School Postings: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/page/mandatory-notices

Dowagiac Union Schools Central Office

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dowagiacschools/

Website:https://www.dowagiacschools.org/

Phone: 269-782-4400

Fax: 269-782-4418

Address: 243 South Front St.

Justus Gage Elementary

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JustusGageElementary/

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/jges

Phone: 269-782-4460

Fax: 269-782-4461

Address: 301 Oak St.

Kincheloe Elementary

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/KincheloeElementary/

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/kes

Phone: 269-782-4464

Fax: 269-782-4465

Address: 25121 Gage St.

Patrick Hamilton Elementary

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PatrickHamiltonElementary/

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/phes

Phone: 269-782-4450

Fax: 269-782-4451

Address: 614 Spruce St.

Sister Lakes Elementary

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SisterLakesElementary/

Website:https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/sles

Phone: 269-782-4468

Fax: 269-782-4469

Address: 68079 M-152, Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Dowagiac Middle School

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DowagiacMiddle/

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/dms

Phone: 269-782-4440

Fax: 269-782-4448

Address: 57072 Riverside Dr.

Dowagiac Union High School

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DowagiacUnionHigh/

Website: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/o/dhs

Phone: 269-782-4420

Fax: 269-782-4421

Address: 701 W Prairie Ronde St.