Students of local schools receive a day off to attend county fair.

When the Hillsdale County Fair rolls around, students in Hillsdale and Jonesville wake up to Ferris Bueller’s dream: a day without school and a reason to have fun. The difference is that they have the administration’s blessing. 

It is traditional for Hillsdale Academy, Hillsdale Community Schools, Jonesville Community Schools, and North Adams-Jerome Public Schools to cancel classes on the Monday of fair week. This year, students were given Sept. 26 off school so they could attend the fair and the parade. 

“The tradition of our county is that all Hillsdale County schools take Monday off,”  Hillsdale Academy Headmaster Mike Roberts said. “Monday is free admission day for students. The county even partners with the fair by having a parade on Monday morning, which involves a lot of students.”

Cassandra Farmer, an English teacher and the varsity volleyball coach at Hillsdale High School, grew up in Hillsdale County, attending North Adams-Jerome Public Schools. 

“We always had the Monday of fair week off when I was growing up, too,” Farmer said. “Dozens and dozens of students from other schools were at the fair on Monday, as well.”

Farmer said it was always a big deal for her and her friends when their parents dropped them off at the fair for the day. 

“We had a chance to get a little bit of freedom while we were still in a consolidated place,” she said.

Historically, many kids in the county are very active in 4-H, Roberts said. 

4-H is a program for youth 8-19 years old that aims to develop their head, heart, hands, and health. 4-H often involves raising, showing, and selling livestock but it also means showing and selling arts and crafts. Based on how youth place when showing their animals or with their art projects, they can earn money. 

“For some of our students, it’s a full week of showing at the fair,” Roberts said. “Some students go back and forth between school and the fair. We also have student athletes juggling schedules. Thankfully, it’s a four-day week and not a five-day academic week for them.”

According to Jonesville Community Schools Superintendent Erik Weatherwax, scheduling school that day would not count in their yearly total anyway.

“For public schools, you must have 75% of your student body attend school in order for the day to count as an instructional day,” Weatherwax said. “Such a large percentage of the student body would be attending the fair to show their animals so it’s best to just not have school that day.”

Every school in the county has students contribute to school fair booth exhibition, Roberts said. Academy students in kindergarten through tenth grade all contribute to the school’s fair booth under the direction of art teacher Pam Heckel.

This year, the fair theme was “Stars, Stripes, and Fair Delights.” The Academy’s art booth placed second. In any given year, the school routinely has around 20 students participate in the fair independently from the art booth. 

“I think it’s neat that we put an emphasis on the fair,” Roberts said. “It’s a good education for our students not in 4-H to go to the fair and see their fellow classmates who are participating there.” 

According to Roberts, it’s business as usual at the Academy in terms of the workload.

“We always try to keep our academic rhythm and routine going, but with great flexibility and understanding for our students who need to be out of the building or need extensions on certain major projects,” Roberts said.

According to Farmer, the fair is also a good chance to get some economic movement for local businesses.

“By getting Monday off, there are more people at the fair which is the same reason students get in free on Monday because they’ll spend so much money once they get through that door,” Farmer said.

Roberts said he is proud of the Academy students showing livestock because their hard work extends far beyond the week of the fair.

“They’ve been working for weeks and months to take care of their animals and to prepare for the fair,” he said. “It’s that discipline–putting in the work for a payoff later. For some of these students, recognizing that they can do well financially by doing this hard work is important too. Participating in 4-H is a path forward to help save for college.”

According to Farmer, the fair is a positive event for the community and is worth taking Monday off for school.

“It can be difficult to justify a whole day off of an educational day in a school building, but I think that there’s just as much education to be found at the fair,” Farmer said. “Bringing everyone together at the fair is a great opportunity for students to get some freedom and explore.”