History of Washtenaw Intermediate School District

The 1962 legislation found Washtenaw County served by a five-person elected county board of education and an appointed county superintendent of schools, Julius Haab, who had been first elected as Washtenaw County School Commissioner in 1939. The county board of education became the intermediate school district board of education and Mr. Haab became the first Washtenaw Intermediate School District superintendent.

In 1965, Mr. Haab was succeeded as intermediate school district superintendent by Nick A. Ianni, who was assistant superintendent for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Before joining WISD, Mr. Ianni had been a high school principal and superintendent at the Byron Area Schools and superintendent of the Dexter Community Schools. He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan.

Under Mr. Ianni's leadership, the district focused on providing adequate facilities to provide essential services. Originally, the ISD offices were located in the county building and then moved to rented quarters at 130 South First in Ann Arbor in 1966. Soon after, property was purchased on Wagner Road for an intermediate school district service center and construction began in 1967, following Board of Education approval of a bond issue for that purpose. The building was completed and occupied in 1969. In 1971, the voters approved a bond issue for High Point Center, and it was completed and occupied in 1974. Soon, nearly everyone in the county knew about the High Point program for special needs children.

In 1986, Mr. Ianni retired and the WISD Board selected Dr. Michael O. Emlaw to succeed him as WISD superintendent. Dr. Emlaw began teaching in 1962. In 1966, he became director of personnel for the East Detroit Public Schools. In 1969, he was appointed the superintendent of East Detroit Public Schools. In 1978, he was named superintendent of the Ludington Public Schools and served there until 1986 when he came to WISD. He earned two masters degrees, one from Michigan State University and one from Wayne State University. He also earned his doctorate from Wayne State.

In the late 1980s, facilities again became an issue, and in 1989 voters approved a bond issue to renovate the Ianni Administrative Services Center and to construct an addition to support increased staff development needs. Construction and renovations were completed in 1992.

Once completed, the new addition and renovated existing building became known as the Teaching and Learning Center. The building is composed of four areas: The Ianni Administrative Service Center, the Vogel Conference Center, the Information Resource Network (IRN), and the Regional Educational Materials Center/warehouse.

The Teaching and Learning Center honors two individuals who have contributed significantly to education in Washtenaw County:

The late (1996) Nick A. Ianni, who devoted 36 years to education, serving as WISD superintendent for twenty-one of those years, and

The late (1998) Elvira Vogel, graduate of the University of Iowa, who was first elected to a six-year term on the WISD Board of Education in 1959 and subsequently re-elected four times, voluntarily retiring in 1989 after 30 consecutive years of board service.

In the 1990s, WISD went beyond basic programming to become a leader in inclusive education for students with special needs.