Are Ducks Actually Going to School in Saugatuck?

A little over eight years ago I wrote about ducks in a school! Yes, ducks! But that story about those ducks wasn't your ordinary duck tale. It was better than that.

It seemed that every year for more than a decade, a mother duck had been nesting in the courtyard of Ken-O-Sha Park Elementary School here in Grand Rapids, a part of Grand Rapids Public Schools. She would lay her eggs, keeping them warm and safe to hatch them.

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All the while, the kids and staff at Ken-O-Sha would keep an eye on Mama Duck. And, when the time was right, mother duck would peck on the door to let the students and staff members know she is ready to lead her ducklings out to the wild. I'm serious. She would peck on the door to say, "quack, we're ready to go." Then, they would walk through the school hallways to the pond on the other side of the school.

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Well, Ken-O-Sha isn't the only school with a mama duck and her young walking through it's halls.

Douglas Elementary, of Saugatuck Public Schools turned into Duck-less Elementary Monday morning!

And this does have a happy ending. No, there isn't any big bad wolf blowing down school doors to grab the ducks. Bernadette and her happy little ducklings were guided out of the school and waddled towards the river to live happily ever after.

But you know what? That isn't the end of the story. It's a pretty sure bet that Bernadette will fly back to Douglas Elementary next year and eventually guide more ducklings through the school halls to the wild blue yonder.