Rising GRPS Grad Rates ‘A Community Effort’

Nearly 50 Percent Improvement in Five Years

by Charles Honey

Grand Rapids Public Schools - GRPS — Improving the district’s graduation rate by nearly 50 percent over five years takes a lot of people working together – and it will take a lot more to continue the trend. So said Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal, following the release of graduation rates for Grand Rapids Public Schools and other districts statewide. They showed GRPS’ rate has improved by 47 percent in five years...

Students Tackle Tough Topics with Police by Erin Albanese

Wyoming Public Schools — It was a question teenage girls of color don't often get to ask white police officers. "What do you think of the Black Lives Matter movement?" asked junior Tracy Nunez-Telemin. As part of a panel of police officers visiting high school students...

Snyder Signs Budget at Tech Center, and Takes a Tour by Morgan Jarema

Kent ISD — Lexis VanDyke had a pretty good excuse to be late for work on July 14. She was showing Gov. Rick Snyder around the culinary program at Kent Career Tech Center. "It was nerve-wracking, but exciting," said Lexis, who recently graduated...

For Stressed Students, a Pooch Can be Calming by Steve Vedder

Rockford Public Schools — It's probably one of the last places you would expect to see man's best friend, but Kim Heys thinks it could be the wave of the future. Picture a troubled youngster sitting in a counselor's office. The student is upset after a tough morning...

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Grads with Grit

A series about students who have had to overcome unusual challenges and hardships to graduate this spring.
Making Math Add Up

A series on the difficulties students have learning math, and what methods some schools and teachers are using with success.
Stories About Educating Migrant Children

A series about the migrant student population and how teachers and administrators work together to serve them. The series focuses on Kent City Community Schools and Kenowa Hills Public Schools.
The Burden of Poverty: A Backpack of Heartache

A series on poverty in the schools and how it affects students’ learning. We examine the problems poverty creates for students and their families and the schools and strategies that are helping disadvantaged students succeed.
Student Leaders

A series dedicated to students that go above and beyond to serve their school, peers and community.
The Road to Reading

A series exploring some of the many reading activities you'll find in our schools, difficulties students may face while learning to read, as well as early childhood ties to literacy and new initiatives to help all children read.
Hidden Pain

This series focuses on students' mental health, the sources of their distress, and how schools and communities can help.
Reaching Every Child: What’s New in Special Education

A series on special education in Kent County. School News Network will take readers into classrooms around the area to shine a light on new approaches to teaching students with physical and mental disabilities.
Places of Refuge

This series focuses on refugee students and their journeys, their new lives and hopes for a future in West Michigan, and the many ways schools and community organizations are working to meet their needs.
Rockstar Teachers

There's just something about certain teachers that draws students to them in droves and keeps them checking in years, even decades later. Here, we highlight some of these rockstars of the classroom.
State of the Arts

Educators have long recognized the value of music, art, drama and writing for students' creative development and academic success. Yet the arts remain squeezed by tight budgets and test-driven performance standards.