District Makeover, Spartan Style

2016 Bond Passed By Voters is Funding Upgrades

by Alexander Sinn

Sparta Area Schools —  Ground has been broken on various district improvements, including a new athletic complex and secure building entrances, all funded by a bond issue approved by voters last year. A ceremony was held May 30 as construction crews set to work at the high school, where a new athletic complex will include a football stadium and varsity baseball and softball fields. At Ridgeview and Appleview elementaries, interior renovations begun June 12 will create secure entrances that will require visitors to pass through the central office...

A Heaping Harvest of Fun by Linda Odette

Thornapple Kellogg Schools —  "Hey, how did a tomato get into a cherry? When I see a cherry tomato the only thought I have is "eat it." Obviously, Thornapple Kellogg Middle School is onto something if students in its first-year garden club are inspired to this type of out-of-the-box thinking...

Teachers Tap Into Online Learning Site, Many for Free by Charles Honey

All Districts —  Four students gazed at their iPads to see lots of animals eating: squirrel, giraffe, camel, panda. Video over, teacher Heather Gauck asked them what they found interesting about how the animals ate. “The panda’s a little bit like us,” offered Skylar...

Student Talent + Technology Tackle Pollution Problem by Erin Albanese

Kentwood Public Schools —  A drone buzzed over the East Kentwood Freshman campus, snapping photos to document the path of water runoff from the school building to a Buck Creek tributary that runs across the property. While watching the miniature aircraft, science students...