Yelling, Crying and Hugging: All in a (Sub) Day’s Work

by Steve Vedder

All Districts — It may have only been a middle school physical education class, but the student was upset with one of my calls as a substitute PE teacher/referee in a flag football class. He was mad enough to begin yelling at me when I detected a blur of motion to my right. A second student flashed past me and smashed into the yelling youngster with a vicious crash that would have made any NFL linebacker proud. When it was all sorted out the first student found himself in trouble for screaming at teacher, and I later found the second one holding back tears...

Class, Meet Gator -- 972 Miles Away by Alexander Sinn

Cedar Springs Public Schools — An giant reptilian eye stared, unblinking, at a room full of elementary students on a recent Monday. It belonged to a juvenile alligator, in the hands of an expert on the creatures at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher...

Shooting for the Top by Erin Albanese

Wyoming Public Schools — Donnie Alford owns his past with a perspective on where he comes from, where he is today and why it all matters that seems mature beyond his 18 years. The Wyoming High School senior, who graduates June 1, tells his story with the precision and detail...

Academic Decision Day ‘Sends the Right Message’ by Morgan Jarema

Comstock Park Public Schools — Anyone who knows high school knows about college decision day, when senior athletes make a show of signing with a college sports team. Alyssa Rector, Donovan Crandall and Bobby Carpenter know what it's like to see the logo of their future alma mater...

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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.