Giving Voice to Children
Most elementary students have never attended an opera. Coit Creative Arts Academy fourth- and fifth-grade students have created, produced and performed one.
The project, done in partnership with Opera Grand Rapids Children's Opera, was led by the Creative Connections arts...
Partnerships Spark Explosion in Robotics Programs
By all accounts, Bobbijo Zoerhof is a good teacher, but she admits to being stymied when it came to helping her students program a robot for their FIRST Robotics team.That’s when a new community partnership between the Grand Rapids...
Students Celebrate Film, Learn about Media from HBO
Executives from HBO were in Grand Rapids recently to talk with some of the area’s youth. No, not for some new reality series, but to share insight into careers in media and entertainment. Students also viewed the finalists of...
Welcoming Our Newest, Most Vulnerable Students, Families
Tula Khadka remembers what it was like all too well. Arriving in West Michigan from Nepal in 2013, he didn’t know much English or the ways of his new country. He struggled to learn both in his freshman year...
Schoolhouse Rocks
Wendy Falb vividly remembers cleaning the filthy steps of Fountain School one day, back when her older son attended Montessori School there. Fixing up the old school was one of her many volunteer tasks as a self-described “tiger mom.”
“My...
Courageous Student Wins Prestigious Honor
Although she thought winning the State of Michigan Breaking Traditions 2017 Excellence Award might be the pinnacle of recognition last spring, earning the YWCA Tribute Award's prestigious Judy Lloyd Student Leadership Scholarship made Binti Abdi whoop for joy. She...
GRPS, GRCC to make paths to college easier
Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal of Grand Rapids Public Schools and the president of Grand Rapids Community College, Bill Pink, joined forces this week to expand opportunities for GRPS students...
GRPS will conduct nationwide search for next superintendent
The Grand Rapids Board of Education is embarking on a national search for a new superintendent to succeed Teresa Weatherall Neal, who retires effective July 1. The board voted Monday, Jan. 14 to conduct the search nationwide...
My Hero, My Friend
Winners of the 2015 MLK Essay Contest
A record 327 essays were entered for the 10th annual Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest earlier this year. School News Network is publishing the three winning submissions...
Equipping Students with More than Academics
Gerald R. Ford Academic Center's Bengal tiger school mascot lets you know this school is different than the rest. It's not just an image of a tiger, but a tiger wearing glasses and a graduation cap.
Besides preparation for college,...
Too Many Student Leaders? No Such Thing, Say GRPS Officials
When Grand Rapids Public Schools officials went looking this year for two student representatives to serve on its Board of Education, they found students like Javonte Jefferson, Henry Atkins and a whole bunch more.
In the past, district leaders had...
Club Subtracts Fear from Math
Diamond Sparkman softly counts aloud as she measures the sides of a polygon displayed on a computer screen, trying to determine its area. “Seven times seven is 49,” she says, writing the equation on paper. Then she’s stuck.
“Miss Kanoza,...
Chair Camp Sets Students’ Imaginations Free
As she delicately decorated a tiny chair with flowers and a yellow star, Yarlis Perez thought about the kind of art she was creating.
“I’m going to make it like nature,” the Grand Rapids fifth-grader said. “I think nature is...
Revived Program Attracts Student Artists, Musicians
From imaginative paintings and sculptures to soothing songs and a silky sax solo, Union High and Westwood Middle school students recently shared their artistic talents at the third annual Westside Celebration of the Arts.
The evening featured student artwork that...
Teachers Tell Their Stories, to Help Other Teachers
"What inspires you to come to school every day and teach children?" interviewer Rosie del Valle asked Gladiola Elementary intervention math coach Kristi Baumbach.
Baumbach, who had answered previous interview questions without hesitation, paused. "Now, I'm crying," she said, as...
On the way for future GR grads: the promise of college funding
The district Board of Education is expected to vote Sept. 17 to approve establishment of a Grand Rapids Promise Zone Authority, thus beginning a process to appoint authority members who will develop a plan and specify its parameters...
Grand Rapids Student Showcase
Impacting America.. My Way
When I think about Rosa Parks and what she did, or how she impacted America, I begin to think of ways that I could possibly be an impacting person and be influential for people today. One thing that I...
My Hero, My Friend
Winners of the 2015 MLK Essay Contest
A record 327 essays were entered for the 10th annual Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest earlier this year. School News Network is publishing the three winning submissions...
What Can You Do to Accomplish a Dream?
We all have a dream no matter where we live or who we are. Everybody DREAMS! Some people have selfish dreams like to win millions of dollars in the lottery, or to become a princess or a prince. But...
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