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Designing a New Future, One App at a Time

Grand Rapids Charles Honey

Problem: Young people find downtown Grand Rapids boring and expensive. Solution: a smart-phone app that turns its stores and cultural attractions into a game...

Year-round School Calendars May Not Suit All Districts, Administrators Say

Grand Rapids Erin Albanese

Michigan students have gotten used to clearing out lockers during the first week of June with a long summer stretching lazily ahead. A post-Labor...

Junior ROTC Alive and Well at Innovation Central

Grand Rapids School News Network

Innovation Central High School is known for its Center of Innovation programs, but a new program, The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program,...

GRPS Students Stand Up as Student Leaders, Protest Bullying

Grand Rapids Erin Albanese

Union High School senior Angel Barreto-Cruz isn’t afraid to speak up for a cause. Chosen to represent a leadership group including 11 of his peers,...

Giving ‘Til It Helps: Tough Upbringing Inspires a Life Devoted to Serving Children, Families

Grand Rapids Tom Rademacher

John Matias was late for our interview, but something told me to hang in there. I'm glad I did. "I'm sorry, I apologize," he said,...

Universal Forest Products Engineer John Kozal Mentors GRPS Students

Grand Rapids Tom Rademacher

When people who know John Kozal consider the touchstones of his life so far, these are the elements that rise to the surface: Driven...

Getting their kicks

Grand Rapids Erin Albanese

New neon pink shoes with orange laces put a smile on Godfrey Early Childhood Center student Dulce Venegas’ face, and she declares herself ready...

Students Study Whether City’s Rapids Should Return

Grand Rapids Erin Albanese

Despite her numb fingers on the 28-degree day, CA Frost Environmental Science Academy sixth-grader Lux Howell shook a vial filled with river water for...

Collaborative Youth Fair Showcases Student Work in After-School Programs

Grand Rapids School News Network

Grand Rapids Public Schools hosted the annual Collaborative Youth Fair this Spring at Creston High School. All GRPS schools with a LOOP after school program had...

Be Nice Initiative Encourages Positive Actions in Schools

East Grand Rapids Erin Albanese

“Be Nice” messages recently made their way from student to student at East Grand Rapids Middle School; a bold-lettered banner in the EGR high...

New Innovation Central High Mixes Connections with Business, Community and Education

Grand Rapids School News Network

Grand Rapids Innovation Central Senior Dustin Suchomski has only been enrolled in the school’s Academy of Design and Construction for a couple months, but...