School 2.0
School News Network continues its reporting on how districts, teachers and families are helping students learn both inside and outside the school walls during the coronavirus pandemic. We want to serve our schools and you, our readers, during this challenging time, so please send us your ideas for stories we should be telling and questions that should be answered. Thank you, and live safely!
‘Ner-cited’ to be back in person
After spending the first couple weeks in virtual school, fifth-grader Jakiyah Johnson said she knew as she entered through the doors of North Godwin Elementary on Sept. 14 that this year was going to be great...
Dental programs return to in-person learning
Like many students facing a new reality for courses, Alayna Helmer was stressed out when the lab and clinic portions of Grand Rapids Community College’s dental programs shut down last March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus...
Districts hit with enrollment losses amid pandemic
While a few Kent County districts gained students on the annual fall count day, most saw enrollment drops ranging from a few dozen to 100- and 200-plus students...
Homecoming, modified
The coronavirus pandemic has forced school districts to make changes to the ways they celebrate some annual traditions...
COVID-19 cases prompt two-week closing of middle school
Lowell Middle School has been closed for two weeks due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, moving to online instruction...
CARES funding helps schools meet COVID-related costs
Across Kent County, schools are benefitting from an infusion of funds thanks to $2 million from the Kent County Board of Commissioners via the Kent County CARES Act School Grant Program...
For school business officers, an ‘incredibly frenzied’ year
Being a school district business manager is a big job in the best of times. But doing the job during COVID-19? A challenge to say the least...
Masking up for all-sports golf and beyond
Gym is a challenging class to teach during a pandemic. But teachers are finding creative ways to get heart rates up while playing by the rules...
‘I want it to look happy’
With help from generous donors, elementary teachers worked to make welcoming, kid-friendly space while following the rules of social distancing and sanitation...
The virtual classroom: 18 students, three screens and one busy teacher
Teaching online, from a classroom, requires multitasking and multiple screens for this fourth-grade teacher...
Districts ponder how to keep students learning, engaged
Teachers are challenged to keep their style of instruction intact with students who are socially distanced and, often, not in the building at all...
New online academy looks to provide paced learning, support
Approximately 25 percent of Kenowa Hills students -- about 300 -- opted for virtual learning to start the year...
Amid uncertainty, new protocols, there’s laughter, new connections
Junior Olivia Austin reflects on the first day of a very unique school year...
Teachers agree: virtual classroom has its pluses, but ‘much of the joy is missing’
Two Kenowa Hills teachers reflect on the good and bad of virtual education during the school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic...
Making school from home work for everyone
Districts scrambled to aid families with connectivity and tech support from March to the end of the school year...
Parents say in-person, full time instruction is best, but are concerned about keeping families safe from virus
A recent survey of Kent County parents shows high confidence in the quality of traditional, in-person instruction but significant worry about safety in keeping families safe from COVID-19...
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