She Collects Books, and Lets Students Choose Them
English teacher Katie Sluiter's Wyoming Junior High classroom is a testament to the power of words, in the books eighth-graders eagerly grab from her library and in the writing she did to get those 1,000 popular works onto her...
Class Pushes Students Out of Comfort Zone, Into Community
Students trickle in after school, one or two at a time, into a Wyoming High School classroom. They grab a slice of pizza and sit down to discuss issues that affect their lives and community: school, jobs and ways...
In Honor of Those Who Served
Editor's note: Schools across Kent County observed Veterans Day with a variety of events. Here is a sampling.
Byron Center
Boys Scouts brought up the flag; "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" was sung; red, white and blue were worn; and...
Wyoming Bond Funds Mean Major High School Upgrade
Voters paved the the way Tuesday for major renovations and districtwide upgrades by decisively approving a $79.5 million bond. Work will begin as soon as summer break, beginning $40 million in investments planned at Wyoming High School, 1350 Prairie...
Students Put Design Thinking to Use with Voters
To learn about an upcoming school bond proposal, high school business students are zeroing in on their neighbors by using the Design Thinking process.
Challenged to work on something real in their own community, students in teacher Jon Bushen's Business...
Wyoming Bond Vote Would Upgrade 50-Year-old Facilities
Voters will consider a bond proposal Tuesday, Nov. 7 that, without raising property owners' current tax rate, would fund $79.5 million in district-wide improvements. This includes $40 million in high school renovations. If passed, the proposal would extend the...
When Monsters Call and Teachers Read, Students Listen
The shared love of a book was on display in English teacher Shantel VanderGalien's eighth-grade honors class as she read aloud from "A Monster Calls." Creating a monster voice with a plummy British accent, VanderGalien revealed her theatrical side.
The...
‘I Get How Hard It Is’
Teresa Dood, Parkview Elementary's Kent School Services Network coordinator, brings an awareness that is deep and real to her job linking families with resources.
For her, navigating complicated systems and overcoming seemingly impossible barriers is personal.
From her school office, Dood...
Students Learn From the Fruits of Their Labors
Five young apple trees grow outside West Elementary School. They are the beginnings of the Beverly Bryan Community Orchard, which could someday flourish with pear, plum and chestnut trees, blueberry and raspberry bushes, and feature benches and mulch for...
Sharing Her Music to Feed Body and Soul
Playing piano moves Becca Hanson's soul. That's why she makes it about something bigger than herself. She likes to share that feeling – indulgent, she calls it – with others.
She's that kind of leader: a poised, soft-spoken doer who...
Superintendents Support Students In the Face of DACA Decision
As a mother and grandmother, Teresa Weatherall Neal knows well the value of family. And as superintendent of nearly 17,000 Grand Rapids Public Schools students, she thinks about the families they all come from.
So Neal’s reaction to President Trump’s...
Teachers Train Together to Help Close the Gap
A fence illustration is often used to show the difference between equality and equity.
Two pictures each show three children, one tall, one short and one in between, trying to peer over a fence. In one picture, they are treated...
Buck Creek Hunter, Master Ear Wiggler, Life-long Wolf
School: West Elementary
Other positions you have held in education (title, school, district, state):
Sixth-and-seventh-grade social studies teacher at Jackson Park Junior High School
9th and 10th-grade social studies teacher at Wyoming Park and Rogers High schools
Assistant principal at...
Teachers Stock Up on Class Supplies, with Help
Wyoming's Parkview Elementary School teachers demonstrated their love for new school supplies at the Teacher Resource Store, where they left with cartloads of notebooks, pencils, folders, paper and the promise to "pay it forward."
"Oh my gosh! Look at how...
First Day Festival
The entire staff of educators started the school year with a morning of celebration last Monday at Grand Rapids First Church, in Wyoming.
The fanfare included greetings from Wyoming High School cheerleaders, and a mini-concert from the marching band, which...
Six Teachers Seek National Board Credentials
Big names in teaching in Kent County – Michigan Teachers of the Year for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 – have joined forces to share the best ways to engage students and get them to achieve at high levels.
A cohort of...
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