Tag Archives: School News Network

School News Network: Helping students cope through creative lessons

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org


This week, School News Network provides a number of stories focused on the decisions to close a school to the creative lessons staff are doing to help students get through the COVID-19 criss. Here is just a sample of stories from the Kentwood/Wyoming area.


Superintendents from three West Michigan counties warn of rising infection rates (School News Network)

All Districts: Area Superintendents warn of need for vigilance in combating virus

Last week, 46 West Michigan superintendents –including the superintendents of Wyoming, Kentwood, Kelloggsville, Godwin Heights, and Godfrey-Lee — signed a letter urging residents to be more vigilant in combating COVID-19. As Kent County sees a surge in COVID-19 cases, and rising rates of positive tests, West Michigan school superintendents joined together to remind families of the importance of following safety protocols. For more, click here.

All Districts: Major factor in school closings: evidence of virus spread

For school officials, deciding when to close a school is not an easy decision to make. When there are positive cases in a school, the Kent County Health Department and superintendents review whether prevention measures are being enforced strongly enough, including social distancing, mask wearing, screening students so they don’t enter the building if they are COVID-19 positive, hand washing and sanitizing surfaces.  To learn more about how a decision is made to close a school, click here.

Ninth-grader Ataiana Davis said through the project she discovered she likes the same video games as a friend of hers (School News Network)

Godwin Heights: Bringing individual value to shared space

Rainbows, blankets, and even a Rubik Cube become symbols to represent the homes of Godwin Height students. Based on the Heidelberg Project, named for a four-block street-turned neighborhood art project in Detroit where the mission is to include and embrace the strengths of those in the community, teacher Lindsay Miceli uses the Godwin Heights housing project as the class’s first assignment to help students hone writing and sensory language skills and get to know one another. To learn more, click here.

Junior Aliyah Taylor says her mosaic project helped her find peace in the midst of the pandemic (School News Network)

Kelloggsville: Students learn resilience by piecing together art

Kelloggsville students have fun breaking glass all in the name of creating art. The students are learning about mosaics and in the process discovering how something shatter can not only become something beautiful but a symbol of resilience. To learn more, click here.

East Kentwood junior Ethan Vandervoord holds a piece of 3D-printed PPE (School News Network)

Kentwood: Operation Face Shield: complete

When East Kentwood’s First Robotics team’s annual robotics competition at the high school got cancelled, one team member and his parents, advisors for the team, discovered a way to re-channel their disappointment by creating face shields. In nine weeks, the group made more than 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment which was distributed to more than 100 area organizations. For more, click here.

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Rewards, robotics and more

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org


Students are happy to be back and local schools are offering some new, exciting programs such as robotics and other hands-on activities. All of this and more from our partners at School News Network.

East Kentwood art teacher Le Tran talks to junior Jonathan Bwaso about the effect of color in art. (School News Network)

Kentwood: Longtime art teacher receives two major education awards

Recently East Kentwood art teacher Le Tran is helping to create a world of art and recently was recognized as the Michigan Art Education Association 2020 secondary art educator of the year and the 2020 Overall MAEA art educator of the year. Explore how this topnotch teacher helps East Kentwood students have a great appreciation for the art that is all around them.

Kelloggsville High School Introduction to Robotics students include, from left, Aubrey Wood, Matthew Zaiger, Pablo Vicario and Nathan Daniels. (School News Network)

Kelloggsville: Rocketing through Robotics

This year, Kelloggsville High School is offering its first robotics class which has a mix of eight students, sophomores through seniors. The students have done a variety of projects using a 3D printer including making the Kelloggsville mascot, rockets. Learn what else is in the future for these pioneering students.


West Godwin Elementary Principal Mary Lang talks to second-graders Alanah Reid and Jacoby Sucaldito. (School News Network

Godwin Heights: ‘Ner-cited’ to be back in person

Godwin Height students were virtual for the first few weeks of school with the district having a phased in return in September. Most the students said they were happy to be back after having been out-of-school since March and, more importantly, excited to see their friends and teachers.

Third-grader Mason Pickerd jumps far (School News Network)

Wyoming: Jump like a squirrel

Students at Wyoming Oriole Park Elementary School compare how far they can jump to those of squirrels in a hands-on activity developed by Lucas Education Research, which offers project-based learning lessons aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and state standards in literacy and math. For more about this lesson, click here.

School News Network: Getting creative in the classroom

New administrators and staff along with creative ways of teaching during a pandemic. For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Angelia Coleman is dean of students at Endeavor Elementary School (School News Network)

Kentwood: District welcomes new administrators, ready to ‘lead through uncharted waters’

Kentwood Public Schools added several new faces to its staff this year. So which new administrator enjoys vintage shopping? Who worked as a summer camp activities coordinator? And who is returning to the East Kentwood Freshman Campus? Click here to get all the answers.

Kelloggsville head coach Brandon Branch has many tasks prior to football practice, including equipment adjustments (School News Network)

Kelloggsville: Teacher and coach applies lessons in classroom and on field

While Brandon Branch may be Kelloggsville’s new head football coach, he is no stranger to the district or the football program. Branch has taught science and math at the high school since 2008 and has been part of the football program that entire time, ncluding as a junior varsity defensive coordinator for four years and varsity defensive coordinator for eight. He also is the varsity wrestling coach. Learn more about Branch and his football philosophy by clicking here.

Kindergarten teacher Julie Merrill thanks donors for books, foam mats and other items. (School News Network)

Wyoming: ‘I want it to look happy”

Social distancing guidelines didn’t deter teachers at Wyoming’s West Elementary from making sure their classrooms were welcoming. With a little creativity and some donations — some of which came from former students — these teachers added comfy furniture, colorful decor, shelves filled with books and bins of materials for writing, drawing and counting. Click here to learn more.

Just a month before the pandemic closed schools, Crestwood students spent three days collecting 150 pounds of cafeteria trash (all photos courtesy of school)

Kentwood: Leaving a greener footprint

Three years ago, Amelia Haywood, Charlotte VanWingen, Sammi Geurink and fellow Crestwood Middle School students approached their teacher Bobbie Fletcher with a Michigan Green School application and a vision for a more eco-friendly school. Michigan Green Schools challenges K-12 students in Michigan to achieve environmental goals to protect the state’s air, water, land and animals. To be considered for Michigan Green School status, a school must complete at least 10 out of 20 points of educational environmental activities. How did Crestwood achieve this? Click here to learn more.

Wyoming Junior High English teacher Shantel VanderGalien was named Regional Teacher of the Year for 2020. (School News Network)

Wyoming: ‘Who we are as teachers and students is essential the same’

West Michigan’s Teacher of the Year (Region 3) Shantel VanderGalien, an Wyoming Junior High English teacher, talks about virtual teaching, in-person instruction, and still having those “bombshell endings.” Click here for more.

School News Network: Off and running

Our partners at School News Network have been hard at work following the schools as they reopened for the 2020-2021 school year. Here are just some of things that took place in September. For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Anne Frank was Cora’s inspiration for her award-winning painting (School News Network)

Kentwood: Inspired by a young girl’s thoughts

Learn how the story of Anne Frank inspired East Kentwood ninth grader Cora Hovermale to create the wining piece for the Happy Family Anne Frank Family Art and Writing Competition hosted by Farmington Hills’ Holocoust Memorial Center. Click here.

Students sit in flexible seating arrangements (School News Network)

Wyoming: ‘A positive in a time that is somewhat negative’

Take a sneak peek at the new Wyoming High School, the central piece of $40 million in renovation and upgrades under way at the high school campus. The building located at 1350 Prairie Parkway features a spacious facility with lots of windows, collaboration spaces and project rooms. Click here for more.

Third-grade remote teacher Maggie Cherry’s car was filled almost to the brim after she put together more than 40 supply kits for her students (School News Network)

Godfrey-Lee: Supply kits for online learners help ensure student success

This fall, Godfrey-Lee teachers had the opportunity to learn from last spring’s challenges. With the entire district starting school remotely for a few weeks and some students staying remote for the semester or year, teachers put together and distributed supply kits for their students — whatever they might need for a class — to help make sure everyone can be successful at home. Curious as to what was included in those kits? Click here to find out.

Eric Alcorn (School News Network)

Kelloggsville: Sports enthusiast, music fan, family man

A familiar face to Kelloggsville Public Schools, Eric Alcorn was recently named the district’s auxiliary services director and athletic director. Alcorn is a sports lover but there is more to the former Kelloggsville High’s assistant principal. Click here to learn more about Alcorn better.

For more stories about schools in Kent County, visit School News Network at schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Recognizing school leaders

Kelly Compher played a virtual game called ‘hanging spider’ with her students (School News Network)

Godwin Heights: ‘Doing Better’ in the classroom – conventional or virtual

According to Steve Minard, principal at North Godwin, it is this ability to unite students that makes Kelly Compher stand out among teachers: “Kelly creates a community of learners each year with every new class,” he said. Compher, a Mattawan, Michigan, native, attended Grand Valley State University and completed her student teaching in Godwin Heights before being hired as a paraprofessional at North Godwin. She then taught kindergarten for a year at Coopersville. But when a teaching position opened at North Godwin, she felt the call to return. She was hired and after seven years, she hasn’t looked back. Learn more about what makes Compher a rockstar teacher by clicking here.

Shantel VanderGalien is in the running for Michigan Teacher of the Year (School News Network)

Wyoming: English teacher named Regional Teacher of the year

Shantel VanderGalien was named 2020-2021 Regional Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Department of Education. She represents Region 3 and is among 10 teachers divided by region to receive the honor. She is now in the running for the 2020-2021 Michigan Teacher of the Year. “My goal as Regional Teacher of the Year is to be a positive voice for the students and teachers in my region and to serve them well,” she said. To learn more about VanderGalien, click here.

Glenwood Elementary second-grade teacher Lauren Heald leads her class earlier this school year using the Capturing Kids Hearts model (School News Network)

Kentwood: District honored for capturing kids hearts

Eight Kentwood Public Schools were recently named National Showcase Schools by The Flipen Group, the consulting group that provides training and resources for the Capturing Kids’ Hearts curriculum. Schools honored include Bowen, Glenwood Elementary, Meadowlawn, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavor and Southwood elementary schools, and Crestwood Middle School To learn more about the award, click here

School News Network: What will will school look like in the fall?

For the past couple of weeks, our partners at School News Network have provide an depth look at the fall school planning that is taking place. School officials are looking at several different options. Weighing into all of this is financial concerns with districts looking at almost a $700 shortfall per pupil in funding.

Below is a round up of the stories written by School News Network’s Erin Albanese. For more on this story or what is happening in local schools, visit schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School and business leaders talk about collaborating to reopen schools safely. (School News Network)

What will school look like in the fall? Community leaders prepare for various scenarios

Last week several school leaders and community partners hosted a May 28 virtual press conference to discuss what school might look like in the fall. Instruction will likely start with a hybrid model of in-person and virtual instruction using staggered schedules to ensure a safe return, said Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston, who hosted a Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association. The KISA is working on plans for all Kent ISD districts to utilize for reopening schools. They are collaborating with and learning from many key community partners, including Kent County Health Department, Spectrum Health, Black Impact Collaborative, and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. To learn more about the fall plans, click here.

Superintendents are calling for more revenue from the state and federal government as they address budget shortfalls expected to be far worse than experienced in the recession over a decade ago (School News Network)

Superintendents face massive budget cuts that would dwarf those in Great Recession

This is the first in a two-part series on how superintendents are preparing for budget cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic, while lobbying for financial relief from state and federal legislatures. As students and teachers wrapped up school, Michigan education leaders were looking ahead to the challenges they face in reopening this fall. They must do so safely while addressing financial holes they have ever imagined as budget shortfalls could be far worse than experienced during the Great Recession. For more, click here.

As many counties across the state see the coronavirus curve plateau or recede, fears about illness are fast becoming eclipsed by fears about budgets, and how schools will manage (School News Network)

School officials join legislators calling for federal help with pandemic-induced state budget shortfalls

In the the second of the two-part series, School News Network takes a look at how skyrocketing unemployment and shuttered businesses will impact the school districts’ bottomline. Reports by economists at the May 15 Michigan Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, a biannual meeting where officials from the Michigan Treasury Department, Senate Fiscal Agency and House Fiscal Agency confer on revenue projections, indicated revenues collected for the Michigan School Aid Fund would fall $1.3 billion short of previous projections. That means cuts to schools could amount to $700 per pupil, a hit much larger than $470 per-pupil reduction in 2011-12 during the Great Recession. To read more, click here.

School News Network: Looking at Fall and Beyond

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org


All Districts: School leaders working together to plan fall and beyond

Now that school districts have distance learning up and running, local education leaders are turning their attention to the next urgent concern: the future of schooling. An ad hoc committee of 13 Kent ISD school leaders — which includes Wyoming Superintendent Craig Hoekstra and Godfrey-Lee Superintendent Kevin Polston — are working on contingency plans to prepare for the next school year and beyond. To learn more about the discussion, click here


Tara Jones plays with son, Cole, during a Bright Beginnings playgroup. (School News Network)

All Districts: Supporting parents as teachers

Bright Beginnings, which offers parents support and services to help them become the best first teachers for their children, recently received a Blue Ribbon accreditation from the Missouri-based Parents as Teachers program. Free to families in the Kent ISD, to learn more about the program and the accreditation, click here


Cast members from Godfrey-Lee’s production of ‘The Wiz’ prior to school building closures (courtesy photo/School News Network)

Godfrey-Lee/Wyoming: The show might go on

Last year it was snow days, this year it was COVID-19 that caused area schools, such as Godfrey-Lee and Wyoming, shutdown with school productions left in limbo. And while the show may not happen – some directors remain hopeful – there still is the story of community that brought everyone together. To learn more, click here

School News Network: Creative classroom learning

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org


Note: some of these stories took place before the governor’s official closing of schools with education moving online. These are just some of the unique and interesting ways are teachers are working to bring creative ways to the classroom. For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.


Dawt Khun focuses on letters (School News Network)

Kentwood: Fancy F’s and elegant L’s

Some have put cursive writing in the category of lost arts. Not true at Kentwood’s Crestwood Middle School, where language arts teacher Anne Brown is keeping the the flow of writing alive. For more, click here


Dominic Russell and Quaa Doxie work together on their wheel

Kelloggsville: Working from concrete to abstract in Algebra 2

Kelloggsville High School Rick Jackson puts a new spin on trigonometry by having his students get hands on in the construction of a popsicle Ferris wheel. To learn more, click here.


Maggie Santos and Elijah Brown embellish the busts they’ve made. (School News Network)

Godwin Heights: A look in the mirror cures self-expression

Before the mandated school closure, the classroom was in the middle of a 10-week artist residency offered by Artists Creating Together (ACT). Each week Annalise Hammerlund, the artist-in-residence who worked with Lisa Kotarski’s Godwin Heights class, visited the classroom to lead students in an art lesson that challenged them to learn a bit more about themselves and to express themselves through art. To learn more about this program, click here.


From left, Craig Thompson, from the city of Grand Rapids, and Aleka C. Thrash, owner of Naturally ACT, talk to students during Student StartUp Day. (School News Network)

All District: Getting down to business

In the first-ever Student StartUp Day, which took place the week before the school shutdown, area students got a lesson in what it takes to start your own business and a chance to pitch ideas to area business leaders. To learn more, click here.

School News Network: EL students: eager to learn, ‘masters of change’

Gerson Lopez Vail (left), Baudillo Alvarado Carrillo and Maynor Lopez work on a Mingle Monday prompt. (School News Network)

By Phil de Haan
School News Network


Mary Campbell was getting her Kelloggsville High School class settled in. It was 9 o’clock on a Monday morning, and her students were a little restless, still getting back into school mode after a weekend away.

She looked around the room. “Are we good?” she asked, eyebrows slightly raised, the question not really a question. 

Esmeralda Escobar Cano (left) and Elizabel Rosso Garcia. (School News Network)

“Five more minutes?” replied a student.

“Five more minutes?” answered Campbell with a smile. “Definitely not.”

It was time to teach, and Campbell was eager to get going.

The class was Newcomers English and for the next hour, Campbell and 22 English Learner students from Vietnam, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Rwanda and the Congo would be working on a series of basic language skills.

First there was a little exercise in which Campbell had the students call out the answers to questions about the day of the week, the weather and the temperature outside. Then there was some capitalization practice, and finally it was time for a student highlight: “Mingle Monday.”

In Mingle Monday, students move around and sit with different classmates, and Campbell takes them through a series of questions, walking around the room all the while. After she introduces each question, the students record the answer of the student sitting across from them in their notebooks. 

“Using complete sentences,” noted Campbell. They interact with a different student for each question as the inner circle moves one spot over while the outer circle stays in place.

Teacher Mary Campbell enjoys watching her students practicing Star Trek’s Live Long and Prosper. (School News Network)

Practicing Multiple Skills, Having Fun

Campbell is an Aquinas College graduate and received her endorsement in ESL K-12 (at Kelloggsville the preferred term is EL, not ESL because, teachers say, most of their students are not learning a second language when they learn English but are often learning a third or fourth).

The main purpose of something like Mingle Monday, Campbell said, is for the students to be able to practice multiple skills at once – reading, writing, listening and speaking – and have some fun while doing so.

“It really is a fun activity that gets students engaged,” she said. “They’re interacting with their peers but most importantly, practicing their English.

 

“One of the benefits that has surprised me the most is how much Mingle Monday has improved the relationships between students in the classroom. Students who would normally never interact with one another are fist bumping, congratulating and celebrating one another on their journey to mastering the English language.”

Many of the questions are fun and intended to both provoke a smile from students, and to get them thinking about their answers. During a recent Mingle Monday, Campbell showed the class a slide with a picture of “Star Trek” character Spock, and her question, to which the students needed to provide a written response, was “Can you make the Spock sign?”

Of course, to answer the question, the room quickly became abuzz with students trying to make the strange sign, rapidly talking in their native languages of Spanish, Swahili, Vietnamese and Kinyarwanda and laughing at their success or futility and that of their classmates.

As she pointed with her right hand at Spock on the slide, Campbell made the sign with her left and said: “In the movie – it’s called “Star Trek” – this man does this and says, ‘Live long and prosper.’ And for some reason I can only do the sign with my left hand.”

Elizabel Rosso Garcia (left) writes a response while Domingo Martin Mendoza ponders. (School News Network)

Short Stories and Gilligan’s Island

A few doors down from Campbell’s class, fellow EL teacher Susan Faulk was working with 26 students from such countries as Honduras, Gambia, Togo, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Myanmar, Cuba and Vietnam.

The project this day was  an essay comparing the 1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game” (about a big-game hunter who becomes the hunted on what he thinks is a deserted island) to a 1967 episode of the TV show “Gilligan’s Island” called “The Hunter” (in which a big-game hunter comes to the island, finds no game to hunt and decides to pursue Gilligan instead).

“It’s a classic short story,” Faulk said, “a great story to use to teach literary elements like suspense, foreshadowing, simile, metaphor and personification.”

Faulk, who grew up watching “Gilligan’s Island” reruns, said it’s a surreal experience for her students, who hail from so many countries outside the U.S., to watch an iconic piece of American television from more than 50 years ago. But she said the juxtaposition of the short story with a 30-minute TV show works well for what she’s trying to get the students to accomplish since she uses a reader’s theatre version of the story and also excerpts from the original story.

After reading the play and excerpts, Faulk works with her students on short story analysis. They then watch the episode, and discuss how the story and the TV show are similar and how they are different. 

All of that then leads to a five-paragraph essay about which is the more effective story.

Felianny Rosso Garcia is all smiles. (School News Network)

Big Changes in Recent Decades

For Faulk, thinking about new ways to give students tried-and-true skills comes with the territory.

She’s in her 14th year at Kelloggsville and has seen big changes during that time. When she began, the school served a small number of EL students, maybe 15 or so each year, she said, and she was a little more than half-time with EL students. Now she’s full-time EL and has two colleagues in Campbell and Shannon Dahlquist, who are a little over half-time and almost full-time EL, respectively. 

Together the trio teaches or co-teaches 12 sections of EL classes or classes that have EL support for 75-80 EL students, some 10 percent or more of the student body. Those students are at various levels of English understanding and proficiency. Some know almost no English. Others, Faulk said, know conversational English but need a lot of work with reading and writing. And some know conversational English, but are still developing their academic English.

At Kelloggsville, even the advanced students read at an elementary school level since, Faulk said, studies show it takes an average of two years for a person to learn conversational English if they are immersed in the language, and four to seven years for academic language to develop if they are immersed in academic language.

Elizabel Rosso Garcia works on a Mingle Monday response. (School News Network)

It Takes a Village

In the co-teaching model, Faulk, Campbell and Dahlquist all teach some classes that are just for EL students. Each also co-teaches classes in non-English subject areas that are still completely comprised of EL students. 

So, after her English Language Arts for ELs class, Faulk goes to a civics class that she co-teaches. In that class, she can help adapt assignments, assist the civics teacher with the EL students (all of whom Faulk knows well) and generally be a bridge between the students and the subject matter. Campbell and Dahlquist do the same in other subject areas, including world history, earth science, chemistry and algebra.

“Our co-teaching model is one of the best things we do for ELs,” said Faulk. “Through this model, students receive academic content in core subjects in a way that is accessible for them. The content area teacher teaches the content. The EL teacher comes alongside the content area teacher to use strategies and scaffolding to make the content understandable for ELs.”

Kelloggsville also provides a Parent English Program on Monday nights, and offers the Home/Heritage Language Assessment so that immigrant and refugee students can earn two world language credits by demonstrating proficiency in their own language. Faulk noted that the district also works with a variety of area refugee agencies, pastors and more to make sure it is doing all it can to serve its growing population.

The influx of students from other countries has also provided opportunities for other Kelloggsville employees, according to Faulk. Last year the high school had two young men come through schools of choice. They had already attended two different high schools and were classified as juniors. Counselor Bethany Hardy asked them for their transcripts from Africa because they weren’t accounted for in their records, and when they brought in those transcripts, it turned out they could actually be seniors and had enough credits to enter the Kelloggsville school-to-work program, administered by John Linker.

In January 2019, they were able to start working for Lacks Enterprises and earning money for their families, and at the end of the school year, Lacks signed them on full time at a special signing ceremony Kelloggsville hosted.

Such moments are highlights for Faulk, Dahlquist and Campbell, who all say they are grateful for the chance to work with EL students.

“EL students are eager to learn, masters of change, and teach me more about perspective than any other population of students I have ever worked with,” said Campbell. “Though working with EL students requires a specific brand of patience, it is an incredibly humbling and rewarding experience.”

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: GRCC nursing programs hit anniversary milestones

LPN students Turkesha Hankins, left, and Deanna Darrell measure and take the height of expectant mother Bayle Delalic. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network


Nursing student Mustafa Ajanovic assisted his best friend, Bayle Delalic, through a prenatal visit, weighing in, checking vital signs, and listening for the baby’s heart tones.

He and other students in the Licensed Practical Nursing program went through the steps of a doctor’s appointment with Delalic, who is due May 21, and several other pregnant women who volunteered. 

While the session was informative for expectant moms, Ajanovic said it was extremely valuable for his own experience. It’s one of many simulation activities he’s taking part in while training to be a nurse.

“I like the sim labs they provide here because they throw you into a situation and make you critically think and try to organize your time and priorities,” said Ajanovic.

Shelly Richter, nursing programs director at GRCC, credits interactive experiences — part of a new curriculum — as one reason for a jump in scores on license exams in both the Practical Nursing and Associate Degree programs. In 2019, all nursing students passed those exams — 104 associate degree nurses and 42 LPN students. It was also the largest number of students taking the exams ever in one year. 

“Simulation, active learning and more engaged activities have seemed to really have an impact,” she said.

While the practice prenatal clinic involved real people, many simulation sessions use manikins that respond and talk. “We have six bed labs and an amazing simulation lab with high-fidelity manikins, so they blink and talk. We can start IVs on them, we have a (manikin) mother that can deliver a baby and an actual baby we can do Apgar scores on,” Richter said, referring to the initial assessment of a newborn’s health.

LPN student Elyssa Systema takes a pulse oximeter reading from expectant mother Kelly Hunter, due Feb. 24. (School Network)

Milestones in Nursing

It’s an apropos time to reach that level of success. GRCC is celebrating seven decades of training nurses this year, with its Practical Nursing certificate program turning 70 and it associate degree program turning 50. The anniversaries coincide with the World Health Organization’s designation of 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, in honor of the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

According to the WHO, the world needs 9 million more nurses and midwives if it is to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.

With classrooms located on the fourth floor of Cook Hall, GRCC’s nursing program is situated perfectly amid downtown Grand Rapids’ hub of hospitals and medical institutions, where new nurses are working in many settings and with all ages and populations. 

“We continue to see a big demand for nurses. Our grads get hired 100 percent,” Richter said. “There are definitely jobs available.”

Professor of Nursing Sherry Knoppers said much of the demand for nurses is due to the aging baby boomer generation. “With a huge segment of the population reaching the age range when they need more health care, we need more nurses across the spectrum,” she said.

GRCC’s associate’s program trains three cohorts of 36 to 40 students a year, for a total of about 110 per year who are fully licensed registered nurses.

“They can apply for any RN position. Our students work in the major hospitals around here, long-term care, sub acute, community health, with inmates, with refugee populations. They work in positions including staff nurses, directors of nursing,” Richter said.

Bayle Delalic gets her eyes examined by nursing student Deanna Darrell. (School News Network)

LPNs Still in Demand

  

While there is a waiting list for the associate’s program, Richter said students shouldn’t feel deterred. They can take prerequisite classes while waiting, and high school students upon completion of their junior year can even apply for the program to get on the waiting list, which is approximately 2 ½ years.

Practical nursing offers two cohorts of 30 to 32 students in a yearlong program, graduating 56 to 60 each year. Licensed practical nurses typically work in long-term care, physician’s offices, clinics and community centers. There is no waiting list for the LPN program.

“There is a misconception in the community that LPNs are not used anymore,” Richter said. “That is also wrong. We have so many facilities constantly calling. There’s a huge demand for practical nursing.”

The cost for the Associate Degree program is significantly less at GRCC than at four-year universities: $19,300 for residents and $38,600 for residents. The cost of the LPN program is $11,000 for residents and $22,000 for non-residents.

Nursing pays about $28 an hour for RNs and around $20 for LPNs. Many hospitals and institutions offer tuition reimbursement for students who go on to pursue their bachelor’s degree.

Expectant mother Bayle Delalic, due May 21, stands on the scale while GRCC nursing student Turkesha Hankins takes her weight. (School News Network)

Hands-on and in the Moment

One of the biggest changes in nursing training in recent years has been simulation experiences, she said.

“One of our goals was to put 25 percent simulation in each course, as a minimum. That way students have the opportunity to practice hands-on in a safe setting. Students love it. They are intimidated at first, but then they realize this is a great opportunity to learn.”

During the prenatal lab, nursing student Turkesha Hankins worked with patients by taking blood pressure and adjusting beds. She’s pursuing her LPN because she already works in health care and will make $5.50 more per hour with her license. 

“It’s just knowledge,” she said. “We learn a lot. Pediatrics is something very new to me because I’ve never worked in this field before, so I’m soaking in everything I can.”

LPN student Kaley Tosic takes the blood pressure of expectant mother Kelly Hunter (School News Network)

Diversity of Nurses Needed

 

Another big change in the profession, Richter said, is the diversity of students. “This used to be a women’s profession. We are always trying to recruit males. It’s really fun. All people bring something different to the table.”

Also, the age of nursing students spans just out of high school to retirees from other careers.

“One of the best things about working here at GRCC is having a diverse group of people that we work with, diverse in race, age, socioeconomic status, background,” Richter said.  “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t worked in health care.”

The programs do not use selective admissions in enrollment.  That makes the 100 percent pass rate even more impressive, Richter said. Requirements are explained here.

 “As a philosophy, this is an open door college,” Richter said. “As long as they have the foundation, we want to carry them through the program.”

For more information about area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Thanks to local firm, students learn to virtually design car parts

By Erin Albanese
School News Network

Kent Career Tech Center student Nathan Schaner learned about designing car components virtually by using professional tool and die stamping software on a classroom computer.

He was participating in a three-day training session on the software offered by Kevin Vormac, senior applications engineer for the firm AutoForm. The program exposed a dozen engineering students in the second year of the Tech Center’s Engineering & Architectural Design program to industry-level design.

The goal was to help prepare students for the local pool of engineering jobs, many at firms that use the expensive software, as well as for apprenticeships or college programs.

Kent Career Tech Center student Nathan Schaner listens to instructions on virtual stamping design

“Learning it here at (the Tech Center) is definitely beneficial,” said Nathan, who plans to major in mechanical engineering at Ferris State University. “I feel like I have a head start amongst all the other kids.”

The software eliminates the need for material or shop space and allows tweaking and tinkering. “We want for them to have some exposure to the software so when they do go out and look for a job they can put it on their resume,” Vormac said.

Nathan said he sees the value in learning digital design now. “This seems a lot more applicable and it’s easier for us to manipulate and do the correct things we need to do.”

Program instructor Larry Ridley said AutoForm is allowing the class to download the software onto 12 computer stations for use through the end of the school year. For a company to purchase the software for that many stations, the cost would be about $840,000.

Virtual design saves time and money, Ridley said, and has become standard in the industry. “It can do what they used to do by hand, that would take them four, five, six months,” he said. “Here, they can do their preliminary design in just a couple of weeks.”

Ridley regularly has students working in engineering while still enrolled at the Tech Center.  Many start as apprenticeships after graduation or go to college to pursue degrees. Engineers can earn more than $100,000 after eight or nine years in the industry, he said.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network at schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: A case study

Terrence Reynold and Jada Carew’s case protects a simulated phone. (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network


Oh, Marcus! He’s always crushing or dropping his cell phone, and now he’s broken another one. His parents won’t buy him a new one, unless he can convince them he will keep it safe.

 

Renae Hackley, sixth grade science teacher at Godwin Heights Middle School, asked her students to help the fictitious Marcus, and over the last several weeks they’ve been hard at work designing protective gear for his phone.

“We’re trying to make a cell phone case that makes it easy for the phone to come out, and it won’t break from dropping it from 70 centimeters or be crushed with seven books on top,” explained Higinio Rolon-Rosado who, along with partner Juan Granados, demonstrated how their foam and fabric design met the challenge.

Renae Hackley, sixth grade science teacher at Godwin Heights Middle School, asked students to design a phone case as part of a recent physics unit

Tinkering Thinkers

The activity was part of the class’ eight-week physics unit using Mi-STAR, a science curriculum that incorporates real world challenges into every unit. It introduced force and motion, and then let students get their hands dirty — dropping raw eggs on different materials to see if they’d break, for example — before designing the case.

Experimentation involved dropping, crushing and trying to understand the effects of forces on different objects. Weeks of tinkering and observation led to the final challenge of creating the case.

During the experimentation period, Higinio said, his team noticed that an egg did not crack when dropped on a sponge, so they looked for sponge-like materials to use in their design.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Higinio Rolan-Rosado and Juan Granados show off the cell phone case and poster they made as part of a physics unit on force and motion. (School News Network)

School News Network: ‘I would love to have a house that I own where my kids could play outside’

Homeless, with Homework: A new School News Network series on homelessness in schools and its connection to housing. As costs rise and the rental market has low availability, nearly 2,500 students in Kent ISD public schools are facing homelessness. These stories look into what’s led to the issue and how it impacts students. For more on the series, click here.

One in seven African American children in Kent County — 2,658 in all — were in the homeless system in 2018, according to data from K-Connect. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network


For much of her life, Kayla Morgan has faced uncertainty about where she would lay her head down at night. 

As a teenager, she attended a different high school each school year, moving from foster home to foster home in the West Michigan area. As an adult she lived in different temporary housing arrangements for two years with her children.

Kayla Morgan, who continues to face housing insecurity, runs her own yoga business (photo by Dianne Carroll Burdick) 

Now, the activist, owner of Resilient Roots Yoga, and mom of three elementary-age children enrolled in Grand Rapids Public Schools is working to change the trajectory of people of color struggling to find stable and affordable housing. 

“I think there needs to be more representation of people of color in higher management positions and at decision-making tables,” Morgan said. “I think Grand Rapids has to acknowledge that it’s not the best place to live for everybody.”

Morgan is a “lived experience” expert who works with KConnect, a  team of community stakeholders working together to address issues affecting children, youth and families.

In that role, Morgan talks about the impact of trauma and generational poverty on her life, and how she turned to abusive relationships in hopes of having a permanent place to live. She talks about the frustration of hard-to-navigate systems, of policies that keep people oppressed and how few good options exist for low-income people looking for places to live. 

In the 11 years since she aged out of the foster care system, Morgan has continued to relocate frequently due to financial situations and other life circumstances. She and her children spent many months homeless, often sleeping at friends’ houses. 

People of Color Disproportionately Impacted

Morgan’s voice is providing personal testimony to the fact that there’s major disproportionality by race when it comes to people affected by homelessness. One in seven African American children in Kent County — 2,658 in all — were in the homeless system in 2018, according to data from K-Connect

In total for Kent County, 10,538 people were in the homeless system last year, and 3,741 were children.

The disparity is not just in African Americans.  Out of all children in the county, one in 46 were in the homeless system in 2018. But for Hispanic/Latino children the proportion was one in 54, while for white children it was one in 160. In total, 10,538 people were in the homeless system last year, of which 3,741 — 33 percent — were children. 

“These numbers are crushing and yet, these numbers only reflect the children we know about,” said Brandy Lovelady-Mitchell, Kent ISD director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and member of KConnect’s Housing Security Design Team. “There are likely others who are impacted by homelessness whom our system knows nothing about yet. Our community needs to know the magnitude of the demand and the urgency.”

This data point amplifies the reality that many black people are struggling in Kent County, Lovelady-Mitchell said, adding, “Please hear me when I say it is not because of any deficit in black people.”

Education, health, employment rates, economic development and opportunities all factor into generational wealth, and there are major disparities in these areas by race, she said.  

“Each of (those) elements intersect with housing and the way that race influences these systems. I see the faces behind those numbers which brings me to my knees. One child is too many.”

Diana Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation and KConnect board member, said seeing the data is “horrific.”

“It’s important to look at the data; it’s also important to feel what this means,” Sieger said. “We need to acknowledge systemic racism is really at the root of all of this, particularly when we look at the statistics of homeless children.”

The data includes literally homeless people (without a fixed, regular nighttime residence or living in shelters, hotels and motels) or people who are facing the imminent threat of losing their residence. (KConnect data includes infants and children not old enough for school, so differs from McKinney-Vento Act data, which includes only children enrolled in school that have been reported as homeless.)

Huge Gaps in Income

Income helps explain the disproportion. According to KConnect data, in Kent County, average monthly earnings for white workers in the second quarter of 2018 was  $4,411, compared to $2,840 for black workers. That’s $25.45 per hour compared to $16.38 per hour for a 40-hour work week.

The numbers show paying for basic needs is difficult for many families. The basic annual cost of living for a family of four in 2017, according to the ALICE report, completed by the Michigan Association of United Ways, was $61,272 — up 27 percent from 2010 and equal to an hourly wage of $30.64. 

“TAKING $2 MILLION AND BUYING HOUSES THAT COULD BE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION IS A MUCH BETTER SOLUTION THAT CREATING SMALL UNITS AND PACKING PEOPLE TOGETHER WHERE THERE’S NO SPACE TO GROW.”

— Kayla Morgan, Grand Rapids mom and lived experience expert for KConnect



In terms of housing, Sieger said there is much more need than federal subsidies available to help very low-income families pay for housing in Grand Rapids. She said she is grateful data is being scrutinized, and hopes it leads to framing housing as a larger community problem and then yield new ways of addressing it.

Lovelady-Mitchell also struck a hopeful note.

“I believe Kent County is rich with people who care, rich with resources and hopefully rich with people who are invested in inclusive growth,” she said. “I believe our region will find a way to change this sooner versus later for the sake of all of our babies, especially the one in seven black babies who are under this burden.”


Kayla Morgan uses yoga as a way to reduce the effects of stress and trauma (photo by Dianne Carroll Burdick) 



Housing Struggles Continue

Kayla Morgan continues to face difficulty in finding housing she can afford that is safe and adequate for her children and mother, who needs care due to health problems.  

“My kids don’t have a yard; they can’t go outside and play,” she said. “Going in the hallway, I feel like it’s not safe. There are liquor bottles lying around. … There are people fighting.” 

She was in the process of moving from one Grand Rapids nonprofit-owned apartment to another, a place where she was on the waiting list for a full year. She paid more than $1,500 for deposit and first month’s rent on a new lease.

“I do feel like we are still not housed by choice,” she said, meaning she has always had to take what she can get and what’s available. “It’s whoever calls you back. We weren’t even able to look at these apartments before we applied; it was basically you take what you can get or leave.”

When walking through the Northeast side apartment for the first time, she discovered roaches, exposed outlets, dirty floors and other areas in need of repair. She said she hoped to get her money back and search for something else, but worried she would have to move in with others again. As of early December she had decided to stay in the apartment.

“I SEE THE FACES BEHIND THOSE NUMBERS WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY KNEES. ONE CHILD IS TOO MANY.”

— Brandy Lovelady-Mitchell



Morgan, who said she does not receive rental assistance or Section 8 Housing Vouchers, doesn’t believe more government-subsidized units is the best answer. She wants economic amends for past injustices to be part of the conversation.  

“We wouldn’t choose to live in projects, which is what they are. They are building projects and putting us there not by choice.

“Taking $2 million and buying houses that could be passed down from generation to generation is a much better solution than creating small units and packing people together where there’s no space to grow.”

Morgan said the number of homeless children of color is unacceptable.

“It makes me angry. It makes me sad and I think someone needs to apologize. Someone needs to take accountability,” she said. Systems need to change, she said. 

“I think there have to be more discussions around antiracism policies and procedures beyond lip service, with succession planning and anti-racism being in the DNA of every organization.”

Morgan hopes to one day to have a home that she can truly call her own.

“I would love for my kids to have one place they can live in until they move out and we don’t have to move again,” she said. 

“I would love to have a house that I own where my kids could play outside and it’s in a safe neighborhood and it’s close to their school.”

For more stories about area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Living in cars, campers, motels and ‘doubled-up,’ homeless students struggle to succeed

Homeless, with Homework: A new School News Network series on homelessness in schools and its connection to housing. As costs rise and the rental market has low availability, nearly 2,500 students in Kent ISD public schools are facing homelessness. These stories look into what’s led to the issue and how it impacts students. For more on the series, click here.

Homeless counts by district: GRPS at 6%, Kentwood at 2.3%, Kenowa Hills at 5.5%, Wyoming at 2.2%, Godfrey-lee at 4.4% and Northview at 2.4%


By Erin Albanese
School News Network


When students in Kent County schools are identified as homeless, district coordinators have items ready — school uniforms, backpacks, coats, school supplies, bus passes, even mattresses. 

What’s become more and more difficult is helping families find adequate shelter.

Schools — urban, suburban and rural — are seeing increased numbers of homeless students and fewer options for housing because of high rents and scarce vacancies. Coordinators who work with students and families facing homelessness ask where they are staying and inform them about 211 services including shelter information. But they often can’t do much more. Even shelters have long waiting lists.

Kent ISD homeless student counts: 2018/2019 was 2,457, 2017/2018 was 2,059, 2015/2016 was 2,159


The school coordinators say families are living in cars, campers, motels and, most commonly, in “doubled-up” arrangements with other families. 

“I really feel, truly, when it comes to finding a house, I’m more of just emotional support because there aren’t options,” said Sarah Weir. She is  Kentwood Public Schools coordinator for the McKinney-Vento Act, federal legislation that helps children continue to go to school even if they don’t have a permanent home. (To receive services, such as transportation, under the act, they must be identified as homeless, according to certain criteria.)

Casey Gordon, who coordinates the McKinney-Vento Act grant for Kent and Allegan counties at Kent ISD, said more students are facing prolonged homelessness and are being newly identified as homeless.

Sara Weir

“It’s directly related to the lack of affordable housing,” she said.

School districts each year start their count of homeless students in July. During the first few weeks of school in Grand Rapids Public Schools, 194 students newly reported as homeless. 

“It was huge. We had to rush,” said Edna Stewart, the district’s homeless/foster care coordinator. Last year, 953 students were homeless in the more than 15,300-student district compared to 661 in 2017-2018. 

‘ALMOST EVERYONE I WORK WITH IS WORKING, THEY JUST CAN’T AFFORD THE RENT. SO MANY ARE DOUBLED UP.’

– Sara Weir, Kentwood Public Schools



Weir, who is in her fourth year in the position, said last school year 216 students were identified as homeless in Kentwood. This year that number was already at 165 in mid-November. “It’s never been this high in the three years before this,” she said. “It’s been the busiest start that I’ve ever had.” 

Rural and suburban areas are seeing similar trends, say district coordinators. In Cedar Springs Public Schools in late October, Ashley Reynolds has already worked with 75 students. Last school year, 60 registered by the end of the school year. In Comstock Park, Missi McPherson has already assisted 42 homeless students. Last year’s total was 61.

No Place to Call Home

Gordon said the issue is as much a problem of housing availability as affordability. Grand Rapids has less than 4 percent of rental units available, which is one of the lowest rates in the country.

Casey Gordan

“That means we have lots and lots of people applying for every apartment and home that’s available,” Gordon said. “Landlords and rental companies then have a variety of applicants to choose from. They look at every factor, including incredibly high credit scores. Anyone who has a barrier in their past credit history, it becomes very difficult for them to find an affordable unit.”

Gordon said she received eight calls in one week from people asking for rental assistance. “They are working multiple jobs and still don’t have enough to make their rent payment.”

However, there aren’t enough resources to meet demand for help paying the rent. “We absolutely have a dire need for more resources to keep people stable,” she said.

‘THEY ARE WORKING MULTIPLE JOBS AND STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEIR RENT PAYMENT.’ 

– Casey Gordon, Kent ISD



That’s the case on Grand Rapids’ rapidly developing West Side, where skyrocketing rents have driven out many residents, while homes for sale are hard to come by and out of many buyers’ price range. So says Jim Davis, a city planning commissioner and executive director of Westside Collaborative, an alliance of nonprofits and faith-based agencies that works to support equity and quality of life for all. Davis says renters may hear from landlords, “Hey, we love having you, your lease is up. We’re going to take your $900 a month payment and it’s going to be $1,800, but we hope you’ll stay” – not a realistic option for most. 

Related Story: ‘We didn’t notice they’re gone’ – A West Side resident with two children in Grand Rapids Public Schools, Jim Davis worries about the families who can’t afford to live in that booming area and the impact on schools. 



Skyrocketing Rents

With 43 percent of families not earning enough to afford basic needs, according to a reportcompleted by the Michigan Association of United Ways, incomes aren’t aligning with housing prices. 

In Kent County, as of Oct. 1, fair market rent was $962 per month for a two-bedroom and $1,296 for a three-bedroom unit, up 6.6% and 5% from last year, respectively



Units that advertise as affordable often really aren’t, Stewart said.

“Affordable housing here is not affordable housing. Who are you really targeting when you say ‘affordable housing’ and you promote these new apartments being built? You are not targeting (those) in need of that housing.”

Edna Stewart

In Kenowa Hills Public Schools, which had 173 homeless students enrolled last school year, area hotels and motels serve as temporary living arrangements. 

“In the last five years, that’s been the trend they’ve seen increasing,” Gordon said. “People from Grand Rapids and northern parts of Kent County and many other districts are landing in the hotels in Kenowa Hills.”

In Kentwood, Weir said most families that come to her — about 10 each week — have exhausted their options. Minimum wage jobs paying $9.45 per hour — that’s $1,638 a month for a 40-hour week (if one got paid in full for every week of the year) — don’t come close to paying the bills. 

‘AFFORDABLE HOUSING HERE IS NOT AFFORDABLE HOUSING. YOU ARE NOT TARGETING (THOSE) IN NEED OF THAT HOUSING.’

– Edna Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Schools



“They can’t find a place,” Weir said. “Almost everyone I work with is working, they just can’t afford the rent. So many are doubled up — more than ever before.” 

Weir has families facing sudden homelessness because apartment complexes are hiking rates and not renewing leases, forcing families to move when prices increase. “We are running into a lot of people who have a place to live and they think everything is fine, then they get kicked out because (the property owner) can charge more.”

Weir used to print out lists of available rentals. Now, she helps families get on a list for shelters. One Kentwood family living out of a car was 21st on a waiting list to get into a shelter.

“I tell them the best thing is to keep your eyes open when driving around,” she said, noting that private homeowners aren’t always as strict about credit and eviction records.

Waiting Lists, Shelters, Hotels

In Comstock Park, McPherson, educational support services coordinator, said many of her families — working two or three low paying jobs to make ends meet — are priced out of the rental market. She had 15 students in early November living in Grand Rapids shelters. 

“They were on the waiting list so Salvation Army was putting them up in hotels until there were openings,” McPherson said. (Under the McKinney-Vento Act, students have the right to be transported to their district of origin if needed and feasible.)

Missi McPherson

About a quarter of students in Comstock Park schools live in the York Creek Apartments, where two-bedroom units start at $785. If families lose those units, there are few other options available. One hotel in the district offers extended stays, but it’s full too, she said.

“When a house or apartment comes available that’s reasonably priced, it’s snatched up very quickly. There’s just not the availability out there. We are so small and there are not that many rental properties outside of York Creek,” McPherson said.

In Cedar Springs, “We are the highest we’ve been since we’ve had a homeless liaison,” Ashley Reynolds said of the 75 homeless students she’s worked with so far this year.

 “There were two houses listed for rent and two of our families went to look at them, but they were like $1,600 for a three-bedroom. They just don’t have the means to afford that.”

‘WHEN A HOUSE OR APARTMENT COMES AVAILABLE THAT’S REASONABLY PRICED, IT’S SNATCHED UP VERY QUICKLY.’

– Missi McPherson, Comstock Park Public Schools



A fire at Red Flannel Acres, an affordable housing community in the district, destroyed eight units, displacing several families and leading them to double up with other families.

Another trend is living in campers or tiny cottages on campgrounds, Reynolds said. “We have a couple families who have campers that are going to try and stay in there all winter. You never want to see that, but then if they don’t have anywhere else to go it’s better than nothing.”

Prices Higher than Many Can Afford

Many families live on incomes above the poverty level, but don’t earn enough to cover basic needs.

Basic household costs in michigan: $61,272 for a family of four. 43% of families don't meet this basic-needs benchmark.

Statewide, of 3.935 million households, 14 percent lived in poverty in 2017 and another 29 percent had incomes under what’s needed to cover basic expenses.

In Kent County, including those living below the poverty line, 37 percent of families did not earn enough to cover basic needs.

As for wages, 61 percent of all jobs in Michigan pay less than $20 per hour.

Ashley Reynolds

Gordon hopes to see increased community efforts to help families afford housing, keep their jobs, be able to work — and have their children go to school without worrying about being displaced at the end of the day. “We need real affordable housing,” she said, adding, “$1,200 a month is not affordable housing for a family of five that has one income and little ones.”

Action Needed Locally

Gordon said many cities and counties across the nation are taking steps to increase affordable housing options. They are tapping into grant sources, incentivizing developers and working through planning commissions. 

The issue can be controversial, however, because of the stigma surrounding affordable housing. Communities often resist multi-family residences.

‘WE HAVE A COUPLE FAMILIES WHO HAVE CAMPERS THAT ARE GOING TO TRY AND STAY IN THERE ALL WINTER.’

– Ashley Reynolds



But city master planning should prioritize long-term stability and growth, without increasing family and youth homelessness, she said.

“We see some very hopeful things but we also see problems that continue to be a problem. The ‘We don’t want affordable housing here. Why would we incentivize multiple family units?’ It is a tension between everyone wanting a wonderful place to live, work and be, but how do you ensure you have equality in that system?” 

Nevertheless, she said, people can work together for the benefit of all.

“Business owners, politicians and the city really have a significant interest in ensuring we are a community where everybody is able to live and work and get around.”

For more stories about local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Elective gives high-schoolers a crash course in business

Cindy Calderon, far left, completes a sale. (Photo by School News Network)


By Phil deHaan
School News Network


It was just before 9 a.m. on a cold, late-November morning, and in the lobby of Celebration!Cinema North, Kelloggsville High School students were setting up tables to display their wares.

What would get these students up so early on a day where they might ordinarily sleep in? The occasion was the Junior Achievement (JA) Fall Movie Premiere, during which area JA students get a chance to sell to a movie audience and then see the movie (in this case, “Frozen 2”). As budding entrepreneurs, many of whom have a passion for business, the chance to sell their products to strangers was enticing.

“These students have done some selling at school and maybe to friends and family,” noted Kelloggsville social studies and business teacher Ryan Zuiderveen, who mentors his school’s JA teams. “But this was the first real public event like this. It’s exciting.” 

He continued: “The money earned is a very small part of the event. They are put in a situation that is a little outside of their comfort zone, they have to try to anticipate the wants of an unknown customer group, they see the need for inventory. And it is such a cool moment for students to bring their families and take them out to the movies. The work students do with their business paying dividends for them and their families.”

From left: Kelloggsville JA students Samuel Aguillon, Erik Diaz Rodriguez, Roberto Gonzalez-Martinez, Cindy Calderon, Alexcia Jaramillo, Luis ‘Tony’ Diaz, teacher and mentor Ryan Zuiderveen, Olga Pizano-Garcia, Noemi Pedro-Rafael, Kristina Healey, Milan Huynh. (Photo by School News Network)

Triscenta Team in ‘Soothing Pink’

Hard to miss at Celebration!Cinema was the trio from Triscenta (the name is a play on three friends making scented candles). They were clad in matching pink T-shirts (soothing, they said, “like our candles”) emblazoned with their business logo, which also features prominently on their candles for sale.

Kristina Healey and Kelloggsville teacher and JA mentor Ryan Zuiderveen sort movie vouchers. (Photo by School News Network)

They’d chosen the candle business after deciding they wanted to do something around smell. “It’s one of the five senses, you know,” Roberto said. After kicking around a few ideas that didn’t seem practical, they landed on candles. “Everyone loves candles,” added Samuel.

They headed to YouTube to do their research and found a 20-minute video that pretty much laid out the process from start to finish. From there, it was a matter of where to set up shop. Samuel’s house became HQ for Triscenta, simply because it was centrally located for all three team members. His parents were cool with it, said Samuel, with the only stipulation being that the three entrepreneurs clean up after themselves.

“The first time or two we were pretty messy,” Erik said.

“But we’ve gotten a lot better,” added Roberto.

The team orders all its supplies – soy wax, scented oil, wicks and glass jars – from Amazon, and candle-making events are now a well-oiled machine. The wax gets melted in a double burner, fragrance gets added, wicks get set up in jars and the pouring begins. Later, the jars are adorned with the team’s logo on a vinyl sticker that they produce on a Cricut die-cutting machine that Zuiderveen procured from a relative and keeps at the high school.

Milan Huynh of Milartn (a play on her name and art) (Photo by School News Network)

Entrepreneurship 101

Zuiderveen, who put himself through college in part by running his own painting company, says Triscenta is a great example of what he tries to do with his business class and its partnership with Junior Achievement (JA).

The class is an elective, and between its two sections attracted more than 50 students this semester. All students are expected to start a business, either on their own or with fellow classmates. Along the way, they receive guidance and support from Zuiderveen, JA and a variety of guest mentors. Students handle everything from raising capital and tracking finances to marketing and sales.

“I have shaped the curriculum around entrepreneurship,” said Zuiderveen. “The students have really taken off with the program this year. Most weeks we have a theme or two – mission statements, finance, logo creation and so on – and the rest of the time is applying the concepts to their businesses.”

Students also get a chance to hear from current and former business professionals.

Steve Carlson retired in June after 17 years with GE Aviation and Smiths Aerospace, including work as senior global director in the customer account management group. He’s been a JA volunteer for 40 years, but is in his first year at Kelloggsville working with the student businesses.

He and a team of GE volunteers go into the classroom once a week for 13 weeks to help the students start a business, make and sell products and then liquidate the company before the end of the semester.

Kelloggsville teacher and JA mentor Ryan Zuiderveen with the team from Triscenta: Samuel Aguillon, Erik Diaz Rodriguez and Roberto Gonzalez-Martinez (Photo by School News Network)

Owning their Economic Future

Carlson said he loves the opportunity to help students learn about leadership, sales, finance and working as a team to achieve goals.

“JA,” he said, “is a great organization that inspires students to own their economic future. It doesn’t matter if they ever start a business or are just smarter consumers. In JA they get mentored by local volunteers in every grade from kindergarten to high school. This helps them understand how businesses work and gives them the opportunity to explore careers that are aligned with their interests and skills.”

Kelloggsville currently has 13 businesses as part of the program, and four were at the Celebration!Cinema event (space constraints limited the number of participants).

In addition to Triscenta, there was ACT (Alexcia Jaramillo, Cindy Calderon and Luis “Tony” Diaz), selling clothing that could be customized; KCNO (Kristina Healey, Cynthia Marcelino-Martinez, Noemi Pedro-Rafael and Olga Pizano-Garcia), selling handmade pouches, bags and scrunchies; and Milartn (a play on the name of team member Milan Huynh and her work as an artist), selling handmade coasters.

Prior to the event, the four businesses had combined for about $1,000 in sales, said Zuiderveen, and the theater event saw the four teams combine for another $200 in sales.

From left, Kelloggsville JA students Olga Pizano-Garcia, Noemi Pedro-Rafael, Kristina Healey from the Kelloggsville KCNO team (Photo by School News Network)

Experiential Learning

After the event, Zuiderveen had each team respond to a series of questions in an Excel spreadsheet. The answers were informative, he said, and spoke to some of the challenges of running a business.

Some students thought the event was great, and said they sold more than they thought they would. Others noted that the young audience for the movie meant that some team’s products did better than others. 

“I learned that our products don’t really appeal to younger kids,” one respondent wrote. Another added: “I would recommend making sure that everyone knows who the customers will be, so that they can make sure that their products will appeal to everyone there.”

Zuiderveen said he loves that feedback because it fits with the JA approach to experiential learning. Events like those at the theater also help students get ready for future challenges and opportunities, he said. 

Indeed, next spring Zuiderveen, a second-year teacher at Kelloggsville, plans to bring teams to a student business competition (he describes it as “almost like a nicer Shark Tank”) that will give them a chance to take home scholarships. He added that last year a Kelloggsville team took home first place, and he is hoping to send a team to the national competition this year.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: ‘It feels important’

From left, Ayva Cardosa, Alycia Cruz, Trendon Holliman and Antwan Bland focus on production. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network


In talk-show style form, news anchors Janna Barba and Angelica Ferrell spiced up their announcements with lots of enthusiasm recently during Tiger Talk, the new Townline Elementary School news broadcast.

The anchors introduced a segment on the school walk-a-thon and the harvest festival with some light-hearted conversation.

“Summer has turned into fall and we are already into October,” said Angelica.

Added Janna: “Before we know, the leaves will be painted with colors of fall.”

“Do you know what my favorite part about fall is, Janna?” continued Angelica. “Halloween! As you know I am new to town. Do we get to have any Halloween parties?”

The program then cut to an interview with the Parent Teacher Council president about the fall fun before it was time for a segment on school behavior expectations, Tiger PRIDE, including interviews with students and staff.

“Let’s roll the video!” Angelica announced.

Anchors Janna Barba, left, and Angelica Ferrell read the news for Tiger Talk. (School News Network)

The Weekly News

These chatty cats like taking the mic and wearing their journalism hats while recording in the hallway-turned studio. As fifth graders, they and their classmates are in charge of bringing the news to students and teachers through announcements and on-site interviews on Tiger Talk, named after the school’s mascot. Students record an episode on Friday mornings, then it’s sent to teachers to show in their rooms during the week. It’s also posted on the school’s Facebook page for parents.

“It feels important,” said Angelica, shortly after completing the final cut of their most recent broadcast. “I learned to show our PRIDE.”

That’s PRIDE, as in Problem Solve, Respect, Independence, Demonstrate Responsibility and Excellence, she said. That’s been one of Tiger Talk’s topics. 

Tiger Talk first aired this fall as a way to efficiently get news out to staff and families. Principal Michelle Downs said her daily announcements over the intercom were disrupting instruction, and she wanted to get students involved in communicating the happenings at school.

“We thought, ‘Why not videotape kids doing a talk show to get that information sent to teachers?” she said.

Alycia Cruz watches the iPad screen as she records. (School News Network)

Building Solid Skills

Tiger Talk involves more than just announcements. Students have interviewed teachers about the school’s literacy night and about new furniture and carpeting. They also interviewed a local firefighter about school safety drills. Students videotaped kindergartners practicing a fire, lockdown and tornado drill.

“It’s important because it will let our parents know how we are acting in school,” said Trendon Holliman.

Students rotate positions, serving as anchors, on-location anchors, and production crew. Media lab paraprofessional Brooke Schachermeyer coordinates and writes the script.

“Our hope and our goal is to have all fifth grade students participate at one point in the year,” Downs said. “What’s been exciting for me is you can see kids in a different setting, a different light. We are starting to see those who are naturals. They like being in front of the camera. They communicate very well.”

The Tiger Talk team involves all fifth graders at Townline Elementary, who rotate jobs (School News Network)

Others prefer to be behind the camera, involved in production, she said. 

Another benefit has been increased parental involvement. After parents watched the Tiger Talk segment on reading night, attendance was doubled over last year’s event. “It was the first time we’ve run out of food. We had 160 people show up,” Downs said.

Fifth grade teacher David Schmidt said Tiger Talk not only helps meet fifth-grade Michigan technology standards, it also shows students explore different career options and gives them experience in communication. It’s a perfect precursor for working on East Kentwood High School’s student broadcast, Falcon News Network. “It’s always nice to show how we can use technology to communicate in a really positive way,” Schmidt said.

Also, “It’s just plain fun. It’s really cool when we are sitting here in class and the video is on and everyone’s watching one of their classmates present… all the kids get to really cheer on and encourage each other.”

The students are also shining as school leaders, said fifth grade teacher Leeann Seymour, who students interviewed about a courtyard being turned into a garden. “It builds confidence and it’s fun when they see younger kids in school. They are kind of like school celebrities.”

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Learning their way

Second grader Eva Cavazos plays with ‘silly monster’ during break in the SWAS classroom. (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network


On any given day at East Kelloggsville Elementary, you’ll find teacher Jacky Hamann and a handful of students hard at work. Eleven students split their time between the traditional classroom and Hamann’s classroom. With Hamann, they do the same work their classmates are doing, but in a space dedicated to helping them cope with behavioral challenges.

Last week, second grader Eva Cavazos took a break from her math work, modeling two step word problems, to play with “silly monster”, a finger puppet reward she chose for a job well done. Eva is not shy about telling you why she’s come to SWAS.

“I’m here to do work,” she said.

Hamann’s classroom is known as a “school within a school” or “SWAS”, and for students like Cavazos and her SWAS peers, it’s been key to staying productive — and staying in school.

Kindergartners Payton Johnson and Daimyon Watson deposit tickets for a treat. (School News Network)

Suspending the Suspensions

The concept is simple: students struggling with behavior leave their classroom and work in SWAS, just down the hall. Some go at regularly-scheduled intervals — from 15 minutes to a half day — as determined by the classroom teacher and Hamann. Others drop in as needed, to cool down and refocus. The extra attention from Hamann, who is trained in emotional and cognitive impairments and learning disabilities, has proven effective. Just ask Anastasia Taggart, whose son Cardier Rogers was in the building’s SWAS room as a third-grader last spring.

Prior to the SWAS program, Taggart had been called so frequently to pick up Cardier from school that she lost her job. 

“We had to try something because he was getting kicked out of school all the time,” said Taggart.

Cardier was among the building’s first SWAS students when it started in the spring of 2018. It was a rough start, said Taggart, as students with behavioral challenges converged in one space. But the district worked with Taggart and Cardier to identify challenges, implement a 504 plan and strategically time his SWAS visits for the most impact — like during math, which had been a struggle for Cardier. He thought some of his classmates made fun of him for that reason.

Kindergartner Daimyon Watson does his math work. (School News Network)

In SWAS, Cardier’s suspensions plummeted. Math became his favorite subject.

“I made the right choices. It’s helped me to be here…and I got better at math,” he said. “It’s fun in here. I get to do a lot of math and now I know division and multiplication.”

One year after Cardier started SWAS, Taggart said she was able to go to her job without fearing the dreaded phone call from the office.

“Sending a kid home, especially at this age, does nothing – studies have shown suspensions really don’t do much good,” said Hamann. “It’s better to have them here, having conversations. Behavior is not a road you take alone. We are a team – I work with our behavior specialist, the classroom teacher, the principal, and the parents.”

Daimyon Watson answers the questions of the day in the SWAS classroom. (School News Network)

A Careful Process

Implementing SWAS is methodical. Before opening her classroom to students, Hamann spends a few weeks observing classrooms, gathering data, and determining which students can most benefit from her classroom.

“They identify themselves fairly quickly,” said Hamann, who shares her observations with classroom teachers. “Their behaviors are crying out for help in some way. It’s our job to figure out how.”

Students can exit SWAS as maturity increases and behaviors improve.

“This is a chance to remove them from where they’re being escalated and give them a chance to get their work done, get a break from classroom triggers, and keep them here at school,” said Beth Travis, who implemented the SWAS room as principal at East Kelloggsville. (Travis helped roll out the middle school SWAS program as assistant principal there, and has returned to the middle school as principal this year.)

Besides East Kelloggsville, SWAS rooms exist at Southeast Elementary and Kelloggsville Middle School.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Teacher Jacky Hamann reads to kindergartner Daimyon Watson and second graders Johuan Howland and Eva Cavazos. (School News Network)

School News Network: Protecting cyber security in schools ‘This is kind of scary’

Glen Finkel, director of information technology at Kent ISD, organized the October 31 cyber security event. (School News Network)

By Phil de Haan
School News Network



Glen Finkel smiled as he stood in front of 75 superintendents, business managers, and technology directors and system administrators.

“One of the reasons we picked October 31st for this event,” the Kent ISD Director of Information Technology said, “is this is kind of scary.”

Those in attendance – primarily from Kent ISD plus a few from Ionia, Montcalm and Muskegon counties – chuckled appreciatively, if not a little nervously.

They’d just heard from presenters at Kent ISD on the ways school districts are vulnerable to cyber attacks, including ransomware.

Scary, indeed.

But, said Finkel, one of the purposes of the workshop was to make things a little less frightening for district leaders, including IT professionals.

“Due to the dramatic increase of ransomware attacks on schools across the state, we wanted to give our school districts an opportunity to hear from industry experts on how to prepare for and respond to this type of cyber attack,” he noted. 

“Since effective cybersecurity involves many departments within an organization, we set up this learning opportunity to cover the many perspectives and diverse backgrounds of our audience,” Finkel explained.

   

Russell Hoorn II, director of technology for Kelloggsville Public Schools, and Terri Ricketson, director of business services, participated in the workshop

‘Why Would Anyone Want to Attack a School’

For Russell Hoorn II, director of technology for Kelloggsville Public Schools, the event provided some good reminders on how life has changed for schools in the two decades he’s worked in K-12 at his alma mater, Kenowa Hills, and the last 15 at Kelloggsville. 

“The focus (of cybersecurity) used to be making sure students couldn’t change their grades,” Hoorn said during a break between sessions. He said the workshop underscored how important it is to be vigilant going forward.

“I used to think ‘why would anyone want to attack a school?’ That’s not the case anymore.”

Session speakers made it clear “just why.” Alex Brown with Plante Moran gave the day’s opening talk and his message to attendees was plain.

“What you guys hold,” he said, “is the ‘creme de la creme,’ which is records.”

Brown said that on the dark web – what he referred to as “the Walmart of bad things” – a fully loaded record can be purchased for around $3. Schools, he noted, have lots of fully loaded records, typically where name, address and social security number are all together.

 

In addition, he said, child records are a prime target for hackers because they are a blank slate – without a lot of history attached to them compared to a data record for an adult. 

“That blank slate,” he said, “is a great resource for a lot of bad things.”

In fact, in a 2017 story by DataBreaches.net on children’s records being hacked from pediatricians, it was estimated that the fully loaded patient records of 500,000 children are available on the dark web. DataBreaches estimated another 200,000 records were stolen from elementary schools.

I haven’t had specific training like this,” Hoorn said, “so this is great. “I am interested in the security of our school district. I think we do a pretty good job, but I want to make sure we are following best practices. We don’t want to be a school district in the news because we had to recover something we should have been protecting.”

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Mentors help ‘bring out the brillance’

Mentor Anjie Gleisner reads to Early Childhood Center student Nicole Dela Torre Gomez during lunch. (School News Network)

By Cris Greer
School News Network


Walk through the Affinity Mentoring area in Godfrey-Lee’s Early Childhood Center and you’ll see plenty of children and adults reading, coloring, eating lunch and just sharing a friendly moment together.

Like mentor Anjie Gleisner, who is matched with kindergartner Nicole Dela Torre Gomez.

“I have never done this before, but it’s something I’ve always been interested in doing,” said Gleisner, a branch manager at the Kent District Library. 

“I work full time, and recently my employer encouraged us to go out and do this within the community on work time. With the mentoring program, a lot of it is having a dedicated adult available to help out with anything kids might need help with regarding school, but also to be a buddy and someone to talk to every week.

“Because I’m a librarian, I’m really passionate about reading and have been bringing books from the library and we’ve been reading together. I’m really enjoying it so far.”

Rachel Humphreys, development director at Affinity Mentoring, said their model is unique, partnering with organizations, schools, corporations and individuals to provide high quality, culturally responsive mentoring to school-age children.

“Each partnership is developed to meet the needs of the students as well as the needs of the partner,” Humphreys said. “Our school partners support Affinity by providing physical space in the school as well as collaborating around which students to match with a mentor and inviting Affinity staff and mentors to continue to participate in the community/school team.”

Affinity currently partners with Burton Elementary School, Burton Middle School, Southwest Community Campus and Godfrey-Lee ECC. The organization hopes to match 25-35 students in its first year at the ECC and nearly 300 across all four sites.

Mentor Rachel Clousing works with first grader Trezure Griffith through Affinity Mentoring. (School News Network)

Grant-funded Partnerships

The Steelcase Foundation made the mentoring program possible last spring with a $75,000 expansion grant, which consists of $25,000 per year for three years.

The funds support mentor relationships and serve as seed money to open the fourth site, at the ECC.

Mentors and program staff work together with parents, teachers and administrative staff to improve students’ literacy skills, social emotional learning, self-esteem, leadership skills, attendance and academic achievement, Humphreys explained.

She said their goal is for mentors to be role models, tutors and friends.

Superintendent Kevin Polston said Godfrey-Lee Public Schools believes in the impact mentoring can have on a child’s education and their overall well-being.

“One of our core values is community, the belief that it takes a village to raise a child,” Polston said. “We are honored to begin a partnership … to bring out the brilliance in each child.”

New mentor Rachel Clousing said she loves hanging out with kids and wanted to give back by volunteering.

“I love it; it’s really fun,” said Clousing, a personal trainer.

Her mentee, Trezure Griffith, also enjoys her time with Clousing.

“It’s good,” Trezure said. “I was playing with Play-Doh and eating lunch down here. After I ate lunch, we raced each other on the playground.”

For more stories on area schools, visit schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Mentors read to students at the Early Childhood Center as part of the Affinity Mentoring program. (School News Network)

School News Network: Turning the page toward equality

Eighth grader Shay Wilks checks out a book from library clerk Kelly Austin. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network


Pinewood Middle School eighth grader Shay Wilks said she reads four to six books a month. While visiting the school library recently, she commented on the book, “Blended” by Sharon M. Draper. The main character is a biracial girl. It’s one of her favorites.

“She has my same skin tone,” Shay said. “Sometimes she would get bullied for her skin tone, and sometimes I do too.”

Eighth grader Allie Watkins discovered the book ‘Warcross,’ by Marie Lu, during a challenge to read diverse books

Shay said the fact she related to the character was one reason she loved the book.

That kind of connection is what Kentwood educators are seeking in stocking teachers’ classroom libraries with diverse books that reflect students’ cultures and backgrounds, and through which students can learn about others’ cultures and circumstances.

“We are the most diverse district in the entire state and seventh in the nation. We are very proud of that,” said Melisa Mulder, secondary ELA intervention coach, who is leading the effort. 

Mulder attended a Michigan Reading Association Conference on the importance of classroom libraries, which prompted her to survey middle and high school teachers about the number of books in their rooms and if they consisted of diverse titles. “My hunch was our libraries were not as diverse in terms of the amount of books they should have or in showing what our kids represent.”

Minority cultures remain underrepresented in books. In 2015, according to statistics compiled by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, just 7.6% of children’s books had African or African American characters; 3.3% had Asian or Asian American; 2.4% had Latino; and 0.9% had Native American.

“It’s really about inclusion and wanting them all to be represented,” Mulder said.

Eighth grader Shay Wilks peruses the school library

Mission: Stock Libraries

The survey found most classroom libraries did not have the minimum 300 books recommended by the Michigan Reading Association, and the ones they did have lacked diversity. 75% of teachers had about 100 books, with the majority of teachers using their own money to buy them.

Mulder presented a plan to to Evan Hordyk, executive director for secondary education, who supported her efforts. The Board of Education approved the purchase of $1,500 in books for each secondary English language arts teacher, about 78 district-wide. The goal is to allocate $1,000 per teacher next school year, too, and $300 every other year to follow to keep titles current. Teachers, using a list of considerations about creating diverse book collection, ordered the books they wanted, and replaced outdated titles.

Pinewood’s library clerk, Kelly Austin, is championing the effort. Last year she and librarians at Crestwood and Valleywood middle schools started “Books for Us,” a program in which students are challenged to read a minimum of six books representing diverse authors and characters.

Last school year, more than 50 students read, journaled and held lunch meetings to talk about the 10 books, which were chosen by the librarians. The culminating event included hearing a guest speaker, a catered lunch and voting on their favorite book. Students received a T-shirt, commemorative bookmark and swag bag. The challenge starts again in November.

Another way to get books in students’ hands is through the KDL Bookmobile,which visits Pinewood every three weeks. Students can check out books right from the traveling library. The district has also ensured that all students have a library card.

The overarching goal, Mulder said, is equity. Students who feel connections with books are more motivated to read, and therefore will become more skilled at it.

Eighth grader Shay Wilks has learned how books can be a mirror and a window for a reader

Finding ‘That Book for that Kid’

Added Austin, “If I have books in here that are not by diverse authors and do not represent the kids, that’s not equitable because you can’t come in here and find a book about your experience. …“To me, it’s important to listen to them and to get their input about what books we have, what books they are enjoying.”

She said finding a reluctant reader a book she or he loves can help them develop a joy for reading.

“Building the love of reading is like the icing on the cake… If I don’t try to keep my library current and diverse I may never find that book for that kid.”

English-language learner teacher Diana McDiarmid said her students are benefiting from the new books on her shelves. She’s had trouble finding books for students who come from all over the globe. “It’s going to impact them a lot because they will actually have books they want to read… It’s something they can connect with.”

Eighth grader Allie Watkins read all 10 titles in the “Books for Us” challenge, and loved “Warcross” by Marie Lu, which represents the Chinese culture. “I thought it was so cool to learn how different people react to different situations,” Allie said.

She said her classmates will like finding books that reflect their culture and through which they can learn about others.

“It will benefit them because their are people here from all different cultures. It will be nice for them to read books from many cultures.”

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Practicing your escape plan is key

By Fire Lt. Michael McLeleer of E.S.C.A.P.E., Fire Safety

At E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety, an organization that provides fire safety education and training to children and adults, we want to remind readers that seconds can mean the difference between a safe escape and a tragic injury or death.

Fifteen to 20 years ago, homes had more “natural” materials in them such as cotton, wool and untreated wood.  Because of this, you had 15-20 minutes to escape in the event of a fire. With all of the synthetic materials in homes today, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Escape planning and practice can help give everyone enough time to get out. 

According to a National Fire Protection Association survey, 71% of households have a fire escape plan, but only 47% of those have practiced it. This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape,”  shines a spotlight on the importance of practicing the plan.

You may see or hear firefighters and other community advocates throughout October teaching the community about the dangers of fire and smoke, the importance of having working smoke alarms, along with creating and practicing a home escape plan. 

Why home escape planning and practice matter:


  • This ensures everyone knows what to do in a fire and is prepared to escape quickly and safely. 
  • When the smoke alarm sounds in a real fire, it’s too late to start the plan.



What should be included in an escape plan: 

  • Draw or map out the layout of your home, marking two exits from every room (typically a door and a window) and a path from each exit to the outside. 
  • Pick a meeting place outside in front of your home where everyone will meet upon exiting (examples include a sidewalk, fence, driveway, or neighbor’s house). 
  • Mark the location of all smoke alarms in your home (there should be a least one on every level, in each bedroom, and near all sleeping areas). 
  • Make sure everyone knows how to call 911 from their phone or a neighbor’s phone once they’re safety outside. 



It’s essential to practice the escape plan with all members of your household at least twice a year so everyone knows what to do if there is a fire.  

At E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety, we want to remind readers that seconds can mean the difference between a safe escape and a tragic injury or death. And fire safety education isn’t just for school children. Teens, adults and the elderly are also at risk in fires, making it important for everyone to take the time every October to make sure they understand how to stay safe.

About Fire Prevention Week

Since 1922, the National Fire Protection Association has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week in October. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in the United States. During Fire Prevention Week and all month long, children, adults and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire.  Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to decrease casualties caused by fires.

School News Network: Michigan’s New ‘Read by Grade 3’ Law: A Guide for Parents

By Sunli Joy
Research Data Analyst for KentISD
School News Network


The new school year is finally here. Parents helping their younger children transition into the regular routine of daily school attendance will find a new focus on reading as their schools and their teachers prepare students for Michigan’s new law requiring demonstrated reading competency to move from the third to fourth grade. 

In Spring 2020, third grade students will take the state’s M-STEP assessment as before, but all eyes will be on their reading scores. The M-STEP English Language Arts test will be used to determine whether students will be able to move onto the fourth grade or not. There are a number of conditions beyond the test score to be considered before a student is retained in third grade. All are new and should be understood by parents who will want to know all their options if their child’s reading score is low enough to trigger possible retention under Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” law. 

Where does this new retention requirement come from?

In the fall of 2016, the state legislature passed Public Act 306, also known as Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” law. The law’s authors identify third grade as a critical point in a child’s educational career, marking the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. They maintain a child who cannot read well by the end of the third grade will struggle in future years to meet proficiency levels if their reading skills are insufficient to allow their understanding of core concepts in all subject areas. These concerns are borne out in student and school performance data, particularly for students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged. 

While much of the law lays out foundational strategies to improve reading proficiency, its most controversial aspect is the retention of students who are unable to meet minimum state reading expectations as measured by their performance on the M-STEP third-grade reading assessment. This is not unique to Michigan. As of 2018, twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia had retention policies on the books.

What are the specific requirements for retention?

Beginning with third graders in 2019-20, a student will not be able to move onto fourth grade unless any one of the following occur:

  1. The student attains a minimum score of at least 1253 on the third grade English Language Arts portion of M-STEP. M-STEP scores range from 1203 to 1357. To learn more about the M-STEP, be sure to check out this primer.
  2. The student demonstrates reading proficiency through a state-approved alternative assessment.
  3. The student demonstrates reading proficiency through a classroom student portfolio.



No later than June 1, or 14 days after M-STEP assessment results are made available (whichever is earlier) each year, a letter must be sent to each household in which a student’s scores fall below the minimum threshold. 

Students who demonstrate proficiency on the other subjects of the M-STEP, along with mastery of social studies and science through their coursework, would still be eligible to move onto grade four.

For those students retained in grade three, schools and districts must provide additional supports, interventions and resources in the subsequent school year. A student who is retained in grade three as a result of this law cannot be retained at that same grade level again for failure to meet adequate reading standards.

Is it possible for a student to be exempt from the retention requirement?

There are several “good cause” exemptions from retention. A student may be granted a “good cause” exemption under any one of the following conditions:

  1. The student has an individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan, and is granted an exemption by the school.
  2. The student is an English Learner with fewer than three years of English language instruction.
  3. The student was previously retained in kindergarten, grade one, grade two or grade three, and had previously received intensive reading intervention for at least two years prior.
  4. The student had been enrolled in their current school or district for less than two years, but was not provided an adequate individual reading improvement plan.
  5. The superintendent grants a good cause exemption, after being successfully petitioned by a parent or legal guardian. 



What is the process for a parent to petition for a “good cause” exemption?

Within 30 days of receiving an official M-STEP notification letter, a parent or legal guardian may choose to seek out a “good cause” exemption for their child. To do so, the parent or legal guardian must first reach out to their child’s teacher, who then passes along their recommendation to the district superintendent.

The superintendent’s decision is final, and must be communicated to the family at least 30 days before the beginning of the upcoming school year.

How many students may potentially be retained under the new law?

While we won’t know until Spring 2020 the number of students potentially retained within Kent ISD, it is possible to look back at the last five years of M-STEP data to get a rough approximation.

Looking at M-STEP data from 2014-15 through 2018-19, we estimate about 2-3 percent of third-grade students may be subject to retention. In 2018-19, this accounts for roughly 170 students in Kent ISD’s 20 traditional school districts. To note, these figures only represent the ceiling, as it doesn’t account for any exemptions from the law.

In terms of who may be potentially retained, our analysis finds these students will likely be disproportionately low-income and students of color. For example, while low-income students make up about half of all third graders in Kent ISD’s traditional school districts, they may make up about 80 percent of all retentions. Likewise, while students of color only account for about 40 percent of students, they could easily comprise up to 75 percent of all retained students. 

The supports and strategies for improved achievement contained in the law — and additional state and federal funding targeted for “at-risk” students — are intended to provide additional services for these groups. Decades of data demonstrate economically disadvantaged students do not respond or perform as well on standardized tests. Their higher-income peers, on the other hand, enjoy greater financial security and can provide a broader range of educational experiences and support, if necessary. 

Roughly 2-3 percent of Kent ISD area third grade students may be subject to retention under new “Read by Grade 3” Law

Data for Kent ISD include only LEA districts. MDE’s May 2019 retention guidance requires students with a scale score of 1252 or lower on the grade 3 M-STEP in ELA be subject to retention, barring any ‘good cause’ exemptions. Source: MDE, M-STEP English Language Arts 2018-19



Low-Income students and students of color may be disproportionately impacted by Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” Law…

Data for Kent ISD include only LEA districts. MDE’s May 2019 retention guidance requires students with a scale score of 1252 or lower on the grade 3 M-STEP in ELA be subject to retention, barring any ‘good cause’ exemptions. Source: MDE, M-STEP English Language Arts 2018-19



Does retention actually work as a strategy?

Proponents of retention argue that without this law, schools in Michigan will continue to pass along far too many unprepared students. Those who oppose retention believe it does more harm than good, citing data demonstrating retention policies put students at greater risk for dropping out of high school.

A long-term study of Florida’s reading and retention law — first passed in the early 2000s — provides some important insight. Harvard University researchers concluded students retained under Florida’s reading law exhibited some short-term learning gains but found those benefits tend to fade over time, and are statistically insignificant after six years.

Where do we go from here?

Educators throughout West Michigan and statewide were preparing for this new law well before its passage, working to ensure students have the tools they need to be successful in literacy. This has ranged from literacy coaching, professional development for teachers and other innovative student support strategies. These have been enhanced by new state and regional efforts like the Reading Now NetworkGeneral Education Leadership NetworkMichigan Education Corps and several others.

Educators and university researchers alike are sure to focus on student performance under the new law to determine if retention, or additional student support and literacy coaching for students and teachers alike, will achieve higher proficiency levels. 

If you have further questions, please contact your student’s teachers and building principal to learn what they plan to do to provide support for your child and what you can do to better help your child read. 

Community partners Kent County District Library and the Grand Rapids Public Library worked with local schools and have joined forces to offer after-school assistance for you and your child under their new “Mission Read” program.

School News Network: Wyoming students transform soon-to-be demolished hallway into art

Junior Jessi Talluto’s painting depicts an animal losing its home to deforestation. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network




Junior Jessi Talluto painted a deer skull surrounded by fire and smoke recently on the wall of Wyoming High School. 

Finished murals now decorate the hallway (courtesy photo)

The message she hopes to convey through the mural, located between lockers, is about deforestation, she said. Pictures of tiny factories behind the deer symbolize the takeover of wildlife habitat.

Art students are using a soon to-be-demolished hallway as their canvas to temporarily spread awareness and get their peers thinking about social, mental health and environmental issues. Art teacher Robyn Gransow-Higley said they wanted to use the space for art with the purpose of conveying messages before the hallway is torn down.

Renovations and construction of a large building addition are under way at the school, with much to be completed by fall 2020.

 “We’re allowing this space to do one last and hopefully positive thing before it goes away,” Gransow-Higley said, noting that students took charge of the project after she got permission to paint on the walls.

Juniors Nicole Start and Onna Burger painted a picture of a bin containing trash with a large recycling bin above it. Onna said she wants students to think about how much they consume and discard. “A lot of people use a lot,” she said. “I want them to think about how things could be in the future if they don’t think about the waste they create.”


For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

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School News Network: Experiences shape your life, says Kelloggville’s new high-school supervisor

New 54th Street Academy Supervisor Bilal Muhammad chats with seniors Sonia Olvera and Marcel Webber. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network


Bilal Muhammad is the new supervisor of 54th Street Academy, the district’s alternative high school. The role is similar to a principal.

Other positions you have held in education: 

  • Student services coordinator at Kelloggsville Middle School
  • Middle School athletic director at Grand Rapids Public Schools



How about jobs outside education? I worked in customer service for JC Penney Catalog for seven years.

Bilal Muhammad and wife Stacy; daughter Illiana, 14; and son Amir, 8. (School News Network)

Education/degrees: Bachelor of social science and master of education from Ashford University

Spouse/children:  wife, Stacy; son, Amir, 8; and daughter Illiana, 14

Hobbies and Interests: I like sports. I coach basketball and I still play basketball. I like to travel.

What kind of kid were you at the age of students at this new school?
I was big into athletics. I played basketball and I ran track. Academically, I was stellar, I got the work done.

The biggest lesson you have learned from students is… I feel students want to know you have their best interests at heart. They won’t really learn from you if you don’t build that positive relationship with them.

Finish this sentence: If I could go back to school I would go to grade ? because…I kind of feel like everything happens for a reason so I wouldn’t change anything I went through, because I learn from my experiences. I wouldn’t go back to a grade, because everything I’ve been through made me who I am.

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Governor talks grit with second-graders, budget with media

Second-grade teacher Julie Brill and her class visit with Gov. Gretchen Whtimer. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network

On the second day of school, Meadowlawn Elementary School second-graders met the person their teacher called the “boss of the state,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who told them about using grit and perseverance to do her job.

“Sometimes it can be a very overwhelming job,” Whitmer, the state’s 49th governor, told students in teacher Julie Brill’s class, after explaining that she’s in charge of making sure people have good schools, clean water and decent roads. “You feel like there is so much to do, like there’s a lot of pressure and you don’t feel like there’s enough time to get everything done.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer talks about grit with second-graders (School News Network)

She said she had to move past criticism when deciding to run for governor, and ignore the naysayers. “There were people who said, ‘We’re not ready for another girl governor,’” said Whitmer, the second female Michigan governor, following Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “It kind of hurt my feelings.”

“I decided instead of listing to people who weren’t being supportive … I was going to listen to people who said, ‘Yes, you can do it.’”

Whitmer told students the hardest  part of her job is facing adversity.


“The work we have to do is way more important than anything else,” she said. “I have to make sure I have a budget passed that will pay for things like your school, and support your teacher and support your education. And it’s not done yet. It’s getting late. I think it’s hard to continue to be optimistic and show people we have the ability to do this. We’ve got to show grit and do the work.”

Whitmer said she worked her way up to becoming governor after growing up in Grand Rapids, graduating from Forest Hills Central High School and attending Michigan State University. She then worked as a lawyer and served as a state representative and state senator. She is the mother of two teenage girls.

“Even on the hard days of governor when I might need an extra cup of coffee, there is no such thing as not showing up to work for me,” she said. “I always need to show up for work, just like you need to show up ready to learn.”

After talking to students, Whitmer told the media that the current impasse in finalizing a state budget is putting unfair pressure on schools.

Legislators are still negotiating the $60 billion budget, wrangling over road and school funding. Whitmer’s proposed 45-cent gas increase to generate $2.5 billion in annual transportation revenue has not been well received by Republicans. Her budget also proposes a $120-180 per pupil increase for school funding, including a weighted formula in which more-expensive-to-educate students, like special education, low-income and English-language learner students, receive higher rates. The current budget is set to expire Oct. 1.

‘I ALWAYS NEED TO SHOW UP FOR WORK, JUST LIKE YOU NEED TO SHOW UP READY TO LEARN.’ — GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER 



School districts, who had to meet a June 30 deadline to finalize their budgets, are operating on estimated per-pupil foundation grant numbers.

“They are making decisions; they are starting class, based on some assumptions of what the legislature may or may not put on my desk and what I may or may not sign,” Whitmer said. “It’s a terrible way to do business. It’s one of the obvious problems of the legislature taking a summer break without getting a budget signed.

“This is the pressure we’ve put on every school district across the state of Michigan,” she added.

Kentwood teachers told Whitmer they would like to have resources for technology needed to work with English-learners, as well as for more counselors.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer answers questions from the media. (School News Network)

“We are coming into schools and we have a wide variety of kids with a wide variety of backgrounds, and we need a lot of different programs that need support through funding in order to help us better meet the needs of our students,” Brill said.

Brill also wants legislators to know that standardized testing should not be the only measure of success. “It’s not the only determining factor for a child, and it’s very frustrating as a teacher when a child is reduced to a test score which is just a single snapshot in time. … There are so many things we don’t know what they are coming in with on a day-to-day basis.”

Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff and students said they were excited to welcome the governor.

“It’s always nice when our top elected official can come to our schools, show her support for schools and meet our kids,” Zoerhoff said.

Second-grader Daniya Harris said she learned being governor is an important job. “It is hard to be governor. I think she’s helping kids believe in themselves.”

For stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website at schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Students had questions for the governor. (School News Network)

School News Network: Prepping for day one

Godfrey Elementary teacher Alex Kuiper prepares his classroom for the first day of school on August 19. Kuiper and his colleagues spent many days over the summer prepping for their students and the new school year. (School News Network)

By Cris Greer
School News Network


Seating options including exercise balls and cushy chairs, calming decor and tech-ready environments were classroom amenities teachers had in mind long before students arrived for the first day of school Aug. 19.

As they do every August, the educators spent many hours and days preparing their classrooms to create the perfect learning environment. The following four Godfrey-Lee teachers shared how they prepped for opening day and beyond.

From his classroom library and bulletin boards to the seating arrangement and many other details, Godfrey Elementary teacher Alex Kuiper wants his classroom to be a home away from home for his students; one that feels safe and inviting. (School News Network)

Alex Kuiper, third-grade, Godfrey Elementary:

Kuiper, in his fifth-year teaching, said he wanted to make sure the classroom was inviting to his new students.

“I’m making sure when they come in that they feel like it’s a home away from home, and that they feel safe in the classroom,” Kuiper said. “I want my room to be conducive to learning … an environment that is inviting. It needs to be a place where they feel comfortable and cared about.

“I also want to make sure the kids have everything they need in order to have a successful school year; notebooks, folders, crayons, pencils.  We’ve had some great community partners who have been able to donate school supplies for us, but that doesn’t mean I don’t spend my own money. I’ve spent at least a thousand dollars on my class library to make sure there’s a good selection for reading. The Guido A. and Elizabeth H. Binda Foundation has generously donated money to help us get more books, and with other grants we’ve been able to get more classroom library books so I don’t feel as pressured.”

After years of helping his mom, Mary Kuiper, set up her classroom as a youngster, his mother now returns the favor.

“I grew up in a family of teachers,” Alex  Kuiper said.

There’s a good reason Early Childhood Center teacher Kimberly Radcliff’s classroom looks disheveled a few days before opening day. She was hired one day before open house and is rushing to get things ready with her mom Kathy Sporer (School News Network)



Kimberly Radcliff, early childhood special education (ages 2-1/2 to 5 years old), Early Childhood Center:

After getting hired just a day before open house last week, Radcliff worked overtime to get her room ready for the first day of school.

“It was kind of a rush this year,” laughed Radcliff, as she spoke about her recent hiring. “Right now I’m just organizing and putting toys away and I’ll figure out room space and classroom setup.

“I’m going to take down the bright bulletin boards. A lot of early elementary/special ed kiddos have sensory issues, so I want to do something that’s a calmer, lighter color for them. Classroom environment is huge. They need to feel safe and excited about the environment.”

Similar to Kuiper, Radcliff also had help from her mother, Kathy Sporer.

“I’m looking forward to the impact I can have on the students, not just in the classroom, but with their families. Some of it is helping parents parent as well as teaching kids.”

Eryn Watson’s classroom is well under way (School News Network)
Early Childhood first-grade teacher Eryn Watson gets her class ready for the new school year. (School News Network)



Eryn Watson, first grade, Early Childhood Center:

Entering her sixth year teaching at Godfrey-Lee, Watson is moving up with her kindergartners to first grade.

“I’m lucky because I was in kindergarten last year and I have the same group of students this year,” said Watson, who first thought of being a teacher in elementary school. “I’m setting up my classroom with them in mind. I want to make it feel cozy, fun and collaborative.

“This summer, I came here every Friday for a full day to prepare, and I spent three days last week and all of this week here.”

Like other teachers, she is using other option than just desk for her students to sit in.

“I am doing a lot of flexible seating this year,” said Watson. “We’re going to be using technology quite a bit, so I want it to be comfortable.”

Alicia Provencal, second-grade teacher at the Early Childhood Center, said she wants her classroom to be clean, organized and simple. She also likes the flexible seating concept. (School News Network)
Early Childhood Center second-grade teacher Alicia Provencal prepares for a new classroom of students. (School News Network)



Alicia Provencal, second grade, Early Childhood Center:

Provencal tries to keep her classroom clean, organized and simple.

“I don’t like a lot of stuff on the walls. I leave my bulletin boards empty so I can add things during the year that they’re proud of and put certain things on display.”

And she’s all in with flexible seating.

“It helps students that are uncomfortable in chairs.”

For more stories about area schools, visit the School News Network website schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Welcome to kindergarten!

Students listen to the story

By Erin Albanese
Photos by Dianne Carroll Burdick
School News Network



Jake Cabada had a mighty start to kindergarten. While visiting his Gladiola Elementary classroom for the first time, he stood up tall,  a serious look on his face, flexed his arm muscles and proclaimed, “I’m strong!”

Around him, his new classmates looked around curiously, chatted with new friends and some even fought back a few tears. It was a practice run for their first day of school, and the beginning of their K-12 journey.

The Wyoming Public Schools’ four elementary schools — Gladiola, West, Oriole Park and Parkview — hosted the two-hour Kindergarten Smart Start on the Friday before school started Tuesday, Aug. 20 to help the little ones feel comfortable with their new school.

Students Josiah Kink and Christian Aleman play together

After arriving by bus, they met their teachers, toured the building, sat “criss-cross applesauce” on the classroom rug, ate breakfast and visited the cafeteria.

They also received words of encouragement from their parents. “Can you go look for your name?” dad Victor Cabrera asked a shy Jaden Cabrera. Moments later, Jaden located the owl-shaped name tag on his new cubby and stood by it smiling.

Longtime kindergarten teacher Rebecca Schaffer said Smart Start serves as a great warm-up for beginning full-day school.

Teacher Karen Ward meets her new kindergartners

“The first day is chaos, so it’s a little more calming,” she said. “It acclimates them to their new environment. They meet their teacher, so it’s a familiar face on the first day.”

Schaffer is ready to start a new year with her pint-sized pupils. “The kids are so fun,” she said. “They are funny and they are so smart. You might think they are just kindergartners, but they are geniuses.”

Several fourth-graders worked as crossing guards and helped their younger peers. Fourth-grader Kaleah Lacy had some sage words for kindergartners: “It’s going to be OK. I went to kindergarten at this school too and it was good.”

For more stories on the local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org

Teacher Amber Middlemiss reads the book, “My New School,” to her new class.

School News Network: Summertime means first time working for area students

By Cris Greer
School News Network



High school students Gerardo Garay and Willow Grey-Lughod haven’t exactly spent the summer kicking back and relaxing.

The pair, who attend Kent Transition Center, has been working diligently in a 10-week program through a partnership with Kent ISD and Michigan Rehab Services. They are a part of a 10-person team helping with cleaning and landscaping on the large Kent ISD campus in Northeast Grand Rapids, preparing for the new school year.

Kent Transition Center helps prepare students with learning or other special needs make the transition from school to work and to develop independence.

Forest Hills Northern student Willow Grey-Lughold cleans a chair as part of the Kent ISD Summer Employment Program, which is giving students their first experience in the job world. (School News Network)

“We do mostly cleaning and weeding so everything looks respectable,” said Gerardo, entering 12th grade at East Kentwood High School. “This is my first job indeed. Everything is going great so far.

“If anyone is scared of a first job, this is a perfect experience. They help you a lot; there are a lot of nice people.” Gerardo hopes the experience will help further his dream. “After high school, I want to achieve my dream of running my own restaurant in the bakery, with meal prep and cooking.”

Willow said she’s making the most of her summer job too. “We’re learning how to clean stuff that I’ve never done at home,” said Willow, who is entering her senior year at Forest Hills Northern. “We’re learning a whole lot.”

Beyond working on campus, other students are working at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel helping with food preparation, in the laundry room, and most are in their district doing the same types of activities, according to Duane Kiley, principal at the Transition Center.

“It truly gives them something to put on their resume, gives them experience that you can’t get anyplace else,” said Kiley, of the 37 students in the program. “We have kids come back and say they learned a lot about what it’s like to work for somebody, follow directions, show up on time and work with other people. For a lot of them, it’s their first experience getting a paycheck and having direct deposit at a bank.

“And a number of our graduates got hired by the places they worked at in the summer.”

Forest Hills Northern student Willow Grey-Lughold participated in the Kent ISD Summer Employment Program, prepping the campus inside and out for the new school year. (School News Network)

Kent Transition Center

All of the students in the Summer Employment Program attend the Kent Transition Center, whose goal is to prepare high school juniors and seniors for employment and a successful, independent future. It offers small classes, hands-on learning and support to give their students what they need for successful learning.

Students can apply what they learn in the classroom through internships at actual job sites where they are mentored by business partners and supported by the Transition Center team. High school credits are earned for these career experiences, which can lead to paid positions for those students who excel.

Real-World Experience with Support

Linda Nawrocki, administrative assistant at the Transition Center, says this summer experience is unique.

“What I think is so great about this program for the kids is that they get this real work experience, but they have this support that you wouldn’t typically get when you’re first hired,” she explained.

Wyoming student Gerardo Garay cleans a chair as part of the Kent ISD Summer Employment Program, which is giving students a first-look at a job

Kiley said the real story is the partnership with Michigan Rehab Services.

“The money that pays these students’ salaries comes from the Michigan Rehab and federal funds,” Kiley said. “We pay 25 percent and MRS pays 75 percent. Each student gets over $1,000 for the 10 weeks.”

Zach Mosher, a supervisor for the summer work program, said it’s a good first experience working with a boss, taking orders, working as a team and following through with a job.

“It’s their first experience in a job atmosphere,” said Mosher, a third-grade teacher at Sandy Hill Elementary in Jenison, where 10 students are employed. “Right now we are prepping a room for the school year; dusting the ceilings, walls, vents and working our way down to the windows, doors and door frames to the floor.

“We have done many rooms throughout campus, including hundreds of lockers. We spend the majority of our time outside doing the grounds; pulling weeds on the sidewalks, curbs and courtyards and trimming branches.”

Mosher has much to say about his workers.

“They sweat and don’t complain; they just do it. And they get so many compliments about their good work. They’re just awesome workers; I’m proud of them. This definitely helps prepare them for the work world.”

To read more stories on on local schools, visit the School News Network website at schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Lessons for STEAM-Y Days

Sarah Wood works with fourth-graders Chloe Calva and Mireya Torres during Day of Code at Godfrey Elementary. Wood created a calendar of summer STEAM activities that caretakers can use to keep students engaged in learning this summer. (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network



Need simple, open-ended ideas to keep children entertained and engaged this summer? Sarah Wood, technology and media integration specialist for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, has got you covered.

Wood created a Summer STEAM Calendar and shared it on her education blog, My Ed Tech World. The calendar has low-cost or no-cost activity ideas students can do every day in June, July, and August. Suggestions include things like creating a mini-golf course in the backyard, making a bug catcher, and designing a car wash for a bicycle.

Calendars for a STEAM activity a day. (School News Network)

Wood, an educator with children of her own, said, “As parents, we know the inevitable ‘I’m bored!’ will come and it is sometimes hard to get creative when feeling burned out. It was my hope that having daily activities at the ready would help curb some of the summer boredom and encourage families to work together on simple projects with items that can mostly be found around the house, outside, or maybe from a friend or family member.”

She said activities can be completed regardless of the language spoken at home, and are designed to help students create, communicate, and build confidence in themselves and their work.

Wood chose activities that encourage outdoor time and thus, de-emphasize the “T” in STEAM – which stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Bonus for parents, sitters, or whoever will be caring for students this summer: none of the activities involve slime. (Your walls and carpets will thank her.)

For more stories on our local schools, visit schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Kindergarten-readiness tests needed for early childhood programs

By James Harger
School News Network



A series of first-time tests of kindergarteners in Kent County shows many of them need exposure to more early childhood programs, according to Kent ISD educators specializing in early childhood development.

The tests showed 40 percent of kindergarteners tested were considered ready for kindergarten while 35 percent were “approaching readiness.” Twenty-five percent were classified as “emerging readiness,” the lowest category. The tests were given in the fall of 2018 to 65 percent of kindergartners in 19 of Kent County’s 20 school districts.

Students from low income families and Hispanic and African American households tested lower than students from white households, according to the test results.

Although kindergarten readiness tests were not given statewide, Kent ISD officials were able to compare the results to similar statewide tests in Maryland and Ohio. Those tests showed Kent County kindergarteners – especially those in Hispanic and African American families — were not as prepared as their peers in Maryland and Ohio.

Ashley Karsten, Great Start Readiness Program supervisor for Kent ISD, said the test results show the need for early childhood programs. The first round of funding from a countywide early childhood millage that was approved by voters last fall will help establish those early childhood programs, she said.

Last fall, Kent County voters approved a “Ready by 5” millage request to support early childhood development programs. The request for 0.25 mills, to provide an estimated $5.7 million per year, was approved 142,875 to 109,513.

“Our biggest takeaway from the test is that it confirmed early childhood programs are effective. The tests show that where they had early childhood experiences, they were ready for kindergarten,” said Kelli Campbell Brockway, director of teaching and learning for Kent ISD.

“We’re going to keep trying to provide that opportunity to as many students in Kent County as we can.”

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: A pretty flippin’ cool assignment

Carlos Vazquez (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network



Rick Jackson was ready to give a math assignment on probabilities to students in his algebra class at 54th Street Academy when junior Bianka Ranero counter-offered: “Let’s flip houses instead.”

It was a deal. Jackson bought the idea and students got to work scouring real estate websites for houses to “buy,” creating a slideshow of the houses, pricing out and marketing five hypothetical upgrades, and “listing” their remodeled homes for sale. The slide shows — their version of a real estate flier — were sent to potential “buyers” throughout the district for offers, with Jackson acting as real estate agent.

Bianka Ranero consults with Rick Jackson, her algebra teacher, on the upgrades she would make to a house. (School News Network)

“You have to figure out the total price of everything, and the total amount you spent on the upgrades, and then you have to do a lot of dividing, adding and multiplication depending on what you’re adding to your house,” said Bianka, who suggested the project because she has seen the ins and outs through her mom, who invests in real estate.

Bianka’s upgrade ideas included adding a swimming pool and a half bathroom to the two-story, three-bedroom house. The bathroom addition would add value and be inexpensive, since the plumbing already was in place, she said. She knew she could do it for about $1,500 purchasing the fittings at a local big-box store.

She was hoping to receive offers topping $200,000 on the house, which was listed for $119,900.

Zhane’ Warrens looks at photos of the home she chose for the house-flipping simulation she’s doing as part of her algebra class. (School News Network)

Real Estate, ‘Real World’

“Can I put in a new mailbox for an upgrade?” asked a student.

“You can… but I doubt it will add a lot of value,” advised Jackson.

As students delved into the business of house flipping, Jackson encouraged them to look at all aspects of real estate: What are neighboring properties selling for? What are the selling points of your home? How can you make it more attractive to buyers? He brought in a local Realtor, Krista Bashford, to give students a crash course in real estate before they started looking at homes.

Jackson said he often gets asked by students, “When is this ever going to apply to anything?” so the project made sense to him.

“In the future, it’s something they could really apply in their lives and they could make money from,” he said.

It also includes algebra lessons he needs to teach.

“They’re working with a budget, trying to balance how much to spend versus how much they can actually get out of the house. There’s a lot of calculation in the project,” he said, as they look at tallying items such as the cost of tile over a certain area or how much paint they’ll need for a surface.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Innovation brought to life

Third-grader Meochia Aponi Thompson enjoys talking about Carol H. Williams, an advertising standout, and also her great aunt. (School News Network)

By Cris Greer
School News Network



While wearing a brown, shaggy beard, third-grader Mia Fisher did her best impression of a Greek scientist also known as a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer.

“I am Archimedes,” said Mia, during the PEAKS program share night for parents and others at Discovery Elementary.

Fifth-grader Alpha Kabda demonstrates the flashlight as part of his project ‘Light and Power’

Mia and her classmates’ wax museum projects  brought innovators to life. “He was a Greek scientist who invented the Archimedes principle and also discovered hydrogen and a way to measure objects before we had scales. I picked him because my passion is Greek mythology and I like to read about it.”

Mia said her favorite subject is self-selected reading.

“I do like to read a lot,” admitted Mia, who just started PEAKS this year. The comprehensive third-through-eighth-grade gifted and talented program, stands for Parents, Educators and Kids = Success.

The share night involved third, fourth and fifth graders showing off their long-term projects; which along with the wax museum of famous folks, covered the innovative history of everything from drones and phones to light bulbs, robotic and 3-D printing.

“All the students are focused on innovation,” said Amanda Barbour, gifted and talented coordinator and fifth grade PEAKS teacher at Discovery. “We are committed to providing students with real-world learning opportunities through project-based learning and field experiences. Our goal is to create student-centered experiences in the most current fields of learning and also prepare them for the vital professions of the future.”

Ottawa County Deputy Larissa Jones listens to her nephew, fifth-grader Owen VanderVeen, explain how a body camera works at his display about police gear

Innovating Thinking

Fourth-graders chose topics showing innovation.

“Their project required them to write business letters to experts in their field to help support their research and obtain artifacts to display,” said Barbour, whose students had a tri-fold board and artifacts on display.

Fourth-grader Shane Nshime, whose project was titled “3-D Printing, Innovation in Print,” said he wanted people to know all the different things about printing.

“I picked this topic because it’s very new, only 40 years old, very interesting and has a vivid past,” said Shane, who learned about Hailey Dawson, 9 , who has a 3-D printed hand and was the first person to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.

Shane said he likes researching interesting topics.

“I think it helps me learn faster and learn more. It prepares me for the future.”

Fourth grade PEAKS teacher Joe Westra said his students emphasize innovation.

“My fourth grade kids spend a lot of time learning about what drives innovation,” said Westra, who is in his 14th year teaching. “Quite often an innovation comes from a need or a want or a problem.”

Third-grader McKenna Joseph describes the life of Thomas Edison. Her favorite part of the project was figuring out the costume

Prototype Pros

Barbour said fifth graders studied innovation as well, but then had to become innovative by creating a prototype.

“These students had to write business letters, obtain a mentor in their field of study, interview their mentor, use the engineering design process to create a prototype and create a website,” Barbour continued.

Fifth grader Alpha Kabba said he chose the topic of lighting and power outages because it has ample information and sources. His mentor was Scott Jones, director of product management at Pelican Products, a California-based company that designs and manufactures portable lighting systems, temperature-controlled packaging and protective cases.

“Talking to him was fun,” Alpha said. “We had to send letters to 15 companies, and I did a handwritten letter so he’d know I put the work into it.

Third-grader Mia Fisher explains the journey of Archimedes

“I think this program has a lot of opportunities. When I get older and want to get a job and tell people I did something like this. I think it would increase my chances of getting a good job.”

Alpha’s prototype is a double-sided flashlight with a solar panel. If one side stops working, the solar panel distributes the energy to power the other side.

Discovery principal Deb McNally said the goal in PEAKS is for the children to learn through community experience, by studying big picture themes and using a curriculum that allows deep and accelerated faster study.

“It’s not just doing a report, but it’s connecting the world and pieces and people and ideas,” McNally explained. “These are all kids that got the information quickly.”

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Third-grader Alyana Borden talks about the Reliable Red Cross as Clara Barton. (School News Network.)

School News Network: After gaining work experience, students sign contracts with area employers

Rogelio Arias and Koy Flores accept caps and job offers from Laura Longstreet, of Lumbermen’s, Inc. (School News Network)

By Bridie Tereza
School News Network



Recently, students and teachers gathered in the Kelloggsville High School auditorium for a time-honored tradition: signing day. The tables on the stage had logoed caps and contracts just waiting for signatures from high school seniors, ready to commit to a team for the coming year.



But these teams don’t require spring training, hitting the weight room or anything athletic or collegiate, for that matter. These teams are businesses that have hosted students as part of a budding school-to-work program and the contracts offered full-time employment.

John Linker welcomes the crowd to his school-to-work program’s first annual signing day. (School News Network)

“College isn’t always the route to go in terms of making money and being successful. The workforce provides a variety of jobs for you in case you don’t want to go to college,” said senior Ericberto Padilla, who signed a full-time employment contract to work in the rubber shop at Wyoming-based Mark-Maker Co. Inc. “If I decide not to go to college, this job gives me an opportunity to maybe go up in the ranks and make more money without having to go to college.”

Ericberto is one of 28 students — 24 seniors and four juniors — who participated in Kelloggsville’s school-to-work program, which partnered with nine companies that place students in paid positions for part of the school day. Of the seniors,10 signed full-time employment contracts, four are going into the military, and a handful are going to work part-time and go to school part-time. A few more are waiting to hear from the companies about offers.

“Not everybody is going to go sign that letter of intent in athletics, but this is something that they can be proud of,” said John Linker, work experience coordinator for Kelloggsville. “For the longest time, we pushed ‘four-year college degree, four-year college degree’ and for some kids, yeah — that’s the way to go. But for others, it may not be.”

Leonel Leon finishes signing his contract for full-time employment at Mark-Maker. (School News Network)

Students are Valued Employees

 

Lumberman’s, a wholesale building materials distributor, signed three of the six Kelloggsville students it took on this year in the school-to-work program. Laura Longstreet, human resource generalist at Lumbermen’s, told the crowd assembled for signing day about the hard work and dedication of the students and praised them for their hard work, professionalism, and punctuality. Other companies in attendance included Lack’s Enterprises, Inc. and Advanced Interiors.

“The goal has always been, at the end of the year, to at least have an offer of a full-time position, whether they accept it or not,” said Linker, who planned the “first annual” signing day. “So far, for year one, it went very well. The biggest thing I hear from kids, parents, businesses is just the immense value of getting exposure to work.”

Leonel Leon, who also accepted a full-time job offer from Mark-Maker, said the experience has been eye-opening and rewarding.

“I’ve learned that a lot of people at my job depend on me to be there,” said Leonel.

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website.

Ericberto Padilla and Leonel Leon sign contract with Mark-Maker. (School News Network)

School News Network: Multi-talented Falcon senior shines on and off the field

East Kentwood Captain Kyle Dent hopes to tag the runner. (Courtesy Photo)

By Cris Greer
School News Network



East Kentwood senior Kyle Dent has not only excelled in football and baseball for the Falcons; he also has succeeded in the classroom.

As a quarterback, he passed for 1,800-plus yards with 17 touchdowns. This spring in baseball, he sported a .300 batting average with 13 runs and nine stolen bases.

East Kentwood standout Kyle Dent looking to score from third base during a Falcon baseball game (courtesy photo)

In the classroom he carried a 3.88 GPA, and earned all-academic honors throughout high school. He’s also involved in coaching EK football camps for students in grades 2-5.

“He demonstrates leadership on and off the field and embodies what a Falcon should be,” baseball coach Marty Jackimowicz said of his two-year captain. “He has a great work ethic in practicing and tries to help others around him to also elevate their play.

“Beyond baseball, Kyle is a really great person,” Jackimowicz added. “He is always there for his teammates and classmates and wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone who needed it. He has a great personality and people are naturally drawn to him because of it.”

A four-year letter winner in baseball, Kyle played shortstop and pitched for the Falcons, and also was the team’s leadoff hitter.

East Kentwood senior Kyle Dent had a .300 batting average with 13 runs scored and nine stolen bases this spring (courtesy photo)

Gridiron Standout too

Football coach Tony Kimbrough said Kyle also was a captain on his team last fall because of his strong work ethic and overall leadership abilities.

“He led our team to a record of 9-2 and (we) went undefeated in the OK Red Conference,” said Kimbrough, who played football at Western Michigan University, in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League. “Great teammate and one of the most positive players I have ever coached. He is the model for the term student-athlete.”

Kyle, who completed 60 percent of his passes and was named First Team All-Conference last fall, will continue his football career at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He plans to major in athletic training with hopes of attending physical therapy school thereafter.

“As for football and baseball, I’ve been playing them ever since I was able to,” said Kyle, who also wrestled for a couple years in high school. “I picked up the sport of wrestling in about third grade, really only to better my agility and conditioning for my other main sports.”

He said he doesn’t stray far from sports no matter what time of year it is.

“Whenever I am not in practice or in a season, I find myself doing a lot of training for them, intense training and more relaxed and fundamental training,” he said. “I love to just go out and throw, whether it’s a baseball or a football. I find this to be a great way to relieve stress for me as well as keep me occupied.”

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Students make friends by way of pen

Jose Medel-Reyes reads a letter from his Kelloggsville High School pen pal. The letters shared about a time when the writer used courage or grit. (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network



Martellis Forest concentrated intently on the paper before him. The North Godwin Elementary third-grader had just received a handwritten letter from a friend to the south: a Kelloggsville High School 10th-grader named Roman.

Mike Hernandez and Marc Icizanye react to gifts from their pen pals before reading their letters. (School News Network)

“He is an athlete and played lots of sports, but now he only plays basketball,” said Martellis of Roman. “We tell each other what we do and what kind of sports we play. I play basketball exactly like him!”

The two students are pen pals, thanks to a connection between their teachers, Amy Raczynski and Angela Winer. A few months ago, Raczynski, who teaches sophomore English at Kelloggsville High School, reached out to Winer, a former student of Raczynski’s, who now teaches at North Godwin. The two decided to put their students in touch and, so far, the letters have generated a lot of excitement — and a chance to practice the art of written communication.

“They really look forward to receiving those letters,” said Raczynski of her high school students.

Emy Orozco and Camila Vasquez Garcia craft responses to their most recent letter from 10th-grade pen pals. (School News Network)

Special Delivery

Recently, Raczynski’s students sent special gifts for their younger friends: bags filled with stuffed animals, stickers and small toys. The delivery was met with squeals of delight throughout Winer’s classroom.

“The funny thing is, they were just as excited when they got their first letter,” said Winer. “They are so excited to have a friend who is older.”

Aleannah Rohrbough was all smiles as she pulled a plush toy from her bag.

“It’s amazing. I thank her so much! She did not have to do this,” said Aleannah of her pen pal, Holly, who is becoming somewhat of a mentor through her letters.

“I learned that her favorite color is green and I actually learned some good advice: ‘Do not let others put you down,’” said Aleannah. “That was actually really good advice for me, because that actually happens to me a lot in school. And I learned that she loves science and she loves hanging out with her friends.”

Allison Moore and Camilla Casado, 10th-graders in Raczynski’s class, both said they remember thinking it was pretty cool to talk to teenagers or have a pen pal in their younger years. They enjoy reading letters from their younger friends, and are glad to be that older connection for them.

“They may not remember who you were particularly, but they’ll remember they had that older friend as a pen pal,” said Allison.

Nataly Garcia-Jimenez concentrates on the letter she received from her 10th-grade pen pal. (School News Network)

A Lesson in a Letter

Besides the fun aspect of making a friend, there have been some good lessons for both classrooms.

Winer’s students had been discussing the importance of “grit” and “courage”, so she asked the 10th-graders to share an example of a time when they used these traits in their letters.

“So when we respond back,” Winer told her class, “I want you to also share an example of when you used grit or courage. You’re also going to answer any questions that they asked you.”

They repeated after her as she instructed them in formatting their responses: Two paragraphs. Two paragraphs. Two chunks. Two chunks. Answer questions. Answer questions. Share a story. Share a story.

Raczynski said pen pal letters go hand-in-hand with teaching both English and empathy. “They’re writing and having to make sure they’re writing correctly and using proper spelling and grammar for the other kids,” she said. “I think it’s also important to try to be kind to other people.”

Composing letters to younger friends has been a welcome challenge, said 10th-grader Evren Hodge.

“It’s different when you talk to little kids,” said Evren. You have to think of new ways to explain things and use words on a level that they can grasp and relate to. It’s teaching you new ways to communicate with other people.”

For more local school stories, visit School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.