It’s been called the gold rush of Grand Rapids’ West Side. Recent projects in the area include an expansion of Harmony Brewing Company, a mixed-use development called Fulton Place, and Lofts on Alabama from the 616 Development, LLC. It’s a gold rush, however, that makes residents feel on edge.
The secret to the recent string of Grand Rapids Public Schools’ success stories? GRPS is not going it alone. Success stories are accumulating fast, and behind all of them stand strong partnerships. From members of public and private sectors, business and community leaders to volunteers, parents, and students, each brings a vital piece to the whole that has resulted in a diversity of innovative options in education for the children of greater Grand Rapids.
At Grand Rapids Public Schools, neighborhood schools offer traditional education, theme schools offer experiential education in unique surroundings, and Centers of Innovation offer students a career-based curriculum that connects them to community business leaders. With so many choices in schools and approaches to learning, GRPS is contributing to the growing vitality of the city of Grand Rapids, attracting families to move to the city for the first time or to return.
As the district rides the success of its Transformation Plan, Grand Rapids Public Schools is becoming an outlier among urban public school districts in Michigan, earning recognition for its efficiency and effectiveness. What lessons can other schools learn from Grand Rapids? And, come the November bond proposal vote, will the community step up to do what's best for the kids?
When GRPS Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal took the helm, she instituted an ambitious Transformation Plan with an eye towards stabilizing the district, then enabling it to grow and thrive. Nearly four years later, the district is decidedly on the upswing. Get the stats and the stories behind the turnaround, and see where Neal is steering the ship next.
Even when controlling for poverty, education level, and tobacco use of a mother, maternal and infant health outcomes are far worse for minority populations than European-American women. What's causing the continued disparities? And what can West Michigan do to ensure all babies born here have the best chance of reaching their potential? Zinta Aistars reports on Strong Beginnings, one local program working to give all families a fair start.
For Grand Rapids Public Schools, one key to increased academic success for students has been connecting with their parents. Parent Essentials, a collaboration between GRPS, LINC, and Believe 2 Become, is doing just that. Writer Zinta Aistars finds out how a fresh approach to partnering with parents is benefiting everyone.
As part of Grand Rapids' Urban Forest Project, Citizen Foresters plant trees and community knowledge as they try to increase the city's canopy. As the last of the leaves fall, Zinta Aistars reports on why it's important for urban neighborhoods to plant their own trees -- and tells you how you can get involved.
With the documentary Musical Minds, two filmmakers hope to share the lives of two local people with autism with a wider community. Meet JB and Nick, passionate music critics, weekly hosts of the Hot Tracks show on WCET, and singers of a song all their own as Zinta Aistars learns why this film had to be made.
This is no casual bike-for-a-cause event. Next weekend, the Grand Rapids team riding in the Midwest Climate Ride will bike from Grand Rapids to Chicago. Along the way, they'll raise money for several local organizations who are working to combat climate change right here in West Michigan. Zinta Aistars finds out what makes this group spin.
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