This spring, more than 1,500 area preschoolers from Head Start for Kent County and other early education programs visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum thanks to PNC Foundation grant-funded field trips.
Battle Creek is building community, resolving conflict, and creating resiliency in its students who may have experienced repeated trauma.
More than 1,000 eighth graders in the Grand Rapids Public Schools will get a chance to see their city from a new perspective next week: from a canoe. A program called Canoemobile, which brings canoes to urban areas across the country for hands-on learning experiences, is setting up at Riverside Park May 8 to 12. The experience aims to foster an appreciation of nature, boost performance and engagement in school, and build participants’ confidence, teamwork, and relationships with others.
The Grand Rapids Children's Museum has, for years, made sure that the space is a safe and friendly place for all children, including those who are on the autism spectrum. Thanks to its autism-friendly programming, the museum has now been named one of the best places in all of Michigan for children on the spectrum.
Children in West Michigan, and throughout the country, are being left behind when it comes to reading — and a school psychologist in Muskegon is sounding a rallying cry for change.
A new research project tells the stories of female leaders of color in West Michigan, and the women's words make it clear: we must be better when it comes to fighting, and acknowledging, racism and sexism in the workplace.
Before we launch into another year of stories about the issues, people and programs that impact Grand Rapids' children, we wanted to revisit the best-read 2016 Michigan Nightlight stories from Rapid Growth.
Two Grand Rapids groups, Family Futures and Strong Beginnings, have partnered to better serve an often marginalized community: Latinx fathers. Tackling issues such as language and cultural barriers, immigration fears, transportation needs, and education, the two organizations developed the research that led to the newly-launched Padres Fuertes program.
Grand Rapids has a message for its children: Time to turn the television off. These days, the city is set on giving its younger residents plenty of reasons to abandon the TV. With a renewed focus on parks, outdoor learning labs and playgrounds, the city and its leaders aim to be at the cutting edge of reuniting children with the great outdoors.
When it comes to incorporating the voices of youth in arts programming, Michigan is leading the way. Teens in Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor are bringing a fresh perspective to cultural realms across the state, from addressing racism and police brutality through the arts to running an indie record label — and a whole lot more.
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