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.
Beyond Grand Rapids Public School's recent request for a $175 million bond for buildings, there is something much more paramount to its success that Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal is calling for from the city of Grand Rapids. "Come with me," she declares, encouraging all community members to come together with a united front. "You need to turn this community around. Come with me as one." On the heels of her State of the Schools address, we get the inside scoop from this transformative school leader.
School's out for summer soon, but one local organization continues to offer students experiences creating studio art, exploring leadership, and even performing in a rock band. By providing a variety of creative, engaging summer programming, Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities keeps students following their passions even during the dog days of summer.
For children to succeed in school and become great readers, they need excellent teachers and lots of exposure to words. But what if a child can't get help with homework or is missing out on bedtime stories because a parent has literacy needs too? With its Family Literacy Program, the Literacy Center of West Michigan aims to increase the English fluency of parents and caretakers -- and the benefits boost the reading scores of the kids in the family at the same time.
Larry Johnson is making a difference in the lives of young men with the Grade School to Grad School program, pairing local male mentors in the black and Hispanic communities with at-need students in the GRPS school district. Matthew Russell finds out how this new initiative aims to make a big difference.
'To College, Through College' is a public/private partnership with a lofty goal: increasing the percentage of Grand Rapids students who not only head off to college but also walk across the stage years later, diploma in hand. Marla R. Miller finds out why boosting college attainment benefits the whole community -- and what the community needs to do to make it possible.
City High Middle School is home to one of only two Green Fellows in the United States, and students there are harnessing her leadership to blaze a new trail when it comes to school lunch sustainability. Find out how their cafeteria conversation is expanding to include terms from composting to economicology.
FoodCircles is setting the table for growth.
Service learning is a 1960s term getting new life in higher education, as colleges seek to make learning meaningful for millennials and medical schools try to make future doctors more compassionate. As West Michigan works to engage the young talent in its midst, service learning opportunities can help retain smart graduates by connecting them to their community before they get their degree. Jobs and Innovation Editor John Rumery traveled to Cuba this summer to get a look at one way local colleges and universities are using service learning to engage millennial students, both far from home and right here in the city.
West Michigan native Michael Saunders has always had a passion for the arts and social justice. After a stint in activist advertising, Mike took another route and expressed his calling for equality through art. From this, Mike was able to foster multiple creative outlets by co-founding the Grand Rapids Soul Club, as a producer for multiple award-winning films with Sob Noisse, and as a teaching artist at the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) for film and audio production. Jenna Morton gets the scoop on what he's up to now.
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