The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators recently announced that Kentwood Public School’s Endeavor Elementary School has been nationally recognized as a Distinguished School, according to an emailed statement from KPS administration.
The honor is only awarded to two schools within the state of Michigan. Selected schools must show excellence in education as evidenced by student achievement gains.
“The team at Endeavor Elementary demonstrates excellence and tenacity in their work on a daily basis,” KPS Superintendent Kevin Polston said in supplied material. “We are extremely proud of Endeavor’s achievement and commitment to academic achievement for all students.”
Endeavor Elementary won the award for excellence in serving English Learners. Schools are recognized for their approaches to teaching and learning, professional development opportunities, individualized programs and strong partnerships between schools, parents and the community. The selection criteria for this award included the multilingual learners’ achievement on WIDA assessment and school accountability data.
“This is a whole team award. All of our staff have played a crucial role in loving and educating our multilingual learners,” Mark Bea, principal of Endeavor Elementary, said in supplied material. “From our KPS central office who provides clear direction, to our school EL program and EVERY teacher who creates the family environment and targeted instruction to make it happen; from our food service, custodial, and paraprofessionals who provide critical services, to our office and itinerant staff who offer unending support.
“Together with the efforts of students, parents, staff and a supportive community we can achieve true excellence!”
Out of the top nine Michigan schools, MDE identified two other Kentwood elementary buildings, Glenwood and Discovery, for their success with English Learners.
The Michigan Department of Education will cover the cost for travel, food and lodging for three staff members to be recognized at the National ESEA Conference. The conference, held in New Orleans, offers opportunities for staff members to learn from nationally recognized leaders and experts in education. Participants can also network with colleagues from all over the United States.
Last Thursday evening, siblings David, Thomas and Jennifer Driver, students at Endeavor Elementary, sat at the kitchen table in their Kentwood home coloring little circles in booklets.
“Did you read this morning?” mom Julie Driver asked David, a third-grader. “I know Thomas read this morning. Did you read at school, Jennifer?”
Kent District Library is a proud sponsor of SNN
This is Mission: READ!, a county-wide incentive program aimed at getting kids to read every day. The Driver children were among the first participants to sign up for the program, launched at Kent County public libraries on Jan. 7.
The mission is simple: For every day of reading, participants fill in one space in a Mission: READ! booklet. For every hundred spaces filled, they receive a small prize and a planet sticker to place on their Mission: READ! solar system poster. At 500 spaces, they receive a book. When 1,000 spaces are filled, they receive a tablet reader.
“I re-read a book called, ‘Who was Muhammad Ali?’,” said David. “I also read an autobiography about… I can’t remember… oh, Kareem-Abdul Jabar!”
Third-grader David Driver fills out his Mission: READ! booklet. Each spot colored represents a day on which he read
“With this program, we’re just asking, ‘Did you read today?’ If you read today, you can mark it in your booklet,” Ward said.
Mission: READ!What: An incentive program that encourages children to read every day for 1,000 days. Participants are rewarded with stickers, prizes and a book along the journey, and will receive a tablet reader upon completion of the program.Who: Open to students in kindergarten through third grade.How to sign up: To get your child started on the mission, visit any public library in Kent County. These include the Cedar Springs Public Library, the Sparta Township Library, any Grand Rapids Public Library location or any Kent District Library location.Information: Mission: READ!
One Small Step
The daily step is small enough, but diligence is required to complete the giant leap of a 1,000-day mission. The Driver children had read every day since receiving their booklets. Driver and her husband, Blake Driver, are raising eager readers. How have they managed?
“As parents, it’s about embracing what they love to read versus maybe what I want them to read,” said Driver, who found herself encouraging classics like “Old Yeller” and Choose Your Own Adventure books. “We had to learn that their interests were maybe different than what we wanted them to read. We wanted them to read this classic chapter book and they were like, ‘But we love graphic novels!’, so we’ve had to explore with our kids.”
Driver said Kentwood KDL branch librarians Mr. Greg and Ms. Hennie help her children find materials they enjoy. While this is one way they help patrons, librarians also have been trained to help students with Individual Reading Improvement Plans — or IRIPs. An IRIP is a document that identifies areas for improvement and lays out a plan to remedy deficiencies as identified by student assessments at the start of the school year.
“It’s important that schools and parents understand that the library is here to help,” said Lindsey Dorfman, director of branch services and operations for KDL’s 19 branches. “If students are struggling with reading, they can come to any one of the public libraries and staff are ready to give them tools and resources and support.”
As part of Mission:READ!, librarians are equipped with booster packs: curated books and activities designed to strengthen a student’s reading skills in specific areas pinpointed by an IRIP. These include phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Participants can sign up for Mission: READ! and find booster packs at the Cedar Springs Public Library, Sparta Township Library and any location in the GRPL or KDL systems. Participation is limited to students in kindergarten through third grade. The program targets them because it is largely a response to a looming challenge: implementation of the third grade reading law.
GRPL Youth Librarian Bridget Ward stands in front of a Mission: READ! display at the main branch.
3…2…1… Countdown to the Reading Law
The law, passed in October 2016 and set to take effect this fall, requires all third-graders to be within one year of grade level proficiency in reading, or risk being held back in school. Recent test scores revealed that only 46 percent of Michigan third-graders passed the English language arts exam. While the law allows exemptions for holding a student back, educators and community literacy partners are taking the challenge seriously.
Beth Travis is the principal at East Kelloggsville Elementary, a K-3 building
Beth Travis, principal at East Kelloggsville Elementary, says reading has always been a focus for teachers, but the law has added some urgency to their work.
“We’re a K-3 building so our teachers have been working very hard with all of our students, and they always have,” said Travis. “With the new third grade reading law there are some new constraints put on us, obviously, and what we want to do is make sure our students are getting the best education they can.”
The Kelloggsville Public Schools district, Travis said, is ideally positioned for Mission: READ!, as it has a KDL branch in its high-school building. All students in the district — Young 5s to 12th grade — have library cards and opportunities to visit the library with their class. KDL will be at the school’s Jan. 28 assembly to pitch Mission: READ! to students.
The program’s solar system theme, coincidentally, works well for Kelloggsville’s mascot, a rocket.
One of the biggest strengths of Mission: READ!, said Travis, is it empowers parents to help their children become proficient, and reinforces a family’s efforts to read at home, a recommendation in IRIPs. (The third grade reading law also mandated the IRIP, which has been required since last school year.)
“Not every student comes to school with the exact same abilities and the same background,” said Travis. In addition, she said, “Not every parent feels like they know exactly what’s best for their kids to read at home, so this helps guide them. It’s a great partnership for us.”
First-grader Jennifer Driver counts the days she has read so far
We Have Liftoff
In the first five days of the program alone, KDL had 71 children sign up for MIssion: READ! GRPL hadn’t yet tallied their numbers, but Ward said the librarians were getting the word out and were very excited every time a new child signed up.
“Ideally,” said Dorfman, “students will sign up in kindergarten and complete the program by third grade, the year by which they should be proficient.”
“There’s an urgent need to help these kids,” said Mark Raffler, English language arts consultant at Kent ISD. “When kids love to read, everything else in school comes more easily and with greater effectiveness. The results of good reading habits carry throughout their schooling and into adult life.”
While the program’s first finishers are still 900-some days away from meeting their goal, plans are already in the works to help students maximize their use of the ultimate prize: the tablet reader. When they earn the tablet, said Dorfman, students will receive a one-on-one consultation with a librarian who will teach them how to access the library’s e-book platform and check out books that they can read on the tablet.
“Essentially, we’re giving them a library in their hands for completing the program,” Dorfman said.
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The Driver siblings — David, Jennifer and Thomas — were among the first children to sign up for Mission: READ!
Thomas Driver fills in spots in his Mission: READ! booklet
In Endeavor Elementary School teacher Sheree Bos’ third-grade classroom, students gathered in a living room-style area on futons, pillows and beanbags to talk about how they treat each other and what they need to focus on more.
Student Brooklynn Issa, the week’s teacher’s assistant, led the “family meeting,” reviewing expectations, as outlined on their social contract — a large sheet of paper written on in children’s handwriting of various sizes — with her peers. “Be organized. … Be more accountable. … We should tell the truth,” students said.
Discussion continued after Brooklynn suggested they revisit voice levels in the hallway and talk about what they are doing well. Students answered, “I’m sharing my markers, pens and colored pencils”; “When someone’s talking to other people we don’t talk over them.”
To wrap things up, they chose a focus for the day, something the 8- and 9-year-olds had noticed needs attention. “I think we are doing well on taking turns and I think we should really focus on no put-downs,” said Kimani Belcher.
The class agreed.
About 2 ½ miles away at Challenger Elementary School, third-graders in teacher Heather Cobb’s class wrote down compliments — or affirmations as they call them — about classmates, with everybody giving and receiving one.
“Dear Janiyah, I think you have a really kind heart because when I ask you if I can play with you, you always say ‘yes’ and I have seen you help lots of kids,” read a note to Janiyah Brown from Gisselle Lopez-Zuniga.
Students shared statements face-to-face, taking a small slice of the school day to help each other feel good. About receiving the note, Janiyah said she was “really happy” and, about sharing one with classmate Smile Biswa, “It makes me feel wonderful and proud.”
Challenger student Erica Lemus writes an affirmation for a classmate
Hearts Have Been Captured
From all appearances, Endeavor and Challenger students not only have their heads in the game at school, but their hearts as well.
For the past 12 years, Kentwood Public Schools has gotten students involved in creating classroom expectations, sharing affirmative words and getting to know each other on deeper levels by sharing good news – something positive in a student’s life – to start the day on a positive note. The district uses the Capturing Kids’ Hearts model to reach students in ways that build relationships, improve climate and culture and boost attendance and academic performance.
Endeavor and Challenger are both recipients of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools Award for this school year, from the The Flippen Group, the consulting group that developed Capturing Kids’ Hearts. Flippen Group representatives visited nominated schools to assess their implementation of the program and improvements in attendance, discipline, climate and culture or academics. In total, 123 schools received the award, including eight in Michigan.
All Kentwood teachers are trained in the program using a model called EXCEL, which stands for engage, explore, communicate, empower and launch. Turns out, teachers empowering students leads to students empowering each other.
All classrooms at both schools develop social contracts and educators meet all students at the door, greeting each one with a fist bump, handshake or hug.
Challenger student Angelic Pascat reads kind words written about her
Principals See Results
The program works, said Mark Bea, who has served as Endeavor principal for 3 ½ years and was Challenger Elementary principal for 7 ½.
“It’s because it’s directly tied to our vision and mission,” Bea said. “It is our mission to inspire a passion and productive future story for every child, no matter what. We recognize in order to accomplish that mission for every child, everything has to be rooted in relationships. Relationships form the foundation of everything we do.”
Challenger Principal Teressa Gatz said the program has created an environment of “happy kids,” who are greeted several times before the school day even begins. They have the opportunity to share special parts of their lives and are each recognized as part of making school a great place to be.
“Kids know that you care and when they know you care and believe in them, they put in so much effort and they respond,” Gatz said.
Endeavor third-grader Chloe Nguyen explains Capturing Kids’ Hearts in her own way. “It helps us be like living in a big, happy, third-grade family,” she said.
A quote from Flip Flippen hangs in the Endeavor Elementary School office
Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff re-energized the program when he became superintendent four years ago.
“Our goal has always been to ensure that our campuses are emotionally and physically safe places for students,” Zoerhoff said in a press release. “When strong relationships are built, students, staff and parents come alive with a love for learning. You cannot capture a kid’s mind until you have first captured their hearts.”
Bos runs her third-grade classroom at Endeavor with Capturing Kids’ Hearts ingrained into everything she does.
“It started out as being something I just did, but now it’s something I’ve become,” she said. “I’m engaging. I’m exploring. I’m communicating. I’m empowering. I’m launching. This is something that has become a part of me now.”
When it comes to starting early in career exploration, Kentwood elementary students are hitting the nail on the head – literally.
Meadowlawn fifth-grader Madyson Butler, left, and Endeavor fifth-grader Addison Morgan practice pipe-fitting
During a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) event with a newly-added skilled trades component, fifth-graders recently hammered nails into lumber in the schoolyard, and learned how to assemble pipes and construct walls inside the Endeavor Elementary School gymnasium. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry and home-building are now job fields in the district’s STEM program, with the goal of giving students a glimpse of career paths in those industries.
Fifth-grade students from the district’s 10 elementary schools annually attend events introducing them to the world of STEM, with hands-on activities led by community partners. They also explore careers in fields including health care, engineering, technology and agriculture.
Skilled trades are among the STEM jobs that are high-demand.
Endeavor Elementary School fifth-grader Amari McClanahan matches up lumber with its names
“We know that there’s such a gap in the skilled trades area,” said STEM consultant Nancy McKenzie, who collaborated with community partners to add the new industries. “This just give kids another example of what (career path) they can take: a four-year path, two-year path, community college, technical school or apprenticeship.”
Jobs are waiting, said company representatives.
“There’s a lot of demand. There’s not enough people who want to do this work because they haven’t been exposed to it,” said Haley VanderLugt, who works in human resources at Standard Supply and Lumber, based in Grand Rapids, as she helped lead the hammering station.
High-Demand, High-Wage Jobs
According to the latest edition of the West Michigan Talent Assessment and Outlook, published in August, average compensation in energy and construction is $59,000, and growth is expected in many occupations within those industries, ranging from 6.5 to 34 percent.
Many students have the aptitude for skilled trades, McKenzie said. “Some kids want to work with their hands. … There are so many way they can be successful taking this path if it works for them.”
Patrick Shanafelt, vocational instructor for Home Builders Institute, introduced students to plumbing and electrical, with displays that show how pipes connect and lights turn on. He said many of the country’s electricians are baby boomers who will soon retire.
“We have this huge need for skilled trades, not just electricians, but plumbers, pipe-fitters, welders,” Shanafelt said.
But schools and companies have not caught up with the need to train the next generation, he said, and students are missing out.
“At the end of five years (of training), a journeyman electrician has zero debt and is making $60,000 a year plus almost an additional $30,000 a year in benefits, and you can go anywhere in the country with that job,” he said.
Jodie Rykse-Slamoran, foundation and community relations director for the Home Builders Association, said students aren’t always aware of jobs that require the skills needed in the trades.
“A lot of people who work in these jobs are super, super smart and great at technical skills, but they are also amazingly great with their hands,” Rykse-Slamoran said. “They can problem-solve with their hands and their brains at the same time.
“There are great career opportunities. There are thousands of job right here in our community,” she said, adding that students can start working in the field as teenagers and receive additional training and education.
Endeavor Elementary fifth-grader Zykaria Colbert explained how pipes fit together to allow water to flow through a faucet. She said seeing how things fit and work together is cool.
“I find it interesting about the plumbing,” Zykaria said. “There are a lot of different parts I didn’t know about.”
Endeavor Elementary School fifth-grader Zykaria Colbert explains plumbing
