Like athletes at the starting line, Godfrey Elementary fourth-graders faced the challenge ahead: Make a Winter Olympics-event themed pictogram using Wikki Stix to create the picture. Do not cut the sticks. Use only three colors, with the main body form in black. Imagine if the Olympics were in Wyoming, Michigan. How can your picture reflect your community?
First-grader Joceline Nunez waves flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Now, go!
Following parameters set by Sarah Wood, district technology and media integration specialist, Godfrey Elementary students blazed through the Quickfire activity, busily twisting, molding and bending Wikki Stix into skiers, skaters, lugers and bobsledders to create their own “official” Olympic pictograms.
Districtwide, teachers took the Olympic theme and ran with it, with an opening ceremony, torch-lighting event (with a paper torch), curling in the gymnasium with teachers and students riding wheeled carts as the stone, ice skating and other events.
Teacher Allison Diaz’s fourth-grade students used the theme during a medal-worthy science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activity. Wood challenges students each week to complete an activity within set constraints and time periods, such as 30 minutes for the pictogram activity. Wood uses Quickfire at the high school level as well, adding connections with careers and occupations.
Center Olympics Day opening ceremonies
After learning about PyeongChang 2018 pictograms, which are based on Korean script, groups of students busily twisted, molded and bent their Wikki Stix into skiers, skaters, lugers and bobsledders. Their Olympic pictograms showed images of how they envision athletes in their local parks and recreational areas. It took brainstorming, quick thinking, collaboration, and a little research on events through links provided by Wood.
First-grader Videl Martinez holds up a Jamaican flag during the Early Childhood Center Olympics Day opening ceremonies
Think Fast
While many STEM activities are open-ended and allow for trial and error, Quickfire differs because it challenges students to go with their gut instincts. The time limit does not always allow for a full planning, design, redesign and explanation,Wood said.
Limiting tools adds difficulty.
“It’s hard at first because they want everything,” Wood said. “(It’s asking,)’If you take some things away, what can you do with as little as possible and still create something amazing?’ … It’s amazing some of the things they come up with.”
Julian Perez and his group added a “W M” for Wyoming, Michigan, to reflect the community in their pictogram
Said Diaz, the fourth-grade teacher, “They are working together toward a common goal, building community and respecting each other’s thoughts that may be coming from different places, and using that to work toward a common vision or theme.”
Fourth-graders Isabela Deleon-Magana and Arianna Escribano created a biathlete, combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting into their pictogram. They said they are always nervous at the beginning of Quickfires, but are soon working at lightning speed.
“For me, it’s kind of hard. When we work in a group and get good ideas, that’s when it becomes easier,” Isabela said.
Added Arianna, “We work together and create something cool. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
John Mantalava and Chloe Sullivan work on their Wikki Stix athlete
From left, Elijah Kibbe, seniorJacky Garcia, junior Luke McGee and seniors Adela Campos and Jackie Lopez participate in a student session to provide input future education efforts. (Photos courtesy of School News Network)
To explain how he learns best, Lee High School sophomore Elijah Kibbe described studying all the ingredients for ice cream treats before he started working at Dairy Queen.
“The first day I got there I messed up everything, even though I had studied how to make a Royal Oreo Blizzard,” Elijah recounted on a recent student panel. “I still messed up every time I had to put the cocoa fudge in the middle. … I didn’t have experience that you have to put the machine to 80 when you make the Oreo Blizzard, or you have to put the machine at 20 when you make a strawberry shake.
“You can have all the information in the world, but if you do not have any experience in it, you can’t do anything with it,” he concluded. “That’s what I learned.”
Philadelphia educators Alex McDonnell and ginger Fifer are helping the district embed the “6cs” into education
What Elijah was putting into his own words, said Philadelphia educator Ginger Fifer, who is partnering with the district on education reform efforts, is that teachers should not be “the sage on the stage” but “the guide on the side.”
Five Lee High students mentioned relationships, experience, and the need to figure things out for themselves as what they value most in education, during an hour-long student discussion session at Kent ISD. Students shared thoughts with Godfrey-Lee teachers and administrators; educators Fifer and Alex McDonnell, both teachers at a private school in Philadelphia; and Andreas Bustamante, a postdoctoral research fellow at Temple University.
McDonnell said Elijah’s emphasis on “doing” things already had him thinking about how to make education more experiential.
“His Dairy Queen point was brilliant,” McDonnell said. “It reaffirms what I do try to do: have students play the role of expert.”
Godfrey-Lee educators listen to student talk about their educational experiences.
Human-Centered Design
The panel was part of Rebel U, the Godfrey-Lee staff’s annual professional development day. The district is undergoing a human-centered design process, funded by the Steelcase Foundation. It has grown to include work to embed the “6Cs,” as described in the book “Becoming Brilliant,” into education.
The 6Cs include collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence. Students’ input is being used in determining how to make those skills best fit into instruction. The project involved partnering with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, co-author of “Becoming Brilliant,” whose team includes the Philadelphia educators.
The student panel was meant to examine ways to leverage student creativity to build on the district’s new learner profile, which gives all C’s the same strength in how to approach instruction.
“We learned a lot today from what the kids are saying they want and see as valuable that align really well with the 6Cs,” said Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach, noting that students and teachers are becoming close to being on the same page with learning goals.
From left, sophomore Elijah Kibbe and senior Jacky Garcia share their thoughts on how they learn best
Student Voices in Learning
Junior Luke McGee said he likes interactive projects, like making a video or music about what they are learning. “I feel like that’s the way I personally best learn, when you able to interact and create something off the top of your own head from what you’ve been taught.”
Students said they love the chance to create things; they want ample opportunities to work one-on-one with teachers. They love the small, close-knit district that operates like a family.
They said they don’t like to ask questions in class — though that doesn’t mean they don’t have them. They said meaningful moments have made learning stick with them in various ways, mostly because they involved real-world experiences.
Let students need lead the way when it comes to technology, Elijah said.
“We have a (recording) studio at our school. Nobody teaches us how to use the studio. Nobody’s like, ‘Here’s the class and here’s the assignment.’ If that were the case, I’d probably never be in the studio. When you have that chance to go in there and learn for yourself and go through trials and errors on your own, I feel like you become a better person.
“I feel like it becomes more enjoyable to learn because you are doing it on your own,” he added. “Sometimes it gets boring just listening to somebody talk and just writing papers a lot.”
‘Push Us to Keep Going’
Teachers asked how they can know when letting learners struggle is too much. Students said as long as teachers are accessible, they appreciate a challenge. But they also don’t like to make mistakes.
“I do not like to struggle. I will scream,” admitted senior Jacky Garcia. “I am terrified of failing.”
Students also said they want to use different methods to reach solutions, and want to know the “why” of things. In math, said senior Adela Campos, teachers often move too fast.
“You guys could explain why you need to find y,” she said. “Why? Where did y come from?”
Admittedly, teens are an indecisive bunch, Adela admitted, when asked if they feel they are being prepared for the future. She said she wants teachers to help them learn about opportunities.
“As we keep growing we are learning about ourselves. It kind of comes down to talking to us. Take some time out of your day to help us figure out what we want to do.”
And finally, they told teachers, don’t give up on them.
“Push us. Push us to keep going,” Adela said. “Keep pushing us to go the extra mile. If we know you guys are there for us, we will keep going and have more motivation.”
In an effort to improve third-grade reading proficiency, the Godfrey Lee Public Schools district will receive $20,000 to implement instructional practices recommended by Reading Now Network over the next two-and-half years.
An instructional team of about a dozen literacy experts from all over the state recently visited classrooms to observe reading and writing instruction at Godfrey Elementary School, which houses third through fifth grades, and Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Education Center, which houses preschool through second grade.
The district was invited to receive help from RNN because of its demographics and low third-grade reading proficiency levels. The district has the second-highest English-language learner population in the state, at about 50 percent. About 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch and third-grade reading proficiency is about 27 percent.
“We are one of the lower-achieving schools,” said Godfrey Elementary Principal Andrew Steketee. “We don’t want our socioeconomic status to be an excuse for that. Knowing our students and staff, there is no reason we can’t be higher achieving. They are going to help us identify how to be more successful.”
Reading Now Network, a collaborative effort involving 100 districts, launched in 2014 to increase the proportion of third-graders reading proficiently to 80 percent.
It was started by examining best instructional practices at elementary schools with high reading success rates in order to implement them region-wide. High-achieving schools studied ranged from urban to rural, with varying levels of poverty.
Literacy expert Patti Konarska helps a student with letters (Photo courtesy of Kyle Mayer)
Help from the Experts
As a participant, the Godfrey-Lee district receives a day of instructional rounds from literacy experts. Steketee will work with a facilitator, a highly skilled literacy expert, to put into practice priorities identified in the classroom visits.
Western Michigan University, in partnership with RNN, received a $12.5 million federal grant known as the High Impact Leadership Project. This project will support 152 of the highest-poverty, lowest-achieving schools in 20 West and Southwest Michigan counties, including Kent and Ottawa.
In its first group of schools, which includes Godfrey-Lee, RNN will conduct Harvard Instructional Rounds in participating schools by March 1, said Kyle Mayer, Ottawa Area ISD assistant superintendent. Schools will receive $20,000 from the High Impact Leadership Project, and assistance to implement the resulting recommendations and to support early literacy practices of the General Education Leadership Network.
If work done over the next two-and-half years in those schools proves effective in boosting student literacy achievement, another cohort of schools will receive similar supports.
“We are optimistic that if we work together to support research-based practice in every classroom every day, student achievement gains will follow,” Mayer said. If data shows improvement, the grant will be extended.
Project Provides Focus
Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center Principal Pete Geerling said he looks forward to recommendations from RNN.
“Right now, there are so many good things out there, and we as a district try to make sure we are up to speed with best practice,” Geerling said. “But this is going to provide some focus — a couple things we can wrap our heads around and really try to attack.”
RNN has also worked in identified lab schools, helping them improve scores through effective instructional practices. Those schools included Parkview Elementary in Wyoming Public Schools; Moon Elementary in Muskegon Public Schools; Woodbridge Elementary in Zeeland Public Schools; and Big Jackson, a two-room schoolhouse in Newaygo County.
As a result, Moon Elementary boosted third-grade proficiency rates on the M-STEP from about 8 to 17 percent. The school has an almost 100 percent free and reduced lunch rate.
“They hosted this process of instructional rounds two years ago, identified some priorities and were supported by the Muskegon ISD in following through on those,” Mayer said. “They are kind of the shining star as a school that is really deeply committed to recommendations that were produced out of an instructional rounds day. They have results that show things are moving in the right direction.”
2017 top story: Grace Bible College’s Kate Shellenbarger makes a difference by working with Wyoming police Det./Lt. James Maguffee. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
As 2017 comes to a close, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the most popular stories for the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming.
In compiling this list, I took a look at both page views on a story, which indicates the number of people who clicked on the article, and also social media statistics. The result is a mix of both most read and shared articles from the WKTV Journal website.
A room with a view: The partnership to make the Kelloggsville Library a community library wrapped up the year and our list for most read and shared stories of 2017.
The first Kentwood City Commission met on Feb. 27, 1967. The city kicked off its 50th anniversary by hosting a commission meeting on Feb. 27, 2017.
The biggest event that took place in the City of Kentwood was the city’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration, so it only makes sense that many of the most read and shared Kentwood stories centered around the celebration. Some of those stories were:
Who does not love a good animal story? Through partnerships with such groups as Crash’s Landing and the Humane Society of West Michigan, we have featured a number of adoptable animals and of the top five, Nessarose, Jamie, Heihei, Cuervo, and Salsa (All from Crash’s Landing), three have been adopted, Nessarose’s adoption is pending and Jamie is being fostered.
Wrapping up our list of the 2017 biggest stories is Kelloggsville, KDL join together to open high school library to entire community, which I could not think of a better way to cap off the year. The story, which was published in December and did remarkably well for the short time it has been up, serves as an excellent example of how various community groups working together can find a way to fill a need. Those partnerships are what has enabled the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood to accomplish some pretty amazing things, as you can tell from this list of 2017 most read and shared stories.
And with that said, we look forward to covering the amazing things that both the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood accomplish in 2018.
Dean Transportation is looking for 50 drivers to serve Kent County schools
Diane Kallemeyn prefers to work as a substitute bus driver for Wyoming Public Schools, but is now covering a permanent route. She arrives at 6:30 a.m. to transport hundreds of students across the district and to Kent Career Tech Center, racking up about 80 miles each day she drives. With a few breaks in between, she finishes driving after school in the afternoon.
“Right now, we are short drivers so I am on a run every day,” she said.
So are many other subs. Area schools are experiencing the nationwide shortage of bus drivers, putting transportation departments in a pinch to get students on the bus in the morning and back home after the final bell at a reasonable time. In Kent County, subs like Kallemeyn are covering routes, dispatchers are driving, and retirees are filling in to transport thousands of children every day. They’ve also consolidated runs and are constantly seeking applications for new hires.
“We’ve tried to be creative,” said Don Hebeler, Wyoming director of operations and support services, who advertises job openings with yard and marquee signs and district-wide emails. He recently had three new drivers going through the training process for four open routes.
Consolidating routes and relying on retirees are some ways districts are covering shortages
Countywide, Dean Transportation is looking to hire 50 drivers to serve Grand Rapids, Sparta, Cedar Springs and Kent City public schools as well as Kent ISD programs. The Lansing-based firm contracts with those school districts and others statewide. Statewide, Dean needs to hire 100 drivers total.
“We’ve seen this for a few years now,” said Ashleigh Wright, Dean hiring specialist. “We are working toward closing the gap by increasing advertising and increasing flexibility with training. We will train non-credentialed drivers and pay for training.”
Wyoming Public Schools bus driver Diane Kallemeyn is a substitute currently covering a regular route because of the bus driver shortage
Why a Shortage?
School officials named several factors at play. More positions in the job market are now available than a few years ago, plus there are strict requirements and fewer perks for drivers than in the past.
With the national unemployment rate at 4.1 percent, people are more easily finding full-time work without frequent split shifts.
‘We are still in need of five drivers. We could use more subs too.’ — Laura Tanis, Kentwood Public Schools transportation supervisor
New hires don’t receive traditional pensions as they did years ago, Hebeler said: “When a lot of my drivers started they got full benefits and a pension.”
In Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, one of Kent County’s smallest districts, they don’t have enough drivers cover field trips and athletic events, said Scott Bergman, supervisor of operations, transportation and custodial services. The district, which parks its fleet at the Wyoming Public Schools bus garage, often uses drivers from Wyoming, Kelloggsville and Dean Transportation to cover needs.
“There needs to be increase in compensation for both custodians and bus drivers,” Bergman said. District driver pay starts at about $14 per hour.
The biggest challenge, Wright said, is finding candidates that meet all requirements: a good driving record including no history of driving under the influence or careless driving; at least seven years experience driving commercially; a valid Michigan license; a passed background check and fingerprint clearance. Candidates must pass a federal Department of Transportation physical and drug and alcohol screening.
“The number of folks who apply and get through the process is one or two out of 10,” Wright said.
Kentwood Public Schools began the school year with 10 open bus driver positions, of 36 total positions in the district. Since then, five were filled. “We are still in need of five drivers. We could use more subs too,” said Transportation Supervisor Laura Tanis.
Don Hebeler, Wyoming Public Schools director of operations and support services, stands near the bus fleet. He and directors statewide need more drivers
Enticements for Recruits
Starting driver pay from district to district ranges from about $14 to $18 per hour. A minimum of hours is often required to qualify for insurance. Dean Transportation wages start at $16 an hour and guarantees a minimum of four hours per school day. Dean also offers full benefits, including health, dental, vision, a 401(k) plan and paid time-off to all drivers.
Caledonia Public Schools, a district covering more than 100-square-miles, has recruited drivers with the offer of a $250 referral bonus and $500 sign-on bonus. The effort led to hiring five part-time substitute drivers who cover field trips, vacation and sick days and after-school athletic events. Two more substitute drivers are still needed, said Transportation Director Brenda Witteveen.
Godfrey-Lee’s Bergman pointed out another issue may be contributing to the shortage. “It’s an awesome responsibility to be a bus driver,” he said. “You are responsible for the safety of those children from the the time you pick them up to when you take them home.”
In today’s fast-paced society, people are commuting in a rush. “We’ve had two dozen people go through our red lights (on buses) since school started and they came within feet of our kids,” Bergman said. “Everyone is in such a hurry these days.”
Students raised money for Kids Food Basket by collecting pennies
Kids’ Food Basket has recognized a large need to begin serving more students in West Michigan. Their goal is to raise $60,000 to build enough capacity to take three schools off their immediate waiting list, one in each of their West Michigan locations.
For the third year in a row, Kids’ Food Basket staff and their families will be personally matching online donations made on #GivingTuesday dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. Their goal is to inspire enough people to donate this #GivingTuesday so that they will have the ability to begin servings hundreds of students here in West Michigan. Kids Food Basket serves several schools in the Kelloggsville, Godwin Heights, and Godfrey Lee public school districts.
“Removing three schools from our waiting list means hundreds of children – hundreds of children that are currently waiting for their sack supper. Hundreds of children that leave school to homes that simply do not have adequate food. Hundreds of children who eat lunch as their last meal of the day,” Bridget Clark Whitney, Executive Director, shared.
“The need for our services is tremendous, and we know firsthand the impact that Sack Suppers can make. Data proves that children who have access to consistent nourishment have higher test scores and better academic achievement, less truancy, less sickness and less behavioral issues,” Clark Whitney explained. “The Kids’ Food Basket team and our families so deeply believes in this work that we are coming together again to provide a Staff Match for the third year in a row.”
Occurring on Nov. 28 this year, #GivingTuesday is an international day of giving fueled by social media that was born as a result of well-known shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Kids’ Food Basket currently serves 7,500 children at 42 elementary schools in Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland. More than 240 volunteers each day help prepare, pack and deliver Sack Suppers, a well-rounded evening meal that provides nutrition critical to the development of the brain and body.
Kids’ Food Basket is a nonprofit organization empowering communities to attack childhood hunger so young people can learn and live well. Through the Sack Supper program, kids get well-balanced evening meals, filling a gap that schools and families often can’t meet. To learn more, or see how you can make a difference, please visit www.kidsfoodbasket.org.
New Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education members Jackie Hernandez, shown with Superintendent Kevin Polston, was appointed early this month. (Supplied)
Following appointment by the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education on Nov. 13, Jackie Hernandez is ready to move from work on the district’s Parent Teacher Organization to work as a trustee on the board of education.
Hernandez replaces Katie Brumley on the board for a 6-year term seat which will now come up for a special election in November 2018 for the remaining four years of the term.
With her appointment, Hernandez hopes to bring a more ethnically diverse presence to the board. The Godfrey-Lee district has a majority Hispanic/Latino in population but, until Hernandez’s appointment, did not have a Hispanic/Latino member.
“There are great benefits in having a diverse board and I wanted the school board to reflect the community it serves,” Hernandez said in an interview with WKTV Journal. “Our district is about 75 percent Latino and our board should reflect that. As a Latina, community advocate and a parent I will bring a different perspective to the table.”
Making the board more diverse was also an factor in her appointment, along with her work as president of the PTO, her being a parent of children in the district, and her community involvement and professional background.
Hernandez works as community liaison for LINC UP, a “community development organization that provides services to Kent County, and are involved in a host of projects and services that reach families, houses, businesses and neighborhoods at large,” according to its website.
The board interviewed three candidates to fill the position, and board president Eric Mockerman said in supplied material that Hernandez was selected because of her “commitment to the students and families of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.”
“My work on the PTO was a great starter to working on the board,” Hernandez said. “It gave me a better understanding of what the schools are doing and why they are doing the work they do and how much work is still to be done yet. It also helped to establish and grow relationships with the parents and teachers at each school.
“I have learned that we all — parents, teachers and school administrators —want to help our children succeed in life and we all have different ways to contribute to that success. Many want to feel a part of the process and know that their voices are being heard and that their contributions matter, no matter how small.”
Hernandez said she not only plans to run for re-election to the remainder of the term next year, but she has some issues she is particularly interested in.
“One of the issues I want to focus on will be the resources that we have in place for our students and staff at East Lee (campus),” she said. “I also want our parents and students to know that we (the school board) are accessible to them and that we want to hear from them. Many Latino parents struggle with this because up until now there was not a board member who spoke Spanish or who looked like them. I hope to be able to erase that barrier and have parents know that they can speak to someone who will understand them.
“I believe that my view point or perspective of things will enhance the great work already being done by our school administrators and staff because at the end of the day its about what is best for our students.”
The Board of Education meets monthly at the Godfrey-Lee Administration Office,1324 Burton Street, SW. Its next meeting will be Dec. 11. For more information visit godfrey-lee.org .
Early Childhood Center students shrieked as they discovered the tiny inhabitants of Plaster Creek. “I got something! It’s got legs! It’s got legs!” one squealed as she scooped an insect from a mini-pond created over plastic inside a hula hoop.
Samantha Ramirez-Garcia learns about water bugs from WMEAC intern Brooke DeBaar
At themed water stations set up in the school’s Outdoor Learning Lab, students learned about the Plaster Creek Watershed, ecosystems, biodiversity, life cycles, and plastics and other pollutants.
It was all about taking care of their surroundings, said Jessica Vander Ark, director of environmental education for WMEAC. Even the district’s youngest students can be involved in taking care of the creek, which flows through the ECC school yard.
“We think it’s so important that these students are finding out they have a creek they are partially responsible for. Their families and their actions all affect the watershed. We want to start teaching the whole idea of stewardship early… We want them to care about Plaster Creek and the Grand River Watershed.”
Gabriel Quintino examines creek water
Vander Ark takes fourth-graders stream sampling for macro-invertebrates each spring through WMEAC’s program “Teach for the Watershed,” which is run through a partnership with General Motors. Water Day extends teaching about the creek and watershed into earlier grades. “We wanted to find a way to do more and involve more of the students at Godfrey-Lee,” she said.
Preservation and Restoration
Plaster Creek Stewards, a program operated through Calvin College, hosts projects and outreach events to restore the creek, polluted over the years by stormwater runoff that brings contaminants into the creek and excessive sediments.
Program assistant Andrea Lubberts said part of their mission is educating students about how they affect the 58 square-mile watershed and how to reduce water runoff and contamination.
Devin Golden examines what’s in the water
Calvin and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools are both in the Plaster Creek watershed. “We feel very responsible for the health of the watershed because we live here,” Lubberts said. “If students understand that we all live in the watershed and we all affect someone else, we can start taking action.”
Second-grade teacher Lindsay Blume said the day ties in with science standards, including bodies of water and landforms. She said learning about those things right in the school yard is impactful.
“I like when they get outside and learn about the community and see what there is to explore. I hope they get out of it a better understanding of water, and more respect for it.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Wyoming Public Schools, shown here in a photo supplied by the district, saw its number of students drop in the recent “Count Day” state survey of students. (Supplied)
Some local school leaders were braced for bad news, some confident of good news, as Wyoming and Kentwood area school districts held their public school “Count Day” early this month — a day when the number of students attending their schools directly relates to how much funding they will receive from the state.
The fall count, held Oct. 4, is worth 90 percent of the state per-pupil funding. The spring semester count, from the previous school year, is 10 percent of funding. This school year’s spring count date is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2018.
“We are still in the period where we identify the final number, but that is the formula that is used,” Wyoming’s Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said to WKTV journal. The “count impacts this years funding. We do not receive state aid in September, and begin receiving it in October after fall count. (So) this impacts our current budget.”
The local public school districts, as well as charters, are to receive $7,631 per-pupil for the 2017-18 school year. Godwin Heights Public Schools receives slightly more per student due to a historic loss of a substantial commercial tax base.
Godfrey-Lee counted 1,878 students for the fall count day, 72 below projections and down 84 students for the 2016-17 school year. So, if preliminary numbers hold, Godfrey-Lee would receive less state funding this year than last. But Polston says the district is prepared.
“This is the reason why it is important to have fund balances that can account for shortfalls like this,” said Polston, who is in his first year as superintendent. “We will maintain all current positions and programs, but immediately take a close look at all areas of the budget for both short and long term savings. We are fortunate to have a fund balance that can absorb a shortfall for this year.
“Our Board of Education has a policy of maintaining at least a 10 percent fund balance for times like this. We will need to backfill this deficit with next year’s budget. I’m confident in our team’s ability to strategically prioritize spending with a constant focus on keeping dollars in the classroom.”
His district will also look at the reasons why enrollment dropped.
“We have had a strong growth trend over the past few years, but that didn’t hold this year,” he said. “We are analyzing the areas where we fell short to identify contributing factors. We believe our best solution is to promote our district to our current residents to retain as many as we can in our strong, local, neighborhood schools.”
According to an analysis published on MLive, Michigan has more than 1.6 million kindergarten through 12th grade students in the 2016-17 school year, with about 1 million attending their local public schools. The other half million, or so, attended private or charter schools, or crossed home district lines to enroll in other public school districts.
Kentwood Public Schools is one of the districts gaining students, some from out of the district boundaries.
“We are up 136 — 9,121 total non-audited — students from last Fall count day,” Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff told WKTV. “The last three years we have seen an upward trend of our enrollment count. We are excited to see that Kentwood Public Schools continues to be a destination district for many families because of the great opportunities provided.”
Godwin Heights Public Schools, according to Superintendent William Fetterhoff, counted 2,166 students after budgeting for 2,145, so 21 over projection and 39 below last year. Fetterhoff told WKTV the trend is not unusual for his district, or across the nation for that matter, and he pointed to a decline in kindergarten through 3rd grade students as one reason.
Wyoming Public Schools, according to the district, counted 4,250, down 70 from last year.
Wyoming Public Schools students. (Supplied)
“4,250 is an appropriate estimate for our fall count … We anticipated a decrease this year,” Matt Lewis, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Administrative Services for Wyoming Public Schools said to WKTV. “We budgeted to be down 75, and we’re on track to be down between 75 and 80.
“We’re approximately 70 down from last year which is right on projection. … I can’t give you a final number because there are 30 days from the count day during which students can still be counted if they were absent.”
The decline in enrollment is also not surprising to Lewis.
“Wyoming has averaged a loss of 108 students per year since the fall of 2004,” he said. “We’ve done many, many things to address the decline, cutting millions from our operating budget. We’ve become extremely efficient from an administrative perspective, closed buildings when necessary, including the consolidation of our high schools for 2012/13, and made countless adjustments to our contractual obligations and benefit costs. Our employees have (also) taken on a substantial portion of their healthcare costs over this period of enrollment decline.”
In other initial, unaudited numbers from local public districts, detailed in published reports, Kelloggsville Public Schools counted 2,327 students, 102 above projections and 79 more than last year.
Godwin Heights Public Schools Superintendent Bill Fetterhoff, center, listens as Michelle Krynicki director of instruction, and Title III, speaks to the State Board of Education. (Photos courtesy of School News Network.)
Superintendents from five Kent County school districts got the chance on Tuesday to tout their school improvement initiatives, when State Superintendent Brian Whiston and the eight-member State Board of Education visited Kent ISD.
Presenting superintendents were Michael Shibler of Rockford Public Schools; Gerald Hopkins of Kenowa Hills Public Schools; Thomas Reeder of Wyoming Public Schools; William Fetterhoff of Godwin Heights Public Schools; and Kevin Polston of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.
Each presentation included what those districts are doing around one or more of the goals of the State Department of Education’s “Top 10 in 10” initiative to make Michigan a premier education state in 10 years.
Luke Wilcox, this year’s Michigan Teacher of the Year, also took part as a representative of Kentwood Public Schools.
Kent ISD was the first stop in the state BOE’s new plan to visit two intermediate school districts each year. The board will visit Wayne RESA in February.
Here is a brief summary of the superintendents’ presentations.
Luke Wilcox, Michigan Teacher of the Year, of Kentwood Public Schools, with State Board member Lupe Ramos-Montigny of Grand Rapids.
Rockford Public Schools: Action Model for Success
Since 1989, Rockford has involved the community, businesses, staff and students to help shape the district’s direction and priorities, resulting in three-year strategic plans. The district is currently finalizing its Rams X report for the next three years.
Key to that level of community engagement is accountability, said Superintendent Michael Shibler.
“This is, quite frankly, the reason we are an outstanding school system,” Shibler told board members. “And it fits your plan, the fact that you need to have stakeholder input to accomplish your goals.”
He shared that if an employer tells him an employee who is a Rockford graduate doesn’t have a skill he or she should have gotten in high school, “I’ll bring that student back free of charge to get those skills.”
Wyoming Public Schools Superintndent Tom Reeder tells the board of his district’s efforts to improve reading proficiency.
Wyoming Public Schools: Reading Now Network, Early Literacy and Literacy Coaching
The three components are key to district efforts to improve reading proficiency for all students. Highlighted for the board was the importance and purpose of early literacy work and literacy coaches throughout the buildings.
The district increased its reading scores through its participation in the Reading Now Network, a collaborative effort involving 100 districts to boost reading proficiency to 80 percent in 13 counties. Wyoming’s partnership with RNN also led to a $10,000 grant from the Herman Miller company, to help get more books into classrooms and create a more consistent book-leveling system.
“We all need to own that our students need to be reading much better than they are,” Superintendent Tom Reeder said.
Godwin Heights Public Schools: Fostering Shared Responsibility in School Improvement
After establishing a clear purpose and message about sharing the work of improvement, administrators and instructional coaches lead teams in highly focused learning. That begins with thoroughly understanding a district instructional goal and visiting classrooms to see it in action. Debriefing sessions within groups lead to possible steps for new improvements toward the goal.
Participants walk away with better understanding, new ways to explore meeting the goal, and a renewed sense of shared responsibility for all students to be career and college ready, said Superintendent Bill Fetterhoff.
Fetterhoff said the strategy has three elements: learning labs, where teachers observe, interact with and learn from one another; and administrators are exempt; learning walks, where administrators and instructional specialists create a consistent “lens” to support teaching staff; and school improvement, where participation is a blend of the other groups.
“So we see it in three different ways, but all the ways are there to enhance student achievement — to make our principals, our teachers, our coaches better,” Fetterhoff said. “It’s all about the learning communities and how the different cycles overlap. The greatest part about it is the feedback, and that’s been that they have confidence that we are doing this for the right reasons.”
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston and Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach speak to the State Board of Education, as Michigan Teacher of the Year Lucas Wilcox, right, looks on.
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools: A Broader Definition of Student Success
The district’s design thinking process led to a redesign of its model of student success that addresses the needs of the whole child instead of simply providing content. This includes responding to research that indicates students need the 6Cs — communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, confidence and content mastery – for success in the 21st century.
Educating the whole child also means fulfilling needs to ensure students are healthy and ready to learn, through programs like Kent School Services Network.
“First, we determine our values, and then we develop goals around those values,” Superintendent Kevin Polston told board members. “When we think about our traditional way of doing school, we’ve maxed out just about all the ways of tweaking how we’ve done that. We need to look at education through a different lens if we are going to significantly transform what we’re doing.”
Kenowa Hills Public Schools: Competency-based Learning
This paradigm-shifting approach to learning is part of a growing national trend in helping all students reach college and career readiness. In this approach, students move ahead individually as soon as they learn the material, and not together as an entire class. This allows some to move more quickly, while others get the support they need, enabling all to master the content.
The district began this shift in 2012 with K-8 mathematics, and has now implemented it districtwide. Administrators say they consistently see students who are more engaged, learning at deeper levels, and taking more ownership of their learning.
“It’s the reality of what all schools face: students who are not engaged, are not meeting the rigors and demands of school and they don’t know why,” Superintendent Gerald Hopkins said. “We don’t have all the answers, but we want to continue to learn and to keep looking for them.”
State Board members seemed to appreciate being able to meet superintendents on their own turf.
“This is the first time we’ve taken our meeting on the road,” said Eileen Lappin Weiser. “You folks are setting a horribly high standard.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Missdalia Rios-Segundo talks to members of Lee Youth Trained to Serve about an upcoming volunteer trip to Feeding America of West Michigan. (Photos courtesy of School News Network)
It’s an extraordinary claim: During her 10 years working with middle school students, Missdalia Rios-Segundo says, not one has ever treated her with disrespect.
But when you meet her, it makes sense.
“They are good kids,” Rios-Segundo said, as if it’s that simple. And, really, it is. Rios, who has worked as a English-language learner paraprofessional at Lee Middle/High School for a decade, is simply kind.
“I’ve never had a situation where I’ve seen a student closed off to her,” said seventh-grade science teacher Janene Parney. “Children kind of sense the character of individuals. She is always so kind and patient and they recognize it and respect her for it.
“I’ve never heard a bad word about her from the students or the teachers, not even a muttering behind her back.”
Instead, students gravitate to Rios-Segundo, Parney said. “It’s nothing but a rally around an individual, completely because of her character.
“She a glue in this school.”
Rios-Segundo works with newcomers to the U.S. in sixth through eighth grades who come from Spanish-speaking countries and other areas of the world. In general-education classes, she helps them comprehend and keep up.
She recently helped sixth-grader Giovanni Chitic with a book in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. “She helps me become a better reader,” Giovanni said.
ELL paraprofessional Missdalia Rios-Segundo works with Giovanni Chitic
Rios-Segundo takes notes and completes assignments right along with her students, ensuring that when they ask a question she can help. “I definitely love my job and what I do every day with the kids. I love the interaction,” she said. “If I can make them smile a little, that is good.”
Teacher Emily Colletti said Rios-Segundo uses her special touch to make students feel at ease.
“She provides them with different strategies to be successful. They are very comfortable with her,” Colletti said. “She’s one of the kindest, most compassionate people I’ve ever worked with and she’s always looking for ways to help.”
Shining Bright in the Community
Outside class, Rios-Segundo leads middle schoolers in Lee Youth Trained to Serve, which includes 15 sixth- through eighth-graders who meet regularly for service projects. LYTS recently collected about $135 for DeVos Children’s Hospital by hosting Gridiron Giving at a recent football game, collecting donations in jars and selling doughnuts.
The group is now planning to volunteer at Feeding America West Michigan before beginning their next project, Operation Christmas Child, for which they pack shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items and school supplies for children in other countries. Last year, they collected 150 shoeboxes for the annual project.
Rios-Segundo said she wants middle schoolers to see how they can brighten people’s day.
“I like to help out the community,” she said. “I find so many good people out there and they are helping. I have been in situations when I have gotten help myself. I want the kids to see they can help someone else. We live in a community that’s not the wealthiest, but even if they don’t have a lot we can still give back to somebody.”
Seventh-grader Nuria Pablo said she appreciates the opportunity. “I wanted to join because we are helping kids in need,” she said.
Added seventh-grader Zusette Quinonez, “What I’m looking forward to do is help others and (Rios-Segundo) inspires me because she likes to help others.”
Missdalia Rios-Segundo is known as a pillar at Lee Middle/High School
Once a Newcomer Herself
Rios-Segundo immigrated to the United States at age 9 with her parents and three siblings 30 years ago. They came from Durango, Mexico, for work and education. She lived in California for one year and Illinois for 12 before moving to Michigan 17 years ago, settling in the Godfrey-Lee community with her husband.
Mom to Abel, a Lee High School junior, and Anahi, a Godfrey Elementary School third-grader, she knows what it’s like for students to begin school in a new country. “It was very difficult,” she said.
Now she brings her experiences to students and families, many who use her as a liaison. “I think that is why I love my job — I know where they are coming from.”
The Godfrey-Lee community is family-oriented and that makes it special, she said. “I think it’s the closeness you can get to the families and community. It’s small enough to know everyone. If your children are out with someone you know they are in good company.”
Lee Middle/High School Assistant Principal Rendal Todd said Rios-Segundo is a “pillar in the building.”
“Missdalia always has a positive outlook and comes in every day willing to help the students where they need to have support,” Todd said. “She is very integrated into the community and always willing to help.
“She’s a great natured person to talk to and be around and cares a lot about our children,” he added. “She goes above and beyond without ever being asked.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
How well students achieve in school is often connected to the income levels of their families. This set of stories explores some of this data and how schools with lower income families are working to remove barriers to student learning
At Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, the Kent County district with the lowest family income, the correlation between M-STEP scores and poverty is stark. More than 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced priced lunch in the one-square mile district and 27 percent of third-graders are proficient in English language arts. The statewide average is 44.1 percent.
Poverty is a major factor considered in instruction practices, wrap-around services and ongoing education reform efforts. Superintendent Kevin Polston pointed out where Godfrey-Lee third graders fall on a graph (see above) that illustrates the link between poverty and third-grade reading proficiency. “It shows the impact that poverty has on achievement.”
“Ideally, we want to be one of these outliers,” he said, referring to schools on the graph that are high achievers despite high poverty rates. Those, sadly, are few and far between.
There has to be a big-picture approach when dealing with poverty in schools in order to disrupt the impact on student achievement, he said.
Godfrey-Lee is focused on first meeting basic needs, food, water, warmth and rest, so learning can take place. “The basics of life for some kids are not basic,” said Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach.
To meet those needs – so students are in the classrooms ready to learn – the district has in place Kent School Services Network, which provides dental, health and vision services; Kids Food Basket, which provides sack suppers for children to bring home after school, and universal free breakfast and lunch programs.
Those type of things help build foundations for student learning, Lautenbach said, “Those are really tangible ways we are trying to bridge the gap for kids,” she said.
Recognizing Their Strengths
But there’s another piece in educating students in poverty that often gets overlooked: the strengths they already have. “I don’t like the term disadvantaged,” Polston said.
“Any of our folks intimately involved with this are very good at looking at the hidden strengths that we sometimes ask people to check at the door,” Lautenbach added.
Many people who live in poverty, such as immigrant and refugee students are risk-takers because they have to be. Those experiences can be part of creating the foundation for success that goes way beyond knowing content.
The district is using a strength-based Learner Profile based on the6Cs, skills considered vital for success in future careers. They are collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence along with content-knowledge. It’s a strength-based system, Lautenbach explained.
But despite their strengths, children who live in poverty often have limited experiences compared to more affluent families. Seeing Lake Michigan, for example, is different than looking at a picture of it. The district works to provide opportunities for students to experience and explore.
“Their worlds are very small and focused on family, or survival or a small geographic area. (We ask) ‘How can we create more experiences for them so they have more to draw on?’ Lautenbach said. Barriers to reaching reading proficiency can include minimal exposure to academic vocabulary, a lack of books in the home or access to preschool programs.
Kelloggsville Staff Focusing on Poverty & Learning
Kelloggsville Public Schools, where 79 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, is also digging deep into meeting the learning needs of students by assisting with basic needs and building relationships. Staff members are continuing a district-wide book study on “Teaching with Poverty in Mind,” by Erik Jensen, a former reading teacher who synthesizes brain research and develops practical applications for educators.
Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage said students raised in poverty often live day-to-day and aren’t empowered with information about what they can become in the future. She’s not disparaging their parents, she explained, as many are working so hard to make ends meet, they can’t easily focus beyond the present.
“Parents in poverty are in survival mode rather than in the mode of teaching their children what they can be. It’s a cycle and it’s hard to break,” Savage said.
Still, Kelloggsville is making strides, she said, that are reflected in data. On M-STEP, 31.9 percent of third graders were proficient in ELA, but that’s just one piece. “We can pull out data from the classroom that shows huge gains from the beginning to end of the school year.”
Statewide Reading Scores Tend to Follow Poverty or Wealth
This chart provides a visual depiction –statewide — of the impact of poverty combined with test scores in M-STEP 3rd grade reading. Each dot represents a school building. On the left is the percent of students who scored “proficient,” with zero at the bottom and 100 percent at the top. The data below is the percent of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, a common poverty indicator, with zero per cent of students at the left and 100 percent of students on the right.
Although many high-poverty schools, according to this chart, struggle with reading proficiency, there are also many scoring quite high. These schools, despite issues of poverty, are finding ways to help students read well. Figuring out how they are accomplishing this and duplicating their success is the mission of Reading Now Network. All 20 of the districts within Kent ISD are participants in this network of hundreds of schools.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
New Godfrey-Lee Public School superintendent Kevin Polston visits WKTV Journal’s In Focus set. (WKTV)
WKTV Staff
news@wktv.org
On the latest episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus”, WKTV’s public affairs show, program host Ken Norris talks with new Godfrey-Lee Public School superintendent Kevin Polston about the opportunities — not challenges — his district offers.
Also on the program, with all the road construction going on, just about everywhere, WKTV hosts a deputy managing director of the Kent County Road Commission as he discusses the public’s role in work zone safety.
The new episode will air twice a week on WKTV channels starting this week and running through Oct. 5. Along with all episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus, the new interviews are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.
In the interview, Superintendent Polston talks, among several topics, about how demographics of his district — which includes a high Hispanic population — is an obstacle to be overcome for some of his students but also could develop in a bilingual asset for future students and graduates.
A bilingual student population “is not one that has been traditionally valued because were get measured on the rate of English acquisition” by Spanish speaking students, Polston said. “Over 50 percent of our students qualify for English language services. … I think bilingual is a tremendous asset, especially with the largest growing demographic in our country right now is our Hispanic population.”
Prior to taking the position in July, Polston served as Lakeshore Middle School’s principal, but he has worked in the classroom as well as in administration. He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and his master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University.
“WKTV Journal: In Focus” will started airing on Tuesday, Sept. 26, and will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.
For a video of the In Focus interview with Jerry Byrne, deputy managing director of the Kent County Road Commission, see below.
If you head down to ArtPrize this year, chances are you won’t be able to miss the large group of fish swimming across the Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown.
The piece, which faces Pearl Street across from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and near the U.S. 131 entrance/exit ramps, is the ArtPrize entry of artist and Kentwood Public School teacher Jerry Berta.
Berta worked with students from the Kentwood Public Schools. Students glued laser cut scraps together for the fish which were arranged to create a giant wave of fish, just like a school of fish swimming together. According to Berta’s artist statement on the ArtPrize website, the piece – titled “We Are All Different Fish But We All Swim Together!” – is about diversity and how people may be different but they can work together to create a better world.
“This is one of the biggest pieces at ArtPRize created by the most diverse student body in the state,” Berta said in his statement. Kentwood Public Schools has more than 70 different languages spoken at its buildings with the City of Kentwood know of its diverse population with residents from such countries as Vietnam, Korea, and Bosnia.
Students, staff, and parents from Kentwood’s Discovery, Meadowlawn, Explorer and Bowen elementary schools helped bring this piece together. Students from Valleywood Middle School, under the guidance of Alicia Fuller, and East Kentwood High School, under the guidance of Jon Bouck, and students from Charlevoix’s St. Mary’s School, also contributed to the project.
Berta, who lives in Rockford and is the man behind Dinerland and Rosie’s Diner, is just one of several artists representing the Wyoming and Kentwood areas at this year’s ArtPrize taking place in downtown Grand Raids through Oct. 8.
Marking its ninth year, ArtPrize is an open, independently organized international art competition that takes place 19 days in the fall. More than $500,000 in prizes are awarded each year which includes a $200,000 prize awarded by a public vote and another $200,000 prize awarded by a jury of art experts. Round 1 voting is currently underway until Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, the Final 20 are announced with Round 2 voting for just those in the Final 20 opening. Round 2 voting closes Oct. 5 with winners announced at the ArtPrize Awards.
Also having an entry in this year’s event is Godfrey Lee Public Schools kindergarten teacher Susan Sheets Odo, whose piece ,“A Colorful Michigan,” is at Grand Woods Lounge, 77 Grandville Ave. SW. Odo, who is also a Wyoming Public Schools board member, said in her artist statement that “A Colorful Michigan” is an interactive coloring piece. Featuring landmarks of Michigan mixed with designs, mandalas, floral patterns, and patterns found in the different cultures of the people who live in West Michigan, visitors are invited to leave their mark by helping to color the piece.
Wyoming Public Schools mentor Khalilah Yvonne hopes to encourage youth all over the world to stand up and let their voices be heard through her piece “Silence Broken.” Located at Grand Rapids City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW, Apt. 4, the piece is based on Yvonne’s own personal experience of being a victim of sexual assault, according to her artist statement.
If you head over to Grand Valley Artists, Inc., at 1345 Monroe Ave. NW, 140, you will be able to see Wyoming resident Nona (Voss) Bushman’s unique jewelry pieces. A graduate of Wyoming Park High School and Western Michigan University, Bushman’s piece is “Lost in Your Beauty.” Also showing at Grand valley Artists, Inc. is Wyoming resident Katherine Kreutziger’s painting “Autumn Hunt of a Lone Wolf.”
Other local artists are: Wyoming resident Nicole Bluekamp’s “Intoxication of Passion” is at Rockwell Republic, 45 S. Division Ave., and Wyoming resident Karin Nelson’s piece “Trees in the Park” is at the Women’s City Club, 254 E. Fulton St.
There are more than 170 venues for this year’s ArtPrize and one of them is not that far from Wyoming and Kentwood. For the first time, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is a venue featuring seven artists with works in the upstairs observation deck, east end of the terminal building, and outdoors under the trademark GFIA canopy and welcome wall.
The pieces featured at the airport are “TOTEM of a Michigan Woman” by Sharron Ansell, of Kalamazoo; “Sanutario de la Monarch,” by Dalice Ceballos, of Mexico; “We are Fruitport Building on a Legacy,” by Fruitport High School Visual Arts Team; “Our Love Connects All Happiness,” by Haruko Furukawa, of New Zealand; “Fly Away With Me,” by Mariia Rykhlovska, of Los Angeles; “Elements of a Japanese Garden,” by Judy A. Steiner, of Grand Rapids; and “Kitty Hawk,” by Brett Walker, of East Tawas, Mich.
Just further up on the East Beltline, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline NE, is also a venue again this year. For more on what is featured at the Gardens, click here.
To learn more about the artists, venues, voting or to register to vote in this year’s ArtPrize competition, go to artprize.org.
The skills for success in both areas are largely the same. And, for the most part, we’re not teaching them.
Why? Because they’re not easy to measure. The objective measure of a student’s response on a multiple choice test will always be easier to measure than the “subjective” assessment of employability skills, soft skills, or whatever they are.
My friend Lou Glazer, head of the Michigan Future think tank, writes in a recent Dome Magazine column the skills for success are embedded in a liberal arts degree that promotes critical thinking, creativity and the confidence to recreate oneself when one door closes and another opens.
Glazer argues many, if not most, of the jobs that made Michigan great have gone away or will go away in the near future and it’s a fool’s errand to prepare students for jobs that will not exist 20 years from now.
He’s absolutely right. So, too, are our employers who say our K-12 schools are not turning out enough students interested in the jobs available in today’s marketplace.
Many K-12 graduates go to college but only half achieve a degree within six years. They leave angry, confused and burdened with a mountain of debt and no clear career path.
Many others do not go to college, do not enter the military and do not enter the jobs employers say are readily available.
Why? Because we’ve measured their success — and ours, as educators — on their response to a multiple choice standardized test for which they were taught, tutored, wheedled and cajoled to the exclusion of far more meaningful and enriching educational and academic pursuits. We did this because we were forced to do so. Businesses, legislators, congressmen, presidents and education secretaries looked at the $1 billion or more we spend each day on education in this country and demanded more accountability. The only thing that could be easily constructed and measured in a timely fashion were multiple choice assessments of core content knowledge.
We’ve learned the hard way these standardized assessments are not a reliable measure of success in college, in careers, or in life. We’ve also set aside other opportunities for students to gain confidence through life experiences — primarily work, at an early age — in exchange for any activity that prepares them for college or helps to build an attractive college application.
Attributes of Success
The attributes that are reliable measures of success are those cited by Glazer in the book “Becoming Brilliant” by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff. They are:
Communication
Critical thinking
Creativity
Confidence
Mastery of Content
The ability to work in Collaboration with others
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools are adopting the “6Cs” in the new board-approved Learner Profiles and teachers are designing new projects around them.
Restoring an appreciation for these character attributes is embedded in the employability skills framework being implemented this fall at Northview Public Schools. They are communication and critical thinking, effort and productivity, relationships and citizenship, time management and social wellness.
Many of these things were learned in previous generations through hard work at home and in part-time jobs in high school and college. All are the keys to success in school, in college, in careers and, arguably, are more important than your answer to question 42 on page 8 of a four-hour multiple choice test. (These employability skills, by the way, can and will be measured through an assessment created by the Education Testing Service.)
But what about the idea of preparing students for careers that don’t require a four-year degree? Doesn’t that conflict with preparing students for college?
Bill Gates famously said the new Three R’s in education are Rigor, Relevance and Relationships. Policy experts pounced on increased rigor as essential to success, ignoring students’ need to understand the relevance of their learning.
The Michigan Merit Curriculum eliminated many options for students to pursue their own passions in the K-12 environment through the preponderance of required credits for graduation. Like the state assessments on which we’re judged, the lion’s share of their curriculum is mandated. If queried, as we’ve done in the past, the majority of students will say they’ve no idea how they will use this mandated content in the real world.
Relevance, Engagement, Success
Instructional models like the project-based learning used at Kent Innovation High and the renowned High Tech High School in San Diego build real-world problems into the educational process. This type of instruction, modeled in other schools too, like Forest Hills Public Schools’ “Gone Boarding” program, create relevance and the thirst for learning.
Connecting students to the world of work, helping them understand the jobs available in their region, and the knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful in the world of work is a step toward greater relevance. When the content is relevant, students are engaged. When they’re engaged, they’re more likely to tackle, and be successful, in more rigorous content.
If they’re more engaged, they’re far more likely to achieve the content mastery, creativity and confidence envisioned in “Becoming Brilliant.” The connections to business, to employability, the understanding of how math is useful in the real world, will inspire far more students to succeed, to attain a post-secondary credential, a two-year or a four-year degree.
Through greater exposure to the world of work, some students may choose to pursue a postsecondary credential that prepares them for immediate employment. The majority will continue to pursue a college degree, as they do today.
All should recognize college is not an end. College is a means to an end. Students should see a college degree as a credential required to achieve a career goal. Those who do are far more likely to succeed in college than those with no clear career goals.
College going, employability and filling the talent gap are compatible concepts. They’re all related, and they all demand that we stop teaching to the test and begin anew the challenge laid before educators by Nobel Prize Winner William Butler Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
GRPS Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal, at podium, spoke at a press conference Tuesday following President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program (photo courtesy Grand Rapids Public Schools)
As a mother and grandmother, Teresa Weatherall Neal knows well the value of family. And as superintendent of nearly 17,000 Grand Rapids Public Schools students, she thinks about the families they all come from.
So Neal’s reaction to President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was a strong and swift call to protect students and their families from deportation.
“I’m going to fight for them,” Neal said in her office, the day after Trump announced a phase-out of DACA . “I stand with them. I will fight till the bitter end to keep these children in the school system, with their families.”
Her remarks followed a GRPS Board of Education resolution denouncing the decision, and calling on Congress to pass legislation enabling undocumented young people to gain permanent residency. Other area superintendents also expressed support of their immigrant students, in light of the decision that removes protection from deportation for children raised in the U.S. by undocumented parents.
Kevin Polston
In a prepared statement, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said the district “reaffirms our commitment to providing safe and supportive learning environments for each student.”
“(B)ecause each child’s unique path is an integral chapter in our district’s story, this action by the executive branch will impact our whole community,” said Polston, whose district’s students are 75 percent Latino. “Our diversity is our strength, and our doors are open for all families that hope for a brighter future for their children. We are forever friend and partner on this journey.”
Tom Reeder
Supporting Diversity in Districts
In Wyoming Public Schools, where 38 percent of students are Latino, Supertintendent Tom Reeder did not specifically address DACA but alluded to government decisions that “have caused significant stress to our families, particularly our children.”
“The last nine months have brought great stress upon members of our community – more than I can remember in the past – and greatly impacts our local families,” Reeder said in a statement to School News Network. “Wyoming Public Schools will continue to support all our students and families in the best way possible to ensure safety and the best environment for learning success.”
He urged parents to reach out to the district to reduce any barrier to their children’s learning, adding, “In the meantime, we hope that adults will seek solutions in the near future that will always ensure everyone is valued, our most vulnerable are protected, and our core fundamental beliefs revisited.”
Kentwood Public Schools is home to a great many immigrant and refugee families, a fact Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff emphasized.
Mike Zoerhoff
“The strength of our Kentwood community is our diversity and the tapestry of cultures that make up our school district,†Zoerhoff told SNN. “We will continue with our mission to provide an education of excellence and equity to all the children who come through our doors. Kentwood Public Schools is a family and we will continue to support our family members in any way possible.”
The Trump administration’s decision, announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, would end the DACA program enacted by President Obama in 2012. It allows young people brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, to receive temporary permission to work, study and get driver’s licenses, renewable every two years. To qualify, applicants must have clean criminal records, be enrolled in school or serve in the military. About 800,000 are current recipients.
This week’s decision officially ends the program in March and halts new applications now, but those whose permits expire before March 5 can apply for a two-year renewal. Trump called on Congress to pass immigration legislation to replace it,and tweeted that he will “revisit this issue” if Congress does not act.
‘It’s About Humanity’
In Grand Rapids Public Schools, which enrolls about 4,000 Latino students, the program’s cancellation may affect between 500 and 1,000 students, said spokesman John Helmholdt. Although most are Latino, some come from other countries, he said, adding the district has “a moral obligation” to support their families and “get Congress to take action to do what’s right by kids.”
“This has a negative impact on social/emotional learning,” Helmholdt said. “Now students and their families are not focused on the children’s education and getting homework done. They’re having fear for what does this executive order mean, and what do they have to do to make any kinds of preparation in the event Congress doesn’t take swift action.
“This is the insanity of this new administration,” he added. “It’s evoking this fear, anxiety and us vs. them mentality that has no place in public education.”
The GRPS school board statement said members were “deeply disappointed” by Trump’s decision, and urged Congress to pass the Development, Relief and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act, introduced in 2001 but never approved. The board called DACA “crucially important to public education,” noting teachers working under the program help fill a need for teaching English-language learners.
“We believe students brought to the United States as children must be able to pursue an education without the threat of deportation, and have a pathway to fully participate in the American society as citizens,” the board said. Board President Wendy Falb and Superintendent Neal spoke out at a press conference on the day of Trump’s decision, along with a DACA recipient with children in GRPS and Roberto Torres, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan. Neal later called the decision unjust and “unconscionable,” causing trauma to families, students and staff.
“To disrupt the lives of kids is so wrong,” Neal said. “We should be focusing in on educating these kids. I shouldn’t worry about whether my kids are going to show up because they’re afraid to come out of the shadows.”She urged superintendents, city officials and companies across the area to find out how many families are affected, then work to craft a legislative solution.
“I don’t think it’s a Republican or Dem thing,” she added. “It’s about humanity.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
At East Lee Campus, you’ll find students participating in a mock trial with a local mayor as judge, presenting marketing plans for a school store to area business owners, and discussing the “modern technological revolution” and possible impacts of technology on the future workforce. Part of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, this program is an alternative high school with 110 ninth through 12th-graders.
“This school is the first time I’ve done this,” senior Quavion Woods said, about using skills like creativity, collaboration and critical thinking to present a plan for a school store last spring. This occurred during a competition in the style of the TV show “Shark Tank.” His team won. “I had to step up a little. I wasn’t used to being a leader.”
Quavion said he sees how the project will benefit him in the future. Getting to know people by working with them was valuable. “I learned from that. If I want to go into business or something I know I will have a good experience from this.”
Teacher Justin Noordhoek uses project-based learning in his economics/English and world history/English hybrid courses, which involves teaching students to use six skills that all start with the letter C. Educating students using the lens of the “6Cs” is an approach being embraced districtwide as teachers and administrators study a book called “Becoming Brilliant,” by psychologists Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, as a main resource on how to teach students best. These authors say brilliance is not defined by a single test score but by the development of skills that serve as a foundation for learning. Here is a Q and A with the authors in Psychology Today.
Hirsh-Pasek, author of several books and hundreds of publications. is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her book,” “Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Children Really Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less,” won the prestigious Books for Better Life Award as the best psychology book in 2003. Golinkoff is the Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education, Psychology, and Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware and director of the Child’s Play, Learning, and Development laboratory.
“Becoming Brilliant” explains how the “6Cs” are vital for success in future careers. They include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence. Development of these skills improves the way students learn the sixth C that usually gets the most attention: content.
“This shouldn’t be an alternative method of teaching, it should be the method of teaching,” Noordhoek said.
Godfrey Early Childhood Center students play in an outdoor learning center, an initiative to give students creative learning opportunities
All C’s are Equal
There’s research that shows he’s right. Educators, looking beyond test results, are wondering, what is brilliance and how can it be cultivated?
Turns out, brain development involves much more than may come to mind. The book uses thousands of research papers to back up the 6Cs approach,and that intelligence is not a singular entity. Real learning embraces the 6Cs and the environments that foster real learning, the authors state. Although there are many wonderful schools and teachers trying to encourage the breadth of skills that children need, high-stakes tests really limit what they can do.
The district’s goal is to educate “the whole child,” meaning going deeper than test scores in assessing student learning from preschool through graduation, said Godfrey-Lee Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach. Teachers have already embraced the idea with initiatives like Day of Play, when students spend a whole school day in self-guided play; a STEAM Maker Day, where students played with gadgets and tinkered with design; and by opening an outdoor learning center with ample opportunities to bring class outside.
But no C is less or greater than another, Lautenbach said, stressing that they are ditching the hierarchy that puts less traditional skills on the back burner. The Board of Education adopted a Learner Profile in May that gives all C’s the same strength.
“Sometimes (educators) take skills outside of the content and we call them soft skills or 21st century skills,” Lautenbach said. “But these are all equal parts of becoming successful.”
Lautenbach said Godfrey-Lee is the perfect place for the initiative. She hopes to see teachers discovering students’ interests and helping them take off in learning about those things in different ways. “That takes a really skilled teacher, and we have them.”
It’s instruction that goes deeper than learning information for a test.
“It goes to the ‘why?’” she said. “Why do we teach math? We don’t teach math so you can do math. We teach math so you can do something with math. It will switch the way we instruct.”
Carol Lautenbach
Brilliant Minds Work Together
Administrators contacted Hirsh-Pasek last year with the idea of using the book, written for parents, in an educational setting. Hirsh-Pasek plans to lead some professional development in the district later this school year.
Teaching should match how children learn best and most happily, through exploration and discovery, Hirsh-Pasek said in a phone interview. They should pursue and dig deeper into individual interests, developing a love for learning.
Lee High School students tinker with gadgets and design materials
She named several ideas that promote the 6Cs: creating collaborative art murals that require communication, creativity and planning; learning how to find fact-based evidence and apply it to take a stance on issues like climate change; hosting classroom debates that require research, evidence and communication skills.
Sound a little like Noordhoek’s class? “(Becoming Brilliant) really changed our focus here as a school,” he said. “We started to look at the data of how students were achieving in project-based learning courses. … We thought we really need to become a project-based learning school”– a model increasingly popular at other schools, including Kent Innovation High.
Instruction embedded with the 6Cs can make school much more meaningful, Hirsh-Pasek said. But in the education climate of high-stakes testing, schools have often been regulated to “teach to the test.”
“That has made us as a society believe success can be defined by a test score,” she said. That’s why she’s elated to work with Godfrey-Lee.
“When I see a school system willing to branch out — to use definitions of success that every parent out there would want for their children, that don’t exclude the basics but include so much more — that’s so exciting.”
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Godfrey-ee Superintendent Kevin Polston chats with ninth-grader Jose De La O, at right and his sister, Alejandra De La O, a 2011 Lee High graduate (School News Network)
Superintendent Kevin Polston is greeting people in the neighborhoods, school and local businesses. He’s talking to students, letting them see he wants to know each of them, what they like to do, what grade they are in.
Reaching out is key, he said, in keeping momentum going forward in the district, which has experienced successes and growth in recent years.
“I want people to get to know me and build trust and relationships,” said Polston, who started as superintendent July 1. “I don’t take the responsibility lightly of parents trusting us with their children for the better part of their day. That’s an honor and responsibility that I take seriously: to be good stewards of that time, resource and trust that parents give us.”
Polston, 39, the youngest superintendent in Kent County’s 20 traditional districts, takes the reins fromDavid Britten who retired from the post after nine years.
Staff members said they look forward to the vigor and fresh insight Polston can bring to the job. His purpose as an educator complements doing just that.
Polston meets with students at Lee Middle-High School
“My mission in education was to change the world,” Polston said. “The people that came before me made great sacrifices so I can have opportunity. I take that responsibility as, ‘How can I provide those opportunities as a school leader for our students, here?’
“One of our responsibilities is to provide a better future for our youth, and there’s no better vehicle to deliver that than through education.”
Identifying with Newcomer Experience
Polston shares with many Godfrey-Lee students the experience of being raised in an immigrant family. Polston’s mother, Elizabeth Polston, immigrated from Palestine as a child. The family was proud of their culture, which was ingrained in his upbringing.
“Arab Americans are very familial. It’s a very close-knit community,” he said, relating it to the largely Hispanic Godfrey-Lee community. “There’s a lot of parallels with the Latino and Hispanic community and the community I grew up in.”
He remembers realizing as a ninth-grader, while attending a primarily Caucasian school near Lansing, that people wondered about his background. Friends would ask, “What are you?” when inquiring about his ethnicity. “It was really people trying to get to know me but they didn’t have the words to ask.”
Still, over time, he became aware of perceptions and double standards when it comes to different ethnic groups. “You soak up all those things. They are either implied or explicit; regardless, they have an impact on you.
“The brain has this desire to categorize and compartmentalize information and we have to actively work to disrupt our natural reaction to things. That’s where education comes in. That’s where relationships come in.”
Superintendent Kevin Polston takes a look at senior Adriana Sanchez’s schedule
Seeking ‘Something More’
Polston said he was very happy as a middle school principal in Grand Haven, but always sought “something more.” He was executive director of an after-school program that served low-income students. He also chaired a committee focused on diversity. “When you look at the places where I had a choice to spend my time, it was with populations that are similar to the populations here,” he noted.
He’s already caught on to the family atmosphere in Godfrey-Lee.
“The school staff is so committed here. They care deeply about their students, and they work tirelessly to deliver the best instruction possible. It’s more than instruction, it’s the best possible education.”
Staff members said they are embracing possibilities.
“We are excited to see a new face in that position, though we’ll miss (Britten),” said Tom DeGennaro, a high school social studies teacher. “We look forward to new ideas and a different energy level. Change can be exciting.”
Said Brett Lambert, Lee High-Middle dean of students, “The room is full of positive energy and we’re ready to roll.”
The first day of school is two weeks earlier than the traditional post-Labor Day start for many districts, and administrators are working to make sure families are aware of the change.
First days vary across Kent ISD’s 20 public school districts, with the earliest beginning Monday, Aug. 21. Kent ISD received a waiver from the state for its member schools to begin prior to Labor Day, and districts set their own start dates. They are as follows:
Monday, Aug. 21: Grandville Public Schools, Comstock Park Public Schools, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, Godwin Heights Public Schools, Kent Career Tech Center and Kent Innovation High
Tuesday, Aug. 22: Wyoming Public Schools, Thornapple Kellogg Schools, Lowell Area Schools and Kentwood Public Schools
Wednesday, Aug. 23: Kent City Community Schools
Monday, Aug. 28: Caledonia Community Schools, Forest Hills Public Schools, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Kenowa Hills Public Schools, Northview Public Schools and Rockford Public Schools
Tuesday, Sept. 5: Byron Center Public Schools, Cedar Springs Public Schools, East Grand Rapids Public Schools, Kelloggsville Public Schools and Sparta Area Schools
Kindergaren teacher Joy Howard hands Jerez Prebble his morning meal.
By Erin Albanese
School News Network
Just after the morning school bell rings, West Kelloggsville Elementary School teacher Joy Howard calls up her kindergartners one-by-one to hand them breakfast. They settle back in their seats to sip milk and juice, nibble cereal, crunch apples and devour muffins.
“It makes us healthy,” said kindergartner Jerez Prebble, after polishing off his morning meal.
Following spring break, six teachers at West served breakfast in the classroom as a way to make sure their students not only had the option to eat at school, but that a meal was put right in front of them every morning. It’s a way to get more children eating; while free breakfast has been available to all students before school through the School Breakfast Program for years, the number of them arriving in time to eat was lagging. At West, 79 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches.
“The percentage of students at West eating breakfast was way lower than you’d expect the need to be,” said Principal Eric Schilthuis. “We want them to have a nutritious meal to get them through the morning.”
It’s a common scenario. Nationwide, 21 million U.S. children get free or reduced-price school lunch, but only half of those students get breakfast even though they are eligible. That’s according to No Kid Hungry, a campaign of Share Our Strength, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that connects children with healthy food offered through federal programs such as the School Breakfast and Summer Meals. In Michigan, offering breakfast is mandated in schools with a free and reduced-lunch population of more than 20 percent. Some low-income districts offer free breakfast to all students.
Research shows starting the day with breakfast has long-term benefits. According to the report, “Ending Childhood Hunger: A Social Impact Analysis” by Deloitte and the No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices, students who eat breakfast attend an average of 1.5 more days of school; average 17.5 percent higher on math tests; and are 20 percent more likely to graduate high school.
Since serving it in the classroom, breakfast participation at West jumped from about 35 percent to 68 percent building-wide. That should increase more when more teachers offer it next school year. “It’s been a great success here,” said Brenda Jansen, food service director.
Dexter Andrew digs into breakfast at West Kelloggsville Elementary.
The Big Picture
The story is bigger than breakfast: it’s about ending childhood hunger. Amy Klinkoski, breakfast coach for Michigan No Kid Hungry, is working with Kent County districts, including Kelloggsville, to make breakfast more accessible.
Klinkoski recently coached food service directors on implementing a “Grab and Go” option at Union and Ottawa Hills high schools and C.A. Frost middle and high schools. The option allows students to grab prepackaged breakfasts from mobile carts in high traffic areas, such as hallways, entryways or cafeterias. Since starting the option, the number of Union High students eating breakfast has increased by 250 to 300 students per day, she said.
East Kentwood High School offers vending and smoothies to students until mid-morning, and has the highest percentage of students who eat breakfast at a Kent County high school, Klinkoski said.
Wyoming, Godwin Heights, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and Alpine Elementary in Kenowa Hills Public Schools have had breakfast in the classroom in place for several years.
Xaded Douglas has got milk.
In Wyoming’s Oriole Park Elementary School, second-grade teacher Danielle Terpstra said eating breakfast in the classroom is part of the routine for at least 50 percent of students. She keeps leftover breakfast items around for snacks later, so nearly every student in her room eats something.
“Some of the kids eat the food as breakfast, morning snack, some at lunch, and even ask to take some home,” Terpstra said. “I believe it gives the kids the necessary start to a healthy body and brain for learning that day.
“I am thankful that we can fill that basic need for so many of them,” she added. “I don’t have any test scores to back my claims, but I really believe that the breakfast is one thing we can do to get our kids just what they need at the start of the day.”
Klinkoski reminds hesitant educators that offering breakfast at the beginning of instruction time is the same type of interruption as having snack time later — and keeps hunger in check earlier. Also, increased revenue from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for more breakfasts offsets the cost of labor and food.
Alaina Humphrey enjoys her juice box.
Why it Matters
According to the report “Ending Childhood Hunger” from The Lunch Box, a network supporting healthy school food programs, 48.8 million Americans — including 13 million children — live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. As a result, they struggle with hunger at some time during the year. The average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program monthly benefit is $1.46 per meal, and nearly half of SNAP recipients are children. Three out of four teachers say their students regularly come to school hungry.
In her kindergarten classroom, Joy Howard agreed starting the day with breakfast in class helps her students be more ready to learn until lunchtime.
“Some of the children who needed it the most were missing it,” she said. “There’s a comfort knowing that if they haven’t eaten, they can get it here.”
David Britten remembers standing in the lunchroom at Lee Middle/High School. He was the new middle school principal after leaving an elementary-principal post at Wayland-Union Schools Schools in 2002. He looked around at the group of rowdy teenagers and thought, “What did I do? Why did I leave Wayland, where I enjoyed the job and the school and the kids?
“I didn’t understand the culture these kids come from,” he recalled. “I felt a little panicky about it.”
But Britten didn’t run away. He attached himself to the class of 2008, seventh-graders at the time, whom he called a group of funny “pain in the rears.” Among them was the first undocumented immigrant student Britten had ever been aware of in his school — a bright, high-achieving girl who already worried she wouldn’t be able to attend college.
“That group helped me understand better what was going on,” he said.
At a Halloween bash, David Britten poses sans makeup with a student.
Bonds began to grow between the retired Army officer-turned-principal and students who at first expected his style of discipline to include pushups and laps.
“Within no time I was like, ‘I wouldn’t change these kids for the world.'”
Instead, Britten has spent the past 15 years working to change the world for them — and to help them, one day, change the world.
Britten, 62, is a paradox. One moment he says he doesn’t like people, yet he’s thrown himself full-throttle into a career of helping improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in Kent County. He loves technology, saying he prefers to do things in anonymity on a computer, and he plans to spend a lot of time with a new robot he’s ordered. But he looks giddy at the idea of bringing his robot in to show students.
He’s admittedly cynical, but has paved the way in reforming education in his district from the ground up while shedding light on the positives in the community.
David Britten joins students during Girls on the Run
He’s a military man whose own life was shaped by the regimen and discipline of serving his country, but he is a true Lee Rebel at heart.
Where He Was Supposed to Be
Britten is stepping down June 30 after nine years as superintendent and a total of 15 years working in the district. The Board of Education recently hired Kevin Polston, principal of Lakeshore Middle School in Grand Haven Public Schools, as new superintendent, beginning July 1.
Britten has spent many days, from dawn to dusk, leading teachers in a way that builds community, and battling state and national policy he believes is increasing inequity in education. He is present in the school buildings and athletic fields attending student programs and events on days, nights and weekends.
The demands have taken a toll on his energy and fitness, but he said he never wanted to give less for the students. Until his last day on the job, he wants to be there.
Britten takes time for a selfie on the bus.
“I feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be. If I’m not there to do that, why did I choose this career?”
Lee High School civics teacher Brian Cahoon said Britten’s involvement has even extended to cooking for students at band camp and helping to chaperone 30-plus seniors on their senior trip to Florida.
“I believe Dave has touched the district by his dedication to, not only his job, but the Lee community as a whole,” Cahoon said. “I think one would be hard-pressed to find a superintendent who is as visible, and often an active participant in a wide range of student activities.”
Lee High School science teacher Steve Rierson provided a short list of Britten’s typical activities: “On any given day, Mr. Britten can be observed eating with kids, walking through hallways, subbing in classrooms, attending sporting events, interacting with parents and faculty throughout the district, even traveling to Lansing in hopes of changing policy at the state level.”
For David Britten, being superintendent was about being present with staff and students.
A Hometown Boy
Britten, who lives in Cutlerville, spent several childhood years in the Godfrey-Lee community, frequenting neighborhood stores and playing in the woodsy area near the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center (where he and his staff have recently opened an outdoor learning lab.) He knows the area’s nooks and crannies, the stories of each building and street, the background of the schools and the people who have impacted them over the decades.
“I’m a homeboy who likes local history,” he said.
With more time on his hands, he plans to immerse himself in that history by writing a book about the Godfrey-Lee community. An outspoken advocate for social justice, he also plans to study and speak out against issues affecting the country and areas like Godfrey-Lee: the growing economic gap, segregation and political gerrymandering.
He plans to visit relatives he hasn’t seen in decades and, if all else fails, simply enjoy time with his wife, Penny, whose hobbies include photography and horseback riding.
David Britten is stepping down June 30 after nine years as superintendent
“If I just carry her camera and saddle around for the rest of my life, that’s fine. I owe her.”
Britten has played a big role in the district during a pivotal era in its history. During his time as superintendent, Godfrey-Lee has grown from 1,600 to nearly 2,000 students, with its Hispanic population increasing from 32 to 78 percent. In the once solid blue-collar neighborhood where many residents worked at General Motors, more than 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches.
Britten offers some historical reference: The district dipped to around 850 students in the ’90s as the community aged. After 2000, many immigrant families began moving in with large families and establishing roots.
For them, Britten and his staff work hard to make the schools the center of the community.
“One of the things I like about this community, and which seems to have increased since I’ve been here, is there seems to be a growing interest in the community from the community members,” he said, noting the draw of affordable housing, new neighborhood groups and a decrease in transiency. “This is Wyoming’s only true walkable community.
“We are interested in the community being a part of us,” he added. “If we are strong the community is strong.”
Pushing for Education Reform
His tenure has also been a time of school funding challenges, increased high-stakes testing, and other threats to public education. For these things and many more, Britten has been an outspoken advocate for improving education by getting to the root of problems. He never holds back in calling out bad policy or politicians who seem to have interests other than children in mind.
“If we are only focused on the test scores,” he asserted, “we have already lost the war.”
To improve his district, Britten embarked on a huge human-centered design project, sealing a $250,000 Steelcase grant, to study the true — as opposed to perceived — needs of families in the district. The end goal is education reform, getting students away from the 20th-century education model, truly engaged in their learning and preparing them for jobs of the future with the necessary skills. The work will continue under Polston.
“Dave has never strayed far from the needs of the community,” said Lee Middle High School science teacher Vlad Borza. “Despite the educational woes and rigors of the state requirements, he has remained an advocate for the needs of our community and bringing equity to a district in need of extra support.
“He is unapologetic in fighting for the needs of students and families, whether it is by pursuing a competitive technology program or advocating for the legal protection of those in our district. It is evident that his focus has always remained on their needs.”
From Factory Worker to U.S. Army Officer to Educator
Britten was born in Grand Rapids, the second of seven siblings. At age 4, he moved to a new Wyoming subdivision at 36th Street and Burlingame Avenue SW. In kindergarten, he attended East Newhall Elementary (later East Elementary School, in Wyoming Public Schools) before going to Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School in first grade, when his family moved to the Godfrey-Lee area.
He attended Godfrey-Lee schools through his freshman year when he moved back to the Wyoming Public Schools neighborhood, where he attended Rogers High School until he graduated in 1973.
He enrolled in Grand Valley State University and worked at Keebler Company, eventually dropping out of college until he was laid off from the factory job. One day in 1974 he and a friend, on a whim, decided to enlist in the National Guard. His friend wasn’t accepted, but Britten was.
He was called back to Keebler and worked there while also serving as a reservist. By 1977 he noticed a lot of his Rogers High School classmates were graduating college. Britten was dissatisfied.
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to do this factory stuff the rest of my life. … Standing there watching Pop-Tarts come out of a cutter all night long was just not what I want to do.”
He re-enrolled at GVSU, and recognized Penny, who had attended Godfrey-Lee, during his first day of class. He “stalked her for two days” before she asked him what he wanted. He wanted a date, and the rest is history. They married in 1980 and have one son, David.
After earning an education degree, Britten began teaching at Muskegon Catholic Central High School, but he began an active duty tour two years later. That was the beginning of a military career, from which he retired in 1996. While in the service, he earned a degree in educational leadership.
Lured Back by Schools
Soon after retiring, he was asked to apply for the elementary principal position in Wayland and got the job. Six years later he was asked to apply for the Lee Middle School principal position. He was tapped for the superintendent position in 2008, a time of turmoil in the district, when there was poor morale between the administration and staff. Britten didn’t want the job, but feared no one else would step up that could rebuild trust.
Britten has spent the last days of the school year with students, watching them play during field day; checking out high school seniors’ capstone projects on careers they are interested in; riding the Millennium Force roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park with band students; attending a community event led by Blandford Nature Center focused on increasing the owl population. As always, where students and staff gather, he’s there.
He’s a voice, a presence, a fighter for what Godfrey-Lee students need to be successful in the country he served.
Just a hometown boy who likes history.
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Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center math coach Debbie Schuitema, right, and David Britton, retiring superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, could not keep the students at the from jumping the gun on the ribbon cutting of a new outdoor classroom. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
There was a classroom full of kids playing outdoors of the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center building Thursday, June 8, as the school district held the grand opening of its new Outdoor Learning Lab.
The adults present — including the incoming superintendents of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools — spoke about the “educational” advantages of the facility. The kids? They just liked being able to climb on things and roll down a hill and dig in the sand.
And that is just the way the two teachers who spearheaded the project — Debbie Schuitema and Julie Swanson — wants it: an outdoor education opportunity that looks a lot like play.
Debbie Schuitema, left, and Julie Swanson. (WKTV)
“Students are naturally curious, and when you bring them out here, without books, when you take a way some of the parameters, and rules and procedures, you allow them to be creative, curious and intuitive,” Schuitema, who teaches math at the center, said to WKTV. “The things they come up with is just amazing, and that leads to more learning. You can take that back inside and build on that.”
The facility, located to the east side of the Early Childhood Center (ECC) building at 961 Joosten SW in Wyoming, includes mostly natural objects which kids can explore and play with: a tree stump, a stone and sand structure, a grassy hill.
And Swanson, a physical education instructor at the center, knows the value of outdoor exercise as part of a student’s educational process.
“Discover yourself through play,” Swanson said. “Just something as simple as which way to you hold a big branch, little side up or big side up? They are learning engineering skills, math skills. … They learn gravity by rolling down a hill. … Really just discovering a new way to learn, but they don’t know they are learning. … (We are just) removing the walls.”
The grand opening event featured permanent and temporary activities such as a mud kitchen, rock grotto, climbing hill, landscape berm, covered gathering space/stage, dead tree stands, Congo drums, weaving loom and log steps.
David Britton, left, and incoming new superintendent Kevin Polston. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
But the most important things the facility brings is the ability just to be outdoors, according to soon-to-retire district superintendent David Britten, who was present at the event along with the incoming new superintendent Kevin Polston.
“Kids today are spending far too much time indoors — it is a criticism of education in general. We are far too focused on content learning and memorization and test taking,” said Britten, who was a big supporter of the project. “We have lost some of these outdoor areas, places for kids to play in.
“So, as I walked along here a few years back, looking for historical artifacts, I thought: What a great place to have kids come out on a regular basis, and learn,” he said. “Find what native plant species that are here, what are invasive; what kind of birds and animals live in this environment. How can we make it better for them? How can we keep plaster creek clean? How can we protect the environment itself, so we can all enjoy it.”
Aside from the support of the superintendent, other supporters thanked at the facility opening include Women Who Care Grand Rapids, City of Wyoming Public Works, Dykema Excavators, DeWitt Landscape and Design, TonTin Lumber and The Stone Zone.
Special thanks were also given to East Lee students, Lee Middle School students, the Plaster Creek Watershed, Groundswell and — especially — the Godfrey Lee Board of Education.
“So many different people donated their time and energy to this,” said Swanson. “The Godfrey-Lee board of education, allowing us to do this without strings attached — that allowed us to be so creative. We really want to thank our board and our superintendent.”
The Board of Education has selected Kevin Polston, principal of Lakeshore Middle School, in Grand Haven Public Schools, as its new superintendent.
The board plans to negotiate a contract with Polston, with his first day on the job expected July 1.
“I’m really excited and grateful,” said Polston, 39. “When I looked at Godfrey-Lee the thing that jumped out was the culture and commitment to supporting families.”
Polston has served as Lakeshore Middle School principal since 2011 and as assistant principal there for two years before that. He received his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies – human resources and secondary social studies education at Michigan State University, and his master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University. He has also worked as a curriculum specialist and social studies teacher in Grand Haven Public Schools.
“Godfrey-Lee schools really serve the community and that’s been a central focus of my philosophy in education,” he said of the small, majority Hispanic district in Wyoming.
Polston will replace nine-year Superintendent David Britten, who will step down June 30.
“Kevin Polston brings a lot of really good experience in the kind of work he’s been doing,” said Board of Education President Eric Mockerman. “He expressed excitement about the initiatives we’ve been doing in the district.”
Polston, whose mother was an immigrant from Palestine, said he has always embraced diversity in education.
“A passion of mine has been working with our staff on climate and diversity and being an advocate for persons of color,” he said.
He is the second educator selected for the position. In March, Carlos Lopez, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, in Plymouth, declined an offer for the job.
Polston was selected from a second pool including three other finalists:
Scott Riley, superintendent of Camden-Frontier Schools, in Camden;
Coby Fletcher, principal at East Lansing High School;
Michael Pascoe, principal of City High/Middle School and Center for Economicology in Grand Rapids Public Schools. Pascoe was also interviewed as one of two final candidates.
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Seniors Jailene Rodas-Sandoval junior Thomas Robinson and senior Ramses Larabel play “Happy Birthday” on their electronic instrument, which involves a computer program. (Photos courtesy of School News Network.
Though his rendition of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” was a bit ding-y, Lee High School senior Scott Peuler looked pleased with himself as he finished the tune by hitting glass bottles filled with different levels of water with a miniature drumstick.
Nursery rhymes were the ditties of the day in teacher Steve Feutz’s engineering class, as students demonstrated the connections between engineering and sound. Senior Israel Hernandez strummed “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on a tiny harp made with wood and rubber bands. Sophomore Jennifer Pablo, juniors Paul Villarreal, Maura Mendoza and Adriana Sanchez and senior Betty Almanzo played “Hot Cross Buns” on a xylophone-inspired percussion instrument made of Pringles cans and cardboard.
Students combined innovation, precision – and a little Mother Goose – to make instruments that created different pitches and notes for the latest project in the class, which started this school year. Feutz, who has taught math for five years, has undergraduate degrees in aerospace engineering and music theory, so fitting a music-themed project into the class was natural.
“Music is my biggest passion, then engineering, math and science,” said Feutz, who sings and plays trumpet and piano.
Juniors Paul Villereal and Maura Mendoza hold up their Pringle-can percussion instrument.
Physics is involved in how sound is created, he noted. Students experimented by using household objects turned into instruments. “There’s four different instrument groups and they all sound a little different,” he said.
The class touches on many types of engineering, giving students an idea of skills needed in the local workforce. The demand for engineers and designers in manufacturing outstrips supply by at least double, according to the West Michigan Talent Assessment and Outlook report, published in September 2016. This is largely due to a shortage of graduates needed to fill vacancies for industrial and electrical engineers.
“My whole goal is to teach them what engineers do and how they do it,” Feutz said. His students learn to follow an engineering design process: come up with an idea, build, test, and improve if necessary.
Every project touches on a different branch of engineering. Students studied aerospace by designing cardboard gliders with egg containers and launching them off the school’s football stadium press box. They studied electrical engineering by creating gadgets that involve circuitry, remote controls, trains and other inventions.
They also built wooden cabinets into existing tables, now in classroom use, and spaghetti bridges, with one group of students competing in the Ferris State University Spaghetti Bridge Competition in March.
“I’ve liked being introduced to different types of engineering,” said Israel Hernandez, demonstrating how his harp strings make lower sounds depending on how taut the rubber bands are pulled. “We’ve done stuff with electricity and wiring – basic stuff – but it was cool to learn. This class gave me an interest in civil engineering.”
Junior Jeffrey Anderson plays his pan flute, made of straws and tape.
Paul Villarreal said he enjoys having the chance to make things by hand. “It helps you learn the basics of what you need to put something together. It takes math to different levels and puts it all together.”
“I’ve done things in this class I haven’t done in any other class,” added Scott Peuler.
The class started as a trimester course, but because of student interest was expanded to include Engineering A B and C, allowing the option for a full year of engineering.
It’s great for students who like to tinker and spend their time making things, Feutz said.
“It’s cool to see kids who don’t like the traditional classroom model, who really like being able to do hands-on things and build,” he added. “They essentially make a mess of the classroom, make something out of it, and make it their own.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Tomorrow both residents of Kentwood and Wyoming will be heading to the polls to vote on millage proposals.
Residents from the two cities – along with all of Kent County – will be voting on a proposed Kent Intermediate School District Regional Enhancement Millage. The property tax increase of .9 mills would be distributed to all 20 school districts in Kent County for the next 10 years. The amount is about .90 cent of taxable evaluation. For a $200,000 home, the taxable evaluation would be $100,000 with the increase being about $90 per year.
If passed, each district would receive an additional $211 per student each year, which can be used to supplement the funding that comes from the state of Michigan. School officials have stated the funding would be used to help maintain programs, improve services and meet other needs. Each school district will be able to determine how to spend the money. For more information on the district’s plans for the money, clicking on the school’s name which will direct you to the School News Network stories. For more on the millage, click here.
Also, the residents of Wyoming are being asked to vote for flexible funding by opening up its library maintenance millage to help with park improvements. The city is seeking about .16 of the .39 of the mill levy to help with park improvements at four parks, Ferrand, Ideal, Gezon, and Jackson. The nearly $800,000 per year raised would be use to pay a 15-year bond of $4.4 million. The cost for the average Wyoming homeowner would be about $12 a year, according to city officials. For more about the millage, visit WYParks.com.
Carlos Lopez has declined an offer from the Godfrey-Lee Board of Education for the job of superintendent.
Lopez is current director of curriculum, instruction and assessment in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, in Plymouth.
Board President Eric Mockerman said they hadn’t yet begun negotiating a contract with Lopez, who cited personal family health concerns as his reason for withdrawing.
After consulting with Tom White, a representative with the Michigan Association of School Boards who is guiding the superintendent search, Mockerman said the board plans to repost the position.
Lopez was offered the job after interviews with four candidates narrowed from a field of 30 applicants.
A new superintendent will replace nine-year Superintendent David Britten, who is stepping down June 30.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
The Godfrey-Lee Board of Education has offered the superintendent position to Carlos Lopez, current director of curriculum, instruction and assessment in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, in Plymouth.
Subject to the negotiation of a contract, Lopez will replace nine-year Superintendent David Britten, who is stepping down June 30.
Lopez, who has been in his current position for two years, was formerly the school leader at a Detroit charter school that has a predominantly Latino population. He has also served as superintendent of River Rouge Schools; deputy superintendent at Oak Park Schools; and held various positions in Detroit Public Schools. He has a doctorate in curriculum instruction and administration from Wayne State University.
Lopez, 55, who is bilingual in Spanish and English, said he was attracted to the position because of his background in working in majority Hispanic schools such as Godfrey-Lee, where 78 percent of students are Latino. He said he looks forward to continuing programs and innovations the district has implemented, including the human-centered design process and projects tied to it.
Godfrey-Lee is completing the human-centered design process, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Steelcase Foundation, in which staff, parents, students and community members are challenged to reimagine schools. It is an approach to problem-solving that incorporates the wants and needs of end users of a product or service at every stage of the design process.
An experienced grant writer, Lopez said he is also excited about funding he can secure for various opportunities in academics, arts and other areas.
Aiming for National Model
Once a refugee, Lopez immigrated to the United States in 1970 from Cuba with his his family.
“Many people reached out to us,” Lopez said. “I’m here because of the generosity of very dynamic humans who were there at the right time to helps us.”
Lopez said he looks forward to continuing Godfrey-Lee’s efforts to embrace parents and the community.
“I want the children to feel like they belong there, and the parents to know we’re giving their children the attention they need and deserve,” he said. “I would love to make Godfrey-Lee be a national model for a school that really demonstrates how we can educate (English-language learners) to achieve high levels of proficiency with dignity.”
Lopez was offered the job after interviews with four candidates narrowed from a field of 30 applicants.
Board President Eric Mockerman said the board appreciated Lopez’s varied experience, especially in working in populations similar to Godfrey-Lee’s.
“His experience was very impressive to us, and his passion for students and their learning was very impressive to us,” Mockerman said.
Alma Arvizu sat down with interpreter and translator Leonicia Rubio at the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center to talk about conferences and kindergarten next school year for her son, Eric, now a preschooler.
Arvizu, like many district parents, knows who to turn to for help: Rubio and the other bilingual interpreters.
“It helps me,” said Arvizu, an immigrant from Mexico, with Rubio translating. “I understand very little English. I can’t speak it. With Leonicia, I have very good communication with the teachers. I think a lot of parents that don’t speak English go to the interpreters.”
Needs for interpretation and translation are even greater than Rubio and the district’s other translators and interpreters can fill, so administrators are turning to a new volunteer site, ServeGR.com, for help.
The site was started by Grand Rapids-based Westminster Presbyterian Church, where Carol Lautenbach, assistant superintendent of teaching, learning and accountability, attends. It links potential volunteers with opportunities based on their strengths, passions and schedules to find the best fit both for volunteers and those who need them.
ServeGR site coordinator Heather Colletto said the goal is to fill long-term needs.
“What’s so great about the Godfrey-Lee opportunity is that for someone who has Spanish-speaking skills to put to use on behalf of the community, it’s a great lightbulb moment.”
For a school district, it’s a nice way to make outside connections, Lautenbach said. As of early March, five people had already expressed interest in serving as bilingual volunteers, which requires a background check. An orientation will be set in the near future.
Not only will it benefit the district to have more volunteers, Lautenbach said, but it will build awareness about Godfrey-Lee.
“We want to remove as many barriers as we can for people to come in and be involved in our schools. We are also hoping to show them what great schools we are. It’s good for us to showcase the good things we are doing and show that we are welcoming to everyone.”
Join an Awesome Team
Carol Lautenbach
Many ECC parents need help with communication on busy mornings and at dismissal time, Rubio said. There are often parents waiting for assistance. “It would be really nice to have someone else there to help them.”
Interpreters and translators Rubio; Susana Chapa, who works at Godfrey Elementary School; and community liaison Jaime Ramirez, who works at the Administration Building, serve as connection points for parents about their children’s education. They rely a lot on one another to fill the communication needs in the Spanish-speaking community.
“We have an awesome team right here,” said Ramirez.
In the district, 75 percent of families are Hispanic, and 40 percent of students are English-language learners. Rubio, Chapa and Rodriguez write notes and newsletters, make phone calls, and translate at conferences and other parent meetings. They help make sure parents understand complicated terminology on forms, and plan and promote events like Las Posadas, held in December.
Parents have varying levels of English, and basic skills aren’t always enough for parents to receive the information they need, Lautenbach said, especially when it is critical. It’s important they can communicate comfortably.
“If it’s an emotional issue, a child who’s not going to graduate on time, a medical issue, a fight that’s happened, we all want to default to what’s most comfortable for us,” she said, “even if we are fairly fluent in another language.”
She wants parents to receive the right information and provide as much input as possible. “We want to make sure we are providing opportunities for parents to have a full voice.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Following first-round interviews, the Godfrey-Lee Board of Education has narrowed its finalists for superintendent from four candidates to two:
Carlos Lopez, director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools
Tamika Henry, principal at New Options High School, Allendale Public Schools.
Second-round interviews will take place during a special board meeting open to the public beginning at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, in the multi-purpose room at the Early Childhood Center, 961 Joosten St. SW.
The new superintendent will replace David Britten, who will retire July 1.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
The Board of Education has scheduled special meetings in March to interview superintendent candidates to replace superintendent David Britten, who will retire July 1.
Candidates were narrowed from a field of 30 applicants. The following candidates will be interviewed in scheduled open public sessions:
Tamika Henry, principal at New Options High School in Allendale Public Schools;
Carol Lautenbach, assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and accountability for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools;
Carlos Lopez, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools;
Margaret Malone, director of fine arts for Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Lopez and Lautenbach will be interviewed starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 6; and Henry and Malone starting at 6:30 p.m on Wednesday, March 8, during special board meetings. Both meetings are open to the public.
After the initial round of interviews, the board is expected to narrow the field to two for a final round and selection scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, March 20. All interviews will be at the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center, 961 Joosten St. SW.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Christine Gilman leads a session while Teresa Sanchez looks on Photos from School News Network
Godfrey Lee Public Schools, MI — The Restorative Circle program being used to solve disputes among students at Godfrey Lee Middle School is pretty simple: sit down together and talk it out.
This makes more sense than the usual route of anger, fights and suspensions, says Christine Gilman, who directs the circle in its first year.
“If you just get suspended, the fight is still going to be going on in your head,” Gilman says. “When you come back to school, you’ll probably be 10 times madder than when you left.”
Instead of focusing on who did it and punishment, the group focuses on what happened and how to keep it from happening again, says Gilman, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan, an organization that helps people solve problems using a mediator.
Teresa Sanchez Perez says the Restorative Circles program helps her look at things differently
“Everyone has a different perspective,” Gilman says. “The important thing is to share what’s going on and how it made them feel.”
Before a session starts, Gilman explains to the participants she’s not there to get them in trouble.
“I’m not going to punish them, I’m just here to figure out how to stop bad behavior,” she says.
Dean of Students Brett Lambert says Gilman takes care of verbal or emotional disagreements and conflicts before they get to his office.
“At my level, it’s already to the point there’s going to be disciplinary action,” Lambert explains, adding that, for the students, knowing they’re not talking to him is less intimidating.
Inside the Circle
The program for the middle school’s sixth- through eighth-grade students began in October. Since then about 25 disputes regarding fighting, bullying, hair pulling — even acorn throwing — have come to the circle.
Gilman visits the school twice a week to meet with students, who are referred by teachers and administrators. State and local grants and area organizations pay for the program.
Grand Rapids Public Schools adopted a similar pilot program last fall in three schools, as a way of healing conflicts and reducing suspensions.
Aryonna Mullins listens during a Restorative Circle
At a recent meeting at Godfrey Lee Middle School, four seventh-grade girls sit in a circle with Gilman. She breaks the ice by asking them about their weekends, then slides right into the issues that brought them to the circle with the help of a funny-looking, stuffed green frog. Whoever is holding the frog gets to speak.
Aydalaz Guzman talks about instigating trouble by calling a girl a name.
“I knew it was wrong,” Aydalaz says. “I wasn’t respecting my cousin’s friendship with her. I was telling her not to talk to her, not to hang out with her, not to be her friend.”
Her cousin Teresa Sanchez, also in the circle, found herself in the middle of the feud.
“I wanted to be both of their friends,” Teresa says. “I knew that they should get along.”
Mariah Quiles talks about a fight brewing between her and another girl. She came to the circle to discuss it, and the fight didn’t happen. Without the Restorative Circle, she says, “I’d have been suspended by now.”
Mariah Quiles says the circles have helped her stay out of trouble
Gilman lets the students do most of the talking.
“You give us advice, but we figure it out on our own,” says Mariah.
Making Apologies, Seeking Forgiveness
It surprises students when they sit down together to learn they are facing similar problems, Gilman says. She encourages them to ask for forgiveness and accept apologies.
“Accepting an apology is almost as good as giving an apology,” she says. “When you see that empathy, it’s really cool. I have seen the light go on.”
At the end of a session, Gilman writes up an agreement among the students.
“The best thing,” she says, “is while I’m typing up the agreement, they’re giggling, laughing and talking.”
