Sen Dim, who is from Myanmar, works on her project about Bhutan. (School News Network)
Kentwood: ‘All Their Stories Come Together’
In Valleywood Middle School teacher Jane Van Hof’s seventh grade English class — a portrait of diversity in itself– students are studying the stories of people forced to flee their native lands. For the project, dubbed “A Refugee Story,” they are delving into research on refugees and learning about those in their community. What did they learn? Click here to find out.
Andrea Donovan preps her students for the human catapult as part of a collaborative STEAM-PE week. (School News Network)
Godfrey-Lee: Human catapult, shadow-dodging teaches movement & so much more
Here’s a story gathering some STEAM: A group of Godfrey-Lee teachers have come up with games that are more than just play, but may create builders, engineers and life-long physical fitness buffs just by introducing unique ways to keep fit and create while doing it. To learn how they are accomplishing this, click here.
For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website schoolnewsnetwork.org.
Teams from 40 West Michigan high schools will compete for robotic supremacy at the annual FIRST Robotics event hosted by Grand Valley State University.
The teams will compete on March 22-23 at Grand Valley’s Fieldhouse Arena in a challenge where they will use the robot that they have designed and built to fill a cargo ship and rocket with elements from space. Teams will race the clock, as well as their opponents, to pick up as much cargo as they can.
Grand Valley students and alumni will volunteer at the event to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM fields.
FIRST Robotics is a unique competition model where students gain real-world experience designing, programming, creating and marketing a robot to win the competition. Many teams work hand-in-hand with industry mentors and gain experience and skills not available in a traditional classroom setting.
TEAM 21 group leader Jocelyn Medina gives the afternoon agenda to students in her after-school program, speaking exclusively in Spanish. (Supplied)
By Bridie Bereza School News Network
Jocelyn Medina has been a group leader for the TEAM 21 after-school program at the district’s Early Childhood Center for three years.
Since the beginning of February, her job looks the same as it always has – leading games in the gym, passing out snacks and nurturing young students after dismissal. But it sounds different; Medina, who is bilingual, is leading a group of about 17 first- and second-graders exclusively in Spanish.
“It’s been fun,” she said. “It is a little difficult sometimes, because they’re all at different levels in their Spanish. Some are very fluent and have no problem whatsoever; they can have conversations for days. Some of them can’t, and they get frustrated.”
Jocelyn Medina helps first-grader Karla Farias-Gutierrez, one of around a dozen students who attended TEAM 21’s Spanish-speaking program last week, after dismissal at the Early Childhood Center. (Supplied)
Immersed and Improving
The effort is part of a new program the district has implemented to improve Spanish for “heritage learners:” those students who have been exposed from an early age to Spanish at home and who can understand and speak it to varying degrees.
Carol Lautenbach is assistant superintendent of teaching and learning design for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools. She said that the idea for the program came from research the district did on dual immersion language programs. A district team studied and supported the idea of dual immersion in the classroom, she said, but didn’t think it was sustainable given the number of bilingual teachers available.
With a grant from the Steelcase Foundation and robust support from TEAM 21 leadership, the Spanish-language after-school program was born. Medina and teacher Katie Van Haven helped design the program with Lautenbach. The district held an informational meeting for Spanish-speaking parents of children who attend TEAM 21 after school, and parents of 17 students opted in.
First-grader Edwin Chavez is one of those students.
“I know more English than Spanish,” he said. “I need to learn some knowledge about Spanish because I’m not really used to it. Numbers like 75… I’m not used to saying those things in Spanish.”
Edwin said using Spanish at TEAM 21 already has helped him understand and speak more Spanish at home.
Arielly Sanchez is excited to improve her Spanish skills, and hopes it will help her communicate with friends and family who speak Spanish. (Supplied)
Second-grader Arielly Sanchez, who says she is “in the middle” in terms of her Spanish proficiency, agreed.
“I think it’s kind of good, so I can learn more Spanish for when I go to Mexico,” she said.
Measuring Success
Lautenbach said other desired outcomes of the program are the same as those of the English-language TEAM 21: improved math and reading skills and exposure to new experiences.
“It should be a very interesting way to see if instructing and enriching in Spanish leads to growth in all of the 6Cs of our learner profile,” said Lautenbach, referring to an educational approach adopted by the district that emphasizes collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation, confidence and content.
Edwin Chavez says that TEAM 21’s Spanish-only after-school program has improved his understanding of the Spanish he hears at home. (Supplied)
Medina, who grew up in a bilingual household and graduated from Lee High School, said she has definitely seen improvement from the first few days of the program, when she noticed some confusion and frustration from certain students.
“Most of them still can’t speak it fluently, but they understand it,” she said. “At the end of the day, I know that they’re learning more and they’re comprehending more, so it’s been exciting to see that growth.”
Brittani Stickler, TEAM 21 site coordinator at the school, said many parents have expressed appreciation for the option. Stickler said she knew of parents who had planned to send their children to visit with family in Mexico to improve their Spanish, and now they may not have to do that.
“They’re hopeful,” Stickler said. “We only started at the beginning of February for this particular program, but we’ll be watching the data to see how everyone does.”
For more articles on area schools, visit the School News Network at schoolnewsnetwork.org.
Left to right: Kindergartners Xavier Miguel-Garcia, Aiden Rodriguez-Gonzalez, and Liam Landero-Ceja compare the books they chose at a ReadGR event. (School News Network)
A line of kindergartners streamed into the media center at Godfrey-Lee’s Early Childhood Center. There, spread across tables, was an array of new books: classic books; graphic novels; books with characters of all shapes, sizes, hues, and abilities; Spanish books; English books. Students eagerly thumbed through the pages.
“Spiderman!” shouted one boy, as classmates swarmed to see what he’d found.
Thanks to the year-old nonprofit ReadGR, every child in the school took home a book. As co-program director of ReadGR, Becca Walsh-Wolfe oversees these pop-up book distributions, where she tells students, “If you ever feel lonely, you always have a friend in a book.”
Lemons to Lemonade
Walsh-Wolfe is passionate about getting quality books into the hands of children. She spent 10 years coordinating the Reading Is Fundamental(RIF) program for Grand Rapids Public Schools before the district eliminated the program due to lack of funding.
RIF has allowed students to choose age-appropriate books, free of charge, since its inception in 1966. From the mid-70s to 2012, 80 percent of national RIF funding came from a federal grant. Most book recipients were in schools and community centers where 50 percent or more of children receive free and reduced-price lunch.
“It obliterated RIF programs all over the country,” said Walsh-Wolfe. The RIF Literacy Network, of which ReadGR is a member, continues to provide support through data, research, digital tools and grants, but it’s no longer able to provide funding at the levels it once did.
Walsh-Wolfe, who has an education degree with a literacy emphasis and a master’s degree in urban education, said she was troubled by what she saw. When GRPS eliminated RIF, she took to social media to share her concerns. Within a day, funders stepped forward, and ReadGR was born.
Kindergartner Bianca Salas-Villagomez writes her name on the nameplate of the free book she chose at a recent ReadGR book distribution
Partnerships and Pop-Ups
Walsh-Wolfe teamed up with Sara Binkley-Tow, co-founder of the mom-to-mom support nonprofit MomsBloom, to build ReadGR. Binkley-Tow had the experience of building a nonprofit organization from the ground up. Walsh-Wolfe had the literacy background and RIF experience. The pair found an ally in Grand Rapids Metro Ministry, the program’s major funding source.
Partnerships have been key to ReadGR’s success: Churches have offered volunteer power; Fountain Street Church houses ReadGR’s office; businesses like Thrivent Financial, which sponsored the recent book distribution at the Early Childhood Center, have stepped forward with financial and volunteer support.
After one year of operation, ReadGR has provided more than 10,000 free books to more than 3,500 students in 10 elementary schools including charter schools and buildings in Kentwood, Godfrey-Lee, Wyoming, Godwin Heights, and Northview schools.
Becca Walsh-Wolfe, co-program director of ReadGR, chats with students at Godfrey-Lee’s Early Childhood Center before they choose their free book
Books Matter
While a stocked bookshelf is a mainstay of many homes, one in three children in the United States has no books, according to Walsh-Wolfe. This is problematic, she said, because the number one indicator of future educational success is having books in the home: “It actually even supersedes the parents’ educational level.”
Besides educational success, there’s a social-emotional component to reading: empathy is a major focus embedded in curricula provided to teachers by ReadGR, and in their dialogue with students at each distribution.
“Literacy and reading help connect us to one another,” said Binkley-Tow.
But to reap the benefits of reading, kids have to enjoy reading. Understanding which books will pique children’s interest while being well-written, beautiful, and reflective of the children receiving the books is not easy.
Skye Davis, a kindergartner at the Godfrey Lee Early Childhood Center, is excited about the two books she received at a Read GR distribution, sponsored by Thrivent Financial
“I really consider this my art,” said Walsh-Wolfe. “What sets us apart is our collection of books. That’s what I hear from teachers and principals…they’re the books that the kids want to read. They’re books where kids recognize themselves in the pages.”
Most important, they’re the books that get read: “I do whatever it takes — they may take “Captain Underpants,” they may take “Walter the Farting Dog” — if that’s what gets them to read, awesome.”
“The care she takes in making these selections is incredible,” said Binkley-Tow. “When it doesn’t take a long time for a child to pick a book, you know you’ve done a good job.”
As ReadGR continues to grow, Binkley-Tow and Walsh-Wolfe are looking forward to what the future holds for the organization. They’re seeking partnerships to sponsor book distributions for specific schools, planning a graphic novel distribution at schools this spring, and raising funds and awareness through events such as an upcoming “paint your canvas” fundraiser.
And they’re hoping to expand their literacy services by offering reading-focused professional development in schools.
“There are a lot of places we want to go,” said Walsh-Wolfe. “We’re excited about the future and about what we have to offer.”
For more local school news, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.
Groups of excited students from Godfrey Elementary recently visited Kent District Library’s newest branch, peeking at the collection and meeting librarian Kelaine Mish. A few hours later, the branch zoomed away.
The Bookmobile
After four years of visioning and planning, Kent District Library’s Bookmobile is up and running.
“This has been a dream come true,” said Mish, who has been a librarian at KDL for the past 18 years. “Just being able to come to the people, we can bring more tailored materials and offer focused story times. We’re so excited about being able to have that engagement, find out what people need, and bring that to them.”
The $350,000 mobile library has a biweekly schedule that alternates between schools, community centers, and underserved communities. There’s an exception to the biweekly nature of the schedule, however: for students and neighbors in the Godfrey-Lee School District, the Bookmobile will come every Tuesday, starting at the elementary school and then moving around the corner at the Early Childhood Center.
Godfrey Elementary student Serenity Reece boards the Bookmobile
This arrangement was made through the collaboration of KDL and Sydney Hanlon, Kent School Services Network’s community school coordinator at Godfrey Elementary. KDL was looking for schools to partner with, and Hanlon jumped at the chance.
“KDL has said this is our Bookmobile and we can use it how we want,” said Hanlon. “We can pair it with the Feeding America food truck (that visits Lee High School) or use it in the summer to help stave off learning loss.”
Hanlon said she is grateful for KDL’s willingness to tailor its inventory and use to the unique needs of the district, which has a population that’s roughly 75 percent Hispanic and 50 percent English-language learners.
Some of the rotating collection on the Bookmobile
You already belong here
Sara Proaño, community engagement manager for KDL, said the Bookmobile has been four years in the making and was made possible with financial support from several community partners. KDL had a red bookmobile bus in the mid-1980s called the “Bookie.” She’s excited to see a mobile library hit the road once again.
“When we started thinking about the underserved, we started thinking about this project,” said Proaño, “This is at the center of our efforts to increase reading for the third-grade reading law.”
KDL will partner with schools to support their needs and wishes, said Proaño, and will offer multilingual selections. Every student in Kent County will receive a library card, and there will be no fees associated with that card. Cards can be used in all branches, including the Bookmobile.
Godfrey Elementary student Serenity Reece browses books on the Bookmobile
“This is a place where nobody’s going to ask you where you are from or what you’re here for. You can come and go as you wish. Everybody’s welcome. You don’t have to do anything to belong here. You already belong here,” said Proaño.
Harry Coffill, library and media specialist for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, said the district is excited about this new asset to the school and community.
“I think cooperating with KDL to get books in kids’ hands is so important,” he said. “We do what we can as a public school library, but to have a Bookmobile that’s going to visit the neighborhoods and provide a tailored reading collection is really important.”
In this newscast , we join the City of Kentwood as officials and residents observe Martin Luther King Day with a special ceremony at the KDL Kentwood Branch and a food drive for its Little Free Pantry. Mayor Stephen Kepley talks about the city possibly expanding the pantry program.
The celebrations continued at Lee High School as the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducts three new members to its Hall of Fame.
Also, we head over to the Kent County Emergency Dispatch Center, where Emergency Communications Center Manager Matt Groesser talks to us about the Smart 911 program that was launched last year.
In studio, Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce CEO/President Bob O’Callaghan stops by to talk about the Chamber’s 2017 accomplishments, what’s up for 2018, and this year’s Chamber Award Winners.
Also Festival of the Arts Volunteer Chair Becky Richard comes to our studio to talk about the various volunteer opportunities available at the event which this year takes place June 1, 2, and 3 in Downtown Grand Rapids.
The WKTV Journal airs on WKTV Channel 25 Mondays at 9 p.m., Tuesdays at 7 p.m., and Fridays at 10 a.m.
Taking advantage of changes in state rules on how schools can spend sinking fund millage requests, and after unanimous approval by the Godfrey-Lee School Board this week, the district will put before voters on the May 8 ballot a 3-mill sinking fund request to address safety, security and technology issues.
An 2016 amendment to the state’s School Code allows expenditure of up-to-10-year, 3-mill maximum, sinking fund millage increases for additional school infrastructure uses such as technology and security upgrades in addition to building repairs and renovations.
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston, center, speaks to the State Board of Education recently. (Supplied)
Approval of a new sinking fund would “ease the general fund to allow as many dollars as possible to stay in the classroom,” Superintendent Kevin Polston said to WKTV. “A new eligible area of the sinking fund is technology. We currently use general fund dollars to pay for technology devices. As we know, general fund dollars fluctuate and there is no guarantee as to what we will get from year to year. Much less keeping up with inflation. The sinking fund will provide a sustainable means to provide current technology devices for our students across our K-12 system.”
The 3 mills would be collected for 10 years — 2019 to 2028 — and generate approximately $315,000 the first year. Polston said 2 mills would go toward maintenance, energy and safety and security, with 1 mill for technology.
Polston said a series of community meetings will be scheduled to discuss the tax request with residents.
“In regards to maintenance, as stewards of our taxpayers dollars, we need to maintain our buildings to provide the best learning environments we can for our students. If we do not follow a regular maintenance schedule, it will result in higher costs and less dollars going to the classroom,” Polston said.
“In addition, there are new technologies that have lower operating costs, but have an initial up front cost. An example is through the sinking fund we will install LED lighting in all of our buildings. LED lighting provides an enhanced learning environment at a significantly reduced operating costs and longer lifespan.”
The district’s previous sinking fund levy, 1.9976-mill, approved by Godfrey-Lee voters in 2009 is expiring.
According to the district, the average home value for a residence in the district is $67,169 and a homeowner with a homestead exemption is currently paying $67 per year and with the extra mill requested would see an increase of $34 for a total of $101.
The way Superintendent David Britten approaches his job is hands-on, vocal and in a way that touches others’ lives. He’s at many athletic and extracurricular events, he’s outspoken about issues that affect students, teachers and classrooms, and he’s known for encouraging every child he meets.
Britten will continue to work hard to improve the lives and education of students while heading the small, low-income district until June 30, 2017, when he plans to retire, he recently announced.
Britten, 61, in his eighth year as superintendent, said his retirement will come after two lengthy careers in education and the military.
“I have as of this year had 42 years of two very stressful careers,” Britten said. He noted that he loves the intellectual part of serving as superintendent and working directly with students, but is tired of dealing with the state government on education issues and budgets.
His Heart is with Students
Britten is a vocal leader in the district and a public-education advocate. He is known for speaking out on many issues that affect education, and for his familiar presence in school buildings, at athletic events and extracurricular activities.
“I don’t know if I’d be retiring if I was still principal at Lee Middle/High School,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy to be derived from being around kids.
“It gets harder and harder to do that in this job,” he added. “As more and more requirements come down from Lansing, and as we have to keep squeezing our budget and cutting administrative costs, I have to take on more roles that keep me from being around kids.”
A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Britten was an Army reservist for eight years starting at age 19. He taught at Muskegon Catholic Central High School for two years before beginning active duty in the U.S. Army, which was his career until he took early retirement in 1995.
After that, Britten served for six years in Wayland Public Schools as an elementary principal. He then served as Lee Middle School principal from 2002 to 2004, which evolved into a combined post as Lee Middle/High School principal until 2008.
Big Shoes to Fill
Godfrey-Lee School Board President Eric Mockerman said the board is in the process of determining how to proceed with a search for a replacement, possibly with help from a search firm or adviser. The board is surveying parents and staff members about what they would like to see in Britten’s successor.
Plans are to post for applicants early next school year, conduct interviews around January and make an offer by spring break. “We really want to have someone coming into place by March or April of next year so we can have a couple months of transition,” Mockerman said.
Mockerman hopes choosing a new leader will be a tough decision. “We have a lot to offer at Godfrey-Lee and I’m hoping we get some really good candidates,” he said.
Britten is leaving “big shoes to fill,” he added. “It’s a tremendous loss. He’s been a tremendous and visionary leader for the district.”
The district is in the first full year of a human-centered design process, which involves exploring ways to revamp education in the district. Britten said he’s confident the process will continue after his departure.
“That was a big push by Dave to change the way we as a district think and go about educating kids,” Mockerman said.
Rebranding Godfrey Lee
Britten has been an active presence in the district, which consists of a majority of Hispanic students, as it has grown from 1,400 to 2,000 students since 2002. It has also experienced a large increase in the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, now at 95 percent, and in those who live in poverty, at 37 percent.
Britten has been at the helm during efforts to beautify the district, equip it with technology on par with more affluent schools and build community support. He also implemented a plan that helped turn high school achievement around after it was designated a Priority School, meaning among the lowest 5 percent in achievement, according to the state’s Top-to Bottom list rankings in 2010. The designation was lifted last year.
“The most rewarding part about being superintendent has been being able to rebrand this district,” Britten said. “It’s a much more successful district than people thought it was… It had a bad image. Now it’s a place people want to come to.”
Mockerman said Britten’s commitment is remarkable. “He’s been an amazing example of how involved people can be. He is deeply involved in the lives of the kids. He’s at every event going on.
“He lives for the kids. It’s amazing.”
Be sure to check out School News Network for more stories about our great students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan!
Students and staff are invited to participate in Runnin’ Rebels.
by Tom Rademacher
Forget everything you’ve ever read or heard about the so-called “loneliness of the long-distance runner.”
At Lee High School, you’ll find a unique running club in full swing, an after-school fitness party where students and staff are invited to come together and embrace not only running, but the benefits of belonging to something greater than themselves.
It’s entitled the “Runnin’ Rebels” running club, the brainchild of David Britten, superintendent of the Godfrey-Lee School District, to which Lee High belongs.
Where another educator might pack up for the afternoon and head home after the bell rings, Britten sees an opening to make a difference in the life of a student or staffer. All they gotta do is show up with a pair of sneakers and a little desire.
“It actually began when I was in Wayland, and working as a principal, and we had a running club for 5th- and 6th-graders called ‘Little Cats,'” says Britten. “When I came here in 2002, we began the running club, and it’s been in place ever since.”
The district probably couldn’t have found a better advocate for running than Britten. A 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army, fitness has been an integral part of the superintendent’s regimen his entire life.
Britten shares his love of running with students and staff in an after school running club.
He ran his first River Bank Run in 1985, the Chicago Marathon in 1990, and has graduated in the last decade or so to ultra-marathoning, with races of more than 62 miles under his belt.
On the day I visited the high school, though, the only goal was to do your best on a loop established throughout the high school hallways that measures one-seventh of a mile long.
Enter the school’s gymnasium from the west side, and you’re immediately confronted by blur after blur, as students and teachers pass by in a counter-clockwise direction, settled in for a 30-minute stint.
“I needed to change my lifestyle, knew I needed to join this club.”
Britten is usually among the group, but today, he’s taking the time to explain the genesis of the club, the rationale for keeping it intact, and the impact it’s had on participants.
“For one thing, a lot of these kids don’t have anything to do after school,” he explains. “This gives them an avenue; otherwise, they’re just going to be hustled out of the building.”
His method of recruiting more and more students into the Runnin’ Rebels is simple: “I just badger ’em enough where they eventually realize that they can do something they didn’t think possible.
“I would have hated to do my next career and just deal with adults,” he says of the transformation from the armed forces to education. “I did that in the Army. But I want to be with kids, and I found I could easily encourage kids to run.”
During the “inside” season, which includes 30 daily runs from November until March – or until the weather improves to allow jogging outside — the goal is to cover the loop as many times as possible within 30 minutes or so.
For those who choose to walk – like Guidance Counselor Betty Killoran, for instance — that translates to a mile or two. For the speediest in the group, it can mean up to three or four miles, even a bit more.
Those who show up for at least 20 of the 30 inside runs qualify for a T-shirt, and this year’s giveaway boasts a quote on the back from one of Britten’s mentors, ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes, which in part urges people to “immerse yourself in something deeply and with heartfelt intensity,” and implores those same people to “continually improve, never give up – this is fulfillment, this is success.”
Britten, 60, leads the club with humility. Rather than boast about his running achievements and coaching record in cross-country and track, he’s more apt to point out a day in his life when he did his best and scored average.
“I was addressing the senior class after they bombed the MMEs (Michigan Merit Examinations),” he recalls, and shared with them in a parallel way how he was able to complete only 68 miles of a 100-mile run.
“You know what a 68 is?” he asked them.
“It’s a ‘C.’ I was supposed to run 100 miles and get an ‘A.’
Students run inside during the winter.
Britten acknowledges that the lesson had some incidental “shock value,” because many of Lee’s students have never known anyone to run or even try to cover 100 miles at a stretch.
But what he wanted them to walk away with was the realization that if you’re capable of more, you can’t settle for average. “Be determined to do better next time,” he remembers telling them.
Britten’s philosophy is gaining momentum and drawing in more and more participants. In the beginning years, the club operated with a handful of runners. Today, it’s not unusual for dozens to turn out.
Among them is a social studies instructor, Tom DeGennaro, who has endured 14 knee surgeries. Just over a year ago, he weighed nearly 300 pounds and suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.
Today, his weight is around 230 and he’s got his sugar and BP under control.
He began by alternately walking and jogging for intervals of three to five minutes. Now, he’s kicking out runs of up to six miles at a time. On the day I visited, he was celebrating his 124th straight day of running.
DeGennaro’s three daughters – ages 7, 11 and 13 – provide him extra inspiration: “I want to walk ’em all down the aisle some day.”
Lee High senior Jordan Lovett enjoys belonging to the club not only for health reasons, but because “I’ve made a lot of friends, and it helps relieve a lot of stress from high school. It gives us an escape from reality.”
Lovett hopes to study social work at Aquinas College, and compete for the school’s track and cross-country teams. “I probably wouldn’t be as good a runner as I am,” she says, had she not joined the Runnin’ Rebels.
Students run under motivational signs posted around Godfrey-Lee.
Sophomore Hector Grande is into soccer and martial arts. The running club is a natural extension of both, providing him an aerobic activity that, same as Lovett, doubles as a mental outlet.
“There are stresses in life that you need to get past,” he says, “and sometimes, running is the answer to that.”
For senior Paulina Cabrera, running may help pave her way into the U.S Marine Corps, in which she hopes to enlist following graduation. “I’m tired,” she said after cruising the halls for 30 minutes, “but I feel better for it.”
The Runnin’ Rebels don’t limit their miles to schooldays. It’s an active group that involves even more amateur athletes in summertime, at nearby Pinery Park.
That’s where alumni and parents will join students and teachers in a walk-jog-run that helps bind the school family to one another, often celebrating two and even three generations of Lee faithful.
Most the time, participants in the Runnin’ Rebels simply find their own pace and rhythm, without the need for a lot of coaching.
Not so, however, for some of the fledglings who turn out, especially during summer months.
“The young ones have to learn how to run,” Britten says with a measure of sageness. “At a certain age, they think everything’s a sprint.”
By: Erin Albanese — 
