Tag Archives: Kelloggsville Public Schools

School News Network: Districts scramble to find bus drivers

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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.”

Together we can begin serving more children this #GivingTuesday

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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.

School News Network: ‘I Show Them Another Way, and Another Way, and Another Way’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming,
Heather Richards helps Stephane Garcia-Palacios with a math problem. (All photos courtesy of School News Network)

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

A bank was robbed. Fifteen suspects – all middle-school staff members – had their mugshots taken, each holding a dollar bill up to their forehead. Algebra students were notified.

 

The CSI team was waiting on video surveillance to confirm the perpetrator’s height, and once known, they would be able to quickly and easily identify the culprit using data collected by students.

 

“The CSI team is calling on you, the mathematics experts, to use your knowledge of scale factor to find the actual heights of each of the subjects,” assigned math teacher Heather Richards.

 

Antonio Valenzuela and Brianna Morris work to win points during math Jeopardy!

Over two class periods, eighth-graders used math to figure out the height of each suspect by calculating the true dimensions of a dollar bill, translating it to the photo-sized dollar and relating it to the height of the suspect in each photo. They eventually learned – Richards announced the conclusion made from video surveillance – the robber was 5 feet 10 inches.

 

From there, they used a slate of clues to pinpoint… dun-dun-dun… English teacher Jacob Deubner as the thief.

 

The CSI investigation was the brainchild of Richards, who has taught at Kelloggsville Middle School for nine years. She said she wanted to teach scale factor in an interesting way, and crime-scene sleuthing is one of many approaches she uses to engage her students.

 

Known to jolt young teens’ attention with scavenger hunts, her old-school rap savviness or trivia knowledge of obscura such as how frequently the average human being flatulates in one day (14 times), Richards brings liveliness to teaching, funneling positive energy into every coefficient, quotient and sum. She describes her school day as “hours of endless mathematical fun,” a statement that contains no sarcasm.

 

With dry erase pen on whiteboard, she demonstrates an alternate way to solve an algebraic equation, her face lighting up with delight. “Isn’t that cool?” she asks, her giddiness growing exponentially.

 

Richards earned her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her master’s from Marygrove College in Detroit. She taught in Belleville Public Schools for three years before being hired in Kelloggsville.

 

She said she likes to spice up the subject she loves and pass it on to her students. “I like teaching in general. I like being able to influence kids and kind of run the show in here and be a positive role model on top of teaching. I love teaching math. I’ve always been good at math. I have a math brain.”

 

She also makes sure her students always have access to instruction, through video lessons on her website and YouTube.

 

Kelloggsville Middle School teacher Heather Richards smiles as she shows how to solve an algebra problem using a chart

Teaching Deep in Simple Ways

 

Master mathematicians-investigators Pablo Vicario and Matt Zaiger were the first students to name the robber in the CSI activity. They said the activity shed light on the “When are we going to use this question?” often posed in algebra class.

 

“It was a really fun activity,” Matt said. “We were able to use our clues and math skills to figure out who the robber was.”

 

The woman behind the activity was not lost to them. “I would say math is my favorite subject… I like Mrs. Richards,” Matt said. “She teaches us ways to make math a lot easier than other ways that make it confusing.”

 

Added Pablo: “Before, math was an OK subject for me. I did it, I was good at it, but then with Mrs. Richards, it was really fun. She explains it way better. She’s the best teacher.”

 

Where did that ability come from?

 

In 10th grade, Richards, a Wyoming native who graduated from Wyoming Rogers High School in 2001, had a math teacher who presented different ways to solve equations through various activities. She showed that traditional algorithms didn’t have to be the automatic go-to. That gave Richards a sense of what kind of math teacher she could be.

 

“I always try to come up with alternative methods of learning stuff,” she said. “The idea has always been to give students the deeper conceptual-type understanding. Then I show them another way, and another way, and another way.”

 

Principal Jim Alston said Richards’ love for learning is contagious.

 

“Her personality is very energetic, very much like that of a middle-school student. They respond well to her and the enthusiasm she brings to her classroom. Her interest is so high for the subject that it rubs off on the students,” he said. “They see her excited about what they are doing for the day and all of a sudden they are excited, and sometimes they don’t even realize it. Her love for math and teaching math is what the students see and appreciate every day.”

 

From left to right: Ayanna Thompson, Alexis Shoemaker, Lacy Sleet and Loida Benavidas work to rack up the points

To the Final Jeopardy! Round

 

Pop into Richards’ class and there’s likely to be motion, discussion and students engaged in math. To prepare for a test, Richards recently hosted a Jeopardy!-style game show, with students in groups of four who answered questions that ranged in difficulty to amass points.

 

“Scientific notation, c’mon!” Richards shouted, as they worked to come up with the right expressions.

 

“You can’t just sit with a textbook and grasp it,” she said. “They have to be able to experience math.”

 

Her annual scavenger hunt is another example: The hunt is based on using clues with coordinates on them to find the location of math problems.

 

“She interacts with us. It makes it easier to comprehend,” said eighth-grader Antonio Valenzuela.

 

“She’s fun. She teaches well and she makes us understand it and goes over it and over it until we get it,” said Stephane Garcia-Palacios.

 

Richards is also likely to be stopped in the hallway by a student with a math question, and she’s ready to walk them through it.

 

Principal Alston said students have a comfort level with Richards that helps them learn.

 

“On top of her love for math, she builds such good relationships with her students,” he said. “She does this by letting students know who she is as a person. She has a great sense of humor and she uses that to her advantage to reach her students on a more personal level. Her students love being in her classroom because they never know what to expect in there. They know that she will hold them responsible for their work, but that she will help them along in any way she can.”

 

Meanwhile, the Jeopardy! game proceeded, and students jotted down expressions and calculations as fast as possible, throwing up their answers on mini-whiteboards. Somehow, a question about rapper Jay-Z was thrown in. Points racked up and students showed they were ready for the next day’s big test. They knew they could do math.

 

And it’s a safe bet that if host Alex Trebek ever states: “This teacher was known as the best middle-school math teacher,” Kelloggsville students will answer “Who is Heather Richards?”

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

School News Network: When Trouble Came to Find Me, She Was There

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Brooke Davis and Lexis Pearson, who credits the social worker with turning her life around. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Lexis Pearson was a self-described troublemaker when she was in seventh grade. Her poor choices led her to the office of social worker Brooke Davis.

 

But by her junior year, Pearson had turned herself around to the point of being named an Alpha Wolf 11, a character recognition from her high school for being an “11 on a scale of 10” in the areas of kindness, compassion and graciousness.

 

She said the role Davis played in helping her change was huge. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have graduated high school,” Pearson said. “She was that little bit of motivation I needed; actually she was a lot of motivation.”

 

Pearson, who graduated from Wyoming High School in the spring, is one of many students Davis has impacted over the years as a school social worker. Now splitting time between Kelloggsville and Kenowa Hills public schools — and, on top of that, providing consulting services for educators — Davis’ presence in the lives of young people, like Lexis, is having a wider impact.

 

Fellow educators say that what Davis does, for any student, in any way they can benefit, is steer them in the right direction. She offers a listening ear, helping hand, sage advice or just information to get them where they need to go.

 

Spreading Her Influence

 

Davis started her career as a counselor in Kelloggsville in 2004. She has returned to the district part-time as a social worker and trainer at 54th Street Academy, which serves students from several Kent County districts. She also works part-time as a social worker at Alpine and Zinser Elementary schools, in Kenowa Hills.

 

Brooke Davis discusses goals with a student in her 54th Street Academy office. (School News Network)

“Kelloggsville is so excited to have Brooke Davis back,” said Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage. “Brooke has such a passion for working with students, staff and families and this comes through in everything she does. … Having Brooke back is just like finding a long-lost friend or relative; they have come home and everyone’s life is better because of it.”

 

When she’s not working with students, Davis is training staff members in various districts through her company, BTD Consulting, on how to reduce suspensions in their buildings. (Not one to shy away from work, she also works retail at Younkers department store.)

 

She said her roles are about being a servant leader in every aspect of her life. “You always have more to give,” Davis said. “I love being back at Kelloggsville because it gives me the opportunity to work with economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse students. It is really hitting that passion that I have.”

 

Her passion developed over time. Davis, originally from Detroit, received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Aquinas College. “I thought I was going to be a speaker and urban planner,” she said.

 

But when she began working at St. John’s Home (now D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s), which offered residential care for foster children, she fell in love with the work. She decided to return to Grand Valley State University for a master’s in social work. At St. John’s, she connected with a Kelloggsville principal who hired her to work as a counselor. Over the next five years she worked at the elementary and middle school levels there, then for 11 years at Wyoming Public Schools at the elementary and secondary levels.

 

Last year she joined the staff at Kenowa Hills and started her consulting firm to work with principals, superintendents and teachers to set up systems concerning student behavior, and to teach them how to look at data to address behavior.

 

Many students have a hard time re-acclimating to school after they are suspended, she said, which puts them at a higher risk for dropping out. “The nice thing about Kelloggsville is we still have an alternative program that really seeks to get those students into school, and to know the barriers that keep them from learning in a traditional program. It helps them overcome those barriers so they can transition back into a traditional program.”

 

Brooke Davis sits down with junior Sky Hommerson to help her get back on track in school (School News Network)

The Ability to Connect

 

Davis said she was raised by good role models, but can relate to students with whom she works. Her parents emphasized education and demonstrated a great work ethic. Still, “I was a little tough as a kid — with really no reason to be be tough — but I was very verbose. I had two parents that loved me, and a great education, but coming from the city of Detroit, I want kids to have those same things that I had.”

 

At Kenowa, Davis works with the elementary students and does it well, said Alpine Elementary Principal Jason Snyder. “She is phenomenal,” he said. “The thing with Brooke is she has a passion for kids that is unmatched.”

 

She steps up to meet the needs of every child she works with, going “above and beyond” to make sure that child is successful. “She’s inspiring to me and pushes me to be a better leader,” Snyder said.

 

‘Little, Life-Changing Things’

 

Davis said she loves her jobs because she wants to serve others, to share knowledge and resources. That’s the “why” of it: “If you call me and I have it, I’m going to give it you,” she said.

 

That mentality is what made the difference for Lexis Pearson, the Wyoming grad who now is a certified nursing assistant and works in a nursing home. “To repay Brooke, I would have to give her the world,” she said.

 

Davis showed her possibilities. Pearson said she had a rocky life at home and was looking at the future through a narrow lens. “I grew up in a rough neighborhood. For me to see an African-American woman who was this successful … She is my inspiration.”

 

Brooke was just always present, she said. “When trouble came to find me, she was there to redirect me and let me know that the choices I was making were poor.

 

“It was the little things that counted,” she added. “Little things that, for me, were life changing.”

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

School News Network: ‘Basics of Life for Some Kids Are Not Basic’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Kentwood Public Schools, , , , ,
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

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

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.

 

Students have the opportunity to stay after school for an extended learning program and the after-school enrichment program, TEAM 21. They’ve also started mindfulness activities and staff has gone through trauma-sensitive training.

 

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 the 6Cs, 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.

School News Network: Ready or not, schools start opening Aug. 21

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Most area schools will open prior to Labor Day after Kent ISD received a wavier allowing them to do so

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Got those backpacks ready?

 

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

School News Network: Minecraft for Geometry, Scholarships for College

Citizen Journalism, , ,
From left, Andrea Ronzon-Contreras and Lexi Huerta play Minecraft Education Edition

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

When playing Minecraft: Education Edition in class, Southeast Kelloggsville students know what they’re building: math skills.

 

The worlds they join and build, connected via computers, require design, collaboration and awareness of dimensions.

 

“We are using geometry because geometry involves shapes and angles,” said Andrea Ronzon-Contreras. “In my opinion, I love it because you get to connect with people and build your own world.”

 

Teacher Tina Brown’s students have used the program, an educational version of the popular Minecraft video game, since January, after Brown’s $135 grant request to pay for the program was approved by the Kelloggsville Education Foundation.

 

Since 2005, the foundation has added $80,000 in hard-to-come-by supplemental dollars to fund projects and educational items for teachers and create a scholarship for high school students. It recently awarded three scholarships to graduating seniors: Kiara Glekle, Jaime Tiesma and Joshua Hotelling, who received $2,000, $1,000 and $500, respectively.

 

By hosting an annual golf outing, a Texas Hold ‘Em event and other fundraisers, as well as collecting voluntary payroll deductions from staff members, the foundation funds a wide array of projects. They include author visits, ukuleles, art display cases, technology, document cameras, video projectors and items for a classroom store.

 

From left, Eduardo Villagrana, Dax VandeBunte, Aaron Chaparro and Juan Ramirez build worlds together

Brown said the foundation makes possible “extras” that enhance education, such as the Minecraft program, which she wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Next school year, she plans to use the program for assignments that also connect with the fourth-grade science and history curriculum, like building a three-tiered government and designing windmills with a limited budget.

 

“The whole idea is to build a foundation to give back to our students,” said Lori Martin, who is in charge of marketing for the district and serves on the foundation. They eventually hope to create an endowment.

 

A board of directors, consisting of Martin, a business services staff member, teacher, principal, board of education member, secretary and parent, chooses to fund mini-grant requests from teachers each fall, for implementation second semester.

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

Kentwood, Wyoming residents head to the polls tomorrow for millage proposals

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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.

 

Godfrey Lee Public Schools will receive about $450,000.

 

Godwin Heights Public Schools will receive about $500,000.

 

Kelloggsville Public Schools will receive about $470,000.

 

Wyoming Public Schools will receive about $900,000.

 

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.

School News Network: Kelloggsville students urged to ‘Find What You Love’

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City of Kentwood Mayo rStephen Kepley talks about his engineering background led him into city services. (Photo courtesy of School News Network.)

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

If someone had told Greggory Hampshire how clinical psychologists spend their days (with lots of paperwork), he might not have pursued it as a career. That’s one reason he likes bringing community professionals into classrooms and giving students real exposure to real careers.

 

“I want you to get an idea of what exists out there, of what you want to do with your life,” said Hampshire, director of education for Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes.

 

Middle school students got a glimpse of different careers during Reverse Job Shadow Day, when entrepreneurs and professionals stopped by to share their journeys in pursuing their dreams.

 

Professional boxer and entrepreneur Parnell Gates shows his belt to sixth-grader Quijuan Madion-Lewis. (Photo courtesy of School News Network.)

Eighteen speakers — six per grade level — visited sixth- through eighth-graders for the event. It was made possible through a partnership with JA, which teaches young people about work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills.

 

The goal was to get students thinking about career fields they may not have considered, said school counselor Laura Kuperus. Professions included manufacturing, health care, law enforcement, finance, cosmetology and education. Several visitors, including a professional boxer, were small business owners and some had pursued skilled trades instead of college.

 

Speakers described ups and downs they had faced through school and in their careers. “That’s inspiring for our kids,” Kuperus said. Karyn Hocking, owner of Salus Massage in Grandville, told eighth-graders that she struggled in school because of a learning disability.

“If you struggle in an area, no matter what subject that may be, that doesn’t mean anything,” Hocking said. “You can still get out and do what you want to do.”

 

Josephine White, owner of JoJo’s House of Business in Grand Rapids, said running a business is hard work, but passion makes it worth it. “Find what you love,” she urged students. “If you find what you love, it’s not that hard.”

 

Seventh-graders Samatha Benitez and Camiyah Blackman try to figure out how to balance six nails atop one nailhead, a challenge from Mayor Stephen Kepley.

A World of Options Awaits

Middle school is a great time to start exploring careers, Kuperus said.

 

“It’s so important for our students to see the variety of careers available to them. Often they think of traditional things they’ve heard of, but they become aware that there are careers they haven’t thought of before.”

 

City of Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley was an engineer for the city for 11 years before being elected mayor in 2013. He said he loves meeting the city’s young people.

 

“My favorite part of the job is investing in the next generation,” Kepley said. “I love networking and solving problems.”

 

Regardless of career choice, people need to know how to work well with others, he said. He illustrated that by challenging students to work in groups to balance six nails on one upright nailhead. “How you solve problems is going to be a big key in how successful you are.”

 

Students said they enjoyed peeking into the lives of business owners.
“It shows you that there are a bunch of different opportunities to choose from,” said eighth-grader Brooklyn Kelly.

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

School News Network: Brain Games: Focusing on Memory to Reduce Effect of Poverty

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Second-grade teacher Patrick Sokol talks about how memory works with his students. (Photo courtesy of School News Network.)

By Erin Albanese

 

School News Network

 

Kelloggsville Public Schools second-grade teacher Patrick Sokol is working to close gaps in achievement seen in students raised in poverty, and he’s zeroing in on helping students develop “working memory.”

 

In his West Elementary classroom on a Friday morning, Sokol drew a mixing bowl on a whiteboard in front of his students. He asked them to name ingredients needed to make pancakes. They eagerly answered: “eggs,” “baking powder,” “vanilla,” “flour,” “sugar,” as Sokol wrote the list on the bowl.

 

“If we get those all in the bowl, we are going to be able to do something with them. We are going to be able to make pancakes. But what if there are holes in the bowl?”

 

He told students to think of their brains like the bowl: They need to be able to use what they put inside. “If you can’t keep those things in your brain, are you going to be able to do anything with them?”

 

Isaiah Wiseman and Alivia Walber work together on remembering numbers.

Sokol’s mini-lesson was an introduction to activities aimed to improve students’ working memory. That’s the ability to store and manage information in one’s mind for a short period of time, like remembering a list of items or series of number long enough to apply them to what you need.

 

During a game called “If I Went,” students named items they would bring to the beach or camping. On their turns, they recalled items named before them in order. “If I went to the beach I would bring food, an air mattress, marshmallows and…,” said Myana Santiago-DeJesus, remembering the items named by her classmates and adding “shelter” to the list.

 

They also created a string of numbers, adding one at a time, and recalling them with a partner.

 

Students enjoyed the tasks, taking pride in remembering eight, nine, even 10 numbers in a row, and a list of camping items worthy of the Scouts, but Sokol’s purpose is larger than meets the eye. He is hoping to “fill the gap” in memory function caused by the stressors present in many of the lives of students who grow up poor.

 

Sokol’s work is part of an ongoing study by Kelloggsville staff, administrators and Board of Education members of Eric Jensen’s book, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” In Kelloggsville, about 78 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged, qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and research shows students who grow up in poverty struggle with working memory.

 

That could be a factor in the stark correlation between poverty and student achievement. An analysis by School News Network as part of its series “The Burden of Poverty, a Backpack of Heartache,” shows a close correlation between poverty and performance in the 20 school districts in the Kent ISD. In almost all cases, the districts with the lowest family income levels also had the lowest scores on standardized tests.

 

In his book, Jensen, a former teacher who now presents on brain-based learning, explains that constant stressors affect the developing brain, “creating a devastating cumulative effect.”

 

“The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, crucial for learning, cognition and working memory, are the areas of the brain most affected by cortisol, the so-called ‘stress hormone,'” he writes, citing brain research from various sources.

 

“Experiments have demonstrated that exposure to chronic and acute stress actually shrinks neurons in the brain’s frontal lobes–– an area that includes the prefrontal cortex and is responsible for such functions as making judgements, planning and regulating impulsivity and can modify and impair the hippocampus in ways that reduce learning capacity.”

The Jensen book study – which started by reading and discussing chapters – is a long-term project involving ongoing district-wide training, Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage said.

A Board of Education committee dedicated to poverty is gathering information this year. Administrators and staff members are studying and attending seminars on poverty, have watched a webinar by Jensen and attended a two-day Michigan Department of Education session in November with Jensen on his book. They hope to bring him to Kelloggsville to present.
Gianchrist Mendez-Jimenez and Yuleika Gonzalez-Morales work on remembering a series of numbers. “9, 0, 1, 8, 6, and 2,’” said Gianchrist.

The goal is to apply some of his strategies in the classroom and embed tools to boost student effort and engagement, Savage said. It’s also about developing empathy and understanding of living situations many teachers haven’t experienced.

The district has long been aware of the high level of need and has worked hard to address it, she said. This is about going deeper and examining poverty from different perspectives. “There are a lot of things we are already doing. That was an affirmation for the district. We are already doing a lot of things to connect with students and parents.”
More than just brain development, training involves developing strong bonds with students, which leads to better achievement. “We are focused on student engagement, and it goes back to building relationships with kids,” Savage said. “Research has always proven that student/teacher relationship is key.”

Teachers are doing fast-track relationship builders, recommended by Jensen, in the classroom. For example, they share something personal with students once a week.

 

“In order to build a relationship with somebody, it can’t be one-sided. It can’t be just the students sharing,” Savage said. “Teachers have to share about themselves too. The more we share about ourselves, the more students are going to feel connected with us.”

 

Jensen also recommends staff members provide a favor or a show of empathy so powerful that students remember it well; invest two minutes a day for 10 consecutive days with the student who needs it most; and discover three things other than a name about a student each day, every day of the year.

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

School News Network: He Pushes Students to Excel, with Pushups and ‘Geronimo!’

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Troy Anderson directs the Kelloggsville High School band Drop and Give Me Five.
Troy Anderson directs the Kelloggsville High School band Drop and Give Me Five.

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

When it comes to encouraging students to give it their all, band director Troy Anderson says take the leap and yell “Geronimo!”

 

By that he means hold nothing back. Blow those horns and pound those drums with gusto.

 

“Why are you so scared of making a mistake?” Anderson recently asked his Kelloggsville High School band students as they were learning a song. “Please stop being scared of making a mistake. I need you to play big, whether it’s right or wrong. Geronimo. Jump please.”

 

Anderson leads his middle and high school bands by expecting the best, but still letting students know getting there is a messy process. Mistakes are part of the experience. He finds himself giving the Geronimo speech quite often.

 

“It’s a way to get them to realize that there are certain things that just aren’t that serious,” he said. As a student Anderson was timid about performing, and, as a result, missed out on experiences. “A lot of times they make mistakes because they’re scared,” he added.

 

Notes of Praise

Comments from some of director Troy Anderson’s band members, as compiled by fellow musician and student journalist Alexandrea Groters:

  • Lidia Torres, a senior clarinet player, said Anderson helped her open up and come out of her shell. “He has given every student an opportunity to be a part of the band,” Lidia said. Even if they had financial needs and didn’t own an instrument, “He found a way so that no kid would feel left out.”
  • Grady Sakshaug, a junior trombonist, said Anderson makes sure everyone understands the music, with a sense of humor. “He forms a connection with the students.”
  • His passion for students shines through, said Nyla Buggs, a sophomore trombonist. “(He’s) not negative in any way and he always tries to help out in any way he can.”

 

 

 

Instructing Lifelong Musicians

Anderson has spent the last dozen years encouraging Kelloggsville sixth- through 12th-grade bands to take the leap. During that time, band numbers have grown at all grade levels, even tripling at the middle school.

 

A trombonist, drummer, music writer and gospel music lover, the Northview High School graduate received his degree in instrumental music education at Western Illinois University.

 

Students are encouraged to go big in Troy Anderson band.
Students are encouraged to go big in Troy Anderson band.

He now directs 264 students with help from assistant band director Amanda VanderMeulen. When Anderson started, there were 64 students in the high school band. Numbers in recent years have ranged between the 80s and 90s. At the middle school, numbers have grown from 27 to about 75 sixth-graders, from 30 to about 60 seventh-graders and from 15 to 50 eighth-graders.

 

Since his first year, Anderson has opened the high school band room during lunch to everyone, even non-band students, welcoming them to eat and hang out. People schoolwide became more aware of the band.

 

“You open it up, you let people in,” he said. “It changed a lot of things. It got to a point that we started to get asked to different events we normally didn’t do. … They got to know the kids.”

 

First- and second-place competition finishes have been numerous, but Anderson said it’s much more important to him to see music become a lifelong part of students’ lives. With middle school students he’s witnessed many moments when students first realize they can play and perform. “I get kids who don’t say a word and by the time they graduate they are section leaders, or drum majors.”

 

He often watches performances of former students who have gone on to pursue music careers and degrees. “That to me is the best thing,” he tells students. “That you enjoyed it so much here that you’re willing to go on (with music) from here.'”

 

Anderson’s dedication impresses middle school Principal Jim Alston.

 

“His passion for the music and band in general is contagious,” Alston said. “So when he travels to the elementary buildings to talk to incoming middle school students, the majority want to take part in band because they see his passion for music.”

Despite his openness to trial and error, Anderson demands accountability, from his students and from himself — with pushups.

 

While holding his podium during class, he performed five fast standing pushups after high school band students let him know he had forgotten to pause in the song they were practicing. If a student makes a mistake on the field they drop and give him five or run laps.

 

One time Anderson owed his students 25 pushups, which he did on the football field during marching band practice. “None of us are above the rules, we all have to follow them, even me,” he said.

 

Alston said Anderson provides the right mix of nurturing and high standards.

 

“He impacts them as musicians by allowing them to grow. He challenges them to get better every day. Those students benefit from his teaching style of holding them accountable for the music material, but building great positive relationships with them at the same time.”

 

Those relationships continue after graduation, Alston added: “Troy always has someone coming back to see him and talk to him.”

 

Alexandrea Groters rehearses.
Alexandrea Groters rehearses.

Music and Burger King

Anderson, who has performed around the nation and the world, is the music minister at Shepherd’s Arm Ministries and writes music for other churches. He plays drums for the Flat River Big Band, trombone for Big Band Nouveau and in the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band.

 

But he became inspired to become a teacher while working at Burger King for 10 years, beginning at age 10. He became a trainer and manager by 18, and the job served as an anchor as he worked his way through college.

 

Even then, “I loved teaching,” he said of leading the Burger team employees. “I love music and I love teaching, so I just put it together.”

 

He especially loves teaching at Kelloggsville, a very diverse district, because of the differences students bring to the band. In his music appreciation class, he encourages students to bring in music representative of their cultures, from Korean music called K-Pop to African music. They also bring in food, another one of Anderson’s favorite things, and the band banquet becomes a spread of international foods.

 

“I’ve had so many great kids,” he said. “That’s what I love about the district, even beyond the music. Like any band director, I try to foster a good family atmosphere. I try to pride myself on this being a safe zone.”

 

The impact of that at the middle school is immeasurable, Alston said. “Band students are some of the most positive, academic students in the building. The more students we have involved in music and the fine arts, the better our behavior decreases and our scores increase. So to have someone like Troy in our building, pushing our students and growing his program, the better we will be as a whole.”

 

With a consistent message and stellar music, Anderson gives students faith in their own abilities — and the courage to yell “Geronimo!”

 

“The only thing I do is give them the ball and say here you go. You’re a family,” he said. “Really they do it all on their own.”

 

Be sure to check out School News Network for more stories about our great students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan!

School News Network: ‘They Get to Own Their Learning’: Intervention Program Brings Multiple Gains

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Teacher Joe Marsiglia works with seventh-grader Teron Collier, who has made huge gains in SWAS.
Teacher Joe Marsiglia works with seventh-grader Teron Collier, who has made huge gains in SWAS.

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Manuel Ochoa’s face lit up in a smile. He had just learned he will exit the middle school’s new School within a School Program at the end of the marking period. After several years working to get on track academically, he will return to the regular classroom.

 

For the past few weeks in the SWAS intervention program, Manuel has excelled. The seventh-grader covered a lot of ground in history and language arts classes, and had achieved an 80 percent overall score. “I just worked,” he said, explaining his progress. “It has helped me a lot.”

 

Led by teacher Joe Marsiglia, SWAS has eight students enrolled and is located in a classroom at the end of a quiet wing of the school. Students who have been identified for failing grades and behavior problems– most have been suspended at least once this fall– work on subjects on computers, regularly getting help from Marsiglia. They are together all day, even for lunch.

 

“We have some students flying through the coursework, which is pretty awesome,” Marsiglia said. “They get to own their learning.”

 

Students are working at their own pace, most making steady gains.

 

Eighth-grader Gage Sims recently learned he is on track to exit the SWAS intervention program.
Eighth-grader Gage Sims recently learned he is on track to exit the SWAS intervention program.

“We are finding behavior is better,” said Assistant Principal Beth Travis. “They are focusing on their work. A lot of the students like the fact that they can put on the headphones and get lost in the academics and shut out the outside influences.”

 

SWAS addresses several issues to break the all-too-common cycle of poor grades, poor attendance and poor behavior.

 

“We are trying to think outside of the box,” Travis said. “We need something that’s going to help our students. We are finding it’s a frustrating cycle when they act out and make a poor decision in class. They get sent home for their actions; they come back the next day and they are already behind in their schoolwork, so they act out again.”

 

The class is the most intensive part of a three-tier system the middle school uses to help at-risk students. At the beginning of the school year, teachers began monitoring students’ grades and behavior if they showed signs of academic, attendance and behavior problems. Marsiglia met weekly with those who showed a continued pattern of problems, discussing behavior goals and grades.

 

Finally, he met twice a week with students facing suspension and failing grades, even sitting with them during classes to get to know them. From there, staff identified eight students who were most at risk to start SWAS.

 

Each student has a chance to enter or exit the program each quarter. Three, including Manuel, are now on track to exit, which will open up three new spots for at-risk students.

 

After eighth grade, Travis said, students with academic and behavior problems sometimes switch to alternative schools. “Our hopes are to keep the students here at school to teach them better behavior choices, and to get them to pass the classes and get them the knowledge they need to move on to the next grade.”

 

While the program is not punitive, returning to the regular classroom can be a strong incentive for students. “They want to be with their friends,” Travis said. “It’s middle school. They are very social.”

 

Added Attention Helps

Signs of success include more content students. “Since this has started, none of these students have been suspended,” Travis said. “We have not had one student with one discipline referral.”

 

Marsiglia said the 1-to-8 teacher-student ratio allows him to get ahead of any potentially bad behavior. “(SWAS) takes them out of a class where they want to be the king or queen. Instead of being the focus of attention, they all have their own individual attention, with me.”

 

Seventh-grader Teron Collier said SWAS has helped him get better grades.

 

“There aren’t a lot of kids in the class, so I get help from the teacher more,” he said.

 

The school’s community coordinator also spends an hour in the classroom each day to provide added support.

 

There have been other success stories, he said. One student discovered she really likes history and geography. “She didn’t know it until she was in here. Now, she’s so far ahead in that class,” Marsiglia said.

 

Be sure to check out School News Network for more stories about our great students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan!