Tag Archives: workshops

Local foster agencies make plea for public assistance during foster home crisis

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Currently there is a need for foster families in West Michigan. (pxhere.com)

According to Michigan Health and Human Services, there are about 13,000 children in foster care with at least another 300 who are still in need of an adoptive family. 

The need for more foster homes always exists, according to representatives of the local child welfare nonprofit D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s. Because the need is great, this May, which is National Foster Care Awareness Month, D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s along with others organizations that are part of the Foster Kent Kids are hosting educational workshops to help residents learn more about how they can help fight a crisis-level need for fostering.

“We are at a critical juncture in Grand Rapids for youth in need of stable foster home environments,” said D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s President and CEO Mary Muliett. “Simply put, we are in a crisis. We are in desperate need for foster homes, and we home the community will take the opportunity during Foster Awareness Month to explore this life-saving gesture.”

The main need? Providing temporary shelter for teens who are caught up in the middle of the placement process. For some teens, they wait at the agency all day until placement specialists can find a temporary shelter.

As a way to increase general awareness of the need, Foster Kent Kids workshops are designed to help potential foster families learn more about fostering.

This Sunday, May 22, Foster Kent Kids will host the program “Stand for Teens” at the Wyoming High School cafeteria, 1350 Prairie Parkway SW. The program is from 4 – 6 p.m. and will include panelists such as a foster care youth, adoptive parents and school administration. Through their discussion, the panel will share the lessons, challenges, and rewards of their foster experiences.

On Wednesday, May 25, will be the Zoom program “The Realities of Foster Care.” This one-hour session, which starts at noon, will be led by Rachael Aday, a foster parent recruitment and licensing specialist in Kent County. Aday is known for her passion for providing support and advocacy to relative and community foster homes. She will interview foster parents Josh and Lea Sparks to share their experience in fostering. To register for the zoom program click here.

Both of these programs are free. To register for an event or to learn more about how to foster, individuals can visit www.fosterkentkids.care.

Also to encourage adults to consider fostering, D.A. Blodgett is offering a $245 monthly stipend for each bed made available to a child awaiting a more stable placement. In additional to the monthly stipend, the organization will offer $100 per day when a child is in a home. Along with the payment will be personalized training and support from the organization.

At this time, the organization is seeking volunteers to step up and provide placement for youth ages 12 and older for a few weeks while their next placement is being identified.

D.A. Blodgett also offers a free monthly foster care information meeting, held from 6-7:30pm the second Monday of the month at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s, 804 Leonard Street N.E., Grand Rapids.

Anyone interested in beginning the fostering process can fill out this form: https://dabsj.org/what-we-do/foster-care/getting-started/foster-parent-inquiry

GVSU Charter School Office to provide free professional education programs

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By Nate Hoekstra

GVSU

 

Starting in September, Grand Valley State University will offer free workshops and seminars to any public or private school teachers and personnel in Michigan, opening the possibility of savings on professional development for schools across the state. These learning opportunities will be provided through the university’s Charter Schools Office.

 

“All Michigan educators work hard to help students learn, and they need a place where they can share their results with each other and gain new tactics for success,” said Rob Kimball, associate vice president for charter schools at Grand Valley. “We fully believe in our state’s teachers and school leaders, and we’re stepping up to support them like never before. We know that doing so will help them achieve more for the kids their schools serve.”

 

Grand Valley has been chartering public elementary, middle and high schools since 1995, and this fall Grand Valley’s 78 charter schools will educate approximately 37,000 students. Kimball said the university’s approach to chartering has been based on the belief that a strong partnership between the university and the schools will result in the best learning environment for students. The GVSU CSO professional education offerings are an outgrowth of that partnership.

 

School teams can take part in these workshops free of charge. All workshops will be made available in Grand Rapids and Detroit.

 

“We are seeing recommendations for more high-quality professional learning from Michigan’s business leaders and K–12 advocates,” Kimball said. “At Grand Valley, we’re responding to that call in an innovative way — by offering tested, effective programming to schools and educators across the state.”

 

Kimball said the change demonstrates how the university is thinking differently about the ways it can impact public education.

 

“When we offer free programming, we offer choices. Schools can take advantage of this high-quality programming and use existing funds for other essential purposes,” Kimball said.

 

The Grand Valley Charter Schools Office has ramped up its support for educators over the past decade. During the 2017–2018 school year alone, the Grand Valley CSO provided approximately 6,300 hours of free professional education to charter school teams.

 

While new professional education workshops are being added all the time, past session topics have included:

•     NWEA™

•     Technology Tools and Tricks

•     Synthetic Phonics

•     Google Suite

•     English Language Learners (ELL)

•     Reading and Math RTI

•     Coding in the Classroom

•     Science and STEAM

•     Culture and Climate

•     Improving Student Writing

 

In addition to these public offerings, teachers at schools chartered by GVSU will also have access to enhanced professional education opportunities, including GVSU-only cohort programs and tuition support for master’s degrees offered by the GVSU College of Education.

 

Educators interested in learning more about GVSU’s free professional education programs can visit www.gvsu.edu/cso/learn.

Grand Rapids Public Museum launches new garden workshops in partnership with Urban Roots

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By Christie Bender

Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today, in partnership with Urban Roots, they will offer a series of five urban gardening workshops! Each workshop will offer different gardening information ranging from what to plant, how to harvest and what to make in the kitchen.

 

The first workshop will kick off this series on May 19 with Real Life Gardening 101 to teach what to plant and the best tips for a successful garden. Participants will spend time in the GRPM’s urban garden located outside of the Museum on the bank of the Grand River, as well as be hands on in the Demo Lab of the Museum.

 

The five workshops will be held May 19, June 23, July 28, August 18 and September 8. They will begin at 11 a.m. and last approximately one and a half hours.

 

Workshops are open to 20 participants each month, and are $12 for general public and $4 for Museum members. Tickets include admission into the Museum for the full day and can be purchased at grpm.org.

 

May 19 – Real Life Gardening 101

If you’ve ever considered having a garden but didn’t know where to start, this is a great class for you. Join us as we learn about what having a garden can look like no matter where you live. Participants will learn about how Michigan’s growing season works, how to design a garden that works for them, what to plant when, what to expect throughout the season, and tips & methods for maximizing small spaces.

 

June 23 – Gardening is Supposed to be Fun! Right?!

It’s about to be the best weather of summer! If you have a garden and want to learn how you can keep it thriving (with less work), join this class! Cultivate more time for the beach, camping and fun, and learn about methods to make your garden lower maintenance. Participants will learn about the benefits of mulch, setting up a low cost mechanized irrigation system, trellising, teaming up and more!

 

July 28 – Kids in the Garden! A Family Friendly Workshop

It will be up for debate who likes this class more, your kid or you! Young and older learners alike will come together in the GRPM garden to explore, taste, touch, smell, see, experiment and enjoy being outside connecting to nature and each other.

 

August 18 – Pickling & Fermenting  

This cooking class will be a delight for foodies and nutrition advocates alike! Join us as we learn about tried and true methods of food preservation and the health benefits of consuming naturally probiotic foods. This make-and-take cooking class will be fun, lighthearted, and delicious!

 

September 8 – Garden Salsa & Hot Sauce Making (and Tasting)

Join us as we partake in the best part of growing food, eating! In this class prepare garden fresh salsa, harvested entirely from the garden, and learn how to capture the heat of summer by making fresh red and green hot sauces that will last all winter.

 

West Michigan Design Week kicks off April 9 at the Pyramid Scheme

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By WMDW

 

West Michigan has a long history of design, and it’s becoming an even stronger and more vital part of our community. From graphic design to industrial design, architecture, interior design, packaging design, and UX design, an incredible amount of innovative, world-class work is happening here, and we want the world to know about it!

 

In its second year, West Michigan Design Week is a week-long series of programs aimed to inspire designers from all disciplines and demonstrate the strategic and economic advantages of design thinking to the rest of the community. The hope is that this event will spotlight West Michigan design increasing opportunities for local designers, attracting new ones, and building connections between designers and our cultural, educational and business communities.

Speakers
Mimi Valdés, The Multimedia Maker

 

From April 6-11, a lineup of tours, speakers and workshops is scheduled in the area to showcase what has been accomplished in the region as well as to develop connections in the design industry. Go here for the calendar of events.

 

The Pyramid Scheme, 68 Commerce Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, kicks things off on April 9 with music and good company. Get your 2016 West Michigan Design Week t-shirts screen printed by Ambrose live on stage. Glitter Booth will capture the action.

 

Saturday, April 9th  |  9pm – 2am
9:00 – 10:30 | Tom Engelsman from Scintillate
10:30 – 12:30 | AJPASCHKA
12:30 – 1:30 | AB

 

$8 / 21+
Get tickets here.

 

Sponsors:
Glitter Booth

 

Several design industry organizations have collaborated to make this event possible, including (in alphabetical order):  AIGA West Michigan, American Institute of Architects Grand Rapids,  American Society of Interior Designers and Interaction Design Association, Design West Michigan, Industrial Designers of America, International Interior Design Association, and Kendall College of Art and Design.