Tag Archives: Wyoming Junior High School

Eyeing needs at junior high, Wyoming Public Schools seek district voter approval of ‘no property tax increase’ bond

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Wyoming Public Schools graphic of changes planned for the junior high building. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

In November 2017, Wyoming Public Schools district voters approved a bond proposal which transformed Wyoming High School, and accomplished much needed modernization of other schools and district buildings.

Wyoming Public Schools high school building classroom after the 2017 bond funded improvements. (Supplied)

With those priority projects done, or set to be done this summer, the district is looking at more needed district infrastructure work, especially at Wyoming Junior High School, and not just needed upgrades but again “transforming” the educational setting for district students.

To do that, the district is seeking a bond renewal on the May 3, 2022, ballot which would allow it to gain additional funds while having no property tax increase over the current rate for district residents.

(District property tax payers could actually see a decrease in total property tax with passage May 3 of the City of Wyoming’s Proposals 1 & 2, which are the city’s proposed income tax and millage reduction proposals for funding of the Wyoming’s Police, Fire and Parks & Recreation Departments.)

Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra. (Supplied)

“If approved, the current (WPS bonding renewal) proposal would provide an additional $24.9 million for comprehensive renovations and the partial reconstruction of Wyoming Junior High School, a facility that has not seen major structural improvements in nearly forty-three years,” Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra said district informational material on the bond proposal. “And just like in 2017, if passed, this proposal will not raise the property tax rate above the current rate. The current millage rate (which has remained the same since 2016 and is currently lower than 14 of 20 Kent County school districts) would be extended into the future.”

The 2017 bond, according to Superintendent Hoekstra, “paved the way to remodel and reconstruct outdated buildings throughout the District; bring them up to code; and improve security, air quality, and technology.”

But with funds set aside from the 2017 bond approval, the district could only lightly renovate portions of the junior high.

“Having experienced the successful transformation of the High School, the District is asking the community to consider improvements to the Junior High as extensive as those made at Wyoming High School,” Hoekstra said.

 

Wyoming Public Schools photos of some of the problems with the junior high building. (Supplied)

Renovations and improvements to the junior high to be funded by the bond renewal include, according the district, modern learning environments, new furniture, and integrated technology; adequate lab spaces and equipment; improved air quality; replacement of failing building systems (such as roofing, plumbing, and electrical) to become energy efficient and meet modern building codes; and site improvements to traffic flow, aging parking lots, and athletic facilities.

To learn more about the 2022 bond proposal, and to see images of the work completed to date with funds from the 2017 bond, visit wyomingps2022.com.

According to ballot information from the Kent County Elections Office, the estimated millage that will be levied for the proposed bonds in 2023, is 0.94 ($0.94 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a 0 mill net increase over the prior year’s levy.

How and when to vote on the bond renewal

All registered voters can either vote in person on Election Day or send in an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots became available March 19, and must be returned by May 3 at 8 p.m. You can request an absentee ballot by contacting the City Clerk’s Office online or by phone.

In-person voting will take place on May 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the polling location designated by the city. You will need to bring your voter ID.

If you’re not registered to vote, you have a few options to become registered to vote in this election: By mail on or before April 18; online at michigan.gov/vote on or before April 18; in person at the City of Wyoming City Clerk’s office through May 3.

Wyoming junior high moves to remote learning for rest of week due to COVID-19 positive

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Wyoming Junior High will be closed to students for the remainder of the week due to a COVID-19 positive test result. (Wyoming Public Schools)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra announced today, Oct. 20, that students and staff at Wyoming Junior High will move to remote learning for contract tracing after receiving notification from the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) of a positive COVID-19 test result.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the district was notified by the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) that an individual at the junior high had received a positive COVID-19 test result.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in collaboration with the Kent County Health Department, it has been determined that closing the building will give the KCHD the necessary time to complete contract tracing and contact any staff and/or student(s) that may have come in contact with those who have tested positive,” according to the statement. “This will also allow us to slow any potential community spread.”

The move to remote learning will begin immediately, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and run through at least Friday, Oct. 23.

“The District will work alongside the KCHD to assess the reopening of Wyoming Junior High the following week,” according to the statement. “An update will be provided to all Wyoming Junior High families on Friday, October 23rd. During the closure, the District will thoroughly clean and disinfect the school building while staff and students are not present.”

Other WPS school buildings except Gladiola elementary — which is currently also in a remote-learning status due to positive COVID-19 testing — will remain open for in-person learning.

The district statement also “urges all WPS staff and students who experience symptoms or who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested and self-quarantine. Parents are encouraged to monitor their children for the onset of any symptoms related to COVID-19. If there is any change in your child’s health, please contact your medical provider.”

The KCHD offers free COVID-19 screenings at multiple sites via appointment or walk-in. More information on sites and appointments is available online here or by calling 616-632-7200.

The district also “urges all of our students, staff and families to comply with the CDC guidelines to avoid further spread of COVID-19 in our community.”

Wyoming Junior High families were reminded to check their email and ParentVue accounts for additional updates.

More information on Wyoming Public Schools is available at wyominggps.org.

School News Network: Area schools use Dungeons & Dragons as a teaching tool

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Social studies teacher Brent VanEnk has built the game with students over four years. (School News Network)

Wyoming: ‘You sneak them into learning

Discover how Wyoming Junior High School teacher Brent VanEnk sneaks students into learning with a virtual reality game he developed. In a Dungeons & Dragons-esque fashion, the game takes the students through the start of humanity and ends between 1400 – 1500. Want to play along? Well then click here for more.

Teacher Bryce Pulley with Paul Shannon, left, and Eire’hon Payton-Moore. (School News Network)

Kelloggsville: ‘Thinking about my world and deciding how to make it’

More Dungeons & Dragons coming as we head over to Kelloggsville Middle School where first-year teacher Bryce Pulley uses the software Inkarnate to help students learn more about geography. D&D players have used the software to create the intricate and detailed maps the game demands. How does Pulley use this software? Well X marks the spot to learn more. 

Damone’t Johnson and Cacia Mitchell play their violas. (School News Network)

Kentwood: Musicians take on anything but classical

Just because they wear formal attire when entering into a concert venue does not mean East Kentwood High School’s Anything But Classical Orchestra is your typical musical performance group. In other words, be prepared to — at minimal toe tap and at maximum dance — along. Click here to read more.

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

School News Network: Onsite clinicians explained mental health services at middle schools

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Principals and nurses are reporting that students are talking about more anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and stressful situations at home. (School News Network)

By Erin Albanese
School News Network

Outpatient therapist Ashtyn Storms is stationed at Wyoming Junior High School, offering onsite mental health support to the diverse, 1,000-student body.

On staff at Cherry Health Health Services for four-and-a-half years, Storms has experience working with adolescents facing myriad issues that can weigh heavily on their minds. She is offering professional counseling services students otherwise may have to leave school for.

“I think sometimes it’s just availability,” said Storms, about how her presence helps students in need of immediate services. She started working at the seventh through ninth grade building in mid-September. 

“It’s being there 40 hours a week during their school day,” she said. “A lot can happen in the course of the school day. You might start off the day wonderful, and then something happens by lunchtime and your day isn’t so wonderful anymore. I think just knowing there is someone in the building you can go to if you need something is huge.”

Ashtyn Storms is on site full-time at Wyoming Junior High School. (School News Network.)

Storms’ position is possible through a two-year state grant from the Michigan Department of Mental Health and Human Services, allocated through a partnership with Cherry Health Services for licensed, master’s level behavioral health providers. Wyoming Public Schools received $100,000 of the grant to hire the clinician. Statewide, 60 schools are sharing the $5 million grant. 

“We felt that a lot of students in those teenage years were seeing increases in anxiety, depression and mental-health needs. We felt it was an excellent place to provide intervention for kids,” said Jason Maas, Wyoming Public Schools director of student services.

Grand Rapids Public Schools was allocated $300,000 from the grant to pay for three mental health staff members. The funds are being split evenly between Alger Middle School, Riverside Middle and City High School, said Kim Baron, a registered nurse and director of school health services. In October, two of the clinicians had been hired.

Needs are significant, Baron said. “In middle school and high school, our principals and nurses are reporting more anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and stressful situations that kids are talking about at home.”

 

According to statistics from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five children ages 13 to 18 have or will have a serious mental illness. Also, suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24.

Baron said the clinicians offer a direct way to help students.

“What we know about middle schoolers is they are trying to figure out who they are, and they are struggling with identity issues,” she said. “If we can give those students some tools to better handle their different struggles with depression, anxiety, hopelessness, social situations, whatever they are struggling with at home at a younger age, maybe we can prevent their mental health issues from getting worse before they get into high school.”

On-site, Immediate Response

Storms provides another layer of support to Wyoming’s district-wide staff of counselors, social workers, psychologists, student advocates and staff from Kent School Services Network, which provides connections to outside community resources in their buildings. 

“We do believe we have good support for our kids, but this is an opportunity to bring in someone who does clinical or therapeutic work with kids,” Maas said of hiring Storms.

Having clinicians onsite removes barriers, Baron said. “With a lot of urban school districts, families struggle with transportation and getting these kids to appointments.” 

“It’s really hard to focus on your algebra when the anxiety of the trauma you’ve experienced is dominating your thoughts. This will give students tools so they can be successful,” Maas added.

GRPS has relied on its nursing staff– 21 district wide– and school academic counselors to field mental health issues and concerns.

“We are hoping these therapists will be able to provide some staff training, too,” Baron said. “We have an amazing team of nurses who are really good at addressing mental illness, but I think if our teachers and other support staff were given more tools to address mental health needs of students, then students would feel more supported.”- Sponsorship –

School News Network: Science unplugged

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Seventh-grader Nemi Pino works on her group’s windmill.

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Jason Bunker likes the idea of living off the grid: hunting,  relying on the land and harnessing wind energy.

 

“I would like not being on a game 24/7, not being inside, actually living how people used to and not having everything handed to you,” he said. “If something ever does happen – if there’s no power or something – you would know how to live and survive.”

 

Kalani Stowe agreed, envisioning perhaps bubbling brooks, chirping birds and a turning windmill. “I like listening to the sound of nature.”

 

But Samantha Gross said an unplugged lifestyle is just not for her. “I would never… I want an actual refrigerator. I like cold water.” Added Reagan Passino, “I want my phone, technology.”

 

Wyoming Junior High seventh-graders recently worked in groups and presented plans, just in case their parents decide a self-sufficient lifestyle is the way to go.

 

With a limited budget and resources, they devised windmills, water wheels and generators – methods to keep the lights on without hooking up to an external energy source.

 

Included in their presentations about the devices and how they work were concepts such as electrical force, hydroelectricity, energy transfer, potential energy and kinetic energy.

 

Nemi Pinos said using electricity isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. “You have to put a lot of effort into these things,” she said. “You have to organize, think through it, and find out what materials and resources you need to make a windmill work.”

 

On top of that, one must be careful to not impact animal habitats or neighbors, Nemi said.

 

A New Approach to Science

 

The students, in teachers Michelle McSorley, Amy Dunn and Kristi Vugteveen’s science classes, were completing a unit within the MiSTAR curriculum, which is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, a set of teaching guidelines for kindergarten through 12th-graders outlined in “A Framework for K-12 Science Education.”

 

 

NGSS tasks students to redesign, rebuild and tweak projects as many times as it takes, and to explore open-ended questions. Wyoming Junior High started using the MiSTAR curriculum as a pilot program last school year.

The approach challenges students to think deeply, McSorley said. It’s taught sans textbook, relying on Chromebooks, notebooks and experimentation through hands-on projects. Vocabulary is taught by embedding it in discussion, but not as a list of definitions to memorize.

 

Students are completing projects around thermal energy and the life cycle of building materials, too. They’ve made an electromagnet, and also visited a skateboard park to explore how to get a skater to go higher and faster.

 

“It’s a different way of thinking. The thing that frustrates most kids is that I don’t answer their questions,” McSorley said. That can be very annoying. They have to figure it out.”

 

They are learning a few other life skills too, she said, referring to the off-the-grid project with a laugh.

 

“They are learning why their parents tell them to turn off the lights.”

 

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

 

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School News Network: Free meals for all means no more lunch-money worries, or breakfast either

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Carlos Mejia and Sophia Johnson chat over lunch

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Districtwide, all students are receiving free breakfast and lunch this school year, and they say it’s a big benefit to families.

 

“It’s helpful because a lot of people don’t have a lot of money and they have to use money for other things,” said Wyoming Junior High School ninth-grader Carlos Mejia as he ate a healthy lunch of leafy-green salad and fresh fruit. Around him, in the cafeteria, students noshed pizza, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese and submarine sandwiches.

 

“Now, my parents don’t have to worry about paying for me,” said ninth-grader Hayde Rodriguez.

 

Joining Grand Rapids and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, approximately 4,400 students at Wyoming’s four elementary schools, the fifth- and sixth-grade Intermediate School, the junior high and Wyoming High School now have the opportunity to eat school meals at no charge. Also, Godwin Heights Public Schools, which has already offered free breakfast and lunch for kindergarten through eighth-grade students, is expanding free meals to all high schoolers.

 

Mike Slager, Wyoming and Godwin Heights food service director, said Wyoming has become eligible through the Community Eligibility Provision of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. CEP allows schools with a high percentage of low-income familie to provide all meals free without collecting household school meal applications.

 

Food service workers Cheri Arend and Debbie Sheick serve up lunches, now free for all students

Feeding Hungry Students

 

“I anticipate we will serve more children,” Slager said. “It erases any sort of a stigma that kids who are eating lunch in the cafeteria are the free-lunch kids. Clearly it is going to enable folks to have more disposable income.”

 

About 73 percent of students districtwide qualified for free or reduced-price lunch last school year. According to 2018 data, Wyoming Public Schools served 52,417 breakfasts schoolwide, of which 36,140 were free and 5,016 were at a reduced price. The district served 62,805 lunches, 45,242 of them free and 6,669 reduced.

 

Full-priced lunches were $2.75 for fifth- through 12th-grade students and $2.25 for kindergartners through fourth-graders. Reduced lunches were 40 cents. Breakfast was already free for kindergarten through ninth-grade students and $1.50 for high schoolers.

 

Principal Jon Blackburn said some families who did not qualify for free or reduced lunch were right on the cusp of qualifying. Also, students would run out of money in their school meal accounts and not reload it.

 

“This will have a huge impact,” Blackburn said. “Some families were so excited. … It is nice to know every kid will have access to a lunch.”

 

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

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School News Network: She collects books, and lets students choose them

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By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

English teacher Katie Sluiter’s Wyoming Junior High classroom is a testament to the power of words, in the books eighth-graders eagerly grab from her library and in the writing she did to get those 1,000 popular works onto her shelves.

 

Through blogging and writing for an educational website, Sluiter connects with fellow teachers worldwide. Five years ago, feeling inspired after attending a workshop led by renowned educator Penny Kittle, she posted to her blog, Sluiter Nation, about a transformation she envisioned.

 

Maddy Roosa has learned to like reading because she has many books to choose from.

“I have this new dream that I want to change my classroom from making kids read books that either they don’t care about, they don’t relate to or they can’t even read because they are below grade level, into a place where kids are reading voraciously,” she wrote.

 

Sluiter created an Amazon Wish List of popular Young Adult books so people could donate to her classroom. She was intent on morphing her library, which contained titles like “Moby Dick” (“No kid is going to check out ‘Moby Dick'”), into a sought-after collection of titles and genres.

 

“Books started coming in like crazy from all over the world,” Sluiter said. “I went from 104 lame books to a few hundred higher-interest books in a matter of months.”

 

It opened up a new world of reading to her students — and a new world of teaching to Sluiter.

 

“Creating the classroom library is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done as a teacher. It definitely brings joy to my students and obviously to me,” said the 15-year Wyoming Public Schools educator.

 

She recently presented on several topics and led a roundtable discussion on creating choice with a curriculum in place at the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English, in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Matching Teens with Books

As Sluiter’s classroom library grew by way of continued donations, a grant and Sluiter’s second job writing for The Educator’s Room, she enhanced her teaching to include strategies students respond to with enthusiasm.

 

They are given ample time to read books of their choice in class; they form book clubs; they listen to “Tuesdaaaay…Book Talks!,” during which Sluiter introduces popular new books with quick summaries. Her students have even gone Book Speed Dating, checking out an array of books quickly, circling yes, no or maybe, junior high-style, on paper, to decide which books are perfect matches.

 

Those matches are sometimes just what a student needs, she said. She’s seen students find books they can relate to because they are finally reading about their culture or shared experiences, or they learn about people different from them and developing new perspectives.

 

Sluiter recently brought in a brand new stack of 60 books, sorted according to genre. After class, students lined up to check them out, eager to get their hands on new fantasies, historical fiction, teen dramas and thrillers.

 

Eighth-grader Maddy Roosa checked out “Speak,” by Laurie Halse Anderson. “I’m a lot more interest in reading now,” Maddy said. “I usually don’t like books, but the Tuesday Book Talks make them more interesting.” “A Child Called ‘It’,” by Dave Pelzer, is her favorite read so far this year.

 

Sluiter’s overarching mission is to help students succeed in school and life, and to reach even reluctant readers, like Maddy.

 

“If we value reading we need to give our kids time to read,” Sluiter said. “All the research says that reading and becoming better readers is the key to success in high school, college, career.

 

“The more you read and the better reader you are is really the measure of where you are going to go.”

 

To help students at every level including special education, Sluiter has graphic novels and audiobooks for listening to while reading.

 

A Buffet of Choices

Once Sluiter saw the effect of choice reading on her classroom, she realized an even larger potential. “I started meshing the idea of choice and writing with choice in reading. What if my classroom was a big choice fest?”

 

Since then, students have been given freedom to choose writing topics while still meeting eighth-grade English standards.

 

Student Sadie Duron said she loves the freedom, while knowing “we still learn what we need to learn.”

 

“I really love it because not everybody likes the same topics,” Sadie said. “Everybody gets to choose what they want to read and the topic. I feel like I’ve been writing more. After I read a good book I want to write about it.”

 

Wyoming Junior High teachers say Sluiter’s enthusiasm and creativity have caught on.

 

“Katie Sluiter creates such excitement about books and reading that I’ve had a student of mine ask to go check out a book she had in her classroom library,” said eighth-grade English teacher Shantel VanderGalien. “She is a wonderful teaching partner and I love to brainstorm with her about creative ideas we can incorporate into our curriculum.”

 

Eighth-grade teacher Melissa Janz said Sluiter connects with students who have great difficulty reading and writing.

 

“She does such a great job with developing a love of reading even with our most reluctant readers,” Janz said. “She is always ready to learn and try various reading strategies in the classroom that would possibly reach the students who might not ‘get it’ the traditional way.”

 

A sampling of books in Katie Sluiter’s classroom

 

Reading Inspires Writing

Sluiter has seen stronger readers become stronger writers, and she sees the impact of sharing her own hopes, dreams and vulnerabilities in writing. When she started blogging in 2007, she soon identified as a “mom blogger.” Now a mother of three, she wrote about parenting issues and personal struggles, including pregnancy loss and postpartum depression.

 

Over the years, she stretched her focus to include education in writing for fellow teachers.

 

“I started writing quite a bit more openly about myself, and realized my process for writing was very similar to what I could be teaching my students. That’s about when I started writing along with my students and showing them a little more of my vulnerable side as a writer. It got much better writing out of them.”

 

She also was inspired to write about her craft and how she works to meet the needs of her students. “I really enjoyed writing about my job, what I do here, and what goes on in my classroom — the stuff that fills my heart and why I love education even though it’s hard.”

 

A full heart and full bookshelves: Sluiter shares both with her students every day, proving again and again that the power of words can help fill and refill both.

 

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

School News Network: When Monsters Call and Teachers Read, Students Listen

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Teacher Shantel VanderGalien reads a passage from that cracks up some of her eighth-graders

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

The shared love of a book was on display in English teacher Shantel VanderGalien’s eighth-grade honors class as she read aloud from “A Monster Calls.” Creating a monster voice with a plummy British accent, VanderGalien revealed her theatrical side.

 

The young teens, seated in a circle around VanderGalien, interjected with observations like “foreshadowing!” and “simile!” as they listened closely to the narrative.

 

VanderGalien is devoting about 15 minutes of class time for several days over the next few weeks to read the award-winning book, written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, to her Wyoming Junior High School students. Riveted, they recently reacted to a chapter-ending cliffhanger at the end of class as if it was /// torture to stop. “Ahhh! No!” they cried, realizing they would have to wait until the next day to know what happened next.

 

“Everybody likes to be read to,” VanderGalien said.

 

VanderGalien’s class is among more than 2 million students in 25,000 locations throughout the world signed up for Global Read Aloud, a project started in 2010 with the goal of using one book to connect the world. The premise is to read a book aloud to children during a six-week period and make as many global connections, via online tools, as possible, sharing the book and thoughts. This year, middle school groups had three books to choose from, including “A Monster Calls” — a novel that’s hard to keep on the shelves, VanderGalien said.

 

“What I wasn’t able to anticipate is the depth of my students’ love for the story,” she said. “Every single time I stop reading, they are like, ‘What! You can’t stop there!'”

 

Global Rad Aloud connects students around the world through the share loved of books, like “A Monster Calls,”

Picture This

VanderGalien, a 14-year-teacher, said she’s learned over the years why students of all ages connect so well with being read to. It’s made her realize the need to teach vocal inflection and pauses in connection with dialogue and punctuation.

 

“Students say, ‘I can’t see it in my head when I read, but when you read to me, I can see it,'” she said. “More of how I teach grammar is now embedded in us investigating the reading.”

 

Students said they enjoy VanderGalien’s dramatic reading.

 

“I can see it a lot better when she reads it because she does all the voices,” said eighth-grader Aubray Palma. “She is pretty much like a little kid. How she talks like the monster does, that’s what I see in my head.”

 

Neveah Morofsky said she loves the raspy, scary voice of the monster and the imagination involved.

 

“I’m a really big reader,” the eighth-grader said. “I read a lot, but it’s a lot of fun having Mrs. VanderGalien read to us. We are thinking of getting her an alphabet rug like we had in kindergarten.

 

“I really like her reading to us because she does all the voices. She has a lot of fun with it and so do we.”

 

“We get to learn together as more of a class,” added student Logan Boukma. “For us to be read to, we can understand it better. (VanderGalien) uses cool accents to make it more enjoyable and relatable.”

 

Another goal is challenging students to summarize, determine themes, analyze texts and complete other required standards using “A Monster Calls.” Students will also use the book in argumentative writing.

 

A Global Book Club

Global Read Aloud also has a big-picture piece involving universal themes. VanderGalien is hoping great conversations result in connecting online with students in different parts of the world through platforms like Write About.com, Flipogram.com and Google Classroom.

 

“I really emphasize having a voice in global citizenship. When they start evaluating the themes in the novel and seeing that people halfway around the world are getting the same messages, that’s when global themes become more concrete.”

 

Students said they look forward to hearing what other students think of the book.

 

“Everybody gets a different experience from the book and we can talk about it and see where everyone is coming from,” Neveah said.

 

“They say you should put yourself in other people’s shoes,” Aubray said. “We get to do that and experience what other people think.”

 

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

Students sit in a circle to listen the teacher Shantel VanderGalien read

 

School News Network: Six area teachers seek National Board Certification

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From left to right, teachers Heather Gauck, Cheryl Corpus, Luke Wilcox, Tracy Horodyski, Dave Stuart, Shantel VanderGalien and Christina Gilbert celebrate National Board Certification completion

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Big names in teaching in Kent County – Michigan Teachers of the Year for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 – have joined forces to share the best ways to engage students and get them to achieve at high levels.

 

A cohort of 12 teachers, including six from Kent County and six from the metro-Detroit area, met over the past year to achieve National Board Certification, recently submitting their work, which is similar to a Ph.D. thesis, for final consideration. Certification results will be available in early December.

 

Kent County teachers, who met at Kent ISD, are:

  • Luke Wilcox, math teacher at East Kentwood High School and 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year
  • Dave Stuart, history and English teacher at Cedar Springs High School and 2017-2018 Michigan Teacher of the Year finalist
  • Chris Painter, math teacher at Cedar Springs High School
  • Tracy Horodyski, reading interventionist and instructional coach at Zinser Elementary School and 2016-2017 Michigan Teacher of the Year from Kenowa Hills Public Schools
  • Heather Gauck, special education teacher at Harrison Park Elementary School in Grand Rapids Public Schools
  • Shantel VanderGalien, English teacher at Wyoming Junior High

 

The teachers received scholarships from the Michigan Department of Education to pursue the 25-year-old certification in partnership with the Michigan National Board Certified Teachers Network. National Board Certified teachers are under-represented in Kent County, and getting more of them certified is part of an effort to help Michigan become a Top 10 education state in 10 years, said Cheryl Corpus, an NBCT consultant for the Michigan organization and a National Board Certified teacher in English as a New Language. To date, more than 112,000 teachers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have achieved National Board Certification.

 

Certification a Plus for Students

The credential is considered a hallmark of accomplishment across the state and nationally, Corpus said. The certification process involves teachers learning from each other, reflecting and sharing practices and promoting high standards. Together, they watch videos of each other’s teaching and reflect on evidence of effective instruction. The process was facilitated by Corpus and Christina Gilbert, a Godfrey Elementary School teacher who is National Board Certified.

 

Historically, National Board Certified teachers outperform their non-certified peers in improving student achievement, Corpus said.

 

“When teachers come together and reflect on their instruction, students and practices, it’s one of the most powerful and meaningful professional learning opportunities in our career,” Corpus said. “It’s that culture of reflection, problem-solving and becoming lifelong learners.”

 

Teachers said they have improved their practice as a result, becoming more deeply in tune with their students.

 

“I have gained so much from the process,” Vandergalien said. “I had to record lessons to submit and that was such a valuable tool. I really enjoyed being able to capture excellent conversation and activities occurring in my classroom, and then being able to share that with colleagues.”

 

Horodyski said the focus on helping each other continually improve teaching for the sake of learners inevitably results in improved results.

 

“This type of shared learning experience empowers educators, and empowered educators equal empowered students,” she said. “There’s a ripple effect that influences beyond what will ever be known to us.”

Wilcox said the National Board has very clear definitions of what it means to be a master teacher, and he has that in mind as he embarks on his year as Michigan Teacher of the Year.

 

” I am now very familiar with the qualities and actions that make teachers great, and I will use this framework to guide my work,” Wilcox said. “I will encourage other great teachers to consider going after this certification in order to push them forward.”

 

Candidates will now become ambassadors for the Michigan Department of Education, working as teacher leaders in their field.

 

“It has improved my teaching by getting me to open up to my students about why I do the things I’m doing in the classroom, and verbalizing it to them so that they can understand it,” VanderGalien said. “I think that helps them to buy into the process of what is going on in the classroom.

 

“They also appreciate the fact that I am working hard to be the best teacher I can be for them.”

It may have been warm, but WinterFest was a success

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , , , , , ,

Students participate in basketball at Wyoming Junior High School. (WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

The weather was unseasonably warm for Wyoming’s first WinterFest, making organizers a little nervous as to whether residents would visit the seven sites hosting activities.

Those worries were put to rest as by 9:30 a.m. the Wyoming Junior High School already was hopping with students and adults getting in some hoops in the gym, visiting booths in the halls, and snagging some breakfast and partaking in the cake walk game in the cafeteria. By 10:30 a.m., greeters estimated that they had gone through about half of its 300 bracelets that each of the seven locations received to help count participants.

Students participate at one of the WinterFest booths. (WKTV)

“We are celebrating the success of the first One Wyoming WinterFest,” said Rachel Verwys, one of the event organizers. “Through the seven locations, we believe we connected with about 1,400 people through Wyoming for a fun-filled event that connected residents to one another and to community resources.”

Put together by the One Wyoming Community Collaborative, which is made up of a collaboration of school, businesses, government, churches, nonprofits and residents to improve the quality of life in the community, the Wyoming WinterFest was considered the next step in working to bring residents, community leaders and business owners together to start the dialog of what they can do to improve their neighborhood, according to Jon Shaker, the marketing director for the salvation army Kroc center, one of the sponsors for the event.

“This is really nice for the community,” said Marilee Taken, from Beverly Reformed Church, located just down the street from Wyoming Junior High School. The church was handing out mugs, shirts, and popcorn. “It is such a wonderful idea to bring the community together for something fun and a great opportunity to meet your neighbors.”

Having grown up in the area of the Wyoming Junior High School, Elevation Church Pastor Chris Hall said he was thrilled at the opportunity to bring community members together to enjoy some fun activities – Hall’s church was providing the basketball games – and fellowship.

The vendor hall at the Wyoming Junior High School. (WKTV)

Even before the actual event, the planning process brought together more than 40 partners, businesses, nonprofits, churches, the city residents and schools, Verwys said. The idea was to have various locations opened within the city to bring the residents and organizations from that neighborhood together to start their own dialog on what they could improve their neighborhood, Shaner said. Along with the Wyoming Junior High School, The DOCK/The PIER, Vanguard Charter Academy, Calvary Church, Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center, Community Church (Godwin Heights), and Grace Bible College all participated in the Wyoming Winterfest, which was Feb. 18. Locations were open at various times with each location offering food and an arrange of activities.

Many had planned winter activities. Hall said at the Wyoming Junior High School, there had been plans to have snow sculpting, but it was changed to fun with bubbles. “We just go with the flow,” Hall said.

As to whether the warmer weather helped the event, Verwys said she was not certain, but it certainly did not impede residents from attending.

“Another goal we accomplished was the connectivity to local community resources like health care organizations such as Metro Health Hospital, the library, KSSN, and the Girl Scouts,” she said. “The service volunteers provided at each location was amazing, WinterFest provided an avenue for about 350 people to serve generating well over 1,000 hours of service.”

With the Wyoming WinterFest deemed a success, One Wyoming is back at work planning future community-wide collaborations. Verwys said up next is a community-wide Earth Day event set for April 22.