“Us having a seat at the table really impacts everybody and shows what we think about the rules being implemented. Our voices can impact our community positivity, when used.”
Sani Shema is a senior at Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy. He says attending this year’s KidSpeak forum is a chance for him and his fellow classmates to sound off on issues that are important to them.
“Mainly about what’s going on today just affecting our students: just like the ICE impacts, what our teachers are getting paid, student retention, teacher retention. That’s what really impacts our community.”
Nearly 30 students spoke to 16 state, county and city officials on a broad range of topics including transportation, school funding, and community investment.
Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand was a panelist.
“I often say that politicians spend far too much time being nostalgic, saying, ‘Weren’t the ‘80s great? Let’s do that again!’ So, forward-thinking and being futurists is something we don’t get enough of in politics, and these forums tend to be kind of futuristic. They tend to be forward-looking.”
KidSpeak happens through a partnership between the Michigan’s Children organization, the city of Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Public Schools.
For a weekly dose of news right to your inbox, sign up for the WGVU newsletter.
