Education

After 33 years in front of a Kenowa Hills Central Elementary classroom, a retiring teacher shares her thoughts on how to bring more people into the profession and improve schooling for the students they serve.

For Kris Weller, it wasn’t about the big events or recognitions. It was the small moments…making meaningful connections and building relationships with students…that made her a more effective teacher.

She offered these thoughts from her decades of experience:

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded two West Michigan organizations with grants supporting educational programming. Nearly 1,600 organizations submitted Art Works applications to the National Endowment for the Arts. Of the 977 grants awarded, only two West Michigan-based institutions received a portion of the $80 million Arts Endowment.

Grand Rapids Board of Education has hired an interim superintendent as its search for a fulltime district leader continues.

Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal’s last day on the job is July 1st. The search to replace her has been extended after the Grand Rapids Board of Education decided neither of the two finalists for the job, were a good fit for the district. As the nationwide search continues, the board moved forward Monday with a special work session appointing an interim superintendent.

Global warming is a burning issue for many young people, including local students who recently heard from – and performed for – climate-change activist and former EPA official Mustafa Santiago Ali.

Kalil Adams loves hip-hop, but he never really connected it to global warming until he met Mustafa Santiago Ali.

The low unemployment rate has exposed the need for developing skilled professionals in a number of industries and aviation is one of them. School News Network visits Kent Career Tech Center where students have an interest in flight.

Kent County high school students who attend the aviation programs at the Kent Career Tech Center are getting a head start on their aviation careers by learning the fundamentals of aircraft maintenance and electronics.

Teachers in Sparta, Northview, Kentwood and Wyoming are participating in a pilot science program that ties Next Generation Science Standard-aligned lessons with lessons in math and literacy.

For many third graders, the year began grappling with big questions like “Why do I see so many squirrels, but can’t find any Stegosauruses?”

Students looked for both, then tried to figure out why the squirrel survived and the dino didn’t. Adaptations of ankle bones, tails and diets seemed to make all the difference.

A new documentary explores a topic many teens can relate to, but many more don’t often talk about….anxiety.

Anxiety is one of the most common psychological complaints in the world, according to the World Health Organization. And teenagers are no stranger to it. A free film and conversation about anxiety and raising awareness around it takes place on Thursday, May 2nd at 6pm on the campus of Kent ISD.