Education

A multi-million dollar grant will help address youth violence in Muskegon area schools through a grant focusing on mental health support.

The United States Department of Education has awarded 20 education systems with grant dollars aimed at preventing youth violence. The Muskegon Intermediate School District is one of them receiving $4.5 million dollars. It will use the money for strengthening its Project Safe: A MYalliance Collaborative focusing on positive behaviors improving social, emotional and behavioral skills.

After nearly a decade, Bodies Revealed is coming back to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. School News Network caught up with a group of sixth graders who recently got a preview of what can be seen.

When an 11-year old got her hands on a human brain, she had a lot to say about it. Things like, “It’s cool, but it’s kind of gross” and “It’s smaller than I thought”. Another classmate lifted a liver, which was pretty heavy and not very healthy. Both are artifacts from the upcoming Bodies Revealed exhibition which returns to the Grand Rapids Public Museum this fall.

Sparta Area Schools’ youngest students sometimes need a little direction when it comes to knowing the rules of school, including what’s allowed on the big, yellow school bus. The district has a program for helping students feel comfortable and know expectations all day long.

School is back in session and with all the lessons yet to be learned, first the youngest need to learn simply how to do school.

Sparta Ridgeview Elementary, like many others, uses the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports method to encourage good behavior in all aspects of the school day.

Godwin Heights elementary students are cultivating fruits, herbs and veggies for their families in a new school garden, thanks to a partnership with local non-profit, Hope Gardens.

Between the corridors of West Godwin Elementary is a courtyard area. Last spring, it was all pavement and grass. Now, it’s brimming with sunflowers, zucchini, watermelons, carrots, and cucumbers.

The garden is a collaboration between West Godwin’s TEAM 21 after school program and HOPE Gardens, a Wyoming-based nonprofit that teaches students in grades K through 12 sustainable ways to grow food.

In the future, new jobs will emerge and changing – and in some cases – be eliminated due to new technologies. Grand Valley State University president, Dr. Philomena Mantella, explained how higher education must evolve and meet the demand during Thursday morning’s Peter Secchia Breakfast Lecture.

“We expect students to come in at 18-years old and at 22-years old they leave and they’re set for a lifetime of change. It’s not going to work in the future that we have ahead.”

A recent state-wide poll indicates Michigan voters prefer any road funding budget not come at the expense of education and teacher retirement pensions.

As Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the state legislature negotiate increasing road and bridge repair funding, a survey by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA indicates 77 percent of Michigan voters say it’s important teachers and their retirement pensions be protected from any budget deal.

Parents and students are preparing for the start of the school year. For most families it begins by purchasing new school supplies and backpacks. For low-income families it can be a financial burden.

In Newaygo County, Fremont-based nonprofit TrueNorth Community Services and its partners Fremont Area Community Foundation and Gerber Foundation confront rural poverty head-on.