When you think of education funding, you might think about supporting curriculum and teacher training, or capital requests for technology and equipment to facilitate the learning environment. However, we know it takes so much more to develop relevant, safe, and welcoming environments that provide students with access to opportunities and experiences where they can engage together and build relationships centered on belonging.
Over the past year, we’ve supported several school-based programs that speak to the social-emotional needs of students both broadly and individually, creating a continuum of supports to meet their changing needs and provide them the tools to manage their emotions and seek help when needed. For young learners, we’ve supported Gilda’s Club’s Tough Stuff, which provides 3rd and 5th grade students in Grand Rapids Public Schools with strategies and tools to navigate their emotional needs and build classroom communities to support each other during difficult times. Arbor Circle’s Community-Centered Circles of Support brings mental health supports to students and their families where they naturally are, in school, in home and in community, to ensure access to mental health support is not a barrier to wellbeing. Safe Haven’s Safe and Thriving Godfrey-Lee pilot seeks to prevent school-based violence among teens through programming for both youth and school administrators to ensure teens have the coping skills and strategies they need to deal with difficult situations, and adults have the needed insights and supports to create safe and supportive environments when intervention is needed. Similarly, MSU Extension’s Teen and Youth Mental Health First Aid trains students, teachers, and school staff to identify mental health challenges in themselves and peers and understand how to seek support from caring adults and mental health professionals when needs arise. We’ve partnered with Samaritas through its Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Extended Model, which makes mental health services more readily available by utilizing physicians to oversee allied health professionals to deliver mental health consultations, expanding the pool of practitioners in our community for those with more complex needs.
To support students’ physical health needs, Catherine’s Health Center, Health Net of West Michigan and Streams have partnered to provide an onside health clinic and resource navigation services to students and families at Kentwood’s Crossroads Alternative High School. The partners help students navigate community-based resources to support social determinants of health, addressing needs as they arise to remove barriers that might otherwise prevent them from completing their education.
We have continued to invest in highly curated arts exploration for students through programs like Grand Rapids Symphony’s Artist in Residence Program, which provides in-school activities, and concert experiences for pre-k-6th graders across Kent County. Grand Rapids Ballet’s Dance Immersion program introduces technical components of dance through in-school sessions and makes connections to classroom curricula, with visits to GRB to see firsthand the life of a dancer. Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s City Wide Drama Club provides after-school theatre arts classes and reduced tuition to GRCT’s School of Theatre Arts classes and camps, providing exposure to burgeoning actors across the city to ensure that our local theatre is reflective of the rich diversity of our community.
We’ve supported hands-on, school-based experiential learning through programs such as STEM Greenhouse’s STEM Scholars 2.0, a wraparound STEM program embedded at Innovation Central High School designed to develop a climate of STEM inclusion and a culture of high academic standards and college expectations for all students. In addition to supports for students, STEM Greenhouse staff provide professional development for teachers to help them with lesson plans and to deliver advanced math and science curriculum. Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Immerse Program provides training for teachers and curated curriculum support to teach them how to use the Museum as their classroom for an entire week. Athens Renaissance School’s STEAM Studios provide opportunities for virtual students in grades 6-12 to engage in STEAM learning during their school day, providing opportunities to connect with their peers while increasing math and science achievement and developing lifelong skills they can utilize beyond graduation. Limestone County Board of Education’s College and Career Hub provides hands-on construction experience for high school students to learn commercial trades and collaboration skills on a simulated jobsite, providing pathways to high wage-earning jobs after graduation.
At the systems-level, we’re supporting projects aimed at creating positive school culture, such as the West Michigan Leadership Academy, which grows leadership capacity of principals and school leaders through collaborative learning sessions to advance equity and anti-racist practice in local schools and districts. Leading Educators’ Equity in Literacy Fellowship is a community of practice around equitable literacy instruction, providing teachers with professional learning to create empowering learning spaces where students see themselves and can learn from others through literature. Michigan State University’s Restorative Practice (RP) Research Practice Partnership seeks to understand the effectiveness of RP implementation in Kent County districts to ensure the framework is used to fidelity, maintaining positive school climates, and reducing exclusionary discipline practices which have historically disproportionately impacted students of color. Kent School Services Network is deploying Community School Coordinators in districts to curate opportunities and connect families with resources to support immediate needs while advocating for systems-level changes to ensure all students in Kent County have what they need to thrive.
Schools are trusted spaces for students and families, but many already have a lot on their plates. We support partnerships between community-based organizations and schools that are customized to ensure programming is timely, culturally relevant, accessible for students and families, and most of all easy to manage for teachers and administrators. Click on the individual stories to learn more about these exciting school-based programs.
