This year marks the 50th anniversary of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires children with disabilities be educated to the “maximum extent possible” with non-disabled students. At Meadow Ridge Elementary School in Rockford, Michigan, a team of educators is doing just that for Ellie Gard, a student with Down syndrome, who learns in a general-ed classroom alongside her second-grade peers. We talk with two of her teachers and her mother about how they work together to make this work.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

These days, school districts are looking for more than a few good teachers, with not enough people entering the teaching pipeline and too many leaving it. The West Michigan Teacher Collaborative aims to flip that script by helping aspiring teachers become certified and current teachers earn graduate degrees and endorsements. Susie Dennis and Angie Drake describe how WMTC has been “life-changing” for them as they pursue their certifications this school year.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

As schools reopen the week of Aug. 18, their leaders lack the answer to a crucial question: How much money will they have to teach students? Political gridlock in the state Legislature and proposed drastic downsizing of education spending by the Trump administration have left major chunks of state and federal funding in limbo. Dan Behm, executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan, breaks down the reasons for the logjam — and what lawmakers and citizens can do about it.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

At the start of the school year, Kent City first-grade teacher Marla Anderson said she was excited to begin her rookie year as a public-school teacher. At the end of the school year, she said she’s excited to begin her second year next fall. After talking with Anderson last September, we caught up with her on the day before school let out to see if she was still happy she went into teaching. The short answer? “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Each week at City High Middle School this year, about two dozen high schoolers gathered to celebrate and learn about Black culture, from music and cooking to history and current issues. But the Black Student Alliance isn’t restricted to Black students; in fact, the majority are not African American. Founding members Elijah Jones and IMara Smith Skyers talk about the group’s ambitious array of activities and the importance of students from all backgrounds to share their cultural diversity.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Q: How early do special-education workers in Kent County begin helping children with special needs? A: From the time they’re born. As part two of our discussion about the possible closure of the U.S. Department of Education and its potential impacts on special education, Study Hall talks with Lindsey VanDyke, a coordinator of Kent ISD’s Early On program serving children from birth until age 3. Serving an average of 3,000 children per year, Early On works with parents to identify their child’s developmental delays or disabilities and refer them to special-ed services that will maximize their educational growth and success in school and life.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

President Trump’s March 20 executive order calling for closure of the U.S. Department of Education has special-education advocates worried about the harmful impact that could have on services for students with disabilities.

In today’s episode, Kirsten Myers, Kent ISD assistant superintendent of student services, and Mark Higgins, special education finance supervisor, explain what special-ed programs provide, how they’re funded and how they could be harmed by dismantling or downsizing the U.S. DOE.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

We’ve all been there: the car won’t start and we don’t know why. That’s where auto mechanics save the day, and that’s what students are learning in Ron Denning’s automotive maintenance and repair class at Grandville High School.

Grandville is one of many districts building their own programs in career and technical education, alongside a Kent ISD effort to double enrollment in CTE programs by 2030. (Read our series on these efforts here.) In this episode, Denning and student Shane Pauuwe talk to host Charles Honey about the benefits and possible careers in auto repair and other CTE fields.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!