Our Vision: Quality Education for All Children

Encore

Child Welfare

Education Reform

Community Resources

Grand Rapids Community Foundation awards approximately 30 percent of its grant funds to education programs—$2,300,000 in 2007-2008. Programs to improve academic achievement receive more grant dollars than any other area the Community Foundation supports.

Making quality education accessible to all children is not as simple as getting kids into a classroom each day. As many structures students rely on—a secure home, fresh food and parents with a reliable job—become casualties of Michigan’s economy, supporting students and schools is a priority. For many kids, school is the one thing they can count on.

The Community Foundation's Education Strategies

For more than a decade, the Community Foundation has collaborated with other entities to improve schools in the City of Grand Rapids. Together we’ve forged a clear strategy. To be academically successful, every child needs:

Good social supports
Good schools and good classrooms
Good growth and learning opportunities
Good opportunities to attend college

How the Foundation Will Measure Success

These strategies create an environment in which children are academically, physically and emotionally prepared to learn, grow and succeed. We’ll know we’ve accomplished these strategies when:

Ninety percent of students are graduating from high school.
Ninety percent of high school graduates go on to at least two years of post-secondary education and/or training.
Grand Rapids Public School students are at parity with other Michigan students in core testing subjects.

STRATEGY 1: Good Social Supports

A child’s home environment provides the foundation for learning. Ideally, children come to school physically and mentally prepared to learn and motivated to do their best.

The Community Foundation helped develop and provides funding for many programs that promote good social supports and I would like to highlight one of those programs that is one of the most critical if not THE most critical program developed in a long time!

The Kent School Services Network (KSSN) locates human and health services in schools where families and students have access without barriers. Six schools in three districts have KSSN staff helping students be more successful. More schools are being added and what we are finding is that suspensions are declining and parents are more involved. This collaboration is the finest I have ever witnessed in my career. It involves nonprofit organizations, county government departments, the Kent Intermediate School District, school personnel as well as many funders.

STRATEGY 2: Good Growth and Learning Opportunities

Learning isn’t limited to the classroom. Broadened horizons; opportunities to create and discover; seeing new and different perspectives; interacting with diverse populations and environments: these experiences shape and mold young minds, stimulate creativity and increase the desire to learn. The Community Foundation supports programs that expand young people’s opportunities.

For example, this summer the Youth Enrichment Scholarship program (YES!) is providing experiences for 86 children who otherwise might not have this chance. When a child enters YES! in 4th grade, he or she is matched with a mentor and is awarded $400 per summer for five years. YES! kids pursue interests—such as music, computers, animal-related careers, outdoor adventures—in day programs and overnight camps. Mentors support and advise YES! kids and their parents. After high school graduation, YES! students receive $1,500 a year for college or vocational training.

STRATEGY 3: Good Schools and Good Classrooms

Excellent schools and excellent teaching have always been cornerstones of student success. The Community Foundation rewards good work in local schools through two programs.

Meijer Good Schools for Grand Rapids, developed by the Community Foundation, rewards elementary schools in the City of Grand Rapids for good performance. Launched in 2007 with funding from The Meijer Foundation and a gift from Bank of America, the program builds support for local schools. Selected schools receive monetary incentives ($25,000 to $75,000 per school) for meeting rigorous criteria that evaluates student achievement, attendance, leadership and educational vitality, data-driven decision making, rigorous curriculum and instruction, community partnerships, student supports and school culture.

Good Classrooms for Grand Rapids—formerly known as the Excellence in Education Program—awards an average of $117,000 a year in grants to individual teachers or teams. Since 1987 public, Catholic and Christian school teachers in Grand Rapids have used $1.3 million in Good Classroom grants for:

new projects or programs
enhancing or expanding programs or units within the curriculum framework
student awards, special events and parent involvement programs
professional development, experts-in-residence and technology

STRATEGY 4: Good Opportunity to Attend College

The path to college is difficult for many students. Skyrocketing college costs are one of many roadblocks for students and families. Each year the Community Foundation awards approximately $500,000 in scholarships to Kent County residents. The scholarships meet needs for a wide range—high achievers and those at risk, students with special circumstances and people with specific career aspirations. Noteworthy are four new scholarship funds that were established this year and designed by donors to specifically target Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) students. These new funds provided an extra $7,000 to GRPS grads. The total scholarship awards to GRPS seniors this year is $52,550 (an increase of nearly $20,000) over last year.

Want to Learn More?

If you are interested in learning more about Community Foundation education programs, please contact Cris Kooyer or Ruth Bishop at 616.454.1751. You may also visit goodschoolsforgr.org.

If you are interested in helping students in Grand Rapids through a philanthropic gift, please contact any development staff member at 616.454.1751.