The United Way is partnering with Grand Rapids Public Schools to improve English and literacy skills among parents at Harrison Park Elementary School.

The announcement kicked off Monday night’s GRPS board meeting.  Parents at Harrison Park will meet for two-hour English As A Second Language (ESL) courses twice a week.

It’s a pilot program expected to start in January.

“The data is very cleary that families who read together can help children significantly boost their vocabulary and school performance,” Literacy Center of West Michigan Executive Director Susan Ledy said in a statement.

The district also announced it exceeded its United Way fund-raising goal by $13,000. GRPS raised $103,000 for the campaign.

That money in a way comes back to GRPS, particularly in the form of Schools of Hope, a massive tutoring program also led by the United Way. Schools of Hope gives first- through third-graders access to an in-school tutor at a total cost of roughly $90,000 per year.

A motion to eliminate Grand Rapids Public Schools teacher jobs in the middle of the school year failed Monday night.

Here’s how the board voted:

Kenneth Hoskins - YES
Amy McGlynn - YES
Tony Baker - NO
Harry Campbell - NO
Jane Gietzen - NO
Lisa Hinkel - YES
Catherine Mueller - YES
David Allen, Arnie Smithalexander - ABSENT

GRPS also announced a new United Way program to help parents at one elementary school with their English and other literacy skills.

photo of Josiah Tummel, courtesy Zeeland Public Schools

A seventh-grader from Zeeland has achieved something no other student around the nation has: his essay is the only American entry featured in a United Nations booklet called “Peace Messages from Around the World.” (more…)

The relatively new superintendent of the public school system in the nation’s capital has made a radical offer to teachers: give up tenure and I’ll double your pay.

Her basic premise? Tenure protects bad teachers by making it more difficult for districts to fire them.

Washington Superintendent Michelle Rhee’s plan isn’t brand new. It has been featured in Newsweek. I caught a report on it yesterday on ABC World News Sunday and this morning, Rhee’s ideas were featured in the Grand Rapids Press, which just published a series on tenure issues in West Michigan. (more…)

Award Winning Actress Cicely Tyson will narrate GVSU documentary about migration to Muskegon. Best known for her roles in “Roots”, “The Rosa Parks Story”, “Fried Green Tomatoes”, double Emmy Award winning role in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), and her Academy Award nominated role for Best Actress in the movie “Sounder” (1972)…. Cicely Tyson will narrate the Grand Valley State University documentary, “Up From the Bottoms: African American Migration to Muskegon, Michigan”.

(more…)

U.S. Sen Carl Levin (D) was first elected to his current post in 1978. State Rep. Jack Hoogendyk (R) is trying to unseat him this year. The first of two debates between the two begins 7 p.m. tonight on the downtown Grand Rapids campus of Grand Valley State University.

Look for live blogging at http://twitter.com/tonytagliavia.

Looks like Hollywood is coming to a Howell School… apparently producers hope William H. Macy will join the cast… the deal means thousands of dollars for the school district, but the subject matter has at least one parent concerned

CLOSED SCHOOL OPEN FOR MOVIE MAKERS

Last week, word coming from Howell Public Schools that they reached a deal and the school board approved to lease a school - Parker High School that has been closed for months - for the filming of a medium-budget/ independent movie called “High School”.

Parallel Media of Studio City, California is the production company making the movie.

Filming of the $9.5 million budget movie could begin in late October… and is expected to last three months.

The Livingston Community News reports: “The Howell School District estimates its budget will get a revenue boost of about $120,000 from the film production company that will spend three months creating a movie in the district’s unused Parker High School…. the district will receive $15,000 a week for the 12 weeks the production company will use the facility.”

Parker High School was built after voters approved a 2003 bond issue but was used for just the 2007-2008 school year and closed because the district couldn’t afford to run both it and Howell High School.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

You may remember a deal that fell through for Grand Rapids (more…)

“CHERRY” SET TO BEGIN FILMING IN KALAMAZOO LATER THIS MONTH

Independent Film will also be a learning experience for Kalamazoo College and WMU students

We’re learning this week that principle photography for “Cherry”, a feature-length movie will be filmed on the campuses of Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, with other scenes filmed at various locations around Kalamazoo.

Filming is set to begin later this month and go for about 24 days.

MICHIGAN TAX INCENTIVES ATTRACTED THE PROJECT

According to a press release, the movie’s writer and director Jeffrey Fine says “We were attracted to Michigan because of the new tax incentives offered to filmmakers.   Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University provide the perfect combination of picture postcard looks and high-tech facilities that our script requires. Plus, educators and local officials have been very supportive of our production goals.”

WEST MICHIGAN COLLEGE STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN PRODUCTION

The release says Students from Kalamazoo College and WMU will fill roles in front of and behind the camera during the filming of “Cherry”.

Fine says “We intend to (more…)