Features

Whitefish Township Community Schools in Paradise, Michigan, found that hosting a greenhouse on school grounds serves as a hands-on teaching tool for reinforcing academic principals, social awareness and wellness.

Small moments: a touch, a smile, a shared glance. If these were physical objects, the floors at Woodland Developmental Center would be covered in them. They are, however, mostly invisible and always fleeting. The LINK program at Woodland brings students together to overcome obstacles and get to know each other through sharing these small moments.

Cindy Pineda is the superintendent and K-12 administrator for Boyne Falls Public School and Nate Bates is the chef. Together, they work to serve fresh and local ingredients through their food service program for breakfasts and lunches.

Not unlike many others in the month of January, school board members all over the state of Michigan begin to think about and plan those school New Year's resolutions they hope to accomplish in 2017.

Eating healthy food from local farmers across Michigan better prepares students to learn as it creates good lifelong habits.   

As a result of a $7 million estate gift made to the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, the Buchanan Promise Scholarship was established, offering students a place-based alternative to the usual merit-based scholarships.  

Lindsay Gonska has been an elementary school teacher at Ferndale Public Schools for the last five years. She found a way to feed her students even after they leave school.

Many of us take things like walking into a store or having a meal at a restaurant for granted. But for people with mobility issues these ordinary tasks can become quite complicated.

"All I want to do is dance." Long before Ke'Ron "Rainbow" Pugh committed that statement to paper, it was written on his heart.

There is no doubt that combating hunger in our communities is a real need, and some school districts, like Ishpeming, are finding a way to help students in need. 

J.B. Meeuwenberg has been a college success math instructor at Muskegon Community College for over eight years. But it was his time spent volunteering outside of school that got the community to take notice.

Every day teachers, secretaries, janitors and other school personnel go above and beyond their job description to support students and the community. These stories demonstrate the value school professionals provide students across the state. 

During his teaching career, Brian Langley challenged students to take ownership for their own education and learning, an approach that took him all the way to the White House.

At Grayling High School, a group of students and staff are making a difference every day by collecting food for a pantry in their own building – helping the students that need it most.

Sara Syswerda is on a mission to help students gain more of an interest in science by engaging students in hands-on discovery versus memorization and testing.