External links
- Grand Rapids Public Schools official website
- Grand Rapids Public Schools (grps.k12.mi.us) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
| International | |
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| National | |
| Grand Rapids Public Schools | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
1331 Martin Luther King Dr. SE [1] , Kent , Michigan , 49506United States | |
| District information | |
| Grades | Pre-Kindergarten-12 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Leadriane Roby [2] |
| Schools | 51 [3] |
| Budget | $273,140,000 2021-2022 expenditures [3] |
| NCES District ID | 2616440 [3] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 13,802 (2023-2024) [3] |
| Teachers | 810.71 FTE (2023-2024) [3] |
| Staff | 2,117.27 FTE (2023-2024) [3] |
| Student–teacher ratio | 17.02 [3] |
| Other information | |
| Website | grps |
Grand Rapids Public Schools is a public school district in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [4] By enrollment, it is the eighth largest district in Michigan as of the 2023-2024 school year. [5]
Source: [6]
Grand Rapids Public Schools was created in 1871, when the state legislature passed an act creating the Board of Education of the City of Grand Rapids. According to the act, the boundaries of the district were the same as the boundaries of the City of Grand Rapids. Prior to that time, the City of Grand Rapids had not established one single school district. Rather, the west side was known as the Union School District and the east side of the Grand River was served by two other districts. [7]
In the days following 1871, the matters of the public schools and the matters of the city were much more intertwined than they are today since the school board's budget had to be submitted to the city for approval. In that time, when city boundaries were expanded, school boundaries expanded as well. The Constitution of 1908 [8] prohibited special and local acts, so the city was expanded through annexation until the 1920s when the codified school law became more distinct. In 1962, the law stating that the boundaries for the city and the school district must be the same was repealed. Since then, enlargement of the city has not resulted in the expansion of the boundaries within the Grand Rapids Public Schools school district.
The relationship between GRPS and the city is very different than it was one hundred years ago. The city no longer has any control over the school budget, the district's bonding powers, or its borrowing powers. Currently,[ when? ] the city's basic responsibility is to conduct school elections and to collect school tax after the school board has determined how much tax should be levied. The legislature has continued to require that cities and schools operate separately.
Prior to May 1906, the board of education had twenty-five members. Two of these members were elected from each of the twelve wards of the city, and the Mayor of Grand Rapids served as an ex-officio member. The election process was responsible for the poor location of many schools in Grand Rapids.[ citation needed ] Many schools were located according to a specific ward, rather than according to the needs of the city. In May 1906, the membership of the board was decreased to nine. Each member is now elected by the residents of the city as a whole and serves on the board for a three-year term.
Originally, the board occupied space on the first floor of City Hall, but by 1915 had complete use of the fourth floor of the building. Additional offices were located in the old North Division School at 234 North Division Avenue and the old Junior College Building on Ransom Avenue. The maintenance department was located at 425 West Pleasant Street in the former Pleasant Street School. In June 1920, the Board moved all its offices to the fifth floor of a new addition to the George A. Davis Vocational and Technical High School. This building later transitioned into the West Junior College Building. The new addition was specifically designed to hold these offices. One important factor in construction of the administrative offices was a 1927 City Commission imposed rental fee of $5,000 per year for the use of the space in City Hall. Prior to this time, the space had been rent free. However, the main factor for construction was increased efficiency and a desire to have all administrative personnel at one location.[ citation needed ]
Administratively, the board initially used a dual system of control, where the superintendent of schools and the business manager were each directly responsible to the board. In 1937, the chief engineer also became responsible directly to the board of education; the chief engineer previously reported to the business manager.
On March 2, 1959, the administrative structure was changed so the superintendent of schools was the only employee directly responsible to the board. The business manager was placed under the superintendent of schools, and the Chief Engineer was assigned to report to the business manager.
In 2012 Theresa Weatherall Neall, the superintendent, received the approval from every member of the school board to save over $22.4 million in a five year period by closing ten school buildings. [9]
By the 1850s, there were two union school districts in the city, one on either side of the river. [10] The first Grand Rapids high school on the east side was built in 1859. It was replaced by another building, known as the Old Stone School, in 1867. An additional building was built in 1893. Both buildings were replaced in 1911 by Grand Rapids Central High School, known today as Innovation Central High School. [11]
The west side of Grand Rapids organized a union school district in 1853 and built a wooden school that year. It was replaced two years later by a stone building on the south side of 4th Street NW between Broadway Avenue NW and Turner Avenue NW. [12] [13] The building was replaced by Union High School in 1897 as Grand Rapids' second high school. [14] Union High School was replaced by the current building in September 1967. [15]
South High School opened at 100 Hall St. SE in 1917. President Gerald Ford graduated from the school in 1931. It closed as a high school in 1968 and operated as a junior high school until 1981. As of 2018 it is the Gerald R. Ford Jobs Corps Center, operated by the United States Department of Labor. [16]
When South High School closed at the end of the 1967-1968 school year, its students were bused to other district high schools. About 300 African-American South High students joined Union High School's student body, which was mostly white at the time. In fall 1968, several incidents of racial violence resulted in school closures and arrests at Union. [17] [18] [19] As documented by the editors of the school yearbook, "1968-1969 was a year of change... Union became an integrated school. Unfortunately, this plan was not peacefully settled here... Some students were arrested, some were suspended, and some were hurt. School was dismissed early for Christmas and another round of discussions involving faculty, parents, and students were held. Changes were made: such as stricter enforcement of existing rules, worried parents in the halls patrolling, and the resignation of our principal." [20]
Creston High School was built in 1923. [21] It closed in 2013 and reopened as City High-Middle School that fall. [22]
The first Ottawa Hills High School was built in 1924 at 1050 Iriquois Drive SE. It became Iroquois Middle School when the current Ottawa Hills High School opened in 1975. The building closed in 2005 [23] and was torn down around 2009. [24]
C.A. Frost Environmental Science Middle/High School, an application-based school with a curriculum focused on science, opened in fall 2016 in the former Covell Elementary. [25]
Southwest Middle High School/Academia Bilingüe, a Spanish-language immersion middle/high school, opened in 2020. [26] The architect was TMP Associates. [27]
Source: [28]
GRPS offers a large selection of school choices, including neighborhood, theme, Center of Innovation, special education, and charter. Neighborhood schools provide students with a traditional education. Located throughout the city, these schools are open to all students living within a specific attendance area. Pilot programs in select neighborhood schools are working to improve the connection between neighborhood residents and their local school.[ citation needed ]
Theme schools take the traditional curriculum and apply a theme to create a unique curriculum. Examples of themes available at GRPS include environmental science, arts and music, global studies, leadership, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, and more. In many GRPS theme schools, students also experience place based learning and thematic extracurricular activities. Of the theme schools, four require students to test-in. City High Middle School, one of the test-in schools, consistently ranks as the top performing school in West Michigan. Additionally, it is also ranked among the top schools in the state by U.S. News & World Report , [29] and The Washington Post . [30] By 2017 additional students were enrolling in theme schools. [31]
Centers of Innovation are public-private partnerships that give students opportunities to connect with professional mentors. Furthermore, the Centers of Innovation offer job shadowing and internships, as well as the potential to earn college or trade school credits or career certification to prepare for in-demand careers.[ citation needed ]
GRPS also provides center-based special education services for students from throughout the Kent Intermediate School District (KISD). Students qualify for these services through the IEP team process. Additionally, GRPS has one charter elementary school, Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center. [32] Schools may also offer services for English language learners; "community schools" [33] with social, health, and mental health services; all-day preschool; and all-day kindergarten.
| School | Address | Type | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary Schools (Grades PreK-5) | ||||
| Brookside Elementary | 2505 Madison Ave. SE | Neighborhood | 1954 | |
| Buchanan Elementary | 1775 Buchanan Ave. SW | Neighborhood | ||
| Burton Elementary | 2133 Buchanan Ave. SW | Neighborhood | Also site of Burton Middle School. | |
| Campus Elementary | 710 Benjamin Ave. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| CA Frost Environmental Science Academy Elementary | 1460 Laughlin Dr. NW | Theme | ||
| Cesar E. Chavez Elementary | 1205 César E. Chávez Ave. SW | Neighborhood | ||
| Coit Creative Arts Academy | 617 Coit Ave. NE | Theme | ||
| Congress Elementary | 940 Baldwin St. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| Grand Rapids Montessori Academy | 159 College Ave. NE | Theme | 1918 | Grades PreK-6 |
| Ken-O-Sha Park Elementary | 1353 Van Auken St.SE | Neighborhood | ||
| Kent Hills Elementary | 1445 Emerald Ave. NE | Neighborhood | ||
| Mulick Park Elementary | 1761 Rosewood Ave. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| Palmer Elementary | 309 Palmer St. NE | Neighborhood | 1954 | |
| Ridgemoor Park Montessori School | 2555 Inverness Rd. SE | Montessori | Former Ridgemoor Park Child Development Center [36] | |
| Sibley Elementary | 943 Sibley St. NW | Neighborhood | ||
| Southwest Elementary School - Academia Bilingüe | 801 Oakland Ave. SW | Theme | Grades K-6. Spanish/English immersion program. | |
| K–8 Schools | ||||
| Aberdeen Academy | 928 Aberdeen St. NE | Neighborhood | 1929 | |
| Dickinson Academy | 448 Dickinson St. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| Gerald R. Ford Academic Center | 851 Madison Ave. SE | Theme | ||
| Harrison Park | 1440 Davis Ave. NW | Neighborhood | ||
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Academy | 645 Logan St. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| North Park Montessori | 3375 Cheney Ave. NE | Theme | 1908 | |
| Shawmut Hills | 2550 Burritt St. NW | Neighborhood | ||
| Sherwood Park Global Studies Academy | 3859 Chamberlain Ave. SE | Theme | 1969 | |
| Middle Schools (Grades 6-8) | ||||
| Alger Middle School | 921 Alger St. SE | Neighborhood | ||
| Blandford School | 3143 Milo St. NW | Theme | 6th grade only. Outdoor education program. | |
| Burton Middle School | 2133 Buchanan Ave. SW | Neighborhood | Shares a building with Burton Elementary. | |
| Center for Economicology | 1720 Plainfield Ave. NE | Theme | 6th grade only | |
| Public Museum Middle School | 272 Pearl St. NW | Theme | ||
| Riverside Middle School | 265 Eleanor St. NE | Neighborhood | ||
| Westwood Middle School | 1525 Mount Mercy Dr. NW | Neighborhood | 1960 | |
| Zoo School | 1300 W. Fulton St. | Theme | 6th grade only | |
| High Schools | ||||
| CA Frost Environmental Science Middle High School | 1417 Covell Ave. NW | Theme | Grades 6-12. | |
| City High-Middle School | 1720 Plainfield Ave. NE | Theme | 1923 [37] | Grades 7–12 |
| Grand Rapids Montessori Middle High School | 421 Fountain St NE | Theme | Grades 7-12 | |
| Grand Rapids Public Museum High School | 54 Jefferson Ave. SE | Theme | 2018 | |
| Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy | 512 Division Ave S | Theme | 2008 | Grades 6-12 |
| Innovation Central High School | 421 Fountain St. NE | Theme | 1911 [38] | |
| Ottawa Hills High School | 2055 Rosewood Ave. SE | Neighborhood | 1975 [39] | |
| Southwest Middle High School - Academia Bilingüe | 327 Rumsey Ave. SW | Theme | 2020 [40] | Spanish/English immersion program. Grades 7-12. |
| Union High School | 1800 Tremont Blvd. NW | Neighborhood | 1967 [41] | |
GRPS University, a district training center, is a former campus of City High Middle School, [36] former Northeast Junior High.
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