Rodney D. Brown to lead Grand Rapids Learning Center

Rodney D. Brown

The Grand Rapids Learning Center, GRCC’s college preparatory high school program in partnership with Grand Rapids Public Schools, welcomes Rodney D. Brown as its new principal.

Brown is entering his 23rd year in education — including seven years teaching political science at GRCC.

He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Santa Clara University in California and a Master of Education from Davenport University.

Brown started with GRPS as a recruiter in 2006 and has served as athletic director, dean of students and, since 2014, as assistant principal at Innovation Central High School.

GRCC In the News, 7-9-18

Education, business leaders push talent

July 6, 2018; Grand Rapids Business Journal

With Michigan’s lack of talent at the forefront of concerns in the business community, the area’s education and business leaders are working to better prepare young people for the workforce.

… Grand Rapids Public Schools and Grand Rapids Community College recently announced another new partnership, which will extend the existing Grand Rapids Learning Center partnership which helps identify a career path or transition to college to better include all students in the city.

Grand Rapids African American Institute: bridging the gap in healthcare professions

July 5, 2018; WGVU

Marcus Jones, a Black American student at Grand Rapids Community College on the Occupational Therapist track was first exposed to the profession when he began working at a Spectrum Health Hospital downtown Grand Rapids.

Pathways to careers: Initiative to improve access for people of color to health care jobs

July 7, 2018; mibiz.com

GRAND RAPIDS — Creating a level playing field for people of color in Michigan who want to pursue careers in the health care sector will lay the foundation for their success and the state’s future economic growth.

… Aquinas College, Calvin College, Davenport University, Ferris State University, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University and Hope College will participate in the study to develop college-specific plans of action to engage students of color in reducing barriers to them choosing to study health care professions.

Restauranteur Roundtable: Grand Rapids restaurant owners struggle with talent, city’s still-developing foodie culture

July 7, 2018; mibiz.com

Talent issues dominate most business discussions these days, and that’s certainly true among entrepreneurs in Grand Rapids restaurant scene.

… How well do the local culinary schools around the region do in training the next generation of workers for your restaurants? Are you recruiting from them?
(Geoff)  GASKIN: (Chef Oscar Moreno) went out and spent a lot of time with the Secchia Institute at GRCC, and we have three that came from there that work at MeXo. I will say, they have stood out a little bit more than the others. Their chef coats a little buttoned up more. … They’re coming out now and describing the food.

45 teams earn MCCAA All-Academic Team Awards

July 1, 2018; mccaa.org

The Michigan Community College Athletic Association is proud to announce that 45 teams have earned MCCAA All-Academic Team honors. To earn the honors a team must have a cumulative grade point average for all members of the team must be 3.00 or higher for both semesters combined.

Mott Community College had six teams (Volleyball, Softball, Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Basketball and Golf) earn All-Academic Team honors. Grand Rapids Community College had five teams. Ancilla College, Lansing Community College, Macomb Community College and Muskegon Community College had four teams each. Softball was the sport with the most All-Academic Teams with 11, while Volleyball had seven teams. Women’s cross country had six teams, while Women’s Basketball has five teams.

Derrick King named Wyoming Lee boys basketball coach

July 5, 2018; MLive

Wyoming — Lee’s boys basketball team won four games last winter, but Derrick King has a plan to get the Rebels on track.

King, who served as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Community College men’s team this past winter, was recently hired to coach the Rebels.

 

Learning Center adds dean of students, counselor

Reedell Homes

The Grand Rapids Learning Center is welcoming two new Grand Rapids Public Schools staff members:

Reedell Homes, the new dean of students, was most recently a GRPS principal and assistant principal. He also was a middle school principal in Muskegon Heights for eight years and superintendent of WayPoint Charter Academy in Muskegon for almost three years. He has a bachelor’s degree in education from Mississippi Valley State University and a master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University.

His office is in 101C Sneden.

 

 

Leah Young

Leah Young, the new Learning Center counselor, has worked for eight years at Central High and Ottawa Hills High schools. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in counseling from Western Michigan University. She is a licensed school counselor and is working on a master’s degree in urban education at Davenport University.

Her office is in room 105 Sneden.

GRCC In the News, 9-6-16

Culinary school ranks among tops in US

Sept. 5, 2016; Grand Rapids Business Journal

A local culinary school is ranked as one of the top programs in the nation.

Best Choice Schools, a website ranking higher education institutions in various categories, ranks the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College No. 30 in its ranking of Top Culinary Schools 2016.

West Michigan organizations win statewide Energy Excellence awards

Sept. 5, 2016; Grand Rapids Business Journal

A pair of organizations in the region have been named winners in a statewide awards program that celebrates energy innovation.

… Habitat for Humanity of Kent County earned the award for its efforts to teach high school students from Grand Rapids Public Schools how to build LEED-certified homes, as well as its partnership with Grand Rapids Community College to run LEED-certified programs on home construction, green remodeling and sustainable residential design.

Detroit Sewn to Expand to Larger Facility in Pontiac

Sept. 2, 2016; dbusiness.com

In an effort to aid its growth, Detroit Sewn, a Pontiac-based, full-service cut and sew manufacturer that assembles products for companies in metro Detroit and beyond, will double the size of its operations by moving to a new, 5,000-square-foot facility early next year.

… Detroit Garment Group offers its programs through Henry Ford College, Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, and St. Clair Community College.

See SAT scores from lowest to highest for Kent, Ottawa schools

Sept. 4, 2016; MLive

For the first time this year, Michigan added the SAT to the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress or M-STEP. It was taken by high school juniors. Michigan students scored an average of 1001 out of a possible 1600 on the college admission exam.

… The Grand Rapids Learning Center is one of Grand Rapids Public Schools’ alternative education programs that’s a partnership with Grand Rapids Community College. Twenty-six students took the SAT in April. The average score was 782.7 out of 1600 (398.1 reading, 384.6 math).

GRCC Music Faculty Recital

September 2016; wherevent.com

… This concert will feature performances by the Grand Rapids Community College music faculty. The program will feature works by Brahms, Hindemith, Copland and others. Admission at the door is $5 general and $3 for students and seniors.

Morning News

Sept. 6, 2016; FOX 17

Don’t forget: We’re teaming up with Grand Rapids Community College to start our Classroom of the Week series again!

Making it in Grand Rapids: Social enterprise fights for a place in the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Aug. 25, 2016; rapidgrowthmedia.com

Malamiah Juice Bar doesn’t just sell juice at the Downtown Market. They also employ teenagers with no prior work experience.

… Among these social entrepreneurs, there are people like Chris Sain Jr., who do a little bit of everything. Sain, author, social entrepreneur and founder of Grand C.I.T.Y. Sports, had plenty of support as a star football player in high school and a walk-on at Michigan State University. But when that career ended and he turned to a new calling as a mentor, educator and social entrepreneur striving to reach kids in impoverished neighborhoods, he quickly learned he didn’t have nearly the same resources or support.

(This article doesn’t mention it, but Chris Sain Jr. is GRCC’s coordinator of retention.)

Daughter motivates Timberwolves lineman Jayson Cummings

Sept. 5, 2016; The Holland Sentinel

Jayson Cummings admits that he’s made some mistakes in his life.

… Cummings was second-team All-State for Ypsilanti Lincoln in 2004, then played a year at Grand Rapids Community College before his career on the gridiron got derailed.

Getting college students ready to vote

Sept. 2, 2016; FOX 47

The elections are only a few months away. To help college students get registered, the Secretary of States Mobile Office will travel 3,000 miles to 18 colleges.

… Grand Rapids Community College

Sept. 26

Bostwick Commons

Glen Oaks volleyball falls to KVCC

Sept. 2, 2016; Three Rivers Commercial-News

CENTREVILLE — The Glen Oaks Community College women’s volleyball program returned to the floor Tuesday and dropped a 25-19, 21-25, 16-25, 18-25 decision at home to Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

… Glen Oaks will host Grand Rapids Community College on Thursday, Sept. 8.

Jewish Theater Grand Rapids presents ‘Brill’

Sept. 6, 2016; WZZM

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – The first production of the Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids 2016-17 season opens this Wednesday.

… Directed by Jason Marlett and starring Leonard Robinson and Madeleine Hagger, Brill will be performed in the intimate “Black Box Theatre” on the second floor of Spectrum Theater, 160 Fountain St. NE, on the GRCC campus in downtown Grand Rapids.

GRCC In the News, 6-27-16

‘A Better Life, a Safe Life, a Good Future’

June 24, 2016; schoolnewsnetwork.org (KISD newsletter)

Grand Rapids Public Schools – GRPS, MI — In a swirling sea of students in red and white caps and gowns who were hugging family members and being photographed, Abdulhadi Aljazaeri stood tall with a beaming smile. In his hand he clutched something precious: a high school diploma.

… Enrolling first at Union High, he took English as a second language classes and studied vocabulary at night. He finished his program at two alternative schools for older students: the Grand Rapids Learning Center, a partnership with Grand Rapids Community College offering online learning; and Southeast Career Pathways, an individualized program with a community-based emphasis.

… Three years later, he can see his future more clearly. He has been accepted at GRCC, where he plans to study nursing while keeping his options open. He sounds up to the challenge.

Police records reveal ‘parting gift’ connected to death outside Spectrum

June 24, 2016; FOX 17

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It was a scary day for police, hospital employees and bystanders in downtown Grand Rapids when a man began shooting outside of the Spectrum ER, killing himself.

Grand Rapids Community College even canceled classes for the rest of the day on June 1. That’s when a man took his own life outside Spectrum Butterworth Hospital’s emergency room. Police said Corbin Armock, 26, died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

GRCC In the News, 8-6-16

Alternative ed students no longer saddled with electives to graduate

Aug. 6, 2015; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Grand Rapids Public Schools doubled the number of alternative education students it was able to graduate in four years after eliminating credits beyond the Michigan Merit Curriculum requirements.

… Alternative education students are in four programs: The Grand Rapids Learning Center, a college preparatory high school completion program in partnership with Grand Rapids Community College, Southeast Career Pathways and programs through Bethany Christian Services and at the Kent County Correctional Facility.

… “This is very heartening and I know it comes from an approach of deep responsibility and care for the outcome of these students,” said school board member Wendy Falb, who said she was appreciative of GRCC’s partnership and how they are helping students transition into higher education after receiving their diploma.