Bright Ideas

SEEDS of Traverse City

Kelle Barr Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Northwest Michigan's SEEDS offers a wide range of services -- with an ecological and social justice bent -- including free afterschool programming for kids.

Employment and Job Training, Enrichment Programs, Nutrition & Nutrition Education, School Success

Arts and Community Life in Southwest Detroit

Amy Kuras Monday, May 13, 2013

Southwest Detroit attracts people with its ethnic food options, its early 20th century residential architecture and, increasingly, for innovative learning projects.

Arts & Culture, Education

Brown-Bagging an End to Hunger

Zinta Aistars Sunday, May 05, 2013

From 125 meals in 2003 to today's 5,100, Kids' Food Basket has grown into one of the brightest and most recognizable nonprofits in Grand Rapids.

Food

Kids in Tune

Zinta Aistars Sunday, April 28, 2013

Kids in Tune is about more than teaching Kalamazoo youngsters music. It's about support, nurturing, joy and acquiring life skills through the learning of music skills.

Arts & Culture, Education

Honoring Our Youth: A Starting Point to Success

Marla R. Miller Monday, April 22, 2013

Getting a GED isn't always so easy. Learn how the Honoring Our Youth program at Steepletown Neighborhood Services helps.

Education

A study by CEOs For Cities found that 58 percent of a region's economic health comes from the educational attainment of its residents. How does our region cultivate a culture that properly educates, trains and retains its talent?

Education

Clarkston Jr. High's Digital Blackboard

Patrick Dunn Saturday, April 06, 2013

What do mini laptops, video-streaming pencasts and Charlie Sheen have to do with academics? At Clarkston Junior High School, plenty. Algebra and statistics teacher Jeff Peariso has piloted a high-tech learning program for students, with exciting results.

Enrichment Programs

Girls on the Run Gets Girls Running, Healthy and Happy

Kim North Shine Sunday, March 31, 2013

We all want our kids to have well-balanced, healthy and long lives. One of the keys to that is getting kids physically active and teaching them what to eat. A mid-Michigan program, Girls on the Run is doing that for young girls in Saginaw and Bay counties.

Fitness & Sports

Opinion: School Success for All

Melinda Clynes Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Can we turn dismal statistical projections and empty rhetoric around education into constructive dialog and real cooperation? Vulnerable kids in Michigan and Detroit give us inspiration to try.

Education, Parenting, School Success

Academic Rigor, Commitment Make Cristo Rey Tick

Amy Kuras Saturday, March 16, 2013

This Catholic college prep high school in Southwest Detroit stresses an eight year educational arc -- four at Cristo Rey and four more at the university level -- as its measure of success.

Education, Enrichment Programs

GRIL U Creates Leaders

Heidi Stukkie Monday, March 11, 2013

Teaching young adults how to be strong leaders is the key to transforming communities. A Grand Rapids nonprofit has a proven record for making this happen.

Enrichment Programs

Empowering Our Youth Through Computer Science

Natalie Burg Sunday, March 03, 2013

When MSU identified a lack of qualified computer science applicants, the Information Technology Empowerment Center was created to foster a new generation of IT enthusiasts in Lansing. Here's how ITEC and an array of community partners are making it happen.

Education

Bringing Lessons of the Far East into Midwest Classrooms

Patrick Dunn Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Bill Skilling sees a future dominated by China's economic and political interests. With that in mind, he has become a strong advocate for teaching our kids both Chinese culture and language.

Education

Repairing Detroit Through Restorative Practices

Melinda Clynes Saturday, February 16, 2013

Can using Restorative Practices with students be the key to building community in Detroit? We think the idea has merit.

Enrichment Programs

Museum Encourages Kids to Become Young Entrepreneurs

Deb Pascoe Monday, February 11, 2013

Kids have bright business ideas all the time, but they don’t always follow through with creating an enterprise of their own. A program at the U.P. Children’s Museum helps them do that, with training and help to develop their ideas.

Arts & Culture, Employment and Job Training