GVSU Education Programs

Last Tuesday, June 2nd, Story Time kicked off with an incredible turnout of over 1,500 participants! 🎉 Families enjoyed tie-dye, free books, free ice cream, and of course, reading together. 📚🍦✨

Don't miss the fun, stories, and smiles! Bring your family and join tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9th, from 6:30–8:00 PM at Garfield Park for Story Time's FIELD DAY! ⚽🏃‍♀️🎯

We can't wait to see you there! 😊

Pride is about being seen, being celebrated, and being yourself. 🏳️‍🌈
🌈 Celebrate Pride Month with your fellow Lakers this Wednesday, June 3, at Pride by the Pond! Get food, play games and more from 2-4pm at Zumberge Pond.
Come and let's celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community and the joy of Pride Month. 🌈✨

Storytime kicks off TOMORROW! June, 2nd at Garfield Park from 6:30pm to 8:00pm! Join for books, ice cream and tie dye t-shirts! 📖🌈😎🍦T-shirts will be available while supplies last.

Happy Pride Month! 🌈✨ Today we celebrate love, identity, and the courage to show up as your full self. At the Office of Certification & Accreditation, we’re proud to support a community where every learner and educator belongs. What is one word that represents inclusion to you? Drop it in the comments below. Drop a 🌈 in the comments to celebrate with us and help spread the message of inclusion all month long!

Get ready, superheroes… something AMAZING is landing this Tuesday! 🦸‍♀️✨ Storytime in the Park is turning 17, and we’re celebrating with capes, giggles, FREE books 📚 and FREE ice cream🍦for all kids 17 & under! Storytime officially kicks off on Tuesday, June 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and will continue every Tuesday throughout June, July, and August, bringing families together all summer long.

Join us at Garfield Park as we kick off a whole summer of stories. It’ll be warm, so bring your water bottles and don’t forget to enter the raffle 😉

See you this Tuesday for the sweetest Storytime in the Park ever! 🍨✨ Storytime in the Park- Garfield

Tomorrow! Register now for the May 27 professional learning webinar “Teaching Musicality to Orchestra Students” presented by Philip Baldwin: https://bit.ly/MusicalityOrchestra

About the webinar: Students can learn to be proactive and perform more musically if taught to recognize “composer clues.” The session will identify many clues and offer suggestions for implementation during rehearsal. Some of these clues are: basic dynamic shapes, following the line, principals of additive phrasing and accelerated motion, chromatic notes as text painting, seeing the simplified phrase, and repeated pitches and octave displacements. Examples from the standard school orchestra literature will be used to demonstrate these principles.

A special spotlight on these incredible group of teaching interns at Kent Hill🍎📚

Pictured: Chloe Laird, Madeline Mast-Mesing, Neeka Meyer-Beltman, Bennema Garrett and Laken Campbell.

This crew was truly close-knit, supported one another, and brought so much dedication, enthusiasm, and professionalism to their internship experience. They regularly attended staff gatherings and devoted additional time before and after school, which clearly showed their passion for education and commitment to growth.

All the Kent Hill teachers had amazing things to say about each of them, and we are so proud to have been part of their journey. Wishing them all the best in their future classrooms and careers! ✨

As we spend the day with family, friends, and loved ones, we wish our entire student employee community a safe, meaningful, and peaceful Memorial Day. 🇺🇸

✨ What happens when students are invited to help design the future of education? Innovation, creativity and real change. ✨

At the REP4® Detroit Design Blitz at Michigan Central, Detroit high school students stepped into the role of changemakers collaborating, brainstorming and creating solutions to real challenges students face when transitioning to college. 🎓💭

Thanks to Grand Valley’s Impact 30 grant, students from University Prep Art & Design spent the day at the historic Michigan Central, collaborating with GVSU mentors, interviewing college students, and designing real solutions to real challenges. 💡✨

Their insights were powerful: many first‑year college students struggle with loneliness and mental health. So these young designers built prototypes; student‑centered apps, campus resources and on‑campus support groups aimed at making college a more connected, supportive experience. 🤝💙. These students proved that young voices deserve a seat at the table. 💡🤝

REP4® (Rapid Education Prototyping for Change, Learners, Community, Equity) puts students at the center of shaping their own futures. As one student put it, this wasn’t “just schoolwork” , it was a chance to collaborate, create, and build something meaningful together. 🎨🧠

Here’s to the next generation of thinkers, makers, and leaders transforming education from the inside out. 🔧📘💭

For more information, visit: https://www.gvsu.edu/gvnext/2026/imagining-the-future-of-student-led-learning-at-michigan-central-rep4-detroit-design-blitz.htm

GVSU-based START Project celebrates 25 years of enhancing educational equity

Educators from across Michigan gathered at the Lansing Center for the 25th Annual START Conference celebrating 25 years of creating more inclusive, equitable learning experiences for autistic and neurodivergent students. 💙

Since 2001, the START Project (Statewide Autism Resources & Training) has empowered schools, educators, students, and families through collaboration, evidence-based practices, and meaningful support systems across 14 regional networks.

This year’s conference featured inspiring conversations, valuable resources, and a keynote presentation from Dr. Shelley Moore, bringing together professionals dedicated to making every classroom a place where all students can thrive.

Here’s to 25 years of advocacy, collaboration, and educational empowerment and to the many lives impacted along the way! ✨