Education : Innovation + Job News

John Rumery

Twenty-four hours after using Facebook to announce the opening of A and E School of Performance Art, theater veterans Ed Nelson, 48, and Angela Peavey, 31, were delighted to find "enrollment just snowballed," and they needed to add more classes to meet the demand. 

After a recent reorganization at the institution where they had taught theater together for the last several years, Nelson and Peavey felt the time was right to leverage their experience and "reputations as quality theater instructors" to launch A and E School of Performance Art.

The school will feature instruction in a wide variety of theater arts and will be held at Nelson's home, 117 Freedom in Wyoming, MI, recently remodeled and customized to accommodate performance arts classes.

The first students are scheduled to meet for an hour each week, for five weeks beginning in mid-September.  The current classes, designed for children ages 4-17, will initially focus primarily on song, dance and theater skills, but Peavey wants their school to do more than just have students perform. She plans to "really focus on the educational components of performance arts, character analysis and how to act in front of an camera or audience," believing it makes for a more meaningful theater experience.

Nelson adds that future classes, offered for both children and adults, will be focused on the emerging film industry.

"Auditions for film are completely different than auditioning for theater," says Nelson, whose experience within the film industry includes a role in the cannibal-themed horror movie, Offspring, filmed in Muskegon.  Besides auditioning strategies, Nelson will include instruction on developing a film-ready resume, building a portfolio and acting in front of a camera.

With years of experience in local theater, independent films, radio commercials and performance arts instruction, Nelson and Peavey are confident that the Grand Rapids arts community is vibrant enough to support their new venture.  Peavey also strongly believes that performance arts training has many ancillary benefits.

 "This type of training offers great life skills, such as public speaking, and it can really help build self-confidence," says Peavey.

Prices for the instruction ranges from $30 to $45 per class.  Individual lessons are also available.  Find out more via the A and E Performance Arts Facebook page or by e-mail at AandEperformanceart@gmail.com.  To reach either Nelson or Peavey by phone, dial 616-780-6383.

Sources Ed Nelson and Angela Peavey, A and E Performance Art

John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs editor for RapidGrowth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com.  For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Sharon Hanks

Davenport University is trying to help the unemployed and underemployed launch new careers by giving them a break with tuition costs. The college announced it will discount tuition by 25 percent to students who can show documentation of their work status.

Students qualify for the discount if they can present proof of unemployment, such as a letter or unemployment pay stub. Students who are underemployed qualify for the tuition break if they are currently in a Michigan Works! program and can provide Michigan Works! documentation. The discount is not retroactive and can not be combined with other tuition or scholarship offers.

The Caledonia-based university says it was prompted to offer the discount after funding was exhausted for the Michigan Works! retraining program.

"Funding has dried up for the program so this is our way to extend the training to unemployed people," says Rick Jensen, the university's news information manager. "It starts for Davenport University students in the fall. They can be returning students or existing students. I think the policy will be reviewed after the academic year."

In a press release, Larry Polselli, the university's executive vice president for enrollment and student development, explains his decision to offer the discount. "Current economic environments across the state of Michigan have created challenges for many," he says. "With 14 campuses across the state and programs tied to today's jobs, Davenport University is uniquely positioned to help students by extending this tuition discount when people need it most."

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.

Sharon Hanks

Allegan County trade school students will obtain hands-on experiences with solar construction next fall by building an innovative, first-of-a-kind mini-village of four little houses and a garage fully powered by the sun. Photovoltaic panels will generate energy for the homes while panels on the garage will generate power to recharge an old electric Ford Ranger donated by the Alfred E. Chase Charity Foundation.

More than 80 students at Allegan County Area Career and Technical Education Center (ACATEC) will work on the new project known as REVv -- Renewable Energy Voltage Village -- that will be built on school-owned property next to the Technical Center on M-222 across from Padgham Field.

"It's the first project of its kind for a career and technology center in Michigan," says Linda Blankenship, ACATEC principal. "We're really excited!"

The novel approach is in keeping with the Center's mission to offer students training in skills that reflect the needs of local industries, Blankenship says. After exploring employment opportunities in both wind and solar technology, Robert Karns, the center's renewable energy technology instructor, concluded solar would offer the greatest job growth in the community.

Students will apply their new knowledge by installing and wiring low and moderate voltage systems in little frame houses. Each one-room house will be about 18 feet by 25 and built in different shapes and with various roof pitches.

Construction by building trade students will begin in September while students enrolled in the electrical technology class will conduct outside activities, such as earth resistant measurements, solar and wind site surveys, the analysis of weather conditions and climbing safety techniques.

Karns told school officials the site is ideal for a true-south exposure because it is exposed to nearly a 180 degree sun arc throughout each day.

Source: Linda Blankenship, principal at the Allegan County Area Career and Technical Education Center

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.

Sharon Hanks

First Steps, a collaborative community effort working to support the health and development of children in Kent County, expects to expand its work with help from a $1.3 million grant over the next three years from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek.

Amy Turner-Thole, communications director for First Steps, says the foundation has committed that investment for two programs: Children's Healthcare Access Program, which is making great strides connecting low-income children to quality primary healthcare, and Welcome Home Baby, a new program aimed at helping new parents.

Located at 118 Commerce Ave. SW in downtown Grand Rapids, First Steps is an nonprofit organization founded in 2005 that collaborates with other community stakeholders to develop a stronger system of support services for the health and development of children in Kent County and their families.

"We're grateful to the Kellogg Foundation, as to all of our funders who recognize the importance of investing in young children and the importance of prevention," says Turner-Thole.

Since it started two years ago, the Children's Healthcare Access Program has helped connect low-income Kent County children to quality primary health care. The goal is to improve health outcomes among children - from newborns to 17-year-olds -- on Medicaid while better using existing resources and decreasing costs. This could be transportation to a physician, home-based education or any other number of factors that might hinder access to health care services. About 15,000 children have been served in the program so far but First Steps is hoping to include all children on Medicaid in Kent County. 

Early results show it's working. Visits to the emergency rooms and inpatient hospital admissions have decreased significantly in the first year of the program, Turner-Thole says.

Welcome Home Baby will launch later this summer after First Steps hires a handful of part-time nurses and fulltime social workers, Turner-Thole says. Welcome Home Baby will be offered to all first-time parents and parents 25 and younger in Kent County. It will establish two reliable connections to the parents: an initial visit in the hospital and a home visit from a maternal child nurse. The nurse will educate them about early child development, answer questions a new parent might have, and introduce them to community resources that best meet their needs

Sources: Amy Turner-Thole, Communications Director of First Steps, Grand Rapids

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.

Sharon Hanks

To help its students succeed, Grand Rapids Community College has joined a nationwide initiative that helps pinpoint barriers hindering student achievement and offers proven solutions to overcome those problems.

GRCC will begin participating in a program called Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, an initiative that recognizes community colleges as being in the national forefront of the college completion movement. Through a two-year grant from the Kresge Foundation, GRCC will obtain assistance from Achieving the Dream with the expansion of its data collection and analysis, identification of barriers to student retention and graduation, and the selection and implementation of strategies that help students achieve success.

Mark Champion, information analyst at GRCC's Institutional Research and Planning Department, says the college already measures student progress, such as retention and graduates rates. But Achieving the Dream program will help it to begin this fall tracking the progress of students in a wider variety of "cohorts" or groups of students, including such variables as race, ethnicity, age, gender and socio-economic level. It will also introduce focus groups to determine why some students succeed, while others fall behind.

Once barriers have been identified, GRCC's second year in the program will examine proven solutions to problems, such as outside tutoring, peer tutoring, remedial classes, a "First-Year Experience" class, or help with child care or transportation.

"It allows us to look at strategies that have been developed over the last five years and use what works for that specific group," he says, adding that the process is driven by a "culture of evidence. You don't jump to a solution to a problem you think exists. This is a lifelong process for a college."

Champion says the traditional student -- those young people right out of high school -- is not the norm at GRCC. In fact, only 36 percent of incoming students in the fall of 2004 were first-time college students. Out of that group, only 15 percent of students graduated within three years. Why didn't more graduate?

GRCC hopes to find some answers and gain a better understanding of its retention rate. Only 58 percent of GRCC students return after one year of school. "So what happened to the other 42 percent?" Champion asks. "If we track them as a cohort, we'll know if they dropped out, went to a different college . . . . there are multiple things that could have happened."

GRCC is among 27 community colleges nationwide that will have joined Achieving the Dream this year, an initiative that now includes 130 institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than one million students.

Source: Mark Champion, Grand Rapids Community College information analyst in the Institutional Research and Planning Department

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.

Sharon Hanks

Michigan cherries, apples, asparagus and other state-grown foods are being showcased in Grand Rapids Public Schools' cafeterias this week as it joins school districts statewide in a promotion of Michigan foods.

Amy Klinkoski, Nutrition Services Coordinator for the Grand Rapids Public Schools, says the district has tried to include Michigan-grown produce as part of its menu for the past five years, but this week it's making a special effort to promote the food items and educate students about the value of buying local. 

"Our kids always like to try new things," she says, so food items such as cherry burgers have become "a novel item."

The district serves about 20,000 meals each school day. It joined 400 districts across the state in celebration of Local Foods Week proclaimed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to mark the fifth National Farm-to-Cafeteria Conference held in Detroit this week.

The five-day menu created by West Michigan School Nutrition Services features Traverse City cherries, Battle Creek's Kellogg's Rick Krispie Treats, Warren's Bosco Sticks, farm-fresh Michigan apples and asparagus, and Lowell's Pepper Mill salad dressing. Area schools are encouraged to use the menu as a springboard to discuss state geography and how the economy can improve through better use of local resources.

Source: Amy Klinkoski, Grand Rapids Public Schools

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.