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WZZM 13 ONLINE
The "collective impact" between schools, including Catholic, Christian, Charter, and Public, is a goal both educators and city officials plan to move toward this year.
GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) -- Mayor George Heartwell enthusiastically asked those attending Saturday's State of the City address, "Are you ready?"
At the core of his address: children, education, and a collective focus between Grand Rapids schools. The theme resonated with community leaders, educators, and attendees of Mayor Heartwell's 9th annual State of the City address.
"It's easy to forget when we look at some of the positive economic indicators around Grand Rapids, that we still have some enormous challenges in this city," said Heartwell. "One of those is the well being of our children."
"We are all a part of one public education system, but we don't talk to each other, we don't share best practices, we don't share support for each other [and] collaborate with each other," said John Helmholdt, spokesperson for Grand Rapids Public Schools. "That's why GRPS is going to be working with the mayor to organize a conference to pull together our schools," added Helmholdt.
The "collective impact" between schools, including Catholic, Christian, Charter, and Public, is a goal both educators and city officials plan to move toward this year.
"It's long overdue, we need to rally our support around children," said Senita Lenear, Pesident of the Grand Rapids Board of Education. "There are so many agencies that have passions for our kids, and we just need to do what's best for our children because we do believe that they are the future," said Lenear.
Mayor Heartwell did address potential a state takeover for failing school districts during his speech, but bypassed the city's financial state and future sustainability. Jobs and unemployment were also not a key focus of Saturday's address.
"When 37 percent of our kids are living in poverty households, 40 percent are dropping out of school before they graduate, something's wrong in the city of Grand Rapids," said Mayor Heartwell. "We've got to address that, if we are going to be the great community that we envision ourselves becoming," added Heartwell.