Black Colleges and Universities Tour Experience

The Grand Rapids Times
4-11-2008

This group of students and chaperones left Grand Rapids, Sunday, April 6, 2008 for the 19th Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Tour Experience. Their week-long tour will include stops at Howard, Hampton, Virginia Union, Bowie State and Virginia State Universities. The trip is designed to encourage students to achieve academically and to further their education after high school. Among the cultural and historical highlights of the 2008 tour experience are the Gettysburg Battlefield and a performance at the Toby Dinner Theater.

CRC Report: City Failing To Hire At Workforce Diversity

The Grand Rapids Times
4-11-2008

Grand Rapids – The City is failing in efforts to hire a diverse workforce and to be more inclusive in doing business with people of color, according to a report made to Grand Rapids City Commissioners at a recent meeting of The Committee of the Whole.

Community Relations Chair, Dave Medema, directed his remarks to a top priority for 2008: Hiring and acquisitions that increase diversity and inclusion.

In a phone interview with The Grand Rapids Times, Medema said that Proposal 2 has had a devastating impact on the City’s efforts to be more inclusive in the hiring process and in contracting with vendors.

“This is not to say that white contractors are discriminating against minorities and women; but to note that it is easy to continue to do business as usual and not include people that you are not familiar with,” he said.

[Click here for a copy of his prepared comments addressing increasing the City’s workforce and City contracting policies or read more in the print edition of the Grand Rapids Times or click here to log in if you have a subscription or want to buy a subscription]

Day In Court

Students in Mrs. Denise Keil,’s Government and Law at GRPS Southeast Career Pathway Alternative School, received permission from the Honorable Judge Logan to spend some class time in his court. Judge Logan and Officer Will Smith, bailiff from the Kent County Sheriff Department, gave the students very useful input on things they should focus on to succeed and avoid the pitfalls that will get them on the other side of the gallery. After the two-hour session, staff and students from SECP presented Judge Benjamin Logan with two appreciation awards for his tireless support of their school.

GRPS MEAP Scores Improve
Math, ELA, Science Scores Show Progress At Every Grade Level,
Challenges Ahead In Writing, Social Studies

Leaders at the Grand Rapids Public Schools are optimistic following the results of the 2007 MEAP scores for grades 3-8 in reading, writing, English Language Arts (ELA), math, science and social studies.

Overall, the numbers show the majority of students tested maintained or improved MEAP scores at all grade levels, on all subjects, with the exception of 7th grade reading.

“I want to commend the students and our teachers for the hard work that went into preparing for the MEAP,” said Dr. Bernard Taylor, Jr. “While we are pleased with the progress we are seeing, one-size-fits-all testing will never truly capture the remarkable progress and great work of our students and teachers.”

[read more in the print edition of the Grand Rapids Times or click here to log in if you have a subscription or want to buy a subscription]

Ward Connerly Loses In Oklahoma

The Grand Rapids Times
4-11-2008

Detroit – By painting Ward Connerly’s anti-affirmative initiatives as fraudulent, a coalition of his opposition has forced the Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative (OCRI) to withdraw its petition to place an anti-affirmative action referendum on the Oklahoma ballot in 2008.

The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), the national organization that has led the fight against Ward Connerly, and All Working to Keep and Achieve Equality (AWAKE), an organization that led the fight against Connerly’s fraud in Oklahoma led the challenge.

[read more in the print edition of the Grand Rapids Times or click here to log in if you have a subscription or want to buy a subscription]

Page 8 of the Grand Rapids Times Print Edition

[Click Here to download Page 8 from the Grand Rapids Times Print Edition as a PDF]

Page 9 of the Grand Rapids Times Print Edition

Winning Essay Nets Computer for Local Student

Elite Karate & Fitness Shaping Bodies, Mind, Character

[Click Here to download Page 8 from the Grand Rapids Times Print Edition as a PDF]

What are your thoughts about this?

[Click Here to respond to this letter on the Community Forum]

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