Brittany Hauk, kindergarten teacher at Godfrey-Lee Elementary, is grateful for her shopping assistant, 1 ½-year-old daughter Josephine
Kent County — Hundreds of teachers have received an average of $750 in school supplies thanks to nonprofit The StoreHouse, 4411 Plainfield Ave. NE in Grand Rapids, which runs a resource store for teachers.
Started by Jessica Johns, a former teacher, membership is available to schools that have 70% or more students qualified to receive free or reduced lunch. Full-time teaching staff members at schools can shop for classroom products once a school year. In addition, school administrators gain access to bulk building-related supplies.
Jessica Johns, StoreHouse co-founder and executive director started The StoreHouse to meet the needs of schools, teachers and students
L to R: Tricia Nelson, a second-grade teacher at Ridge Park Charter Academy, shares a story and a laugh with Katie Sluiter, eighth-grade English teacher at Wyoming Junior High
Teachers shop for items that include color-coding labels, Sharpie pens, glue and crayons
Jessica Priem, a Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood STEAM teacher, shops for optical illusion books for her students
Barb Koza, kindergarten readiness teacher at Huntington Woods in Wyoming Public Schools, starts her shopping with ‘Meet the Wellie Wishers’
Kelly Sleighter, kindergarten teacher at Gerald R. Ford Academic Center in Grand Rapids Public Schools, chooses pencils for her students
Backpacks are a popular item teachers give to their students
Rebecca Toohey, Ridge Park sixth-grade teacher, peruses a book
L to R: Ridge Park teachers Dustin Rehn, a fifth-grade teacher, and his wife, Amy Brumwell, an art teacher, load their car with lots supplies for their students
Stacy Grasman, a special education teacher at Burton Elementary in Grand Rapids Public Schools, has fun picking out creative pens for her class
Left: Ridge Park seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Bethany Dallas looks through books for her students
Dianne Carroll Burdick has worked as a photojournalist in the West Michigan area since 1991. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she has photographed for The Grand Rapids Press, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Detroit Free Press, Advance Newspapers, Grand Rapids Magazine, BLUE Magazine and On-the-Town Magazine. She has been covering the many exciting and thought provoking stories of K-12 public education for School News Network since 2016.
Twins Christian and Xander both have big plans for the future, yet you won’t find them working together. We recently spoke with the pair about their (very individual) dreams and how their school is helping them get there.
