Multiple districts — From hosting events that bring people together to helping families find housing and transportation, Kent School Services Network supports students in Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, said Jackee Thompson.
The Lee Middle School KSSN community school coordinator mentioned several ways she and two other KSSN coordinators work in the district.
They operate Dragon’s Den, where students spend golden tickets they’ve earned for good behavior and attendance. They remove barriers so students can improve attendance. They host parent engagement nights. They lead efforts to meet the needs of English-language learners.
While Thomspon spoke, hundreds of people attended the district’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration outside the school. KSSN invited community partners to attend the fiesta — another example of its work.
At Godfrey-Lee, KSSN has also built partnerships with organizations including Grand Valley State University TRIO Programs, TEAM 21, HOPE Gardens, KDL Bookmobile, Family Outreach Center and the Wyoming Police Department, bringing a variety of services and resources to the district.
“I personally can’t think about what it would be like to work here without KSSN,” said Thompson, who has been in the position for six years.
While Thompson presented in Godfrey-Lee, KSSN coordinators presented in three other districts about their work as well as to visitors from across the state and nation.
‘If you’ve seen one community school, you’ve seen one community school.’
— KSSN Director of Operations Shay Kraley
Building a Movement
Several visitors from Michigan Community Schools Coalition, a statewide group of community school practitioners, got a glimpse of how KSSN works during a recent “road trip.” Members of the coalition do work similar to KSSN around the state. The Michigan group is part of the national Coalition for Community Schools.
“We want to have them leaving with practical strategies and insight into how we operate,” said Shay Kraley, KSSN director of operations. “One of the fun mantras of our work is ‘If you’ve seen one community school, you’ve seen one community school.’ We want them to see a diversity of what we do.”
The other purpose of the event, she said, was to connect with more potential partners that are interested in supporting schools.
A community school is a place where students and families can find support. It also is a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources, Kraley said.
“Community school work is national, and the more we are aligned together the stronger the movement is,” she said. “We believe every school should be a community school. The more we can partner together and learn from one another, the better we are all going to be. We feel like kids and families will be better served, the more community schools there are. “
Beginning at the East Kentwood Freshman Campus, visitors broke off into groups and traveled to KSSN partner schools including Alpine Elementary in Kenowa Hills Public Schools, Buchanan Elementary and Sibley Elementary in Grand Rapids Public Schools, and Lee Middle/High School in Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, all of which are diverse schools and communities being reached.
Reaching Across the County
Since 2006, Kent School Services Network has impacted dozens of schools and several districts, linking students and families with resources, building community and identifying needs. It is now in 46 schools and six districts.
According to data from the organization, KSSN served 20,672 students in 2023-24, 77% of whom were economically disadvantaged, 74% students of color and 27% English learners.
KSSN’s work last year resulted in 737 mental health referrals; met 610,729 basic needs; hosted 616 programs and events; made 945 community referrals; made 1,578 attendance, behavior and family interventions; and was served by 7,483 volunteers. The organization leveraged $4.079 million from donations, volunteers and in-kind support.
Ryan Hurley, midwest regional director for the Institute for Educational Leadership, of which the Coalition for Community Schools is a part, participated in the road trip. He said hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals are united in a vision of creating communities “where everyone works together, belongs and thrives.”
Read more:
• Students & grandpas connect through cards, hugs, common languages
• Let’s meet up: twice-weekly gatherings build connections
