We’ve all been there: the car won’t start and we don’t know why. That’s where auto mechanics save the day, and that’s what students are learning in Ron Denning’s automotive maintenance and repair class at Grandville High School.

Grandville is one of many districts building their own programs in career and technical education, alongside a Kent ISD effort to double enrollment in CTE programs by 2030. (Read our series on these efforts here.) In this episode, Denning and student Shane Pauuwe talk to host Charles Honey about the benefits and possible careers in auto repair and other CTE fields.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Brianna Vasquez de Pereira, a Kent School Services Network coordinator in Kentwood, discusses the questions and fears of immigrant families about President Trump’s deportation plans. (Note: This podcast was recorded prior to President Trump’s inauguration and his order removing schools as sites protected from apprehensions by federal deportation agents.)

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

As parents and educators grapple with the ongoing problem of gun violence in schools, ensuring safe storage of guns at home has become a prime focus of averting tragic shootings by young people. Eunice Benavidez, a social worker for Kelloggsville Public Schools, has launched a district-supported initiative to educate parents about safe gun storage in compliance with Michigan law. A volunteer for the Be SMART gun safety organization, she helps parents obtain gun locks and spreads the word that shootings are the leading cause of death for children and teens. We talk with Benavidez to see how well the initiative is going since its implementation earlier this year.

Be SMART offers free community presentations about secure firearm storage. To request a presentation in Kent County, email BeSmartGrandRapids@gmail.com. Elsewhere in Michigan, email BeSmartMichigan@gmail.com.

If you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying! Check out all the podcast episodes below.

For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!