Grand Rapids Christian Schools Explained

Grand Rapids Christian Schools is a private, Christian school system located in Kent County, Michigan, serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The majority of its campuses are situated in Grand Rapids with an additional campus in Rockford. The administrative headquarters of the school system is located adjacent to Grand Rapids Christian High School.^[1]

Aaron Winkle is the superintendent of the system.^[2]

Finances

Circa 2004 the school had a debt of about $20 million,^[3] and in 2009 the debt was down to $12.5 million; the school had incurred debt partly due to renovations of the Millbrook school and the construction of the Rockford school. That year Richard DeVos and Helen DeVos gave a donation of $10 million,^[4] and the debt was reduced to $2.5 million.^[3]

Members of the DeVos family have consistently donated to the school system: the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation gave the school system $2,390,000 in the years 1999 through 2014.^[5] In 2013 members of the DeVos family donated a total of over $6.8 million to the school, including $3.2 million from Doug DeVos, $300,000 from Dick DeVos, and $20,400 from Dan DeVos.^[6] In 2017 Erica L. Green of The New York Times wrote "Ms. [Betsy] DeVos is still involved in the school."^[7] She added that Betsy DeVos and her husband Dick "are known to be very generous to Grand Rapids Christian High School".^[8]

Circa 2013 the system faced an increase in enrollment.^[9]

Operations

the school did not use money from tuition to cover debts.^[4]

Demographics

racial groups other than non-Hispanic white make up about a quarter the school system's students. Betsy DeVos stated that the Grand Rapids Christian School student body had more ethnic diversity than that of the public schools in Ada Township, Michigan. About 30% of the student body is eligible for school food service at a lower price and/or at no price at all.

The school system gives financial assistance to about 45% of the students.^[7]

Curriculum

The curriculum includes Christianity-related topics and topics about other religions. Students study both the theory of evolution and Creationism.^[7]

Schools

The following schools are part of the Grand Rapids Christian Schools system.^[10]

• Grand Rapids Christian High School (9-12)
• Grand Rapids Christian Middle School (5-8)
  • In 2013 the middle school had 435 students.^[9] In September 2013 Grand Rapids Christian Schools offered to buy the Shawnee Park Math/Science/Technology Academy building for its middle school for $800,000 from Grand Rapids Public Schools.^[11] The school, which closed in 2013, was perennially underutilized due to an area preference for religious schools.^[12] The district accepted the offer in 2014.^[13] The previous middle school facility, also the Evergreen Campus, was built in 1955. DeJonge stated that using a new building would cost less than renovating the existing space for a middle school purpose, and that the new building has more potential uses. The move of the middle school to the current site was scheduled for 2015.^[9]
• Rockford Christian School (PreK-8) - Rockford
• Christian Elementary Evergreen Campus (PreK-5)
  • The building it occupies was built in 1955. The middle school was previously co-located; it was scheduled to move out in 2015.^[9]
• Christian Elementary Iroquois Campus (PreK-4)

One of the elementary buildings had a cost of $12.5 million.^[4]

The system includes the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Arts and Worship,^[7] within the high school facility.^[14] It was a result of a donation by Richard DeVos circa 1998. Prior to the center's establishment, the high school students attended chapel at multiple churches because they could not fit in the same church building.^[15]

Notable alumni

Multiple members of the DeVos family attended,^[6] including:

• Helen DeVos (Helen Van Wesep)^{[3] [16]}
• Richard DeVos^[3] - graduated from the high school in 1944^[15]

Further reading

• Book: Rode, Kenneth Patrick. An Exploratory Study of the Expressed Attitudes of the Grand Rapids Public School Teachers and the Grand Rapids Christian School Teachers in Six Areas of Professional Human Relations. Michigan State University Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum. 1970. - Snippets at Google Books

External links

• Grand Rapids Christian Schools

Notes and References

1. Web site: Home. Grand Rapids Christian Schools. 2019-11-24. 2400 Plymouth Avenue SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506.
2. News: Meet Aaron Winkle, the New Superintendent of Grand Rapids Christian Schools. MLive. Frick. Melissa. 2024-03-17. 2024-08-13.
3. Web site: Nagengast, Kate. DeVos gift to Grand Rapids Christian Schools relieves debt, puts schools on 'very stable financial ground'. MLive. 2009-03-17. 2019-11-24.
4. Web site: Estep, Darin. Amway co-founder Richard DeVos and wife, Helen, pledge $10 million for Grand Rapids Christian Schools. MLive. 2009-03-17. 2019-11-24.
5. Web site: Rizga, Kristina. Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build "God's Kingdom". Mother Jones. January 2017. 2019-11-24.
6. Web site: Martinez, Shandra. Where Rich DeVos and his family donate millions. MLive. January 2016. 2019-11-24.
7. Web site: Green, Erica L.. To Understand Betsy DeVos's Educational Views, View Her Education. The New York Times. 2017-06-10. 2019-11-24.
8. Web site: Green, Erica L.. The DeVos 'Nice List'. The New York Times. 2017-12-23. 2019-11-24.
9. Web site: Scott, Monica. Grand Rapids Christian Schools families receiving letter about proposal to relocate middle school. MLive. Booth Newspapers. 2013-09-10. 2019-11-24. [...]"Shawnee offers us a variety of opportunities that the existing middle school does not and does it at less of a cost,"[...].
10. Web site: Schools. Grand Rapids Christian Schools. 2019-11-24.
11. Web site: Grand Rapids Christian Schools offers GRPS $800,000 to buy closed elementary. MLive. Booth Newspapers. 2013-09-09. 2019-11-24.
12. Web site: Scott, Monica. What happened to the closed school in your neighborhood?. MLive. Booth Newspapers. August 2017. 2019-11-19.
13. Web site: Grand Rapids Public Schools to sell two closed elementary schools. WZZM. 2014-02-12. 2019-11-24.
14. Web site: Home. DeVos Center for Arts and Worship. 2019-11-24. [...]located on the campus of Grand Rapids Christian High School..
15. Web site: Weakley, Teresa. GR Christian students honor DeVos in Arts & Worship Center . WOOD-TV. 2018-09-14. 2019-11-24.
16. Web site: Remembering Helen DeVos. WWMT. 2017-10-19. 2019-11-24.