Article by Van Andel Institute for Education

Van Andel Institute for Education (VAI) is committed to creating classrooms where curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking can thrive. With this school year marked by staff shortages, student absences, and ongoing pandemic fatigue, VAI is drawing upon new ideas and established strategies to help bridge the learning gap and empower educators. VAI is spearheading two initiatives which can accelerate student learning and prepare teachers for the 2022-23 school year:

VAI 2022 Initiatives

Project-Based Summer School (K-8): VAI is offering an affordable summer school solution that saves teacher time and sanity. Through a series of consultation and collaborative-planning sessions, VAI can support educators in planning for and delivering effective summer school instruction. This flexible offering can empower teachers who are new to the profession or who feel burnt out from the pandemic. It also includes your choice of 10 fully developed projects designed to engage students in making the world a better place (without skimping on academic rigor). Each project comes with complete lesson plans and supplies and can complement any existing content curriculum to provide a meaningful real-world context for content-area learning. Teachers will spend less time planning and more time doing what they do best - teaching!

Science on the Grand: We're pleased to announce that Science on the Grand is returning to Grand Rapids on July 11-12, 2022. This STEAM conference was designed by experts and current classroom teachers to provide research-based, classroom-tested, and inquiry-oriented content that supports classroom expectations, content standards, and educators as people. This year's keynote session features Erin Gruwell of Freedom Writers Foundation and Dr. Matt Steensma of the Van Andel Institute for Research, as well as other dedicated professionals who wish to share their knowledge and expertise with fellow educators. Registration is now open with an early bird discount of $100 per person until May 15, 2022. As a special offer, an administrator from the same school or district may attend for FREE with the paid registration of a staff member. Please see vaei.org for details.

VAI is confident that with these additional resources, schools and administrators will be able to make significant gains and equip themselves for any new challenges presented in the fall.
To explore VAI's K-8 Project-based Summer School program or to reserve your spot at Science on the Grand, please visit vaei.org.