MichiganRadio

GRPS Superintendent To Offer "State of Our Schools" ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - The superintendent of Grand Rapids Public Schools plans to lay out a five-year strategic plan for the district during a speech this morning.

That plan will come during what's billed as the "State of Our Schools" address.

John Helmholdt is a spokesman for the district. He says the new plan builds on the efforts that have been underway for the past few years.

"Are these efforts starting to pay off?" Helmholdt asks. "Is the public starting to catch on to the reforms and the changes, the improvements? We certainly hope so. The proof is there, the numbers speak for themselves."

Helmholdt says those numbers include a smaller decline in enrollment numbers, and higher test scores for Kindergarten through eighth grade students.

The new plan will lay out how to improve scores at the high school level.

Helmholdt says the superintendent will not address the ongoing contract standoff with teachers.

Union president Paul Helder says the fight with teachers hurts students.

"The district does a good job of PR," Helder says. "It's well and good to use the word 'innovation' over and over again. But I have yet to see anything particularly innovative out of the district that is beneficial to children."

Labor negotiations with teachers have been going on since January of 2007 without an agreement on a contract. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio