Michigan School Apologizes for ‘Black History Month’ Lunch
A Michigan school system is apologizing for a school lunch that was supposed to honor Black History Month. The idea didn’t go over well with students and parents. According to…
(Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
A Michigan school system is apologizing for a school lunch that was supposed to honor Black History Month. The idea didn't go over well with students and parents.
According to Woodtv.com, Grand Rapids Christian Schools had a lunch menu posted online for its "Black History Month" lunch, offering fried chicken, collared greens, mac and cheese, cornbread and banana pudding. As Woodtv.com reports, students complained to school administrators and said it was racist, so the school started calling the meal a "Soul Food" lunch.
Superintendent Tom DeJonge apologized in a letter sent out to parents, according to Woodtv.com, and stated that the school wants to celebrate a variety of cultures, so it was attempting to serve “an authentic Soul Food lunch” with all the right intentions.
“Although the tradition was recently paused during the pandemic due to food service regulations, over the recent years, Grand Rapids Christian High School has partnered with a variety of community members to serve an authentic Soul Food lunch,” DeJonge said. “In an effort to continue this tradition of celebration, our food service department reached out to an executive chef, Xaviar Jamarillo, as a partner for this year’s celebration.”
“(We) recognize that the initial publication of the meal had a negative impact on our community, and for this we are sorry,” DeJonge continued in this letter. “As a staff, we humbly commit to continuing to learn and grow in this area as we seek to produce culturally competent students who are prepared for lives of service to Christ. We are committed to continuing to meet with and listen to our staff and students as we seek to build and further strengthen an environment that is welcoming to all.” For more information on this story, go here.
High school is obviously an important time for learning. Often times, what you learn in K-12 dictates the kind of education you'll get for the rest of your life. As the daughter of a public high school teacher and counselor, I know the importance of high school first hand.
U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the 100 best high schools in the nation, and three Michigan high schools are in there. The publication also released a list of the 50 best Michigan high schools for 2022. The rankings were released on Tuesday (April 26), so they're very current. Note that for the rankings, "Schools were required to have assessment data available to be reviewed for a ranking. Some imputations were made, though, for missing data for student body, subgroup level assessment data and graduation rates."
Rankings are based on a variety of factors, such as college readiness (30%), college curriculum breadth (10%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), underserved student performance (10%) and graduation rate (10%). The data is from the 2019-20 school year, and it looks at all public high schools in the state. "With most states closing schools for in-person instruction beginning in March 2020 – typically just before most states conduct assessments – the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forego state testing for the 2019-2020 school year," the publication states.
So, which schools are the best of the best in Michigan? Read on for the full list of the 50 best high schools in Michigan, with the top three even falling into the category of the top 100 best high schools in the U.S.
The 50 Best Michigan High Schools - Ranked
U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the best high schools in Michigan-.
Here's the list, as well as links to find out why each school was chosen!
