Welcome to the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center
A K-5 Public School Academy
GRCDC is ranked #11 of all Michigan charter elementary schools (or 4%, as there are 275 charter elementary schools) and #142 (top 5%, as there are 2633 elementary schools) of all Michigan elementary schools by US News Reports Best Elementary Schools report. This is the second year in a row that GRCDC has been in the top 5% of all Michigan schools in these rankings.
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Hear more in our interview: https://www.wgvunews.org/the-shelley-irwin-show/2025-01-29/grand-rapids-child-discovery-center-ranks-in-the-top-5-of-all-michigan-schools
Core Values
Reggio-Emilia
is
Each
community member
is whole, just as they are.
Learning, wellness, nutrition, and access to
experiences and opportunities are
rights that all people have.
We have a responsibility to constantly ask,“what am I missing?” “whose voice is missing?”“are we all here?” “are we all heard?” in order to elevate the voices of members of oppressed or marginalized groups.
Each person in our community belongs; this is reflected in our interactions with one another,our physical space, our events and curricular choices.
We have responsibility to disrupt the
status quo and seek equity, reject
oppression, and create social
justice.
EQUITY
INSPIRATION
Each of us possesses
a unique combination of
100 languages
- for expressing, communicating, absorbing and experimenting with the world around them.
The 100 languages must be honored and recognized in our experiences with one another.
Curiosity, creativity, and flexibility are necessary ingredients in the human condition.
Children thrive where adults thrive and vice versa.
Joy, fun, and celebration are essential to our
life together at school.
CONNECTION
Each child has a network of relationships at school that make it impossible for them to fail.
At the center of our system is the triad relationship between teacher/staff, children, and family- all of these are connected within the context of the environment and community.
Adults must build a safety net for children- our processes and procedures result in a systematic response that meets each child’s social/emotional and academic needs
When we are in conflict, we must seek mutually
POTENTIAL
Children have a voice that is sought, valued, and shapes the life of the school.
Children and adults can do hard things in order to grow, and can withstand ambiguity, cognitive struggle, and challenge in order to learn.
Each person has limitless potential and we behave in ways that show that.
The school’s charge is to provide a system of delivery resulting in all children learning at high levels, so that their life opportunities and access are expanded