Kiwanis and GRPS celebrate 19 years of dictionary donations; 1,140 dictionaries distributed this year
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Summary
At the March 9 board meeting Grand Rapids Public Schools and the Grand Rapids Golden Kiwanis celebrated a 19‑year partnership that provided dictionaries to third graders; district staff said 1,140 dictionaries were distributed this year and speakers noted the program’s civic and civics‑education value.
Board members and community partners celebrated two student recognitions and a longstanding Kiwanis donation program during the opening portion of the March 9 meeting.
A district representative told the board the Kiwanis partnership has entered its 19th year and that "we gave away 1,140 dictionaries to all third grade students" this year, noting the dictionaries include civic material and a gazetteer in the back for student reference. Kiwanis speakers described the books as both an academic and civic resource and said the club has donated more than 26,000 dictionaries to Grand Rapids students across the program history.
Principal Joseph Alcaraz, teacher Sarah Dreyer and several students from Shawmut Hills presented their brochure projects tied to the Declaration of Independence and explained how the project helped develop historical research, writing and cross‑disciplinary connections. Board members congratulated the students and thanked Kiwanis for the long‑running partnership.
What happens next: the board moved from recognitions into regular business; no action was required for the donation. The transcript identifies the program, the distribution number for this year and the planned display of a student’s state‑winning project at the State Capitol through July 2026.
