Gerald Dawkins Academy

I used to work at this school, and it was the worst experience of my life. There is no leadership at this school. The principal wrote unprofessional emails and doesn't have an understanding of confidentiality!!! There is no behavior plan for student's negative behavior. Students can basically do whatever they want and have no real consequences. I would literally send students to the office for physical altercations, and the office staff would simply send them back. I couldn't believe how bad behavior was swept under the rug. The office staff/principal basically promoted an 'unsafe' learning environment because of how bad behavior was dealt with. Also, the parents that send their children to this school are completely passive and uninvolved when it comes to their child's learning and behavior.When I worked here, I would have anxiety once I walked through the doors of this school. If a teacher was sick/out, there would always be no substitutes, so basically, all of those students in that class would be liquidated to other classrooms adding fuel to an already problematic classroom. (That happened a lot too!! I would say weekly) In addition, whenever a special's teacher was sick/out, the teacher would never get their planning time. The general education teacher would just have to deal with the students during their planning time WITHOUT NOTICE. No one in the office would inform the teaching staff that the special's teacher was out either. In addition, there was absolutely no support for special education services either. The Sped teacher would come around 1x a week for like 30 minutes. I was completely in shock that students who needed services were not receiving proper services. (At a typical school, students who needed special education services would see the Special Education teacher a minimum of 3x per week. This by no means was fault of the special education teacher as there was only 1 teacher for the whole school!! She was servicing students in all grades (K-8 grade). If you are a parent and care about your child's education, not only would I not recommend Dickinson Elementary School, but I would steer clear from the GRPS district entirely. If you are a teacher looking for a job, RUN. You are NOT going to feel supported working at the school. You will leave this school exhausted. I was constantly putting fires out in my classroom and had no time to actually teach. The whole situation is entirely sad, as these students deserve more.

This school might not be quiet advanced as others, but the level of respects towards teachers and others it's much better compared to highly qualified schools!!! Children are expected to have fun and enjoy every day and expected to give their best!!They are not expected to be some kind of robot who excels on everything!!!Perfection isn't expected at this school, therefore, children are more at ease and are quiet respectful and friendly!!Staff does their very best to keep children safe and loved by those who have a compassionate heart!!!The secretary is a lovely human being!!!!My girls were referred to City High Middle of school but we preferred to stay due to the level of such caring and compassionate staff!!!We don't want or expect smart children but rather prefer to raise responsible and caring children to make a difference in our community!Thank you MLK!!We pray and hope for a better coming school year 2022-2023 so that we may not be the only family to be happy to part of MLK!!!

I recently graduated from the 8th grade at GRCMS and I am very proud to have walked its halls. The teachers and staff, including the new principle, are extremely dedicated to the education of my generation, and the preparation of our minds for the years to come. The teachers ensure that we gain a deeper understanding of not only the curriculum that the school board sets out for them, but of ourselves as a part of God's Kingdom. My only regret is that my GRCMS experience didn't last longer. Out of five stars, I wish I could give ten. Go Eagles! -A Proud Alumni.

Absolutely wonderful. The staff cares about each student and the compassion for each child is amazing. Students are not a “number” here as in some public schools. We live in East Grand Rapids and love sending our children here rather than egrps. IF you want a better education and your child to grow up to be a good human being, I suggest sending them here.

We love Living Stones! This is a place where all children learn and flourish. High parental involvement.