💛💜 Welcome Back, GPS Staff! On Tuesday, August 12, we kicked off the 2025-26 school year with a warm welcome and a busy week ahead! Staff have been diving into professional development, preparing classrooms, and getting ready to greet our students. Yesterday, all professional staff and paraprofessionals came together for an important learning session on “Trauma’s Impact on Behavior” — building skills to better support every student.
Here’s to a great school year ahead; we are excited to welcome back students on Monday, August 18!
🍎 Teacher of the Year: Samantha Brooks – Baldwin Heights Elementary
🌟 Support Staff of the Year: Morgan Gross – Walnut Hills Elementary
Thank you for your dedication, hard work, and the positive impact you make every day for our students and school community! 💛💜
🎉 Congratulations to our 2025 Elmer Russell School Bell Award Winners! Each year, this award honors one citizen or organization and one GPS employee who have made outstanding contributions to enhance Greenville Public Schools.
🏆 Aggressive Tooling, Inc. – 2025 Citizen/Organization Honoree (Pictured: Brian Petersen, Owner/Plant Manager and Rich Jones, Owner/President)
🏆 Mike Walsh – 2025 GPS Employee Honoree
Thank you for your dedication, generosity, and commitment to our students, staff, and community. 💛💜
A regular Board of Education Meeting will be held on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 7:00pm at the Central Services Facility (1414 Chase Street, Greenville). For more information, please visit https://www.gpsjackets.org/page/board-of-education
🗣️📚⏳If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language, or other developmental delays, Greenville Public Schools may be able to help! 🤝
🔗 Learn more: https://www.gpsjackets.org/page/special-education
📞 Contact Fran Johnson at fran.johnson@gpsjackets.org or 616-754-1996
📢 CORRECTED POST - We apologize for any confusion. 📢
The Special Board of Education Meeting on Monday, August 4, 2025, will be held from 4:00-8:00pm at the Central Services Facility (1414 Chase Street, Greenville) for the purpose of a Board/Administration Workshop and any other business necessary.
Thank you for your understanding, and again, we apologize for the earlier error.
🚨 REMINDER for Families with New Bus Riders...the registration deadline is TOMORROW ( August 1)! 🚌
🔗 Transportation Registration Form Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1Ok6bqtOly7zo2VPLpHyCoG_OVYBPIbnBI9MY1uJiPz74Eg/viewform
Students who rode the bus last year do not need to re-register.
Questions? 📞 PHONE 616-754-3850 or Visit 🔗 https://www.gpsjackets.org/page/transportation
Orientation has a scheduled start time so please plan to arrive on time. To help ensure we have enough room in the gym we are asking families to come based on the first initial in their oldest child's last name. Letters A-M at 5:30 pm and letters N-Z at 7:00 pm.
See you soon!
Shelby is a paraprofessional. She was nominated for going above and beyond, her endless compassion for students, and sunny disposition.
Congratulations, Shelby! 💜💛
📅 Don’t miss important dates and details to help your student start the year strong!
Nina is a bus driver for many students in our district. She was nominated for her caring attitude, genuine passion, and willingness to go above and beyond.
Congratulations, Nina! 💜💛
✅ New to the district? Enroll your child now! https://www.gpsjackets.org/page/enrollment
🔁 Returning families? Log in to PowerSchool to verify and update your student’s info ASAP. https://greenville.powerschool.com/public/
This helps us plan for the school year and ensures we have the correct contact info for communication and emergencies.
⏳ Don’t wait — do it today!
Thank you for helping us prepare for a great school year! 💜💛
Meet our 2025 High School Support Staff of the Year, Judy Beckler!
Judy has been a paraprofessional with Greenville Public Schools for over 37 YEARS! She worked her first 28 years at Cedar Crest Elementary, then moved to GMS with her one-on-one student. Seven years later, she took an opportunity at the high school. Judy can't see herself doing anything else other than experiencing young adults becoming grown adults on their way to the future!
She was nominated for going above and beyond her daily responsibilities and being a leader whenever there is a student in need.
Congratulations, Judy! 💜💛
Robin has been a Yellow Jacket from the very beginning and teaches 3rd grade at the same school she was once a student at! She is a proud mom of two sons, Teagan and Gavin, and was blessed with her first granddaughter last September. In her spare time, she enjoys camping along Lake Michigan, traveling south to swim in the oceans, feeding and bird watching, and tending to her flowers all summer long.
Robin says: "My highlight would be 'winning?' a coin drive contest. Students put the most money into my jar and that gave me the unforgettable moment of kissing a screaming pig well over the suggest decibel limit, including a mouth and snout covered in slime, grime, and an awful stench of who knows what. What an honor that was!"
Students think she doesn't notice them picking their nose, but when they politely place their hand over their nose and mouth to invade their nose with picky fingers, she totally knows what they are doing! She also notices them being the first person to get grossed out when they see another student doing the same thing 👃
Congratulations, Robin! 💜💛
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1Ok6bqtOly7zo2VPLpHyCoG_OVYBPIbnBI9MY1uJiPz74Eg/viewform
If your student rode the bus last year, you do not need to re-register. For more information, please visit www.gpsjackets.org/transportation
Samantha teaches a 1 - 2 loop at Baldwin Heights which means she gets to keep the same class for 1st and 2nd grade! She loves the relationships she gets to build. She has a beautiful blended family of 3 boys with a 4th on the way! They love to spend their time outside exploring, biking, and swimming.
Samantha says: "The highlight of my time with GPS is the academic and social growth I get to be a part of with my students. I am always so proud of their hard work, determination, and curiosity to learn."
If she could return to school as a student for the day, she would choose to be in preschool so she could have rest time every day! 🛌
Congratulations, Samantha! 💜💛
