Public Schools, City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan

Township schools: Township Schools    

Parochial Schools: Parochial Schools

 What's in a Name?  

The purpose of my history is of the school entity not necessarily the ever changing "programs" contained within the building. .

The name used today may not have been the name used yesterday or will be used tomorrow.  The same name does not automatically mean the same school.  This is an attempt to identify all the names used in their own timeline and then match them up to the name used today. 

 Two different schools might have had the same name.

 A name may be confused with a description of the school.

One school may have had different names over time and/or different locations and/or different uses and/or different buildings. 

Starting in 1893 most schools were named after the street they were on. In 1912, the City adopted a new addressing plan that included changing the suffix; street for avenue, avenue for street.  See Addressing Rules.  So Wealthy Avenue School became Wealthy Street School, the street designation changed NOT the school.  EXCEPT Jefferson Avenue School (East of the Grand River) and Jefferson Street School (West of the Grand River)  were different schools.

School names varied over time. The biggest changes have been:
1. The end of the Primary School numbering system in 1883 to be replaced by the street name. Primary #6 - Turner Avenue School.
2. The 1912 Address Rule that changed streets to avenues.
3. Modern cutesy and pointless but politically-correct name changes. The 2006 use has been indicated.
 

This is an attempt to identify every name ever used.
 

Name Change Cross Index

Aberdeen -  928 Aberdeen St NE

Adelante - adult program for non-English speakers.  Was housed at Grandville then .

Alexander - 2006 1010 Alexander St SE

Alger  921 Alger St SE

Alger at Madison - renamed  Brookside

Association Kindergarten opened 1906, 168 Ellsworth        Ellsworth - Williams - Bartlett - Almy
 

 Baxter Street School annexed, then sold to become Baxter Christian. Replaced by public school Sigsbee

Beckwith 1625 Leonard St NE

Beltline High School  1606 Leffingwell 2006Kent Education Center

Blandford -  3143 Milo NW

Blodgett - D A Blodgett Home for Children (orphanage) 1910 - 662 Cherry St SE, 1913 - 920 Cherry St SE
 

Brookside  2505 Madison 

 Buchanan Street (Avenue) School 1775 Buchanan

Burton  Burton Middle 2133 Buchanan Ave SW  

Burr Oak

C A Frost  1460 Laughlin Nw

Campau 50 Antoine St SW

Campus Ken-O-Sha 2006 1326 Thomas St SE

Campus School 2006 K-5 710 Benjamin Ave SE

Center Avenue School -  became Central Avenue School and later Sheldon.

Central Avenue School -  Sheldon.

Central Primary   Central

Central Grammar Central

Central High School Central

Central Junior High Central

Central union (graded) school Central

Central-Union - As Union did not have a 12th grade, Union students were transferred to Central but remained loyal to Union.

City District #1 - The City annexed Grand Rapids Township School District #1 and just kept the name.

City District #2 - Just when it began being  called City District 2 is unclear. I have not been able to determine what Walker Township School District it was prior to annexation. Early deeds just refer to it as being Ward 4 and 5 School.

City District #6 - The City annexed Grand Rapids Township School District #6 and just kept the name. 

City High 2006 1400 Fuller NE

Club House Temporary

Coit Avenue Elementary  617 Coit Ave NE

Coldbrook - name used originally for a township school at Leonard and Taylor annexed in 1850.

Coldbrook - name used both for East Leonard and for North Ionia.

Congress Street (Avenue) School  940 Baldwin St SE

Covell 1417 Covell NW

Creston Jr High & High  1720 Plainfield Ave NE

Crestview

Davis Tech

Diamond Street (Avenue) School

Dickinson  448 Dickinson

East Bridge Street School - name used for  North Division in 1893 and afterwards for East Bridge  

East Leonard Street School 410 Barnett St NE

Eastern 758 Eastern Ave NE

Evangeline Home Park

Fairmount site moved and school renamed Riverside

Fountain Street School  159 College Ave NE

Finney

Grand Rapids High School - Central was the only complete City high school until 1912.

Grand Rapids Junior College Jr College- now Grand Rapids Community College

Grandville Avenue School

Hall Street School 703 Shamrock St SW

Harrison Park  1440 Davis Ave NW & Harrison Middle  1440 Davis (grade 6 housed Straight 850 Chatham)

Henry Street (Avenue) School

Heritage CDC 2006 PreK 538 Madison Ave SE

High School - Central was the only complete City high school until 1912.

Hillcrest

Houseman Field originally for Grand Rapids High School

Huff

Ionia Street School became North Ionia when South Ionia School was built.

Ionia School referred to renamed South Ionia after North Ionia School was renamed Coldbrook Street.
 

Iroquois Ottawa High 2006 Madison Middle 1050 Iroquois Dr SE 6-8

Jefferson Avenue School - Jefferson 1356 Jefferson Ave

Jefferson Street School -  Lexington. 
 

Ken O Sha  1353 Van Auken

Kensington  1061 Kensington  

Kent Hills  1445 Emerald Ave NE

Knapp - original name for the Grand Rapids Township  school at Fuller and Knapp moved to Ball Ave and renamed  Huff

Knapp - new name for the  Grand Rapids Township Smith school at East Beltline and Knapp moved to Township Hall.

Lafayette school - Arthur VandenBerg.

Lake School

 Lexington.   45 Lexington NW

Lincoln 2006 860-864 Crahen

Lyon - Hillcrest

Madison Avenue School

Madison Middle see Iroquois

Maplewood  Grandville

Martin Luther King 2006 K-8 645 Logan St SE

Mayfield Christian 2006 Mayfield Middle School 225 Mayfield Ave NE 6-8 Kent Education Centers 

Michigan  East Bridge

Montessori - originally used for mentally retarded students.

Mulick Park 2006 K-5 1761 Rosewood

New England Temporary

North Division Street (Avenue) School

North Ionia Street (Avenue) School

North Park 3375 Cheney

North Side Junior High see Creston

Northeast Junior High  1400 Fuller Ave NE  

Oakdale Public School

Oakdale Christian School is on Fisk Street near Alexander Public School.

Oakleigh Jr Hi 1151 Oakleigh NW

Oakleigh Elem  2223 Gordon

Old Stone School Union

Old Stone School on the hill Central

Oral School for the Deaf - was housed in North Division Avenue School now housed at Shawnee

Ottawa Hills High High School - 2006 2055 Rosewood

Palmer Avenue School  309 Palmer St NE

Park  1050 Adams ST SE

Paris Temporary

Pine Street Christian School near Leonard .NW  1138 Pine Ave NW  2006Career Pathways

Pine Street (Avenue) School near Bridge Street

Plainfield Avenue School

Pleasant Street School Grandville

Primary #1  North Division 
 

Primary #2  South Division
 

Primary #3  Fountain
 

Primary #4  Wealthy
 

Primary #5  Grandville
 

Primary #6 was Turner but also referred to West Leonard School on the Richmond Lot. for one year in 1882
 

Primary #7 was called Ionia and then later North Ionia and even later Coldbrook.  North Ionia
 

Primary #8 was called Jefferson Street then Lexington Avenue
 

Primary #9 was renamed Center then Central Avenue then Sheldon.
 

Primary #10 Pine near Bridge St.
 

Primary #11  Henry
 

Primary #12  Coit
 

 Richmond Lot - West Leonard Street School near Quarry Ave

Ridgemoor 2555 Inverness

Ridgeview Jr HI 2055 Rosewood

Riverside Elementary  2420 Coit NE

Riverside Jr Hi  265 Eleanor NE

Roosevelt  641 Vries St SW

Second Avenue Grandville

Seventh Street School - Seventh

Seymour - a Paris twp school. Annexed and relocated .Alger, old bldg becomes Seymour Christian. 

Shawmut    2550 Burritt NW

Shawnee Park  2036 Chesaning

Sherwood  3859 Chamberlain Ave SE

Sigsbee  1250 Sigsbee St SE

Sibley Street School 2006 K-5 943 Sibley

Shireling Temporary

Slater  Temporary

South High

South Division Street (Avenue) School

South East Academic Center - see Sigsbee

South East Youth Pathways  811 Jefferson ave Se 2006 9-12 by Major Place
 

South Ionia Street (Avenue) School  

Southwest Community Campus - see Franklin

Spencer renamed Kent Hills

Spring Street School was the old Fountain school moved adjacent to  South Division.

Stewart Temporary

Stocking  863 Seventh ST NW

Straight Street (Avenue) School

Strong Junior Highi

Turner Street (Avenue) School Turner

union is a term that simply meant a graded school rather than a one-room for-all-grades school. Many schools were "union" schools.

 Union Primary was adjacent to old Union High School on Turner

Union School Union.  The official name was derived from its type although it wasn't the first local school to be graded.

Union School #1 Central High School  A graded school in City District 1.

Vedder's Lot -  Pine .
 

Walbridge -  North Ionia

Walker. 1351 Leonard St NW

Ward 4 and 5 - Union

Waters Temporary
 

Wealthy Avenue (Street) School - became Lafayette then  VandenBerg School.
 

 Wellerwood 800 Wellerwood

West Leonard Street School  - name used originally for the school on the  Richmond Lot and later for Walker School, proposed name for Harrison

West MIddle - in old Union 615 Turner Ave NE

Westwood  1524 Mount Mercy Dr

Widdicomb Street (Avenue) School

Wilson Hall  Temporary

Zoo school - 2006 1300 Fulton St W

From Article School History

 From Heading: History and the City of Grand Rapids

From Web Site:MyCityofGrandRapids.info

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Copyright © 2006 My Grand Rapids
Last modified: 06/05/06