BackPack Press
Welcome to BackPack Press — your go-to source for uplifting stories from local schools. We’re here to celebrate education by sharing the voices of students, teachers, and staff, highlighting achievements, and connecting schools with the communities they serve. Through engaging storytelling, valuable resources, and a fresh perspective, BackPack Press shines a light on the great work happening in education every day.
Featured Stories
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What happens when educators from different schools and communities get in the same room? Ideas travel. Questions get bigger. Practice gets stronger. Recent professional learning opportunities in early childhood literacy and secondary mathematics show how collaboration helps knowledge move across classrooms, schools and communities throughout the Ingham ISD service area.
Seven Wilson Talent Center students are taking their engineering and construction skills beyond the classroom through the ACE Mentor Program at Mayotte Group Architects. Over 15 weeks, they’ll explore careers across the building industry while tackling a real-world design challenge: creating a brand-new elementary school.
Flashing lights. Loud sirens. Big vehicles. An emergency scene can bring a lot of unfamiliar sights and sounds at once. Heartwood School’s annual Touch a Truck event gives students the opportunity to experience those things in a familiar, supportive environment—with plenty of time to explore, ask questions and meet the people behind the uniforms.
MORE TO EXPLORE
Early Childhood
EARLY CHILDHOOD STORIES
The Michigan Department of Education's Resource for Blind/Low Vision and Resource for Deaf/Hard of Hearing programs are inviting families with children ages 0–5 to Little Explorers at Camp Tuhsmeheta. The event offers story time, music, crafts, movement, and hands-on activities designed to foster learning, confidence, and meaningful connections among families.
Families across Ingham County can take advantage of Ingham ISD’s free Play & Learn Groups this summer. The outdoor sessions are designed for children from birth to age 5 and feature stories, songs, play-based activities, and early learning opportunities. No registration is required.
At Ingham ISD Play & Learn Groups, learning looks a lot like fun. Through play, art, stories and shared experiences, young children and their caregivers are building important skills—and meaningful connections along the way.
When educators, community leaders, and partners come together, the impact goes far beyond conversation. In Ingham County, collaboration is shaping how students—and families—experience support.
For the ninth year in a row, Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program has met every national quality benchmark. Behind that recognition? Real classrooms, real educators, and real impact for kids and families.
Special Education
SPECIAL EDUCATION STORIES
Flashing lights. Loud sirens. Big vehicles. An emergency scene can bring a lot of unfamiliar sights and sounds at once. Heartwood School’s annual Touch a Truck event gives students the opportunity to experience those things in a familiar, supportive environment—with plenty of time to explore, ask questions and meet the people behind the uniforms.
For current Spartan Project SEARCH interns, preparing for life after school can involve a lot of unknowns. Recently, several program graduates returned to visit, bringing something especially powerful with them: firsthand stories of employment, growth and life after Project SEARCH.
Finding the right resources for a child or family can feel overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where to begin. Ingham ISD’s 11th Annual Fall Fun Fest brought 15 families and 16 community organizations together at Potter Park Zoo for a day designed to make those connections a little easier—and a lot more fun.
For students with autism, the right support can change far more than a school day. Through Ingham ISD’s ASD programming at Stockbridge Community Schools, students build communication, independence and confidence alongside peers and educators who understand what they need to succeed.
Heartwood School welcomed students and families back for an Open House filled with familiar faces, classroom visits, games and plenty of excitement for the year ahead.
General Education
GENERAL EDUCATION STORIES
What happens when educators from different schools and communities get in the same room? Ideas travel. Questions get bigger. Practice gets stronger. Recent professional learning opportunities in early childhood literacy and secondary mathematics show how collaboration helps knowledge move across classrooms, schools and communities throughout the Ingham ISD service area.
When educational leaders have opportunities to learn from one another, the impact extends far beyond the meeting room. Ingham ISD leaders recently joined colleagues from across Michigan at a General Education Leadership Network gathering hosted by Bay-Arenac ISD to collaborate, share promising practices and strengthen systems that support students and educators statewide.
Ingham ISD staff came together for Opening Day with a question: “What if?” As the district begins year two of its "Power of What If?" theme, the focus is shifting to student voice—and creating meaningful learning experiences by listening to the students at the center of the work.
What happens when educators approach a classroom challenge like researchers? Ingham ISD Literacy Coaches partnered with Waverly Community Schools and Michigan Department of Education Professor Dr. Adrea Truckenmiller to study student writing—and use what they learned to help strengthen writing instruction and outcomes.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Sinas Dramis Law Firm's Lids for Kids initiative, children participating in Ingham ISD's Play & Learn Group at the Refugee Development Center will have new bicycle helmets to help them ride safely. The partnership highlights the power of community organizations working together to support children's health, safety, and well-being.
Career Prep
CAREER PREP STORIES
More Stories
With a theme focused on the power of asking “What If?”, the 2025–26 school year launched with messages of possibility, perseverance, and partnership—from keynote speakers to inspiring educators across the region.
For many students, learning experiences extend far beyond the classroom walls.
Recently, students from the Beekman Center spent a day at Jackson® Field™ for a Lansing Lugnuts School Day experience — creating memories filled with cheering crowds, ballpark snacks, mascot visits and smiles shared with classmates and staff.
What happens when business leaders step into the shoes of school leaders? At Waverly High School, “Principal for a Day” is more than just a title—it’s a powerful way to bridge classrooms and careers.
Students in Ms. Angela Wanger’s class put heart and hustle into every dish of their early Thanksgiving feast—chopping, baking, serving, and celebrating the joy of learning together.
