GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Principal Daniel Morse parked in front of the North Park Montessori school last spring, like he did every day, when he noticed a plaque on the building with an establishment date - 1925.

Morse knew the school, which he describes as tucked away in a north Grand Rapids neighborhood, deserved to be recognized. So the Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) district threw it a 100th birthday party.

He and members of the district’s communications team visited the city’s historical archives to do research, made custom shirts and magnets and hosted a party with around 500 attendees. Visitors signed a banner that now hangs inside the school.

Morse described the event as a night of connecting with students, staff and generations of North Park graduates, some of whom haven’t been

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