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BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
They still ache from their losses,but the families of Tim Korzen andKerry Hutchins are buoyed by thenews that their loved ones’ storiesmoved at least 1,000 people to signup to be organ donors.Two high-profile stories — the
launching of heart transplant surgeryat Spectrum Health in Grand Rap-ids, and the Sparta mother who diedawaiting a lung transplant — helpeddrive a record number of people inMichigan to enroll as organ donorsin 2010.
Gift of LifeMichigan estimates thatthe first heart transplant performed inWest Michigan motivated about 300to sign up to become organ donors.When Ada Township husband andfather Tim Korzen died in Novemberfrom bacterial meningitis, his heartwas given to Rahn Bentley. Threeother individuals received Korzen’sliver and two kidneys.The story of Kerry Hutchins, a
laughter-loving Spartamomwho diedin August at the University of Michi-gan Hospital in Ann Arbor while sheawaited a lung transplant, inspiredas many as 700 people to register tobe organ donors, according to Gift ofLife Michigan.“I love it,” Hutchins’ dad, George
Roby, said of the news of the 700 do-nors. “It’s a legacy Kerry would havewanted to leave. It was always herwish that the number of donorswouldpick up in this state. I hope we canblow the top off this thing.”Roby still wears his “Donate” T-
shirts urging organ donation as hecontinues to miss his spunky daugh-ter, who died at age 33 after spending
SEE DONORS, A2
BY DAVE MURRAY
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
T amika Henry lovesbeing a teacher but,lately, she thinksshe’s a scapegoat.
Pardon the 10-yearclassroom veteran forbeing defensive, but Henrysaid she and colleaguesacross the nation are beingblamed for state budgetsdrowning in red ink, forchildren falling behindthose in other nations,and for fighting to keepineffective co-workers inthe classroom.
“Somehow, our society has deflatedthe value of a teacher,” said Henry,who teaches social studies at Al-lendale’s New Options AlternativeSchool.“We’re working hard to get their
kids to the next level, doing our bestto impart knowledge to them, andpeople act like we’re sitting aroundin lounge chairs eating bonbons. Wefeel like we’re being treated like pam-pered, glorified baby sitters.”Education advocate Diane Ravitch
recently wrote teachers like Henryfeel as though they’ve been under at-tack for the past two years. Wiscon-sin Gov. Scott Walker’s push to stripteachers unions of some bargainingrights was the final straw for some.“The uprising in Madison is symp-
tomatic of a simmering rage amongthe nation’s teachers,” Ravitch wrotein a CNN.com column that sparkedreaction nationwide. “They havegrown angry and demoralized overthe past two years as attacks on theirprofession escalated.”Ravitch is a former U.S. assistant
secretary of education who was anadvocate of charter schools and theNo Child Left Behind Act. She saidshe became “disillusioned” with themovement and now is a union advo-cate, appearing today at theMichiganEducation Association’s educationreform symposium in Novi.
Ravitch said conservative governors
in several states are targeting unionsas they fight budget battles that areprompted, in part, by public employeecompensation.Teachers also are taking hits from
the traditionally union-friendly left,such as the filmmakers behind the“Waiting for Superman” documen-tary; the Los Angeles Times’ ratingof teachers based on test scores; andPresident Barack Obama’s Race to theTop reforms that demanded statesrevamp teacher evaluations and openmore charter schools.“It used to be that teachers were
treated with respect,” said Pat Gil-lies, a physical education teacher andcoach at Caledonia High School. “I’vebeen doing this 15 years, and I’ve seena lot of changes. I just don’t think peo-ple treat the profession with the sameamount of respect, and I have to thinkthat comes from the home.”Gillies said he doesn’t think there
are failing schools, but there are “fail-ing parents” who prompt caring edu-cators to expand their role beyond
SEE TEACHERS, A2
BY HEIDI FENTON
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
FENNVILLE — Fire trucks linedthe streets, guiding hundreds along aroute that wound down Main Streetand through neighborhoods to Fenn-ville High School.People gathered, talking on side-
walks. At Fennville UnitedMethodistChurch, a line of hundreds woundfrom a set of double doors around toa back parking lot.Wes Leonard’s visitation on Sun-
day was a time for this small townof about 1,400 to gather together andgrieve, but also to celebrate the life ofa teen residents saywill forever hold a
place of honor in localhistory.
The 16-year-old bas-ketball standout diedThursday after col-lapsing on the courtafter making the win-ning basket in a so-farundefeated season,with the playoffs set tostart today. An autopsy
determined he had an undiagnosedenlarged heart.The Rev. Gary Peterson, pastor
of the church, estimated more than1,400 people showed up to pay theirrespects to the Leonard family, somefrom hours away and many who did
not personally know Leonard. Amongthe visitors were students from 12different basketball teams, includingevery team in Fennville’s league andplayers from a summer traveling teamof which Leonard was a part.The volume of well-wishers was
overwhelming for the Leonard family— father, Gary; mother, Jocelyn andbrother, Mitchell— but not unexpect-ed, given the national media attentionsurrounding their son’s death.“They were prepared for it,” Pe-
terson said.He called the outpouring of support
tremendous and a testament to thefamily’s impact on the community.
SEE RESPECTS, A2
PRESS PHOTO/KATY BATDORFF
Waiting: Mourners and well-wishers wait in line Sunday for WesLeonard’s visitation at Fennville United Methodist Church. Leonard diedThursday night after scoring the winning points in his high school team’sfinal regular-season basketball game.
Hundreds pay respects to fallen starVISITATION ATTRACTS PEOPLE WHO KNEWWES LEONARD, PEOPLE WHO PLAYED AGAINST HIM
WesLeonard
Storieshelp addorgandonorsMore than 1,000 peopleregister to give, thanksto two local events
Are teachers scapegoats?“Somehow, our society has deflated the value of a teacher.”
—Tamika Henry, social studies instructor at Allendale’s New Options Alternative School
PRESS PHOTO/EMILY ZOLADZ
“We’re working hard”: Tamika Henry, of Kentwood, works from her desk during a social studies class formixed grades Friday at New Options Alternative School in the Allendale district.
PRESS PHOTO/AMANDA LOMAN
More than meets the eye: Peg Mulherin, a first-grade teacher at EmmonsLake Elementary School in the Caledonia district, has been teachingfor 28 years and says the public does not understand how much workteachers do.
THE DO-OVEROne man decidesto restart his life in aless-than-modern way. B1
50% discount! $20 for a 10 pack of day passesto the Holland Aquatic Center ($40 value)www.mlive.com/dealoftheday-grand-rapids
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CONTINUED FROM A1
“What I find amazing is thisfamily has been here about sixyears and yet they are so well-known and loved,” he said.At Salt of the Earth, a Main
Street eatery a couple of blocksfrom the church, many gath-ered around tables, talking andsharing memories.
“Everyone in this communityis stepping up; we’re all doingwhat we can, and we can’tdo enough,” Manager MarkSchrock said, glancing aroundthe packed dining room he saidis normally quiet on a Sundaynight. “This community is inshock. People just can’t believeit.”Leonard not only led the
team to its first undefeatedbasketball season in history,he also was a standout quar-terback on the school’s footballteam. Everyone knew him, stu-dents said, not just as an ath-lete, but as a friend to all.“He was the kind of kid, if
you had a bad day, he’d alwaysmake you smile in some way,”said KassidyHanson, a 15-year-old sophomore at FennvilleHigh.
Hanson stood in the school’sparking lot with her 13-year-old sister, Kennedy, and cousinCharley Hanson, 18, just afterleaving the church.As Kassidy Hanson took a
deep breath and wiped awaytears, she recalled a gym classshe tookwith Leonard last year.The students had to run a mileon the track as a class require-ment and, as someone whoisn’t an avid runner, Hansonwas wary of the idea.She and Leonard were not
close friends, but he took no-tice of her struggle and joinedin to offer support.“He ran with me so that
I could finish,” she said,
momentarily stopping to takein the memory. “It made mefeel better, because I wasn’t do-ing it by myself, and he helpedme finish.”That kind of care, she said,
was something that flowed intoLeonard’s everyday life.“He’s just that kind of kid,”
she said. “He’s alwayswilling tohelp if you need help. If you’resad, he’ll make you smile.”
Life at Fennville High Schoolon Friday was only a shadowof what it normally is, the sis-ters said, recalling how only ahundred or so students were
in attendance. At the middleschool, where Kennedy Han-son attends classes, the stu-dents who did show up spentmost of their time in silencetogether.“I’ve never seen it so quiet,”
Kennedy Hanson said.Lucero Puente, a 16-year-
old member of the girls juniorvarsity basketball team, saidLeonard left the kind of impacton the student body that willnever be forgotten. He was arole model, she said, for herown athletic aspirations.Just after leaving the
visitation, Puente recalledseeing people from basketballteams from across the state —hundreds of people, somewithwhom Leonard had had closefriendships, and others hemaynot have known.“He was a really big athlete;
he was the one that had it go-ing,” she said. “I’m just happyto see he left smiling. He pret-ty much accomplished all hisgoals for basketball.”
E-mail: [email protected]
CONTINUED FROM A1
three years on the lung trans-plant waiting list.“I had the blue one on this
morning,” said Roby, who livesin Cascade Township.Roby said the impact goes
beyond the number of newregistered donors Gift of LifeMichigan reports.
“I heard from people all overthe country who said theysigned up because of Kerry’sstory,” he said. “People sharedit; they put it on their Face-book. There’s no telling howmany, really.“Kerry’s laugh was infec-
tious. She loved life and sheloved people, and it rubbedoff. It put a face on the issue. Itshowed that real people are outthere waiting for these parts.This whole thing had God’shand on it.”Peggy Korzen, widow of
heart donor Tim Korzen, getschoked upwhen she talks abouther late husband. It feels good,she said, to know he made adifference.“It’s overwhelming to think
that many people signed up be-cause they read a story,” saidKorzen, executive director ofretirement systems for the cityof Grand Rapids. “I think whenpeople read about somebody,they realize, ‘This could beme.Wouldn’t I want an organ avail-able if I needed one? It makesit hit home.“Hopefully, it will spread.
Those people who signedup will tell other people, andthey’ll sign up, too. Anythingthat can raise the number ofdonors is great.”
Statewide, more than 319,000people registered as organ do-nors in Michigan during 2010,a record for one year but farshort of the 1 million that Giftof Life Michigan hoped toachieve.“It was a stretch goal, but it
gave us a nice, big number anda big reach,” said Betsy Miner-Switz, of Gift of Life Michigan.“We’re trying to be real aggres-sive with it.
“There’s a lot of people’s livesat stake, and we know thereare a lot of people that want togive, and they are generous, butthey just aren’t aware.”Despite not coming close to
its ambitious goal, the organ-
donor registry did grow by 33percent in 2010, Miner-Switzsaid.More than 3,000 Michigan
residents now await some formof organ transplant. The pre-dominant need is for a kidney,at more than 2,400, followedby liver, 312, and heart, 70, asof Feb. 1.About 11,800 donor regis-
trations in 2010 came throughefforts by hospitals acrossthe state participating in theMichigan Health & Hospital
Association’s Keystone: Giftof Life collaborative. That ismore than triple the numberof hospital-generated registra-tions in 2009.About 27 percent of Michi-
gan adults now are registeredas organ doors, well short ofthe national average of 38 per-cent, according to Gift of LifeMichigan.Part of the reason for lag-
ging the nation is the changeMichigan made in 2007 in theregistration process. Residentspreviously could sign the backof their driver’s license.Now, they need to join the
Michigan Organ Donor Reg-istry to receive a red heartemblem for the front of the li-cense, either by visiting a sec-retary of state branch office orregistering online.
—Mark Sanchez of WestMichigan Business Reviewcontributed to this story.
CONTINUED FROM A1
teaching to counseling and,“in some cases, we’re like bigbrothers and big sisters.”“I do think that people don’t
understand all that goes intothis job,” said colleague PegMulherin of Caledonia’s Em-mons Lake Elementary. “I thinkthey see the summers off, or a9-to-3 schedule, and think that’sall there is to it. They don’t seeme coming in on the weekendsto get my classroom ready orplan lessons.”A 28-year veteran, Mulher-
in has taught first grade andmiddle school. She said shedecided to go into teachingbecause she wanted to make adifference.
“People aren’t really aware ofthe needs of the kids,” she said.“If we could just walk into theroom and start teaching, thatwould be easy.“We accept students as who
they are when they walk inthe door. I have friends whowork in manufacturing, and Itell them if they get some steelthat is flawed and blemished,they can send it back. We can’tdo that.”
Those struggling and flawedchildren make it impossible todetermine a teacher’s abilitybased on test scores, as someevaluation plans call for, ad-vocates say. Todd DeJong, ateacher at Caledonia’s KraftMeadows Middle School, saideducators lose the flexibilityto build skills that studentscan use in life because suchthings aren’t measured in com-puterized, standardized testsdemanded by theNoChild LeftBehind Act.“If there’s a simmering rage
out there, it’s because we’re
being pressured to hold backkids fromwherewe really needto take them,” said DeJong, a26-year veteranwho has taughtin Caledonia andGrand RapidsChristian schools.“Once in a while, we say,
‘Come on, guys, this isn’tright.’ We need to teach themcollaboration, not competition.And even Race to the Top is allabout competition.”
Teachers said it seems publicemployees find themselves inthe crosshairs when the econ-omy sours and taxpayers findthemselves picking up the tabfor health care and pensionsthat are more generous thanwhat they receive in the privatesector.“It’s easy to pick on us when
things are bad,” Gillies said.“When things are going well,nobody talks about education.But when the economy is bad,it seems like it’s all educa-tion’s fault. When things gettough, there is a target on ourbacks.”Despite the perceived target
and disrespect, teachers saidthey are proud of their profes-sion, moved to tears for suchthings as an alternative educa-tion student walking across thestage to accept a diploma oraccepting the wedding invita-tion from a former student wholooked back at the people whoinfluenced them the most.
“Teaching is an awesome ca-reer, and I wouldn’t trade whatI’ve done for anything in theworld,” said Grandville teacherSandy Bajema, a 25-year vet-eran. “Now, would I encouragemy kids to head into the field?I’d have to think about that.”
E-mail: [email protected]
BY KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LANSING—Michigan Gov.Rick Snyder’s deep budget cutsfor public schools may forcedistricts to close buildings, re-duce staff benefits, privatizesome services, share adminis-trators and offer more onlineclasses.That might be just what the
Republican governor wants.Faced with more than 500
separate school districts — farmore than most states — anda new report that shows morethan half of Michigan’s highschools will have fewer than10 percent of their studentsgraduating this spring ready forcollege, Snyder is switching thediscussion from what moneybuys to how well districts aredoing their jobs.In the process, he’s lump-
ing in districts that have tak-en steps to shrink staff, closebuildings, privatize servicesand ask teachers to pay a biggershare of their health care costswith those that have avoidedmany tough choices.The districts that are ahead
of the curve will be able to tapa special pool of money in the2012-13 budget, Lt. Gov. BrianCalley said.But for the upcoming bud-
get year, Snyder wants to handall school districts cuts of 8percent to 10 percent. The ef-fective $715-per-student reduc-tion is the result of losing $170per student in federal money,a $300 cut by Snyder in per-
pupil funding and the fact thatdistricts have to pay a biggershare of pensions, costing them$245 per student, according tothe nonpartisan Citizens Re-search Council.Snyder also would shift
$896 million in the school aidfund to colleges and universi-ties, a move most districts seeas a betrayal of the promise touse the fund for K-12 schools.“We value community col-
leges and universities, butthey have alternative meansto raise funds. K-12 schools donot,” Michigan Association ofSchool Administrators execu-tive director William Mayessaid recently.Snyder said he realizes he’s
handing a big challenge toschool districts, but thinks thatby privatizing some services,reducing teacher benefits andsharing services, districts canbecome more efficient whilestill providing an excellenteducation.“There could be some
districts that have done ev-erything, but I think there’sprobably still opportunities forevery district in our state tocontinue improvement,” Sny-der said last week. “There’s apath for innovation in manycases.”A recent EPIC-MRA poll
shows public education cutsaren’t popular. Sixty-two per-cent oppose Snyder’s plan,with 32 percent in favor and6 percent undecided. The pollhad amargin of error of plus orminus 4 percentage points.
BY THE NUMBERS
Signing upHere’s a look at the number of new organ donors thatoriginated at West Michigan hospitals that were in the top50 statewide for registrations in 2010:
BORGESS MEDICAL CENTER, KALAMAZOO 495SPECTRUM HEALTH BUTTERWORTH HOSPITAL, GRAND RAPIDS 488BRONSON METHODIST HOSPITAL, KALAMAZOO 298MERCY HEALTH PARTNERS, MUSKEGON 241MERCY HEALTH PARTNERS HACKLEY CAMPUS, MUSKEGON 201LAKELAND REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, ST. JOSEPH 195SAINT MARY’S HEALTH CARE, GRAND RAPIDS 120BATTLE CREEK HEALTH SYSTEM 119SPECTRUM HEALTH BLODGETT HOSPITAL, EAST GRAND RAPIDS 96
TimKorzen
KerryHutchins
PRESS FILE PHOTO
Overwhelming: Peggy Korzen, center, with her two children,Adam, left, and Jason, says she hopes the desire to bean organ donor spreads. Her husband, Tim, donated fourorgans for transplant after his death.
DONORS 2010 NUMBERS TRIPLE THOSE OF 2009
PRESS PHOTOS/KATY BATDORFF
Solemn gathering: Some of the 1,400 people who attended Wes Leonard’s visitationSunday wait their turn to enter Fennville United Methodist Church.
Shipped in: Fennville school buses were used to bringmourners and well-wishers to the church.
Greetings: Firefighters, whoserved as guides for WesLeonard’s visitation, greetpeople Sunday.
RESPECTS COMMUNITY GATHERS TO SAY GOODBYE TO WES LEONARD
TEACHERS‘THERE’S A TARGET ON OUR BACKS’
School budget appearscalculated to force change
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
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