Our Story. Our Growth. Our Impact.
A Family Affair—Three Generations of an Ongoing GRPS Legacy
The Bernsteins claim to be Michigan's first family of law, but when it comes to education they've got nothing on the Atkins family. As students, teachers, and administrators the Atkins' have collectively logged over 150 years in the GRPS and are still going strong. The family's patriarch, Mel senior, attended neighborhood schools and was a member of the last graduating class of South High School in 1968. After college, Mel returned to teach and coach, later becoming an administrator. From 1985 to 2008 he was the director of athletics that included the City League, one of the few conferences in the state that featured both public and parochial schools administered by the local school board. Mel helped raised over $4 million to support City League athletic programs and avoid pay-for-play challenges. He also implemented a less popular but firmly enforced 2.0 GPA rule for participation. When he retired from his post in 2008, he helped the City League successfully transition to the O-K Conference. Mel's wife, Peggy Cummings Atkins, graduated from Ottawa Hills High School, and returned to the GRPS as a teacher and administrator in a career that spanned 40 years. Mel and Peggy's son, Mel Atkins II, graduated form Ottawa and joined the GRPS post-college where he eventually became the district's executive director of community and student affairs. Mel II's wife, Anna, teaches at the Gerald R. Ford Academic Center where her son, Mel III, is a student. The couple's other children include Daniela, who attended Zoo School, and Reina, who was among the first students at the new Museum School. So, while it may be unlikely that anyone will ever pick up the phone and dial 1-800-CALL-MEL, it's clear the Akins have an advantage that has meant a great deal to the GRPS.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/GRPublicSchools/posts/pfbid0uGyTwiZcEgVp58vPYHANNDUn8m65rAFgKkD3y93euzbS6ZaC2eiapm1U2USQGkKhl
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