Superintendent Newsletter

Dear Lansing School District Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. As always, it is a pleasure to be writing to you all. Today, I write the last newsletter of the school year. I can't believe the year is over. It was an amazing year that saw so many great successes. Not only did we raise the graduation rate, attendance rate, and stabilize enrollment, making progress toward our district-wide goals for 2025, but we had numerous other wins. We hired over 400 new employees to help our students. We created a full K-8 Montessori school by combining Wexford and Woodcreek. We announced the opening of Lansing Tech and have already started to enroll students for next year. We expanded our universal Pre-K and had over 500 students participate in the program, the largest ever for Lansing. We started taking out the 7th and 8th grades from the high schools and will be able to complete that task at the end of this coming year. The number of wonderful things that happened this year are too many to recount in a newsletter. But one thing is clear -- the Lansing School District is very much on the upswing!

And now, this summer, we will continue to run programming to help support our students. Be it the "Best" program or our "Aim High" program; be it summer school at our high schools or our Student Development Program at Don Johnson, we never stop working for our students and our families.

None of the great work this year could've been done without you. Thank you to the staff -- teachers, administrators, assistants, secretaries, officers, paraprofessionals, office staff, bus drivers, custodians, etc. etc. etc. There are so many people who work for the district who make it run. Thank you!

Thank you to the families. We know you are always trying to support us in getting your students to do their work, attend school, and want to learn. The families of Lansing have been wonderful. I thank you all for continuing to believe in our district. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with families in the future. And, of course, thank you to the students who came to school, passed their exams, handed in their homework, and participated in class.

As many of you take the summer to relax, go on vacation, and just get ready for next year, I have one big favor -- please spread the word about Lansing. If you know parents that are deciding about kindergarten, tell them to enroll in Lansing. If you have families that have a pre-school aged child, tell them to enroll in Lansing. If you know of students that are unhappy in another district, tell them to come on over to Lansing.

The more we spread the word about the great work we are doing, the more people will think about enrolling in Lansing. And if you are reading this email and you have school-age kids and they are not already enrolled for next year, please, please, please enroll them now. The sooner we get them on the roster, the sooner we can start supporting you and the child.

As for the newsletters, this will be the last weekly newsletter until the start of next school year. We will send out one monthly newsletter in July and August, resuming our weekly cadence during the first week of school.

Thank you so much for all of your incredible support of our district. Together, we will do great things for the children of Lansing.

Benjamin Shuldiner, Superintendent

Lansing School District

This year we have featured some pretty amazing people — students and staff alike. Due to the limited amount of time in a school year, we were able to choose only a handful of individuals to feature, but, we know, without a doubt, that each and every student who attends a Lansing School District school — and every teacher, and every administrator. Every bus driver, and food service professional, every coach and every specialist... every single person that works tirelessly on the back end has a distinct and beautiful story. Stories of hard work. Of sacrifice. Of success. Of resilience. Of triumph.

Those stories all come together to weave the intricate fabric that is the Lansing School District, and, what a remarkable tapestry we are creating. We come from all over the world, bringing nearly sixty languages languages to the doors of 27 schools. We are English language learners. We are native speakers. We are neurotypical, and we are neurodivergent. We are dancers. We are athletes. We are CisHet and we are LGBTQIA. We are scientists, and engineers. We are jocks, and we are nerds. We are scholars. We are poets. We are the current educators and the current students — we are also the future educators. We are absolutely anything and everything in between.

“We have all traveled unique paths to reach graduation and we stand united in our shared accomplishment,” said Eastern Valedictorian Aenet Anthony. We have each traveled a unique path to get to exactly where we are today. We have had failures and we have had success. We have colored neatly inside of the lines as best as we can, and we have also made mistakes. But, as Vanessa Pliego Gonzalez so succinctly put it at the Adult Education graduation, "its okay to make mistakes, because we are not perfect." The important part is that we are continuing to move forward. In the pursuit of knowledge. In the pursuit of ourselves. In pursuit of our futures. In pursuit of a better future for us all. We continue to move forward.

“We have been pushed to our limits, tested in ways we could have never imagined, and faced adversity head-on. But through it all, we have emerged stronger, more resilient, and more prepared to tackle life’s challenges," continued Anthony. "We have learned that the pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong endeavor and that the true measure of success lies in our ability to adapt, persevere, and make a meaningful impact on those around us.“ But our students... we... couldn't have done it alone.

We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge all of the families who have supported our students as they navigate their lives and education. And all of the peers, and mentors, families and friends who have supported our students and staff alike. To the grandparents raising their grandchildren, the single mothers, the blended families. To the boyfriends, and girlfriends. To the fiancés and spouses. To anyone and everyone who helped us on our journeys, we are thankful. You are a source of strength, a listening ear, and a shoulder on which to cry. You pick us up when we fall and remind us that we can when we feel like we can't. You give your energy to us, and that helps us to give our all. Sometimes we may be challenging, but we will always remember the ones who helped us along the way.

"My parents have always been there for me and they worked really hard to support me and to get me where I am today," said Everett Salutatorian Cer T. Yang said while tearing up during her graduation speech. "In 2018 when my oldest brother graduated, I remembered being amazed at the Valedictorian speech, and my great grandmother telling me I would be up here one day doing the same thing and she would be up front and center cheering," said Everett Valedictorian, Jr. Board President, and Everett graduate Naomi Johnson. "Unfortunately, she passed away this past summer, but even though she isn't here with me physically I feel her smile here with me spiritually, and I know how my great grandmother is here with me, I know someone else's auntie, mother, grandmother, friend is also here with them today and is proud of what you all have accomplished here." We will remember your love, your support, and even, yes, your patience for the rest of our days. We will also remember, your strength in being able to do all of that while you had lives of your own.

"We have learned that strength is not solely measured by the absence of adversity, but by our ability to rise above it, find light among the darkness, and keep moving forward. As we stand on the precipice of our new chapter, let us carry with us the profound understanding of perseverance," said Sexton Valedictorian Jeffrey Stytch. "Let us be guided by the knowledge that within us lies a flame of resilience capable of weathering any storm. With perseverance as our ally, we can reach new heights, shatter boundaries and make a lasting impact on the world."

And so we close the chapter of the 2022-23 school year in profound thanks, appreciation, and awe of each and every member of the Lansing School District family. We look forward to what the future holds, for our graduates, for our returning students, and for our families, community, and staff.

Know a fantastic staff member? Fill out this form.

For more information about the Adult Education graduation, check out the Bright Side!

You may remember the story about Everett High School's new garden which was collaboratively planned, built, and decorated by students from Ms. Harkness' Environmental Science Class, the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA), and Ms. Collins art class. Well, students and staff recently put the finishing touches on the space and it looks amazing!

"The Lansing School District S.T.A.R. (School Transformation Accelerates Results) grant was excited to have been able to fund this amazing project," said Brandy Jones, S.T.A.R. Grant Supervisor. We can't wait for for Everett students, their families, and the community to eventually be able to harvest from the garden! This project would have truly not been possible without a significant amount of behind the scenes work by Kelley and Connie at the Everett Clinic and the GSA teacher advisors Ms. Kish, Ms. Allison, and Ms. Neibauer.

Thanks to everyone who helped out to make such a wonderful and beneficial space for our Everett Vikings!

The Sexton boys 4x100 team recently placed 4th in the MHSAA track state finals!

Congratulations!!!!!

Celebrate kindness, friendship, and unity from June 1 - August 5

with Capital Area District Libraries' Summer Reading Challenge!

Visit cadl.org/summer for more information and to sign up!