Superintendent Newsletter

Dear Lansing School District Community,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well. As always, it is a pleasure to be writing to you all. This week, I would like to share some wonderful news about our district.

At 12:16 pm on Friday, February 23rd, the Michigan Department of Education released the graduation numbers for the 2022-2023 school year.

Graduation Rate: 76.37% -- This is the highest rate ever reported for the 4-year grad rate in Lansing. This is the first time breaking 70% and 75%.

Dropout Rate: 8.62% -- This is the lowest rate ever reported for the dropout rate in Lansing. This is the first time our dropout rate is in single digits.

In just two years, we have raised the graduation rate from 62.10% to 76.37%, an increase of 14.27%.

In just two years, we have lowered the dropout rate from 17.35% to 8.62%, a decrease of 8.73%.

To put this in perspective, from 2015 to 2021, the seven years before our changes were implemented, the district's graduation rate went from 61.65% in 2015 to 62.10% in 2021, or a gain of just 0.45% over seven years.

These are incredible results, and all of us should be proud. Every educator, every student, every family, and every community member had something to do with these extraordinary results. We could give so many individual thanks, from the high school principals to our graduation specialists, to our teachers and paras, to every student who made it over the graduation finish line.

But like last week, when I wrote about Lansing vs Everyone, this incredible graduation win belongs to all of us. Everyone who has ever walked the halls of our schools, every family member who checked that their child did their homework or got to school on time. We fail together as a community, but we win together as a community as well.

76.37% is the highest four-year graduation rate in the history of the Lansing School District, but we are not done. Our district goal is 85% by 2025. We are well on our way but will need everyone's support to get there. We gained over 14% in two years, but we will need to gain another 9% in the next two years. We will have to work even harder and with more focus, but I know we can do it.

Thus, I ask each of you to celebrate this win tonight and come to school tomorrow ready to learn, teach, support, care, and love. We will make 85% by 2025.

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

Check out the press conference for more!

Oliveros-Alba has excelled in his studies, and his test scores reflect his academic excellence. His 2023 Reading Inventory / Lexile Proficiency test score was 1261 (an Advanced score), and his 2024 NWEA test score was 235, which places him in the 79th percentile! Brian also boasts an impressive 4.0 average GPA. That kind of academic achievement reflects his focus, dedication, and diligence. Still, he brings more than just academics to the table — he's just an all-around great person!

He is always willing to help where he can lend a hand. Brian is a pleasure to work with; good-natured, polite, and trustworthy. We wish him continued success and are so very gratified to see his hard work and dedication paying off. Congratulations, Brian — you're on your way to big things!

Lisa Palermo, North secretary, is always ready to greet students, staff, and families with a warm welcome. Anyone visiting the school can see she loves her job and enjoys serving students and staff.

As the first point of contact when visitors enter the building, we are so thankful for Lisa making North a welcoming environment. We appreciate you!

This week, Dwight Rich School of the Arts (DRSOTA) wants to say THANK YOU to parent and volunteer Danielle Lackie. Danielle works as a captions editor for television, but when she's not at work or with her family, she can often be found helping out with events at the school. A parent of two DRSOTA students, grades 2nd and 4th, Danielle is always on board to assist with whatever the school may need. From helping with the school's Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) events to making stuffed animals (look how cute the one she is holding is!), Danielle is a friendly face who is recognized and appreciated by the whole Dwight Rich community! Thanks, Danielle, for everything you have done and continue to do for us. You are an amazing part of our school family.

On Tuesday evening, February 27th, SodexoMagic hosted its 9th annual challenge for up-and-coming Lansing School District culinary masters. From the original pool of forty recipes, ten contestants were chosen to meet at Everett High School for a night of "Iron Chef" style cooking and food safety education!

We commend SodexoMagic for sponsoring the event and a special thanks to our volunteer sous chefs and local judges. Of course, this is only possible with the oversight and planning of Jody Taratuta over at SodexoMagic.

The event featured everything from smoothies to an array of ethnic foods, all delicious and easy to prepare. Although every single one of our contestants is a winner in our book, special congratulations go out to our top three finishers!

• First Place: Madison Frazier (Post Oak) Gluten Free Shaved Beef-LT
• Second Place: Alexander Alston Jr. (Willow@Riddle) Loaded-n-Layered Noodles
• Third Place: Simone Beverly (Cumberland) Simone's Silly Smoothie

Madison's (pictured above) Gluten-Free Shaved Beef-LT — submitted for review along with other winners from our state — has a chance to move on to the national competition. Stay tuned for more information!

Student council members and advisors from Eastern High School recently attended "Lasso in Leadership," a State Conference held in Grand Rapids. Over the three-day conference, students attended various seminars, small group activities, lectures by three keynote speakers, break-out sessions, and presentations.

Some of the session themes included: "a better way to lead.", "building community," "fundraising ideas," and "building school spirit"

Special thanks to the following students for representing our school with pride!

Adam Afraj 11th

Lexandria Albarez 10th

Isabella Beverly 8th

Jaylia Bellgowan 8th

Alana Gabriel 10th

Yuknara Micol 9th

Josh Morris 11th

Carissa Richmond 9th

Yaksary Santiago-Vargas 9th

Hannely Zamy 9th

Advisors: Mindy Salais and Beth Perez.

March 7 — Regular Board Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

March 14 — Board Meeting | Information Study Session | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

March 15 - No School | Professional Development Day

March 20 — Parent Community Advisory Council Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 4200 Wainwright Ave.

March 22 — No School | Last Day of Third Marking Period

March 25-29 — No School | Spring Break

Did you know that you can subscribe to our calendars?

Visit www.lansingschools.net/district/calendars, select the school(s) whose calendar you would like to subscribe to, and tap the tiny calendar at the top right. For more detailed instructions, click here.