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.

Today, I write to you sitting at a local watering hole, eating a burger, drinking soda water, and watching my beloved Knicks play in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Though I am not donning my Charles Oakley jersey (it is hung up in my closet), I certainly wear my allegiances on my sleeve. Seeing the fans dressed in New York jerseys makes me a bit homesick, but I am more struck by the intense feelings – the immense worry and grief when baskets from the opposing team go in and the profound joy and pride when "our team" scores a bucket. We become "adjacently victorious" on every made shot.

While I watch the game, I am also going over preliminary M-STEP scores. We are still in the testing window and still need to finish administering the exams. These scores must then be compiled by the state and organized, with final "cut scores" being determined over the next few months. Thus, the results won't be released soon. However, I am still pouring over these embargoed results, looking at patterns of success and places of challenge, and wonder how we, as a district and as a community, can find a way to care more about these results than about whether an orange bouncy ball goes through a metal ring. How can we care about proficiency scores more than the scores on an arena screen?

I would love to find ways for us to trumpet the great results of our students and our educators. Celebrate the families and the schools. What jerseys do we need to wear? What scoreboards do we need to build? How can the entire Lansing School District feel adjacently victorious when a child makes yearly growth or hits above standard? I look forward to finding these ways together. Let us wear our Lansing School District jerseys with pride; let us cheer the number of students who make more than expected growth. I love sports and when "my" team wins, but I love it more when "our" students succeed. I am open to all ideas. Hopefully, we can build this culture together over the next few years.

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

Our Junior Board of Education, composed of district students, plays a crucial role in shaping our district’s policies and programs by actively involving our students in decision-making. The Junior Board serves as a bridge between the student body and district administration — providing valuable insights and unique perspectives into the effectiveness of various educational initiatives as they experience these programs firsthand.

A direct line of communication between students and administrators promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility among students for their educational experience. It fosters better communication and understanding between students and administration. Feedback provided by our Junior Board members can, and oftentimes does, lead to more student-centered policies and programs that better meet the needs of our diverse student body.

Serving on the Junior Board can be a transformative experience for students, allowing them to develop leadership skills, learn about governance structures, and engage in meaningful civic participation. This experience can empower students to advocate for positive change in education and their communities.

In Lansing, our Junior Board is a powerful tool to promote student voice, foster collaboration, and improve the overall educational experience for ALL students in the district. We appreciate our 2023-24 Junior Board members for their involvement in this important program!

Thank you so much to the following students for their participation!

Antonio Leija-Navarro — President

Jesus Gonzalez-Torres — Vice President

Jasira Still — Secretary

Lola Flores — Treasurer

Abbie joined the Viking team mid-year last year and immediately became an asset to Everett High School's student support team. Abbie serves as a student support specialist, providing social-emotional support to students and helping them solve problems if they are struggling with behavior issues in class or at home.

Abbie graciously volunteered to spearhead the school's Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (CRPBIS for short) team and organized the majority of our CRPBIS events and initiatives. She has worked with the staff team and students to brainstorm events and other incentive ideas, resulting in multiple field trips to places such as ZapZone, Edru, Craig's Cruisers, and more.

Not only does she plan and organize the field trips, but Abbie also plans our quarterly CRPBIS grade-level assemblies where we review our Vikings RISE (Respect, Integrity, Success, Empathy) expectations and introduce our quarterly incentives students can strive to earn.

With Abbie's efforts to lead the CRPBIS team, we now have a Viking Game Room where students can earn time in during their lunch periods. The game room has multiple arcade games, as well as a billiards table, cornhole, and more. All purchased games were chosen by interviewing students and asking what they would like to see in the game room.

In addition to her efforts to lead CRPBIS, Abbie helps with testing and runs our student center. She has become a true VIKING, and we are so happy to have her on your team!

On Earth Day (April 22nd), Riddle Elementary students were delighted by special Earth Day Celebration guests! This event was organized by the eponymous Ralph Riddle and brought Michigan Department of Natural Resources Officer Ken Poff, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus with Michigan State University's Horticulture Program, and even Smokey the Bear himself to the school to talk about Wildfire Prevention. The celebratory event, now in its second year, was designed to foster environmental awareness and education among the school's students.

Dr. Poff generously donated over 100 redbud trees to the Westside Neighborhood Association as a display of environmental stewardship.

Thank you, Mr. Riddle and Dr. Poff, for promoting green initiatives and community involvement by bringing this wonderful event to Riddle!

The Lansing Board of Water and Light's (BWL) 1st STEP gives high school seniors a PAID work-based learning experience, the opportunity to earn a scholarship, the ability to explore career paths in the utility industry, and more!

Students who meet the following eligibility criteria should consider applying for this amazing opportunity:

• High School senior whose permanent residence has service from BWL
• Age 17 by January 1
  
• Overall GPA of at least a 2.0
  
• Plans to live and work in the Greater Lansing Area
  
• Plans to pursue post-secondary education and training in skilled trades beyond high school
• Ability to work three hours during the school day
• Be drug-free
• Dependable Transportation (ability to get to work on time)
• Dependable and hardworking

Sound like something you're interested in?

Contact your school counselor or the BWL job placement coordinator at (517) 702-6400.

For more information, check out the accompanying documents below.

Make sure to fill out your transportation application as soon as you can — this ensures that you can get the transportation your child needs: whether it be a seat on the school bus, a gas card, or CATA card. At the jump, you will be able to get instructions for filling out the application and using gas cards as well as CATA maps.

Questions regarding transportation for the 2024-25 school year?

Call the Transportation Assistance Team at (517)755-3017.

May 2 — Board Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

May 9 — Board Meeting - Information Study Session | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

May 10 — No School | PD Day

May 16 — Board Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

May 24 — Half Day (Elementary Schools) and Last Day for Seniors

May 27 — No School | Memorial Day

May 29— Parent Community Advisory Council Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 4200 Wainwright Ave.

June 5 & 6 — Half Days for High Schools

June 6 — Board Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

June 7 — Last Day of School (Half Day All Grades)

June 8 — Graduation

June 13 — Board Meeting - Information Study Session | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

June 20 — Board Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 W. Kalamazoo St.

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.