Dear Lansing School District Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. As always, it is a pleasure to be writing to you all. Last week I celebrated my 500th day as Superintendent of the Lansing School District. It has been an honor to be of service to you all over this time. As I look back on the first 500 days, I want to give thanks to all of you who have made these first 500 days memorable and meaningful. I am proud of the work we have done but extremely cognizant of the work yet to be accomplished. In our first 500 hundred days, we have reopened schools from 16 months of shuttered buildings and on-line learning. We have returned to school safely without masks and continue using best-in-class COVID mitigation strategies to keep our positivity rates low and our attendance rates high. We have created universal Pre-K and now have more Pre-K students enrolled in our district than ever before. We opened the Capital Area On-Line school, a best-in-breed, all-virtual school, currently enrolling over 400 students in grades K-12. We passed a bond with over 71% approval that will help bring air conditioning into every classroom in the district, as well as build brand-new schools and help renovate parts of Sexton.

We have hired hundreds of new employees, including new positions like Medical Assistants, a Director of Health, and Supervisors of Student-Athlete Development. We even created entirely new departments: the Department of Instruction and the Department of Alternative Education. We opened the Lansing Learn Hub, an alternative education school, and already have over 50 students enrolled. And it is not just the creation of new programs but a refocusing of old programs to better serve our students. Already this year, the Office of Schools has done over 500 school visits so that instead of sitting behind a desk in the central office, those education leaders are out in the schools, supporting our educators to move our students toward success.

In the wake of a national bus driver shortage, we were able to create a large-scale gas card system where parents received a $ 50-a-month gas card per child. This year we were able to give all of our high school students an unlimited CATA card so that they not only could go to school but to extracurricular programs, afterschool activities, and even weekend jobs. And, with the switch to CATA, our high school attendance rate has actually gone up this year.

500 days ago, our Special Education compliance rate was under 50%, yet by the last week of school, we were 100% compliant for the first time in years. We still have a long way to go for our Special Education work, but we are moving forward. We successfully merged Woodcreek into Wexford to create a seamless K-8 Montessori experience. But we also did this to free up Woodcreek to be a swing space for Mt. Hope students so that we can rebuild Mt. Hope quicker and more effectively. We more than tripled the number of students in our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs this year, and we will be starting a four-year CTE high school next year, thanks to the $14.9 million magnet grant we won this year. We also won a $25 million grant last year to support education in the district.

We unveiled our Framework for Great Schools so that everyone in the district can have a clarity of purpose and common language around student achievement. We created a district-wide survey for parents, students, and staff so that more people can have a voice and influence the direction and decisions of the district. We started to take the 7th and 8th grades out of the high school and started building more K-8 schools as well as 4-8 schools.

We have done a million more things that we should be proud of that I haven't listed. And none of this would've been possible without you. All of our staff, teachers, principals, secretaries, support staff, assistants, public safety officers, and numerous other positions and roles have worked tirelessly to support our students. Our families and community have rallied behind us to make our schools wonderful. There is a palpable sense of hope percolating through Lansing. Things are getting better and will be better still.

So, for this week's update, for the week of Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks to you all for these first 500 days. I hope to be able to spend many more days in Lansing serving you.

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

Gisty is one of Gardner's English Language Learner (ELL) students and is making huge strides academically, socially, and in athletics this year. He found his home with the cross country team, becoming a team leader and excelling as a runner during fall meets. Gisty was even recognized by a Lansing area running club which provided him with new running shoes so he could further his competitiveness and foster his love for running.

Gisty knows the importance of being a student first and an athlete second and has made a point to prioritize his academics. He is also well-liked by his peers and can always be found with a huge smile on his face in the halls at Gardner.

Gisty exemplifies what it is to be a true Global Guardian.

There are dozens of staff members who have spent most of their lives in and around the Lansing School District. Yet, few have a story quite as compelling as Cavanaugh’s Laurie (Herndon) Pollie.

Starting as a student at Gunnisonville in the early 1970’s, Laurie finished her elementary education as at Genesee Elementary where former Superintendent Sam Sinicropi was her 6th Grade Teacher. Sam describes Laurie as a top-notch, “spirited” student, who was deeply involved in school and especially enjoyed competing on the “Math-R-Rama” team.

From there, Laurie moved on to Otto Middle School before attending Eastern High School and becoming a proud Quaker graduate in 1984. Then, Michigan State University beckoned as Laurie pursued her intention to make the transition from student to teacher.

Once graduated from MSU, Laurie made the short trip back to the Lansing School District, eventually settling into Room 1 at Cavanaugh as the school's Kindergarten teacher in 1993-94. Her Principal was none other than … you guessed it … Sam Sinicropi!

Estimation suggests Laurie has taught nearly 1,000 Kindergarten students over her career. And this year, like many previous, Laurie is teaching children whose parents, siblings, aunts, or uncles were once students sitting in her classroom. No doubt, it is the “spirit” Sam mentioned that Laurie has brought to her work every day. (Anyone who has visited a Kindergarten room knows it is indeed a “spirited” place!)

Laurie has informally announced her intention to retire at the end of 2022-23 school year. As this profession continues its profound transformation, we may never again see someone so dedicated to teaching any grade or subject, let alone Kindergarten, for 30 years in the same exact classroom!

Thank you, Laurie Pollie, Cavanaugh’s Kindergarten Teacher for giving so much of your life to the Lansing School District!

Click here to register!

Click here to register!

Click here to see the full topic list and to register.