Dear Lansing School District Community,
I have wrestled all week with what I should write for this iteration of our newsletter. This will probably be the longest communication during my time in Lansing. I apologize for the length, but I feel writing a substantial letter today is necessary. Clearly, I want to address the fact that we had school on Tuesday, January 23rd, when other districts in the area did not. As you know, I always try to be open, honest, and thoughtful about any decision the district takes, especially when it comes to the safety and welfare of our staff and students.
To put it simply, I, along with other staff, were up and on the roads by 5 am. We drove main roads and back roads. We traveled to multiple schools, walked the parking lots and walkways, and checked the heat. We found that the roads were passable, the schools were in their normal shape, and that it made sense to open, knowing full well that any parent who didn’t want to send their child to school could do so.
As a district, we do not look for an excuse to close but rather need an overwhelming reason to do so. I appreciate that many people woke up on Tuesday and wanted to not go to work or school, but we don’t think that way as a district. We recognize the awesome responsibility we hold. We educate over 10,000 students. We provide meals and services to thousands of children. We are the lifeblood to so many families. To cancel school, the situation must be dire enough that keeping open would be worse than shutting down. And at no point did anyone from the facilities team or I feel that shutting down was the correct option for the schools in Lansing. And, thankfully, that decision was correct.
On Tuesday, January 23rd, over 6,500 students went to school in Lansing, over 30,000 hours of instruction were held, and over 10,000 meals were served. Thousands of families were able to go to work because we were open. Numerous hugs and high-fives were had. Kids learned, teachers taught, and parents went to work. And through it all, we had zero slip and falls reported to HR. We had no injuries reported. In fact, of the 78-morning bus routes, only two were reported late. This is better than most days. Yes, one bus with three children on it slid partially off the road. That is terrible, and I am so thankful that no one was hurt. We can never be cavalier about the safety and security of our children.
But just because one bus slid partially off a very winding road with tight turns does not mean that we should cancel school for 10,000 students. What it means is that we should take extra caution when taking those turns. And again, 77 out of 78 bus routes had no reported problems. The irony of that bus sliding off the road was that when I heard of this incident, I drove to the scene. While I was standing in the road, a parent dove up alongside me. She rolled down her window and told me that she had complained about this specific bus route on multiple occasions, as had other parents. That this parent consciously didn’t send their child on the bus because she was afraid of this particular route. The good thing is that someone from Dean Transportation was standing right by me and heard this entire conversation. Clearly, Dean Transportation is going to investigate this immediately. To put Tuesday in perspective, sadly, the next day, Wednesday, January 24th, when all schools in the area were open, we had 12 reported slip and falls to HR and numerous other issues because of the weather. Tuesday, by all accounts from our reports, was a safer day to be open than almost any in the past two weeks. And please, as I always remind this community, if you are a parent or guardian, you can keep your child home if you think it is unsafe. But, if we close schools, that means no one can come.
As for staff, they were awesome. Our staff attendance was just a bit lower than a random Friday in November. Our incredible educators came to work to serve our students. It was wonderful to see. I visited many classrooms on Tuesday, and in each of them, I saw smiling children and adults engaged in teaching. I want to thank the incredible staff for showing up for our families. Additionally, I do appreciate that many of our staff don’t live in Lansing, and thus, traveling into the district was difficult. This is why I am so happy to have every single employee (other than senior staff) represented by collective bargaining. Each employee is able to call out because of their inability to get to work and not be punished. They have days that can be taken without retribution from supervisors. As I am sure, you can all understand, we, as a district, can’t make a decision about closing based on the weather in another part of the state, but we can assure all staff that if they think it is too dangerous to come to work, they can call off.
However, this week, I also feel it necessary to address the reaction to the decision to stay open and the unfortunate behavior I witnessed first-hand, as well as incidents I was informed of or communications I was forwarded. I appreciate that there will always be decisions in a district of over 10,000 students that do not sit well unanimously. Even decisions like universal Pre-K and taking the 7th and 8th graders out of the high school were not met with universal approval. But the anger, vitriol, and meanness expressed toward the district, especially members of my staff, because of the decision to remain open was uncalled for.
If we are going to move forward as a district, a level of decorum must reign throughout. Additionally, if we are going to move forward as a district and break the cycle of poor performance and abjectly low proficiency, we are going to have to push ourselves to not always take the easy way out.
Carrie Christian is the Superintendent’s Executive Assistant. She is the nicest, most caring, and thoughtful person you can meet. She goes above and beyond the call of duty. In her spare time, she volunteers in the community and actively supports Lansing. Yet on Tuesday, she was met with numerous calls and voicemails cursing at her, degrading her, and generally sending abuse in her general direction.
Michael McClendon is an HR staff member. One of his many roles and responsibilities is to staff the front desk and answer the main phone line. Michael is a wonderful employee. He Is thoughtful and supportive and is always kind to people who visit the district offices. Yet on Tuesday, he was met with numerous calls and voicemails cursing at him, degrading him, and generally sending abuse in his general direction.
Alexandre Fulce is the Secretary to the Board of Education. As the Secretary to the Board, he responds to calls and emails for the Board. He is a kind and soft-spoken man. He is detail-oriented and a great worker. Yet on Tuesday, he was met with numerous calls and voicemails cursing at him, degrading him, and generally sending abuse in his general direction.
This is not ok. These three employees and the 1,500 others who work day-in-and-day-out for our children deserve, at the very least, to be treated with general civility. Of course, anyone can be angry and frustrated. You can be upset and annoyed. But to take it out on people just trying to do their jobs is something we need to put an end to. If you are angry, frustrated, upset, or annoyed, you are always welcome to come to me directly. I answered numerous emails on Tuesday explaining the rationale for keeping school open. I responded to every single one of them. But I am asking this community to stand up and allow our better angels to push back against our worst demons. Everyone deserves to be treated humanely.
To that end, I have a favor to ask of this district. Let us change this narrative. Let us see the good in people. Let us be guided by grace and not anger, love and not hatred, care and not meanness.
Here is my ask – if you sent your child to school on Tuesday, please email their educators and principal, and anyone else at the school you think appropriate, and thank them for being there for your child, for being open and welcoming, for being present in a time when other districts were not. Even if you chose to keep your child home, which I totally understand, please contact the school and thank them for being open for others.
And if anyone in this district has the time, I would request that you email the following four non-school-based staff members who shouldered the brunt of the decision to remain open. I have already mentioned three – Carrie -- carrie.christian@lansingschools.net, Michael --michael.mcclendon@lansingschools.net, and Alex -- alexandre.fulce@lansingschools.net. I ask you to add Lori Brandon, the Director of Facilities, to your list - lori.brandon@lansingschools.net.
She was on the road at 5 am, driving the back roads, walking the schools, and making sure that the buildings were safe to open. She went so above and beyond the normal expectations of a Director of Facilities that thanking her would go a long way in bringing us all together as a district. When we can see the actual people behind the phones and the emails, behind the facilities teams, we start having a deeper respect for us all. The more we see ourselves in others, the more love and care we will take in our actions.
Lastly, one major topic of conversation around calling snow days is this idea of “count” and if days count for attendance purposes. Because this letter is already way too long, I promise that next week’s topic, unless something major occurs, will be an exploration about how the attendance count works for school districts.
I know this was a long and deep newsletter. Thanks so much for your willingness to read this entire letter. I am so appreciative of everyone who makes our district great. Thank you for all your support.
Benjamin Shuldiner, Superintendent
Lansing School District
