Building Lansing's Future!

Each week we will share district news and offerings.

Update from

Superintendent Shuldiner

Dear Lansing School District Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. As always, it is a pleasure to be writing to you all. I really appreciate the feedback we got from last week’s newsletter. It is great to hear from the community around how we can use both our land and our buildings to better serve our students and our district writ large.

Today, I am going to ask for your indulgence around a more specific kind of feedback. Last year, the school district created the “Lansing Framework for Great Schools.” (We have attached a picture of the framework below.) It is a structured way to think about school and district improvement. It is based on robust and high-level research from the Chicago Consortium on School Research (CCSR). The general theory of action is that if we as a district improve in seven different areas – Trust, Equity, Strong Family-Community Ties, Effective School Leadership, Supportive Environment, Rigorous Instruction, and Collaborative Teachers – we will be able to improve student achievement. Much goes into this framework. We look at attendance data, test scores, teacher observations, etc. But a large part of the framework information is based on survey results from students, teachers, and families.

As you might right remember, last year, we piloted the survey. Teachers and students got the survey in June, and families got it over the summer. Each of the survey questions are associated or “attached” to one of the seven areas of the framework. For instance, there is a question on the survey for families that asks – “I am greeted warmly when I call or visit the school.” The score from this question will impact the “Strong Family-Community Ties” score of the school and the district.

For the first time, doing such a large and intensive survey, we were really happy with the turnout. Over 2300 people took the survey, but it was mainly students and staff. Our parent response was low. However, I take full responsibility for that. We sent the survey out in the summer, and we didn’t promote it as well as we should have.

This year, the plan is to send out the same survey before Thanksgiving and then again in May. This way, we can see if things have gotten better, worse, or stayed the same. We will also make sure to share the results with the entire community. We can only become a better school district if we are honest and open around our strengths and challenges.

Currently, we have shared last year’s survey results with the principals, senior district leaders, and the Board. We are still working on the best way to share the information with everyone. You can imagine the logistics of making the data readable and accessible are a little daunting. We will probably have a webpage attached to the school district page, where everyone can have access.

I hope you help us help make this district better by filling out the survey. We are looking to get over 7,500 responses this Fall and 10,000 responses in the Spring. We will do our best to promote it and make it easy for everyone to fill it out. But we need your help. So, please, when the email comes with the link to the survey, take your time and answer the questions to the best of your abilities. The more honest, open feedback we get – good, bad, and ugly – the better we can move this district toward success.

If you have any questions about the survey, the research it is based on, or the data sets we use, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And if anyone reading this is a quantitative researcher, we would love your help in supporting this work. As we increase the number of people taking the survey, we will need more help analyzing the data.

Benjamin Shuldiner, Superintendent

Lansing School District

To help the district's communication consistency, many newsletters — including this one — will be moved to a platform called SMORE starting next week. So check your spam folder next Sunday if you do not see it.

Meet Our Featured Student!

Josh Valdez

Pattengill Biotechnical Magnet

Josh Valdez, is a 5th grader at Pattengill Biotechnical Magnet School. One thing he really likes about the school is that “we have good teachers." Josh is passionate about his academics and making sure his school looks great - frequently volunteering his time to clean around the inside and outside of the school. He picks up trash on the playground because he wants the school to be a safe and clean environment. Josh likes coming to school because he likes his teacher and can be around his friends. His favorite subject is Science, where he enjoys doing physical experiments with his classmates.

For extracurricular activities, Josh plays football for the Cowboys, a youth football team in the Lansing area. He also enjoys playing baseball at the park with his friends and one day would like to be on a team. In his free time, Josh also enjoys playing his favorite Xbox game, Madden 23. Josh has four siblings - all of whom attend Lansing schools.

Josh demonstrates Pattengill Panther's core values through his attitude and actions on a regular basis and is an example of what so many Pattengill students strive to live out daily.

Staff Feature of the Week

Seana Williams

Forest View School

Seana Williams is the secretary at Forest View Elementary. She came to Forest View in 1989 as a kindergarten student. Along the way, Ms. Williams attended Gardner and graduated from Everett. Both of her children attended Forest View. She is the proud band mom of a trombone player son and her daughter attends Mt. Hope. Seana is Lansing Schools through and through.

Ms. William’s employment with Forest View began as a lunch assistant and she later added assistant positions in both our Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) preschool Programs. Before she took over the role of secretary at the beginning of this year, she was serving students who were struggling with reading in the role of instructional assistant.

Ms. Williams is one of the hardest-working team members the school has. She will do any task that is given to her and do it well. Her relationships with students, families, and staff make her an amazing first face at Forest View.

Seana Williams in kindergarten at Forest View, and now as the secretary of the school.

Lansing School District to Receive $1M Safety Grant

from the US Department of Justice

On Thursday, October 13th, district officials held a press conference to announce the $1 million dollar safety grant that was awarded to the Lansing School District by the US Department of Justice. The district already has a rigorous safety protocol, but this new funding will allow for quicker adoption of the last two pieces following the recent introduction of the Comprehensive Attendance, Administration, and Security System (CAAS) for student IDs.

Though the Lansing School District already does a great job with safety and security, even housing its own department of public safety, the ALICE Program and RAVE Mobile Safety will up our safety strategy to the next level. ALICE is what Superintendent Shuldiner refers to as the "gold standard" training program for preparing individuals for a possible critical incident. This life-saving training, which includes additional professional development around trauma-informed practices, mental health in general, as well as how to respond to it will be provided to ALL Lansing School District students and staff and will work hand-in-hand with RAVE Mobile Safety.

RAVE is a mobile solution that enables early interventions by crowdsourced student reporting of dangerous threats or bullying situations, keeps all district stakeholders informed about safety topics with mass notifications, allows users to send instant alerts to appropriate staff and 9-1-1 by activating a panic button app, and has direct integration - including geolocation - with area emergency services.

The Securing the Pathways sinking-fund millage of 2019 focused on making district schools safer and more secure through the addition of security cameras, keyless entry points, and many updates to the buildings. The four new schools (Lewton, Mt. Hope, Sheridan Rd., and Willow) being built with funds from the passage of this year's bond will have safety and security at the forefront of their construction. This new grant will bring everything full-circle.

Special thanks to Cordelia Black, Executive Director of Culture and Climate; Jennifer West, Director of Culture and Climate; and Director of Competitive Grants Joelle Lets, and her team for continuing to locate and apply for grants that benefit the Lansing School District family.

This story was covered by multiple local news organizations including the Lansing State Journal, Fox47, and WKAR.

Click for more information about the ALICE training program.

Click for more information about RAVE Mobile Safety.

Check out the video from the press conference below.

Capital Area K-12 Online is Growing its Social Media Presence

Capital Area K-12 Online (CAK12O) may be one of our newest schools, but it already boasts an impressive following on social media. That's probably because their Facebook place is a great resource for current students or those interested in the school.

From a calendar of events for the year to reminders about field trips and photo days, and everything in between, you'll enjoy the modern upbeat online presence. Whether you're already a part of the CAK12O family, or you're interested in attending the school, they are a great follow.

By the way, if you are a CAK12O family, don't forget to sign your student - and even yourself - up for a day at Ebersole! This is a field trip experience you don't want to miss. Find more details on their Facebook page.