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.
A little past noon, on Thursday, October 10th, 2024, in the Gardner School library, the Governor of the State of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, flanked by State Senators and Representatives, along with labor leaders, parent activists, educators, and students, signed into law two historic bills that will help support education for thousands of students. The fact that this incredible event occurred in the library of one of our schools is a testament to the incredible hard work of our district. Being chosen as the location to host such an important event speaks volumes about how the Governor and the entire state apparatus think about the work we have done in this district.
Though it might seem that this was just a press event, so much goes into the decision to choose a location and its speakers and what they are asked to say. Each of these considerations showed just how far we have come as a school district in such a brief time.
1) Picking Lansing
The fact that the Governor's staff wanted to hold the event in Lansing showed that we, as a city and school district, are back on the map for the Governor and the state. Because this is a bill for the entire state, the Governor could've held it anywhere. The idea of doing this in Lansing rather than Detroit, Grand Rapids, or Kalamazoo is a testament to the new power of Lansing.
2) Picking a Lansing School District School.
The Governor's office could've easily picked a school district office building or a small elementary school in Okemos to do this presentation. Instead, we were able to host it at Gardner, a 900+ student, K-8 school. This usually scares advance teams. There are so many logistics, and so many things can go wrong. But because of their trust in us, the Governor's people were thrilled to host a very large event at Gardner. This cannot be overstated. The fact that they held the event at a large, urban K-8 school, with students in the audience, and with an "open room" with glass windows looking in, is mind-blowing to me. It really shows an incredible faith in our district.
3) Having the Superintendent open the event with an unscripted speech.
The idea that they had me open the press conference and allowed me to say whatever I wanted is a show of faith and support that rarely occurs in an event like this. In fact, the only direction the Governor's office gave me was: talk about all the things the district has accomplished in the last three years. Now, I hope you all know I will always go off-script to make our district look great, but the idea that they didn't even try to give me a script and only directed me to brag about the district is a paradigm shift for us. The state superintendent didn't speak (he was in the audience), other superintendents didn't speak (they were in the audience), and no other education administrator spoke. The other educator who spoke was our wonderful LSEA Union President Chuck Alberts, which is another testament to the place of the Lansing School District in our state. The Governor's office wanted this to be about her bill signing and the great work we have done in Lansing. That is wonderful.
I was honored and humbled to be asked not only to speak but also to start off the entire event by talking about what we have accomplished in these last few years. We are becoming a state-wide story of success in urban public education. I was able to mention that we have raised our graduation rate by more than 23%, that we have raised our attendance rate by more than 13%, that we have reduced our dropout rate to single digits, that we have increased our enrollment for the first time in over three decades. I celebrated being the first and only district to truly have a universal Pre-Kindergarten program, the creation of Lansing Tech, our 4-year Career and Technical Education High School, the opening of our Newcomer Center, the new school buildings we are opening and the older facilities we are renovating. And there were so many other projects and programs I didn't have the time to mention. But the most important part of the short speech was to thank all of you for making this possible. It is the faith and belief, the hard work and determination of our educators, students, parents, and community members that is helping to write a new chapter, not only for the Lansing School District but for the entire country, showing what is possible in large, urban school districts.
All of you reading this newsletter can take enormous pride in what we have accomplished and continue to accomplish. We have a long way to go to where we want to be, but the progress so far has been terrific. And please know that each and every one of you are part of this amazing success story.
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
