Superintendent Newsletter

Dear Lansing School District Community,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well. As always, it is a pleasure to email you all.

School starts Wednesday!!! Amazing. I can't tell you all how excited I am for this school year. As we start the fifth year of my superintendency, nearly five years of work is starting to show real and tangible gains for our students, our educators, our families, and our community. And of course, all of this is because of the work of all of you. I might be the superintendent, but each of you is part of this incredible mosaic of love and support, hard work, and determination to move our district to higher levels of success for our children. Over these years, almost everything I can think of as a metric of success had moved forward: graduation rates, attendance rates, test scores, enrollment, staff retention and recruitment, salaries for our staff, fund balance, facilities upgrades, arts and music investments, new high-level curriculum, more voice from staff, families, and students, dropout rates, chronic absenteeism, advanced classes, middle school sports, and better varsity sports, just to name a few. When I look back at these four full years and see the incredible gains, I can only be proud of the work we have done collectively.

But . . . there is still work to do. We must continue to fight for what is best for our children and our educators. We must find new and novel ways to continue to push ourselves forward. Our state test scores will come out soon. I know that they will show growth and will continue our incremental path forward. But this is the year (2025-2026) that I believe we can make exponential growth. We will start this year with fewer than 10 classroom teacher vacancies across the district, down from over 100 when I started. We will start this year with a high-level curriculum in both ELA and Math for all students. We will start this year with more educators in the building per student than ever before. We will start this year with more money expended per child in the schools than ever before. We are set for true and dramatic gains in not only proficiency, but in social and emotional health as well. But for this to happen, we all need to believe that it is possible and hold ourselves accountable for it occurring. So today, the first Sunday of our school year, I ask each of us reading, how are we going to move the needle more? As a family member, can you read one more book to your scholar, or play one more math game with them? As a classroom teacher, can you get more of your students to grade-level and proficiency, regardless of what level they entered the classroom? As a principal, can you work more closely with your families to empower them to support the students' learning at home, and can you work more closely with your staff to empower them to support the students' learning in the classroom? As a community member, can you volunteer or mentor one or more students and support their growth toward proficiency? And can all of us truly believe that our students can achieve proficiency in reading and math and thus act that way in our expectations and comportment. That must be our goal. Unless a child has an IEP that specifically sets a different goal for success, each of our students should be expected to reach grade-level.

Will this be difficult? Absolutely. Will this need to create a reframing of how we move classrooms and schools? You bet. But we finally have the systems and structures, the educators and the facilities, the equipment and the curriculum to honestly believe that this is possible. Let the 2025-2026 school year begin with this charge. With all of us working toward this goal, pulling in the same direction, we can succeed in ways no one, not even ourselves, thought possible.

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

The Lansing School District joined friends, neighbors, and families on August 14th in bidding farewell to the current Lewton school building. It was a fantastic event filled with fond memories and stories of years past. The evening was also filled with anticipation for the future and a new Lewton School that is slated to open in the fall of 2028.

A new Lewton is only made possible because of the support of our school community and the sincere belief our children deserve the very best.

We look forward to bringing you construction updates in the weeks and months ahead.

If you could not attend the new Mt. Hope grand opening, take a look at the following video. If members of the Lansing community are interested in touring the new Mt. Hope, please reach out via email to info@lansingschools.net.

Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs), Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), and Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs) play a vital role in fostering strong partnerships between families, schools, and the broader community. They provide a structured way for parents, guardians, educators, and—when students are included—students themselves to collaborate in supporting educational goals, enriching school programs, and advocating for student needs.

These organizations often raise funds for resources and experiences that go beyond the school’s budget, such as classroom technology, extracurricular activities, and cultural events, while also organizing volunteer opportunities that strengthen the school environment. By giving families a voice in school decision-making and encouraging open communication with educators, PTOs, PTAs, and PTSAs help ensure that every student benefits from a well-rounded, inclusive, and engaging educational experience.

Consider joining your school's PTO, PTA, or PTSA this year — they'd love to have you!

If you currently have a district-issued gas card, please do not throw it away. This card will be used for the 2025-26 school year and will be reloaded as long as your child remains eligible. Keeping your current card will ensure a smooth transition and avoid any delays in receiving future funds.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the transportation department at 517-755-3017.

Thank you for your cooperation!

CATA is providing courtesy rides the first week of school! If you can't pick up your student's CATA bus pass at their school prior to August 20th (first day of school), don't worry, CATA has you covered.

Lewton Open House | 5 - 7:00 p.m.

Mt. Hope STEAM Open House Ice Cream Social | 5:00 p.m.

Post Oak Open House | 6 - 8:00 p.m.

Wexford Open House | 5 - 7:00 p.m.

Willow @ Riddle Open House | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Attwood Open House | 3 - 6:00 p.m.

Capital Area K12 Online and Lansing Learning Hub Back To School Night | 4 - 6:00 p.m.

Dwight Rich Open House | 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Gardner Open House | 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Gier Park Meet The Teacher Night | 5 - 6:00 p.m.

Lyons Open House K-4 | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

North School Open House |4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Pattengill Open House | 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Sexton Open House | 2 - 5:00 p.m.

Sheridan Road Open House | 4 - 6:00 p.m.

Join us for our first ever Back to School 5K on August 23 at 9 a.m.

and help us kick off the school year with energy and purpose!

Proceeds (beyond event setup) will support vital enrichment programs in athletics, arts, and robotics across our district. The $25 entry fee includes a race day tee and a swag bag from our generous sponsors, and there’s even a free kids’ half-mile run at 11 a.m. If you can't participate, consider donating or becoming a sponsor — additional details are available in the brochure.

Your support helps ensure every student

has the opportunity to thrive!

To join the race or make a donation scan the QR code or click here.

Aug 20 — First Day of School

Aug 21 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Aug 23 — Back to School 5K

Aug 29 — No School

Sept 01 — No School (Labor Day)

Sept 04 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Sept 08 — Universal Preschool First Day

Sept 18 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Sept 26 — No School (Professional Development Day)

Oct 01 — Fall Count Day

Oct 02 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Oct 17 — No School (Professional Development Day)

Oct 31 — End of First Marking Period

Oct 31 — Half Day (Elementary Only)

Nov 04 — Election Day (No School)

Nov 06 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Nov 24 — No School (Professional Development Day)

Nov 26 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Nov 24 — No School (Professional Development Day)

Nov 25-28 — Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Dec 04 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Dec 18 — Board of Education Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | 519 Kalamazoo St.

Dec 22 - Jan 2 — Winter Break (No School)

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.