The Bright Side

Three juniors and two staff members from Everett High School recently presented at the Student Mental Health Summit about how Unified Champion Schools (UCS) are a great tool to help students with and without disabilities address mental health needs. The program is designed to create a sense of belonging at school. Students got to share how the Unified Champion Schools program has impacted them and the school culture at Everett.

In addition to presenting, they attended sessions to learn ways to help other students and improve mental health at their school. The students were excited to learn from others and come up with ideas that can be shared with the Everett staff to make the school a better place. Thanks to the Special Olympics of Michigan for inviting Everett students and staff to participate in the mental health summit and helping to come up with a great presentation.

The Lansing School District has been awarded more than $14.9 million in federal grant funding from the United States Department of Education to support Magnet schools. The Magnet funding will support programs at Forest View Elementary – Environmental Science Magnet, North Elementary – Environmental Science Magnet, Wexford Montessori Magnet, and the creation of a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Magnet High School at the Hill Center in Lansing.

“We are thrilled that the Department of Education is awarding us over $14 million to help create a four-year Career and Technical Education High School, as well as an Environmental Education Program that will run through Forest View and North,” said superintendent Ben Shuldiner. “In addition, we will receive support to strengthen our amazing K-8 Montessori program at Wexford."

Click here to watch the press conference announcing the grant.

Over 100 excited kids in south Lansing each took home a backpack filled with school supplies for the school year at a Back-to-School Extravaganza coordinated by LAFCU, Two Men and a Truck, and The Village Lansing.

“It was a beautiful day to celebrate our young people,” said Erica Lynn, The Village Lansing co-founder. “We couldn’t have done it without LAFCU, our other generous sponsors, and all those who donated supplies and their time to help make this happen! It took a ‘Village,’ and the village showed up! You are appreciated.”

“You could see that the colorful backpacks and new school supplies sparked the hopes and dreams of the kids and their families through their big smiles,” said Shelia Scott, LAFCU’s community financial education & business development officer.

Other Lansing-area organizations that supported the event were The Fretail Store, Covering Kids, Helping Women Period, Faith’s Pillow & More, Odd Nodd Art Supply, the Office and Professional Employees union, and the charity’s Village Youth Academy.

The Lansing School District offers a variety of English student learning opportunities to support students who are learning English as a second language. In collaboration with the Billingual Education Department, K-12 students can receive additional language help after school or during the summer.

In the fall of 2020, Yongchang Wu, a student in LSD’s Adult Education program also began taking ESL classes, while simultaneously taking classes at LCC, working towards his GED and working as a full-time food delivery driver. This summer, Wu successfully passed all four of his required GED tests.

“Our classes helped him to expand his vocabulary, grammar, communication, and reading skills and analyze information on a deeper level,” said ESL instructor Collin Blair, Ed.D. “ He is a hard worker.” Wu is currently taking carpentry classes with the district which he will finish this month. He hopes to eventually become a contractor.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that the Lansing School District has given me,” said Wu. “I also very much appreciate that my ESL instructor Collin Blair and my GED instructor Karyn Smith provided support. Without their help, I wouldn’t have had a chance to chase my goals.”

Pattengill Elementary School and Lansing Eastern High School have partnered with the Future Proud Michigan Educators on a Reading Project where high school students are sharing and becoming reading role models for the younger students. The goal of the Reading Project is to establish the importance of writing and reading for students of all ages and inspire students to become more active in a literary sense.

On October 3rd, the students gathered at Pattengill elementary where the event began with a visit from the Pattengill mascot the Quaker. The Lansing Eastern ninth graders read letters that they wrote about their experiences with reading and writing aloud and spent time bonding with the younger students over the books they chose to share.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Leyla Yahsha, the Eastern student that dressed as the Quaker mascot. “I had the chance to walk around and watch the way that my classmates were interacting with the elementary students which was great to see. It was a cool event, and the younger students were excited to see me and share their experiences about reading.”

The elementary school students spent time reflecting on the book the ninth graders read to them, and went on to create artwork to represent the aspects of each story. A wide variety of stories were explored throughout the program. Stories included: “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Hate U Give,” and “Pete the Cat.”

“Seeing the elementary student’s faces light up and them being so happy we were there was impactful for me,” said Robyne Muray, teacher of the Eastern ninth graders who took part in the event. “This event shows that if we connect with our young students through the high schoolers, we will see more of an impact on the elementary students than we as adults would be able to provide.”

Wexford Montessori is experiencing some double vision — times three — this year on the volleyball court! The sixth-grade girls’ volleyball team has three sets of twins playing this season.

This is a big change for volleyball coach Ferrind Mitchell who had previously never coached one set of twins, let alone three at the same time. “Their attitudes and personalities are so different from one another, even from one twin to another,” Mitchell said. “It makes coaching the young ladies incredibly fun. There is never a dull moment when they are together.”

When asked about how they feel about playing alongside one another, Izzy Presas mentioned that her twin Gabriella makes her “feel comfortable and more confident” out on the court because she knows that her sister always has her back.

Raina Mishler commented on the ability to communicate with her sister Rylie on the court. “I feel like I can just give her a look and she will know what I need her to do,” said Raina. “It feels like we have twin telepathy because we always are thinking the same things.”

“I feel like having my twin by my side and the other sets of twins on the team makes playing way more fun,” said Kaycee Deleon, whose thoughts were soon echoed by her twin Kaylee.

All three sets of twins have been friends for a while and are thrilled to be by each other’s sides while playing. Rylie and Raina Mishler lovingly referred to themselves and their twin teammates as a pack of wolves referencing their bond as a group, and this pack of wolves would not want their team to be different in any way.

Photo (L to R): Gabriella and Izzy Presas, Kelcee and Kaycee Deleon, and Raina and Rylie Mishler.

The Lansing School District has been awarded a $1 million federal U.S. Department of Justice grant aimed at improving school security. The grant will support programs designed to improve school security through specialized training and technical assistance by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly and help to prevent acts of violence while ensuring a positive school climate.

“We are thrilled to receive this three-year grant created to help make schools safer,” said superintendent Ben Shuldiner. “We believe that school is the safest place for our students, and these additional tools and training provided by the Justice Department grant will go a long way in continuing to make the Lansing School District safe.”

“Safety is at the top of everyone’s mind when they drop a child off to school in the morning, and the Lansing School District will continue to do everything it can to ensure that our students are safe and secure in our buildings,” said Gabrielle Lawrence, president of the Board of Education. “We are excited to receive this grant to further that work.”

“There is nothing more important when it comes to protecting our students,” said Cordelia Black, executive director of the Office of School Culture. “This grant will allow the district to update our policies, protocols and provide training to our staff and collaborate with local law enforcement to implement best practices.”

The grant is being awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and will support a contract with RAVE, a mobile app that connects staff and students directly with 911. If there is a threat, staff and students can input information into the mobile app and communicate immediately with 911 emergency responders. The Office of School Culture will create and support Threat Assessment Teams at each Lansing school. District leaders will contract with vendors to offer threat assessment and active shooter training to all district staff and students.

To watch the press conference, click here.

Hispanic Heritage month spans from September 15th through October 15th. and is intended to honor the contributions of the Hispanic-American and Latinx-identifying communities in the United States. The Lansing School District created a video to express our appreciation for this important culture we celebrate.

Wexford Montessori Academy recently celebrated Constitution Day with students and staff. The day encourages students to explore why the Constitution is important and gives them a chance to showcase their knowledge after digging into the many areas that make up the U.S. Constitution.

“It was a great way to kick off the year and hit the ground running,” said Kristen Grimes, a teacher at Wexford Academy.

Students learned about why we have Constitutional rights and how we got all the rights we have today. One of the highlights of Wexford’s Constitution Day was that students got to decide how they wanted to show off their knowledge. Students could pick from making a pamphlet, creating a speech, or completing a traditional test.

With recent renovations and this successful event under their belts, Wexford’s school year is off to a great start and, with many events just like Constitution Day planned for the future, students are excited to be able to enrich their curriculum, even more, this year.

Officials from the Lansing City Clerk's Office visited Everett High School on Tuesday to hold a mock Halloween election. The fun outreach activity not only helps students understand their voting rights, but encourages an increase in voter participation.

Reaching out to the next generation of voters is of great importance to Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope. The votes were tabulated and reported on just like a real election. The goal is to introduce them to the electoral process and put them at ease. Swope said, "We hope they will understand the process in a less intimidating format and be more comfortable to vote when they turn 18."

A fringe benefit of increasing student vote participation? Students who live in a household that doesn't vote may go home and talk about voting with their parents or grandparents, making them more likely to vote.

For this election, students were able to cast their vote for their favorite Halloween character from a list of the greats: Jack Skellington, Freddy Fazbear, The Great Pumpkin, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. They were also asked to vote for their favorite candy from a list of seven, and on a simple proposal. The proposal at hand asked if Ingham County shall limit any person to no more than 100 pieces of candy on October 31st.

Special thanks to Chris Swope, the staff at the Lansing City Clerk's Office, and the Lansing Area League of Women Voters for planning and staffing such a fun learning experience for our students.

If you need more information about voting or what is on your ballot click here.

You have a voice - make sure to let them hear it on November 8th.