Kudos: Students from East, West earn athletic scholarships

Congratulations are in order for a big group of student-athletes from East and West who recently signed to play sports in college. As some of you may know, I had the opportunity to be a student-athlete at Alma College (football). I call it an opportunity because that’s exactly what it is.

Students like West’s Maddison Smith, who signed this week to play soccer for Saginaw Valley State University, are blessed with the opportunity to compete in the classroom and on the field. Even beyond that, there’s really nothing quite like the experience of being on a team. It’s something that will stick with you the rest of your life.

A point of pride for our District continues to be the track record of success our student-athletes have in the classroom and in their sports of choice. Their success is just more evidence that the relationship between academics and athletics is mutually beneficial.

Kudos to our District’s most recent crop of student-athletes:

• Justin Henderson, (East soccer, Carthage College)
• Madison Kobylik, (East soccer, Schoolcraft College)
• Andrew Gonda, (East soccer, Lawrence Technical University
• Alex Henson, (East soccer, Lawrence Technical University)
• Zachary Whatcott, (East soccer, Lawrence Technical University)
• Marisa Liburdi, (West basketball, Tiffin University)
• Maddison Smith (West soccer, SVSU)
• Kyle Swailes (West football, SVSU)
• David Price (West football, Missouri University of Science & Technology)

Your hard work paid off. Great job!

Community engagement forum at ASC brings together local civic, business leaders

This week I had a great opportunity to engage our local civic and business leaders in a discussion about the future of Lapeer Community Schools. More than 20 people, representing numerous businesses and organizations both public and private, attended the early-morning forum at ASC. They saw a presentation on our District’s strategic planning process and provided valuable insight on the task of educating young people for the jobs of the future.

Over the past few months, I’ve held community forums like this one across the District. The purpose of these sessions is to engage all our stakeholders in a process that will ultimately shape the future of LCS.

I’ve been blown away by the level of support for taking proactive steps as a district to meet long-term challenges head on with fresh thinking and innovation.

I want to thank everyone who has participated in the process thus far. I encourage you to continue to be active supporters of Lapeer Community Schools.

For more information on the process, check out our “Transitions for Tomorrow” page.

Kudos: PTO doing great work to benefit families at Schickler Elementary

The work we do on a daily basis as educators would not be possible without the various support organizations that advocate for students and their families. Students may not always know their names, but they certainly benefit from their diligent support.

A great example of this vital work will be on display a week from tonight at Schickler Elementary. “The Family Valentine’s Dance” has been a staple at Schickler for years thanks to the effort of the school’s PTO.

The dance is put on for Schickler students and their families to enjoy a low-cost night out together. There will be food, a DJ, prize raffles and even a photo station to benefit Schickler’s awesome LINKS program — all that for only four bucks!

Here are the particulars for this year’s dance from Jennifer Hoeft, PTO member and paraprofessional at Schickler:

• When: February 3rd from 6-9 pm
• Where: The Lapeer Center Building
• Cost: $4 per person (2 years and under are free); families are also asked to bring a dish to pass.

Parent Volunteers are welcome and encouraged to help set up for the dance at 9 a.m. on February 3rd.

Kudos to everyone who has helped to make this event a success year in and year out. Keep up the great work!

A point of clarification on our strategic planning process

In Wednesday’s Lapeer County Press, there was an article that roughly outlined some of the challenges facing Lapeer Community Schools moving forward and a few prospective solutions.

As a point of clarification, I’d like to address the following excerpt from the article:

“We need to be prepared for what could happen,” said Wandrie. Toward that end, he suggested the district embark on a long-term vision and plan to bring the district and its residents up to speed on the reality that the district will likely need to undergo significant changes. “There will have to be shared sacrifices among all groups (academic programs, sports, arts, etc.).

The solutions to our challenges will, without doubt, be long-term in their scope; however, the solutions we are considering are structural in nature and will not attempt to reconcile these challenges to the detriment of our strong academic, athletic and arts programs.

The emphasis, from the start, has been on dealing with the structural issues that have followed some powerful (and negative) demographic forces in our community. As a District, we’re completely wedded to the concept of using innovation to arrive at solutions rather than the old “cut, cut, cut” model.

The Lapeer County Press has been a strong supporter of Lapeer Community Schools and has agreed to publish this point of clarification in Sunday’s edition.

For more information on Lapeer Community Schools’ strategic planning process, click on “Transitions for Tomorrow.”

Kudos: Trio of teachers at Mayfield Elementary use collaborative approach

Mayfield Elementary teachers Caitlyn Pascoe, Amy Bland, and Kim Gasieski.

This school year, I’ve had the opportunity to recognize a great number of hard-working staff members. I’ve been especially quick to commend staff members who are eager to put into practice new methods aimed at increasing student achievement.

At Mayfield Elementary, there is a trio of Kindergarten teachers who are working together to go the extra mile for the benefit of students. Caitlyn Pascoe, Amy Bland, and Kim Gasieski have made a point to use evaluative data to better plan daily instruction for some of our youngest learners. The group meets every week — before, during and after school — to review student progress and to determine the best methods to help students reach their goals.

Here’s what Mayfield Principal Heather Vance says about the trio:

Because of their collaborative approach, I am also confident that the kindergarten students in each of their rooms are receiving instruction that is focused on the same content, as they spend significant time ensuring that their implemented curriculum aligns with their intended curriculum. When joining their collaboration time, I have continued to be impressed with their ongoing thinking about the instructional objectives as well as their data-driven decisions. What a super team the three of them make!

Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Keep working together for our students!

Lapeer Community Schools SIP team spends morning at Murphy Elementary

One of my major goals for Lapeer Community Schools, as we move forward into the future, is to innovate our District with increased collaboration and professional development. This morning I participated in my sixth school improvement plan (SIP) visitation in just the last three weeks (and there are six more to go).

Jen Taylor, an assistant principal at Rolland-Warner Middle School, takes notes during a visit to a second-grade classroom at Murphy.

Several staff members from different levels and disciplines joined me at Murphy Elementary to experience firsthand the unique classroom environments at the school, and to discuss new and different teaching methods to identify best practices at all levels. We’ve put together several SIP teams that will ultimately visit all of our school buildings.

After a brief meeting, members of the SIP team broke off into pairs and visited three classrooms apiece before reconvening for a follow-up discussion of what they experienced.

The benefits of collaboration in this way are numerous for students, teachers and administrators. Far too often, we can get closed off to what’s going on outside our own particular context; we can be insulated from innovation, thereby missing out on opportunities to learn from each other. SIP is just one way to work together to focus our collective energy on increasing student achievement.

Kudos: Jeremy Mason is the man behind the scenes at Lapeer East

In every school building there’s a small group of people behind the scenes who are responsible for a lot of things we often take for granted — things we may not even think about. These people are taskmasters and troubleshooters, hard-working men and women who rarely get the credit they deserve for a job well done.

Jeremy Mason, the head custodian at Lapeer East High School, is a great example. Jeremy is the type of go-getter that every school needs. He knows the school inside and out and understands how vital his work is to the overall health of the school.

Here’s what East Principal Scott Roper says about Jeremy:

Jeremy is extremely dedicated.  Beyond performing his responsibilities with attention to detail, he also assists staff and students in multiple ways.  He is quick to help out student groups, clubs, teams, individuals, and teachers with their various needs.  There is a great deal of respect and appreciation for Jeremy’s work at East from the students and staff.  He is more than the head custodian; he serves as a member of our building’s leadership team.  His input and suggestions are valuable to our success.  Jeremy is a “big picture” thinker and anticipates things that need to be addressed.  No matter what the task is, he considers how his decisions and work impact student learning and what is in the overall best interest for Lapeer East. 

Keep working hard Jeremy!

Kudos: First-year dean at Zemmer Middle School a strong advocate for students

I often talk about how impressed I am with the hard work being done in our buildings to cultivate a comfortable and secure learning environment for our students. Today, I’m more than happy to commend one staff member who takes time every day to make a positive investment in the lives of our young people.

Phil Widzinski is a first-year dean of students at Zemmer Middle School who clearly hasn’t eased into his role. “Mr. W,” as the students call him, is typically the first adult students see when they exit the bus in the morning — and that’s rarely their last interaction with him.

Phil understands that his job isn’t just about meting about discipline and handling student issues. He has been making positive contributions in our District since day one. For example, he has been instrumental in the creation and implementation of Zemmer’s “Homework Haven” program; he is also the first-year head coach of the girls basketball team at Lapeer East.

Here’s what Zemmer Principal Matt Olson says about Phil:

Mr. W has developed an excellent rapport with students across the building and has demonstrated a strong commitment to being an advocate for our students.  While discipline is a large and important part of his job, Phil administers discipline in a firm and fair manner while maintaining the ability to be an adult that our students can go to when they need help.  Beyond the school day, Phil is constantly stepping up to make contributions to Lapeer Schools. Mr. W is truly is an asset to Zemmer Middle School and we are happy to recognize him as someone who truly goes above and beyond to make our schools a better place.

Keep up the great work, Mr. W!

Kudos: Kristin Colpetzer inspiring students to ‘Write On’ at Lynch Elementary

As educators, we must begin with the end in mind every single day. Even our youngest students are developing skills today that will stay with them the rest of their lives.

A great example of one of these life-long skills is writing. Never before has it been more imperative for students to be able to write effectively. In college, proficiency in writing is paramount across the curriculum.

Kristin Colpetzer, a third grade teacher at Lynch Elementary, understands the importance developing strong writing skills early on. She started a partner writing project for Lynch students and families called the “Write On.” The program encourages students and parents to spend time each night writing together. To do this, Kristin provided families with the following:

• Sample writing pieces in response to a prompt so parents could see the differences and what the 3rd grade expectations looked like.

• A list of writers’ tools and how to use them.

• A list of topics to write about.

• A journal for shared writing (parent and child).

This is a great way to get students and parents excited about writing while developing the requisite skills for success in college and beyond.

Great job Kristin!

Wednesday walk-around: Focus on data with young students

This morning I paid a visit to Turrill Elementary School just as classes were starting. In my recent visits to our elementary buildings, I’ve been impressed by the care our teachers, support staff and administrators place upon cultivating a positive learning environment. Turrill is a clean and comfortable place for students to achieve on a daily basis; I want to commend everyone at Turrill for their hard work.

Another thing that caught my eye at Turrill is something that many people might walk by without taking a second glance. On the wall outside Mrs. Badyrka’s classroom are a pair of bar graphs with student achievement data. If you look close, you’ll see the information is for students in the Early 5′s program at Turrill. Specifically, the graphs track student progress over a two-month period in two areas: Letter sounds and letter identification.

I’m excited to see teachers of even our youngest students focusing on data to track achievement.

Great job!

Check out photos of my visit to Turrill on Flickr.