A Note from Mr. Lusk
This school year has been quite an eventful year with CoVid-19. The job of being an administrator has been quite a challenge. The number one priority that Cleveland Public School has is keeping all of our students safe. To be honest, schools are put in a lose-lose situation often during CoVid-19. I know that some decisions that we make are not popular with the public; however, we are doing the very best we can to make our time during this pandemic as educational and social as we can.
Keeping students, staff, and families as safe as possible has taken a lot of time and planning from all of our staff this year. During CoVid-19, the education world is doing the best we can to meet all of our students’ and families’ needs. One of the biggest challenges we have is that we are given directives that sometimes change daily. These directives come from MDH and MDE. These directives are not always popular, but we implement them to the best of our ability for safety.
Hopefully, by following the rules that are set forth by the state, we can stay with the In Person Learning Model with all of our students for the rest of the year. That is our goal. We are lucky to have built a good relationship with our regional support team and have collaborated with them to ensure our students’ safety.
I want to thank our students, staff, and parents for being flexible with all of our pivoting of learning models this year. Like I said previously, our goal is to keep our students in the In Person Learning Model. This will take a full effort by everyone in our learning community.
The biggest mitigation strategies we can ask for you to do are:
● Wear a mask
● Social Distance
● Wash and sanitize your hands
● Stay home when you are sick
One of my bright spots this year happened this morning, and that prompted this message. It seems like everyday has had its challenges; however, I was able to meet with two students this morning. This is the first time that, by 8:15 a.m., I was able to leave my office. I was one of the people who always used to think, “what does a principal do during the day?” Between meetings and CoVid-19 protocols, my day is usually full. I am not complaining, but that is the reality of my job this year. I miss being able to get into classrooms as much as I did in the past; meeting with students more regularly, talking to students in the hallway, talking to teachers more than I am currently. I am doing the best I can in these areas, but want more interaction with our learning community. Interacting with our learning community is what I love about my job! We have so many great students and staff in school, and walking around the school, in a way, is magical. This sounds corny, but is so true. Teachers are working hard to meet the needs of each and every student and our students are working hard and are the nicest kids a principal could ever ask for.
Back to the reason I started this message: our PBIS program at Cleveland Public School recognizes students for doing positive things at school. It takes 30 Clipper PRIDE tickets to have 20 minutes of “Mr. Lusk Time.” Benjamin Zimmerman, kindergarten student, picked “Mr. Lusk Time” a couple of weeks ago. I saw the email from Mrs. Miller and put it on my “To Do List.” When I received that email, I remembered that Scarlett Straub picked “Mr. Lusk Time” last year when she was in Mrs. Vogel’s class as a first grader. This morning was the first day all year that my schedule wasn’t filled with meetings or CoVid-19 situations. I called Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Honza and was able to meet with Scarlett and Benjamin at 8:15 a.m. The time spent with these students put a huge smile on my face, as well as theirs. It was refreshing talking to kids who were so excited to be in school. We had a great time doing numerous activities. We were able to talk about what is going on in school and out of school, watched the cameras, went for a walk, (saw Benny’s brother and Scarlett’s cousins), checked out the new section of classrooms, and toured the high school. In the high school hallways, during passing time, I asked Scarlett and Benjamin if they wanted to be Assistant Principals. They were ecstatic to help out. They did a wonderful job of verbally reminding the students to get to class. We then headed back to their classrooms at 9:00 a.m. The 20 minutes turned into the best 45 minutes of my year! It was great to see all the students and teachers on our tour. I may be biased, but we have the best kids and staff in the state! I am glad Scarlett and Benjamin picked “Mr. Lusk Time”, as I probably needed that time more than they did. Today reiterated why I love my job so much!
Please know that Cleveland Public School will continue to keep safety at the forefront during this pandemic. We also realize the importance of having students in school. We will do the best we can to make both of those things happen.
Sincerely,
Scott Lusk