LANSING, Mich — Lansing Public School attendance has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to district officials, marking a positive trend for the community.
- Lansing Public Schools has seen a 15% increase in attendance compared to pre-COVID numbers.
- The district implemented gas cards and public transportation solutions to help families.
- The absentee rate has decreased by 38%, meaning chronically absent students are missing fewer days.
Attendance at Lansing Public Schools has jumped 15% higher than pre-COVID levels, according to Lansing Superintendent Ben Shuldiner.
WATCH: Lansing schools see major attendance boost after pandemic
Local father Melik Brown says this jump is encouraging for the community.
"When we first started having children in the Lansing school district, it wasn't necessarily a positive experience," Brown said.
Brown, who has two children within the Lansing School District, tells me he's pleased with recent changes the superintendent has made.
"Seeing the positive changes, I am here for it, even without my children being in it; it's better for the community," Brown said.
Superintendent Ben Shuldiner explained that the attendance increase came from a variety of factors, including looking into solutions with transportation.
"The first thing that we did was create gas cards for our families so that any family that is eligible can get a $50 gas card per month per child. The other big thing we did is that our high school kids take CATA," Shuldiner said.
Shuldiner added that the absentee rate has also decreased as the district added new extracurricular activities that the kids love to attend.
"I think it is 38% less. What that says is the children that are absent aren't absent as often," Shuldiner said.
Brown believes that having more children in school is only going to help the students and the Lansing community as a whole.
"If you have more students, you get more dollars. If you get more dollars, you can do more things. More things means the kids will have a better experience, which means they will learn and be more successful," Brown said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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