“Not only is it important for us as a community to know what’s happening in our schools, it’s also important for our schools to know that their community sees and hears them”
by Melanie Jongsma, Publisher
LANSING, Ill. (August 19, 2021) – Yesterday (Wednesday) Managing Editor Josh Bootsma and I spent our morning visiting Lansing’s elementary schools — District 158, District 171, and Lansing Christian School. It was fun to see the buses pulling in, and the parents dropping off, and the teachers smiling and waving. And it was heartwarming to see so many Lansing youngsters returning to in-person learning.
What a year it’s been! And what a year it will be. All of the school leadership Josh spoke with talked about precautions and protocols and preparedness. They know that today’s plans might change tomorrow — and they are ready to navigate those changes.
Education reporting
Education reporter Jim Masters also stopped by to summarize what our schools are doing, and I was grateful once again that The Lansing Journal is part of a community that supports its schools and wants to know what’s going on.
It was your investment that made it possible for The Lansing Journal to add Jim Masters to our team of reporters. Thank you for seeing the need. Thank you for responding.
Jim joined us in March of this year. In the past five months he has written 32 articles about Lansing schools. He has shared building updates, introduced us to new personnel, covered graduations, announced new programs, and yes, kept us up-to-date on changing COVID protocols.
Perhaps at no other time has it been so important to have an experienced reporter focus solely on our schools.
The Lansing Journal would not have been able to provide such consistent, detailed, in-depth coverage without the visionary support of our community.
Thank you. Not only is it important for us as a community to know what’s happening in our schools, it’s also important for our schools to know that their community sees and hears them. Thank you for making that possible.
P.S. When you give to The Lansing Journal, that’s what you’re giving to — local journalism provided by local journalists. Every dollar you give helps pay our freelancers, publish their stories, and deliver those stories to thousands of readers every day. Thank you.
