All in a Day's Work

Lakeview Superintendent Karl Paulson

BY ANNA SWARTZ

On a mild, grey January morning, Karl Paulson – donning a bright blue Lakeview Huskies zip-up leece – sat in his spacious of ice in the Wheat Administration Building, leaned forward and described his path to becoming superintendent and his 19year career in the district. He graduated from Central Michigan with a mathematics and political science degree, then served in various districts as a math and social studies teacher, assistant principal and principal, until he came to Lakeview as assistant superintendent in 2003. Five years later, he was appointed superintendent.

Spending almost two decades in one district in this high-level leadership role, he says, is “a bit unusual.” So is the way he begins each workday – visiting one, two or three of the seven schools in his district. “The idea of visiting schools isn’t typical of what [most] superintendents would be doing,” Paulson says. “I can name every teacher walking down the hallway – 220 professional staff. I probably know 85 percent of the support staff.”

Longevity in the district, as well as spending a lot of time at each school weekly, develops strong bonds and trusting relationships between him and the staff. Paulson mentions a teacher he’s known for the past 19 years; they’ve always swapped stories about their kids growing up. “That doesn’t come with me sitting here, because she has 30 kids in front of her,” he says. “I have to go where the action is to do that relationship building.” Paulson enjoys hanging in hallways, talking over loud groups of students to catch up with a colleague. It is common for him to wander, he says, checking and responding to emails on his phone. Another reason Paulson inds himself in the classroom is to spend an hour observing all new-to-Lakeview teachers – most, he says, come in with 10, 12, 15 years of experience. “I observe them in the irst semester typically. It’s not an evaluation – I take some notes and give them feedback.

“IT’S A LIFESTYLE. IF YOU DON’T LOVE

WHAT YOU DO,

YOU WON’T LAST. They’re surprised that I would take the time to IT’S A 24/7 WORLD.” do that and that I’m as thorough as I am. I’m a teacher, that’s what I did. I know what should be happening. I’m reading the latest literature and understanding that with our leadership groups.” Another advantage of observing these classes, Paulson says, is that the students know him because of it. “If there are 185 classroom teachers right now, I have been in 150 of their rooms for a full session at some time.” He adds that teachers also invite him to observe special presentations or projects “because they know I have an interest in seeing kids do good work.” The most unique aspect of being a student at Lakeview High School is the option to take college classes right at the high school or Wheat building. This program began in the fall of 2011. The key was to remove the transportation barrier, Paulson says, and to bring the professors to Lakeview. Currently students

can take classes through Wayne State or Baker College without leaving the Lakeview campus. Despite much effort, Paulson has been unable to convince Macomb Community College to provide onsite classes for Lakeview, so some students will attend Macomb classes during the school day. The option for a 90-minute, four-class block schedule makes this possible. It also allows students to move through their classes faster, since they can complete eight credits per year.

According to Paulson, about 150 students dual enroll every semester. “There isn’t anywhere else in Michigan where that happens with these kinds of [enrollment] numbers – a few sophomores, quite a few juniors and a lot of seniors,” Paulson says. “These classes are electives; they aren’t replacing anything.”

“When you’re a junior and senior, it’s a rite of passage now,” Paulson says, “they don’t have to show up until 9:15 in the morning and they’re taking two college classes in the afternoon. We’ve built a system to allow them to get there and take full advantage of that. A lot of kids have two years of college walking out the door.”

Every year, Lakeview pays over $400,000 in tuition. In addition, Paulson says, dual enrollment eases the transition to college “because they know they can do it.” Even though they are taking college classes, “they’re with a cohort of peers,” a less intimidating environment.

The bene its of this dual enrollment set-up surpassed even what Paulson could have imagined. Paulson shared this example: in a 2014 strategic planning meeting, one parent told the group that his son was a Lakeview graduate and had received a four-year scholarship to Wayne State. Because of the dual enrollment option offered at Lakeview, he completed his bachelor’s degree in two years and now his master’s degree was paid for with his scholarship. Paulson knows that Lakeview’s teachers are the backbone of the district and is quick to praise the quality of the staff. There may be staf ing shortages across the country, but that is not an issue in the Lakeview District. Paulson says that’s because Lakeview is a desirable place to work. Very few of the new hires are irst-year teachers, he says, noting that teachers come to Lakeview from other districts such as Warren Woods or Grosse Pointe. “We pay the most,” he says. “The environment is positive. There are a lot of good things about Lakeview that are not well known outside of the area.”

When selecting teachers and principals, Paulson says the rigorous selection process allows them to ind the best available candidates. “When you do that, you get everything else you’re looking for – good scores, a positive environment, collegial relationships with your colleagues. And that all comes by hiring and making that such a high priority and doing it right.”

Just like the teachers in the district, Paulson knows that his profession is not your typical 9-to-5. “It’s a lifestyle. If you don’t love what you do, you won’t last. It’s a 24/7 world.” While he may be greeting students at various schools in the morning, he often checks emails and responds to important text messages early in the morning while he’s still in bed. He tends to be at the of ice late at night, too.

It’s not all work and no play for Paulson, though. His sense of humor is clear in the stories he shares, and even in the clutter of keepsakes on the top of his ile cabinets. A pair of sunglasses? Part of his Elton John out it for an all-staff meeting. A coffee mug featuring his face with a royal crown? A gift from a parent with an image that had been circulating on students’ social media accounts, crowning him “king” for getting them out of school for a snow day. Throughout his of ice, three young smiling faces are on repeat. These are his children, although they are much older now. Hailey (22) is a U of M senior; Connor (20) is an MSU sophomore; and Andrew (16) is a high school junior. He and his wife Kathy have been married for 26 years. Paulson mentions the names of his dogs when he was teaching mathematics: Quadratic and Ellipse. “My wife said that she would be naming the children,” he laughs.

PAULSON’S

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