Good Evening Lutz Parents, Guardians, Care Givers, Students, Teachers & Staff,

Life as we knew it has changed considerably in the past couple of weeks, and from what the news reports, it doesn’t appear that things will be getting back to what they were for some time – if ever in some instances. Times like this call for people to pull together, rely on each other, and hold tight to our friends and family, yet “social distancing” has made these unpopular, borderline dangerous, and even anti-American. The basis for this is understandable, advisable, and yes, necessary, but explaining that to our “special needs” children/adults/students is difficult at best.

When the news first broke that schools were going to be closed for three weeks, Zack was disappointed and confused. We began talking to him about the “virus” and how this “break” was supposed to help keep people safe. That first weekend for him was really no different than any other. He went about his daily business and didn’t really think about it. Monday morning, Day 1 for him, is when things began to hit home.

For someone that typically will sleep until 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. on his days off from school, he was up bright and early. He knew he wasn’t going to school, but his first words to me as he walked down the stairs were, “When can I go back to school?” From there, his mind began to spiral with doubts. He kept going to the March calendar that Ms. Krysten had given him, reading what was supposed to be coming up but was now canceled and asking me if he was ever going to Friendship Circle again, if there were going to be any more Completer trips, if there was going to be a Hawaiian dance, if there were going to be anymore Student’s of the Month, PAWS assemblies, CBI’s, jobsites, and most heartbreaking of all…would he ever see his teachers/staff and friends again.

We faced the dilemma of telling him that everything was going to be okay to possibly only find out later that it wasn’t, or being honest and telling him that we really didn’t know and that there was a possibility that he might not see these things again. Overnight his world was crushed. Change is difficult for all of us, I don’t discount that, but for our students the isolation, the uncertainty, the loss is even more devastating because many of them cannot comprehend what has happened to their “world.” Dan, Kaila (his sister), and I decided that we should be honest with Zack, but at the same time, try to be as optimistic as possible.

We told him that the plan was to go back to school in April after Easter break, but even if he couldn’t go back then, he could look forward to possibly going back in May, June, July, or even August. We encouraged him to reach out to his friends on Facebook or the phone. I set up a Facebook Group for Lutz students where he could hear from students that he wasn’t friends with on Facebook. I even made him a Moderator in the group so he could help me verify students that requested to join. (It’s a shame we didn’t purchase two year books every year because all of his were worn from him going thru them already, but now between verifying students for the group and him flipping through the books daily, wishing for better days, they are definitely showing their use.)

One thing that definitely helped calm him amidst this challenging transition were the emails, letters, and phone calls we’d received from the school. Even the recorded messages from Nick and John offered Zack a glimmer of hope that his life at Lutz wasn’t completely over. Each phone call, each email, and each piece of mail we received from the school or the MISD were shared with him. Even the packet of worksheets he received from his teacher (not his favorite part of going to school), was a life-line to the sense of normalcy that he cannot just “let go” of.

Then, came a silver lining…the announcement that school buses would be delivering breakfasts/lunches starting on 3/23. You’d have thought this nightmare was over, because this slight promise of a school bus coming down our street one more time, offered Zack something that for all our efforts of trying to quell his anxiety and uncertainty we could not give him – HOPE.

For nearly eight years that school bus has come down our street four times a week in the morning to pick him up and four times a week in the afternoon to deliver him safely home. That bus is symbolic of every moment he has lived at Lutz. It marked the beginning of his journey to a whole world of possibilities offered at Lutz, and will hopefully have the opportunity to deliver him home one last time when his Completer Year is officially over.

From the moment we received word of the food service program, the countdown began to the 23rd when the bus was to arrive, bearing far more than a boxed lunch.  Zack was up bright and early, dressed and ready to greet the bus, the driver, and collect the food. We weren’t sure if he would be greeted with an inviting smile or a cautious stare as he bounced happily on the driveway anticipating the arrival. For an hour and fifteen minutes he stood out in the cold, watching, searching, ad waiting for the bus to come rumbling down the street. We told him not to approach the bus, but to wait on the sidewalk until the bus driver instructed him what to do.

At 1:15 our bus came into sight and Zack started jumping up and down, waving his arms, making sure that the bus driver didn’t miss him or pass him by.

With a big smile and a welcoming wave, the bus pulled right up to the edge of our driveway. She opened her window and I asked if it was okay for Zack to come take the bags of food. She said, “Of course!” That’s all Zack needed. He jumped to the curb and was thrilled when the bus driver announced that a teacher from the school would hand him his food. To Zack’s utter delight, Ms. Molly from Retail Support was standing behind the bus driver with bags in hand, a huge smile, and a friendly greeting, “Hi Zack!” It all nearly brought me to tears, and as I write this, brings me to tears.

This service that is being provided is so much more than food. It goes well beyond feeding our students. The HOPE that was restored in Zack by the familiarity of the school bus, the bus driver, and especially seeing a familiar face from school…I can’t tell you how much this all meant/means to us. This and everything that the teachers, staff, bus drivers, and everyone at the MISD are doing to help keep our students from feeling disconnected, is priceless. How can you possibly thank someone for that? What words could possibly convey what this means to our students…to all Lutz families? As long-winded as I am, this act of kindness has left me speechless.

Zack was thrilled with his bags of food. He opened them immediately and of course had to sample a few things. What the heck, it was lunch time anyway!

Shortly before the school bus came today, we received word that Michigan will institute a Stay-At-Home order midnight tonight. Kaila, who works for the Secretary of State, has been told that she will be off for the next three weeks. Progress!? That’s how I choose to look at this. With more people being forced to quarantine themselves, the possibility of school resuming seems a little more hopeful.

Wishing you all to be safe and healthy during this time. Take care and we truly hope to see you soon.

Lisa Dukicin, Zack’s Mom and LPG VP