Traci Blaize is the Superintendent at Lakeland School Corporation. She has worked for Lakeland 14 years, non-consecutively. She worked there for 7 years as a teacher and middle school AP and then moved to Wyoming for 10 years. She came back to Lakeland in 2015. She shared that she really joined Lakeland as a 5 year old a long time ago!
Traci has been working very hard at rebuilding a sense of community at Lakeland. They have had a rough few years with consolidation and turn over in the Superintendency. She wants people to realize that Laker Nation is a strong family that is working every day to support their students and community. It's her personal mission to spread love and laughter everywhere she goes. Traci wants every Laker to love Lakeland as much as she does! One piece of this is constant communication. She does a morning video everyday letting staff know what she is doing (to shed the mystery of her job & share what she is learning), what's happening in the district, etc. She started doing a 101 series on different topics: mandatory reporting, wages & benefits, HR 101, School board 101, etc. She has received many compliments on it.
We asked Traci what some of her future goals and dreams for the corporation are. She shared, “I have big plans for Lakeland! I would like us to become a 2nd career education hub in the area. With the emphasis on CTE, there just isn't enough space for everyone who wants in at IMPACT. We're currently working on a Dental Program, and manufacturing academy and we would like to add an early education prong to our Educators Rising program. I want these programs to be for ALL our LaGrange County students, so I'm trying to build some relationships along that avenue too. I'm blessed to have driven dreamers on my team who are willing to problem solve, grow connections, and make things happen.”
Traci finds being a Superintendent to be very rewarding. She absolutely loves it when staff members smile & laugh when she shows up in their rooms in costume on a holiday with candy for them. She thanks them for being a Laker, and gives them a little something to get through the day. (She also shared that she does have pictures, if anyone wants one. She keeps challenging Randy Miller at Westview to join in!)
In her spare time, Traci and her husband have been pursuing their “bucket list” concerts. They saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, U2, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, & Garth Brooks. She shared that it can be kind of an expensive hobby but it’s a lot of fun! She is also a bit of a podcast nerd, especially in the summer when she can hang out in the sunshine in her garden or by the pool. Some of her favorites are: American History Tellers, The Science of Reading, Civics 101, You are not so smart, and Hidden Brain.
