Lowell — Peter Lang reflects on how his younger self would feel about being the new Cherry Creek Elementary principal.
“Being in this building for the past 15 years, it’s been a dream to be in this position this whole time,” he said. “I’m honored; 20-year-old Peter Lang would look at this moment now and be in awe of what happened.”
Get to know Lang in this edition of Meet Your Administrators:
Other positions you have held in education: After student teaching in Kentwood, Lang began his career at Cherry Creek in 2012 and has been there ever since, as a third-grade teacher for 12 years and coordinator of student support for two years.
Education/degrees:
- Bachelor’s degree in elementary education with integrated science from Michigan State University
- Master’s degree in education leadership from Concordia University
What about jobs outside education? “I was a bag boy at D&W in Cascade; I was 14 years old and rode my bike every day to work. Throughout college I worked at Camp Woldumar Nature Center, in Lansing, as a camp counselor and as an assistant camp director.
“I also worked as a distributor for a beverage manufacturer and that is where my addiction to coffee began, because you spend a lot of time working in coolers stocking shelves. The coffee was free and it would keep me warm. Now I have a coffee pot on my desk that’s always running.”
What has kept you at Cherry Creek all these years? “What I learned quickly, jumping into Cherry Creek, is just the level of care and compassion our staff has for not only our students but for other staff members as well.
“For example, during my first week at Cherry Creek, I was struggling to hang bulletin boards and do all those little things they don’t teach you in college on how to decorate your classroom and get things organized. The third-grade teachers came in to help me decorate my room. They kind of dropped everything to help support a new teacher.
“As you spend time here you realize the people you are working alongside really have become a family. Staff members — their kids are now babysitting my kids.”
Though Lang grew up in Cascade, he has community ties to Lowell. His dad, Dr. Jim Lang, ran Lowell Family Medical Center on Main Street.
“I spent a lot of time as a kid growing up in the Lowell area, doing things like slinging hotdogs at the Fallasburg Park Festival with the Rotary crew. My dad roots for the Red Arrows even though I went to Forest Hills Central.”
Why did you want to become an administrator? “That was a dream of mine from the get-go when I got into education … I was maybe over-confident in the sense that I would jump into teaching and be Teacher of the Year in the first three years. Then, I realized teaching is really hard. Not only was I not Teacher of the Year, I probably wasn’t the best teacher in third grade!
“I really enjoyed teaching. I loved being able to be silly with kids and play games and sing songs. That dream (to be an administrator) didn’t necessarily disappear, but it kind of got pushed down a little bit.
“(But) as I picked up a couple leadership positions in the district — I served on our board for the Lowell Education Association and became a professional learning team leader — it kind of felt like it was time. (Also) my mentor (former Cherry Creek principal), Craig Veldman, continued to prod and poke and push me to go back to school and get my master’s.
“I think sometimes you need someone to push you, even when the grass is green. That’s how I felt. I loved teaching third grade and would be happy doing that for the next 20 years, and that’s how I felt about the coordinator position too. I really loved connecting with the kids and families, and could have done that for a long time.
“That’s kind of who I am. The grass is green where you water it, and it’s really green right here.”
What would you like to share about your family? “I have two kiddos. That has been the joy of my life. My son, Teddy, is 6 and will be in first grade at Bushnell in the fall. My daughter, Reese, is 4.
“I have been married to my wife, Lauren, for 11 years; she is the most even-keeled gal around. I think she is the reason our family is able to make it from morning until bedtime. She is the rock of our family.
“We have a chocolate lab, who is also 11, named Willa.”
What ideas or strategies are you bringing to the principal position? Lang said he plans to work on building a system of intervention with time set aside for students who need extra help, known as Tier 2 students. They will work in fluid groups on math or reading standards with teachers who have shown great success in teaching specific standards.
For example, if a teacher has 90% of students mastering three-digit addition and subtraction, students can learn from that “expert” teacher, even if it’s not their classroom teacher.
“It’s sharing kiddos so your class isn’t just your students, but everybody in a grade level or building are your students,” he said. “Tier 2 intervention isn’t just teaching the same way and going slower and louder; it’s teaching (a standard) in a different way so students can pick it up. It’s really challenging when (that responsibility is on) just the sole teacher.”
How will you encourage student voice in your building? “We will continue our fifth-grade Student Leadership Team. That’s been fantastic … We still have a lot of decisions to make and opinions we need to collect on all of the construction that’s happening in our building. This past year, our team was really important in helping us determine furniture and playground equipment.”
Describe your leadership style in seven words or less: “Servant leader; barrier-remover.”
Dogs or cats and why? “Dogs. Nothing beats walking through the door and having the dog run up to you with the kids close behind. Plus, my dog is a bird hunter and that’s cool, too.”
Favorite book, movie, TV show or podcast?
Podcast: Principal Matters
Book: “Where the Red Fern Grows,” by Wilson Rawls. “I used to read it to my third-grader every year.”
Your first concert: “Britney Spears,” he laughed, “but it’s much cooler than my first CD, which was Chicago.”
What historical figure would you love to spend the day with? “Steve Jobs. Watching a lot of documentaries and reading about him, (Lang is interested in) the way he was able to manage and lead. Obviously, there were some negatives in that, but he had an incredible brain and was able to build teams to create amazing products.”
What is one thing on your bucket list? “When I was a kid I did the rim trail mountain biking trail on Lake Tahoe with my dad. It was really intense, but one of the most amazing experiences I had growing up. I would love to be able to go back there with my own family.”
