I was attending an online meeting associated with my employer, Lane ESD, when the closed captioning suddenly (and much to my delight) referred instead to the relatively obscure Roman rap artist known as Lanius D. I mentioned this to my friend Stacy (another LESD SLP), who presented an entirely compelling argument in favor of my adding a Lanius D song to the repertoire, namely, “You should write a song!” How could I resist?

Well, by feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing. That’s how. That stops me sometimes.

But in this case, we can thank some of the folks over in School Improvement who (four years ago) came to my rescue when I needed to enhance our library of music (for certain kinds of AT devices) with the work of artists with whom I had only a passing familiarity. Thanks to them, we have available the (safe for school versions) of works by Busdriver, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Matisyahu, Pitbull, Queen Latifah, Run-DMC, and A Tribe Called Quest (to name just a few). Frankly, if it hadn’t been for that exposure, which led to some further immersion since that time, I wouldn’t even have known where to start.

I used Suno for the music, as per usual, but in this unusual case I can’t take the typical credit for the lyrics as they are derived from material presented on the agency’s website. I don’t know who all was involved in writing that material (albeit I made some manner of contribution along the way).

Anyway, we’ve been having a bit of a rough go down at The Ol’ D (as nobody calls it), so I wanted to spend some time on a project describing the ESD at its best, in terms of its aspirations.

Lyrics

Yo, this is rap master Lanius D

Straight representin’ Lane ESD

Eugene’s finest, y’all about to see

How we support education, just watch me

Yo, they call me Lanius D, straight outta Rome

Making Lane County schools feel like a second home

From special needs to admin, tech to school improve

Got four core services, watch how we move

Excellence in education, that’s our dedication

Shaping future minds across the whole nation

L-A-N-I-U-S D! (What?)

Supporting districts, that’s the key!

L-A-N-I-U-S D! (Yeah!)

Setting standards for all to see!

From the streets of Eugene to the Roman scene

Lanius D keeps the education machine clean

Equity's our foundation, respect is what we bring

Access for all students, let freedom ring

Commitment to success, that’s how we roll

Leadership with vision, that’s how we goal

(In Latin style)

Carpe diem, seize the day

Lane ESD showing the way

Vini, vidi, vici, y’all

Eugene to Rome, we stand tall

They know me as Lanius D round the Forum way

But Lane ESD is where I spend my days

Local service plan, we exceed every mark

Outstanding results, lighting up the dark

Students in community, watch them shine

District improvement right down the line

L-A-N-I-U-S D! (What?)

Supporting districts, that’s the key!

L-A-N-I-U-S D! (Yeah!)

Setting standards for all to see!

Dropping knowledge like Caesar dropped facts

Supporting schools with these educational acts

From Eugene to Rome, keeping it real

That's how we do it, that’s the ESD deal!

Lane ESD, Lanius D, peace out, y’all!

Illegitimi non carborundum!