The Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) is proud to launch the second cohort of the Innovative Leaders Network (ILN) for the 2026-27 school year. This redesigned, two-tiered program offers scaffolded, hands-on learning designed to equip forward-thinking leaders with the tools, strategies, and mindsets required to lead schools in an AI-integrated, student-centered, and future-ready landscape.
Year 1: Discover & Learn
Participants in Year 1 will engage in a foundational journey built around the “why” and “what’s possible” of educational innovation—through a progression of webinars, site visits, and intersession reflections aligned to three key innovation domains.
- The year begins with From ReOpen to ReInvent by Michael Horn, which grounds participants in a compelling rationale for transformative change. Each chapter is paired with reflection prompts, collaborative discussion, and leadership application.
- Explore & Discover: Through school visits and guided discussions, participants will observe, unpack, and reflect on:
- Innovative Structures and Approaches for Personalizing Learning (e.g., School-Within-a-School, academies, microschools)
- Instructional Models and Supports for Student Success (e.g., Modern Classrooms, mastery-based models, interdisciplinary design)
- Tools and Technologies to Improve Outcomes (e.g., AI, adaptive platforms, flexible learning systems)
Tools like SchoolAI will be embedded throughout to demonstrate best practices in AI integration, allowing participants to see leading-edge applications firsthand.
Year 2: Lead & Transform
Year 2 offers returning members the opportunity to deepen their learning through direct application. Participants will:
- Conduct action research within their schools focused on one of the three innovation domains.
- Receive dedicated coaching to refine their leadership and guide implementation.
- Collaborate in a statewide learning network to share progress, reflect on challenges, and celebrate wins.
- Participants will synthesize insights from Year 1, test innovative strategies in their context, and document lessons learned to share across the ILN network.
This experience empowers leaders to take thoughtful risks, build change momentum, and model future-ready practices within their own systems.
Year 3: Iterate & Evolve
Year 3 helps returning members move beyond launching an innovation toward strengthening their capacity to continually transform, iterate, and evolve their work. Participants may continue, refine, expand, or scale their Year 2 Innovation Change Project—or apply the innovation process to a new challenge or opportunity within their local context. Participants will:
- Develop a Propelling Question that connects bold ambition with meaningful constraints
- Shift from scarcity to abundance thinking by identifying existing assets, untapped resources, relationships, and new possibilities
- Apply practical innovation strategies such as “We Can If,” Resource & Stakeholder Mapping, divergent thinking, feedback cycles, and design principles
- Participate in collaborative Design Studios to test assumptions, troubleshoot barriers, gather feedback, and determine next iterations
- Receive six individualized Leadership Coaching for Innovation sessions through Michigan Virtual to support implementation, sustainability, and scale. Strengthen their ability to engage stakeholders, build local capacity, and facilitate innovation processes with their own teams.
Participants will use the ILN network as a strategic source of ideas, expertise, feedback, and connection while continually testing, refining, and evolving their work. The goal is not simply to sustain a successful initiative, but to develop the leadership capacity to continually innovate—and help others do the same.
Innovation Domains
Each domain provides a lens for inquiry, planning, and implementation. Participants will select a domain focus for reflection (Year 1) or implementation (Year 2). Each session throughout the year will align to one of three critical innovation domains:
1. Innovative Structures and Approaches for Personalizing Learning
Redesign systems and structures to promote inclusive, community-rooted learning. Strategies may include:
- Flexible Scheduling
- School-Within-a-School
- Academy-Based Pathways
- Microschools and Learning Pods
- Community Schools
2. Innovative Instructional Models and Supports for Student Success
Reimagine curriculum and student supports to increase engagement, agency, and success. Focus areas include:
- Mastery- and Competency-Based Learning
- Portrait of a Graduate
- Blended Credit and Dual Enrollment Opportunities
- Student Wellness, SEL, and Re-engagement Strategies
- Project-Based and Interdisciplinary Learning
- Disciplinary Literacy Models
3. Innovative Tools and Technologies to Improve Outcomes
Deploy emerging technologies to enhance instruction, leadership, and student outcomes:
- AI Tools: SchoolAI, Brisk Teaching, Fyxer
- Adaptive Platforms: Khan Academy, DreamBox, MyPath
- VR/AR & Gamification Tools
- Advanced LMS and Content Creation Platforms
- Data Analytics: Munetrix, Tableau, HeroK12
- Personal Productivity and Automation Tools
Registration
Year 1: Explore & Discover – Register Now!
Year 2: Lead & Transform – Register Now!
Year 3: Iterate & Evolve – Register Now!
ILN is more than a professional learning series. It is a strategic investment in the future of Michigan’s school leadership. Through the network, MASSP supports leaders as they grow their own capacity, amplify the voices of students and staff, strengthen systems for meaningful change, and shape the future of learning in their communities. Each element of the program, from collaborative book study and virtual design sessions to school visits and embedded AI modeling, is designed to help leaders reimagine what school can become and build future-ready systems that meet the evolving needs of students, staff, and communities.
Together, ILN leaders are not just waiting for the future of education…they are actively shaping it.
Questions? Please contact Ryan Cayce, Associate Director of Digital Learning & Innovation, via ryan@massp.com