The Balanced Principal: A Path to Sustainable Success
As a school principal, your to-do list feels endless—meeting student needs, managing staff, navigating community expectations, and tackling unforeseen challenges. It’s easy to feel as if success hinges on doing more and doing it faster. But what if the secret to effective leadership wasn’t about doing more, but rather about doing less—with intention? A timeless lesson from a martial arts student offers a powerful analogy for school leadership. When the student asked…
Rethinking Educator Evaluation in Wake of Changes to PERA, MCL 380.1248 & 1249
Since June of 2023, the Michigan Legislature has made major reforms to the state's educator evaluation (section 1249), collective bargaining (PERA), and educator layoff and recall (section 1248) laws. Taken together, these changes represent a sea change in the way districts must approach and operationalize their educator evaluation system. While the surface implications may appear straightforward, school administrators and attorneys are finding upon closer examination nuanced layers that demand attention. To aid…
Educator Evaluation Post PERA Repeal and Updated EdEval Statutes
For the first time since Michigan passed our educator evaluation law in 2013, the process local districts use is now subject to collective bargaining. A recent MEA Voice article (Clawson teachers light the way: contract settles all newly restored topics) about contract negotiations in Clawson Community Schools highlights the potential for districts to utilize this process to elevate teacher voice and agency in order to develop collective efficacy, something we know is…
Automation and the Future of Work (… and Education)
Education is inextricably linked to the needs of the labor market. Whether we like or dislike that, the push from policymakers will always be to prepare our students for their futures. Ours is to ensure those futures are limitless. And, the US labor market is going through a rapid evolution in the way people work and the work people do. While the US job market has come roaring back since the pandemic,…
Understanding the Change in Grad Rate Calculations
Last week, MDE published a memo (see Memo #070-23: Modifications to Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculations) outlining changes that are coming to the adjusted cohort graduation rate calculation. These changes are required by the US Department of Education beginning with the 2022-23 school year. In short, the changes means that length of enrollment can no longer be factored in when calculating graduation rates. This could result in noticeable year-over-year change in graduation…
Onboarding, Leveling Up, and Enhancing Teacher Practice! MASSP Teacher+ Program is your one-stop professional development support portal.
The core function of every instructional leader is helping educators become their best to better serve their communities. Principals have the best intent to provide top-notch professional learning to our team, yet, every principal faces the challenge of balancing a million responsibilities, many of which feel like competing interests. Time is that invaluable resource we all strive to maximize. Critical planning and training with your team often takes the backseat to pressing…
Meaningful Observations, Constructive Coaching and Engaging Learning: MASSP 5D/5D+ Professional Learning Opportunities for Administrators and Teachers
Helping educators understand what good teaching and learning looks like, and supporting their growth are core functions of an administrator. Unfortunately, the pandemic years required many administrators to put observation and feedback, and performance evaluations on the back burner which has contributed to the educator shortage and struggles to develop and retain new teachers. As we reflect, reset, and reboot for the 2022-23 school year, it is important that we reprioritize our…