Stronger Tier 1 Instruction Requires Engaged Leadership
Reflections from Catalyst 2026: MTSS Reimagined What does strong Tier 1 instruction look like in a secondary school? How do we know students are experiencing it consistently, and what role does the principal play in sustaining effective instructional practices? These questions guided much of the learning at Catalyst 2026: MTSS Reimagined, where secondary leadership teams from across Michigan examined instructional practices and systems of student support. With Michigan's PA 146 bringing renewed…
Before You Hit Record: What School Leaders Need to Know About AI Transcription
AI transcription tools are already in our classrooms, often arriving one principal at a time and well ahead of district policy. That is where the conversation has to start. A classroom recording is never just a recording of the teacher. It captures students' voices, names and more. That brings FERPA, COPPA, and Michigan's evaluation law into play, and the tool you choose and how you use it determine whether you stay on…
PA 146 & Tier 1 Literacy: How Leaders Can Prepare, Prioritize & Prosper
Secondary school leaders explored how Michigan’s PA 146 literacy and dyslexia requirements impact grades 6–12 and what those expectations mean for building-level systems, instruction and leadership. The session connected requirements around MTSS, screening, Individualized Reading Improvement Plans and professional learning to the importance of a strong Tier 1 foundation built on disciplinary literacy. Participants examined how to use multiple sources of student data to guide screening and support decisions, strengthen Tier 1…
PA 146 Beyond Compliance: Who Is Tending the Fire?
There are some challenges in schools that principals can appropriately assign to someone else. Literacy is the one we need to lead. In 2025, fewer than 40 percent of Michigan sixth and seventh-grade students scored proficient or above in English language arts on the M-STEP. That raises a real question for those of us who lead middle and high schools: How well are students prepared to engage with the increasingly complex learning…
Oh, Behave! | The Power of a Fresh Start: What My Daughter Taught Me About Behavior and Agency
My daughter is starting a new school in a new district next year. This week, she is attending an introductory session to meet her new marching bandmates, one of many steps in the transition from middle school to high school. Over the last several weeks, our family has had the kinds of conversations that probably happen around kitchen tables everywhere this time of year. The end of one year naturally gives way…
Oh, Behave! | When Good Plans Meet Complex People
Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to travel across the state, lead conferences and engage in book studies; working with school leaders, and their leadership teams, on a familiar set of challenges. Those challenges include AI implementation, cell-phone policies and chronic absenteeism; all grounded in instructional improvement and all about leadership development. Different districts, different contexts, different communities, and yet, the conversations sound remarkably similar. A principal shares…
10 Things Michigan Principals Should Know Before the First Administration of the WIN Work Readiness Assessment
This spring marks the first statewide administration of the WIN Work Readiness Assessments as part of the Michigan Merit Exam (MME). The new assessment replaces ACT WorkKeys and will be administered to Michigan 11th grade students between April 6 and May 1. Over the past several months MASSP has shared information about the structure and policy context surrounding the transition to WIN. As the testing window approaches, school leaders are now turning…
MDHHS Tobacco Youth Focus Groups: Please Share with Students
The MDHHS Tobacco Control Program is partnering with the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) to conduct virtual focus groups with high school youth about their insights related to youth use of commercial tobacco and nicotine products. The focus group will consist of up to a 90-minute Zoom call with an MPHI facilitator and note-taker. Participants will receive a $50 Visa gift card as compensation. Focus group results will help answer key questions to improve Michigan’s commercial tobacco prevention and…
Oh, Behave! | Solid Ground, Higher Ground: Leadership Grounded in Behavioral Intelligence Keeps Working
I recently had the privilege to visit my friend and graduate of the inaugural Michigan Leadership Fellows cohort, Mohamed Abusalah, Principal of McCollough-Unis Elementary and Middle School (K-8), and I left with renewed faith in our schools and our process. I am an advocate for the work we do in schools, but sometimes you have an experience that makes you understand, at your core, why we do this work Last Friday, I…
It’s Not Just About Showing Up: Rethinking Chronic Absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism was framed as one of the most urgent—and misunderstood—challenges facing schools today, with participants examining the idea that the issue goes far beyond attendance counts and cannot be solved through school-based interventions alone. During this free MASSP webinar, educators explored key ideas from Rethinking Chronic Absenteeism: Why Schools Can’t Solve It Alone by Sarah Winchell Lenhoff and Jeremy Singer. Grounded in years of Detroit-based research and led by experts from…