Consolidated Application: Turning Requirements Into Opportunities
How principals can use the MASSP Leadership Pathways & Partnership Guide — and a conversation with the central office before December 4 — to turn compliance into funded leadership development. The Opportunity The Consolidated Application decides how federal dollars reach your school — including Title II, Part A for leader development, Title IV, Part A, and Michigan State Funded Section 31a. It rewards districts whose improvement plans name clearly defined needs, goals,…
Leadership in Motion | Learning Is the Work: Beyond the Streetlight
Over time, principals learn to recognize patterns. You notice when a student who has never been in trouble suddenly starts missing class or when a teacher who is usually engaged becomes quiet during a staff meeting. Two students arrive in the office after a confrontation, each insisting the other started it. You walk into a classroom where students are nodding along as the teacher talks and appear engaged, but when you ask…
You Don’t Need an AI Plan. You Need a Learning Plan.
In a recent conversation with educators, the meeting started where a lot of AI conversations start. What should students be allowed to use? Which tools should teachers try? Do we need a policy? What should count as cheating? How do we keep up? All of those questions matter, but after a while the conversation moved somewhere more important. What should students still be expected to think through for themselves? What kinds of…
Homecoming for the Whole School
Who gets to feel like they are part of Homecoming at your school? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer can tell you quite a bit about school culture. Homecoming is more than a theme week, game, dance or pep assembly. For many schools, it is one of the first major culture moments of the year and an early opportunity to remind students that school is not just a place…
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…
Beyond the Launch: When Activity Becomes Impact
The beginning of a school year offers no shortage of reasons to celebrate. The buses arrive on time. Class schedules come together. Staff members return energized from professional learning. A new initiative launches with enthusiasm. Hallways feel orderly. Families express appreciation. The first few weeks unfold with a reassuring sense that the hard work of planning has paid off. Those moments matter. They deserve to be recognized. They are also easy to…
Tilling the Soil – Preparing for the Year Ahead
Each August, something shifts. We walk our buildings. We hear the hum of returning life. We feel both the excitement and the weight of a new year ahead. It’s a lot like tilling a garden. Before we can plant anything meaningful, the soil has to be turned over. It has to be broken up, aerated and made ready to receive what's next. That's what great leaders do before the first day of…
The Future-Ready Principal Is Not the Person With All the Answers
In recent conversations with school leaders, I have watched the same questions surface again and again. What should students be allowed to use? What should teachers be expected to do? Do we need a policy? Are we moving too slowly? Are we moving too fast? You can feel the pressure behind those questions. Not because these leaders are resistant to change, but because they understand the weight of getting it wrong. Their…
Leadership in Motion | Reality Always Gets a Vote: Leadership Begins When Plans Meet Reality
Leadership has a way of teaching the same lesson over and over again. Reality always gets a vote. A new initiative begins with optimism. The team has invested hours thinking through the details. The planning meetings have been productive. The implementation timeline is clear. The first staff meeting goes well, and people leave energized by the possibilities ahead. There is a genuine sense that the work is off to a strong start.…
Start the Year With Students, Not Just Plans
One of my favorite parts of Summer Leadership Camp is how honest students get once they settle in. It usually doesn’t happen on the first day. The first day is busy. Students are figuring out where to go, who they know, what council they are in, and whether they’re going to like this whole camp thing. But by the middle of the week, once they have laughed a little, taken a few…