Date:
October 6, 2026
8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Location:
Crowne Plaza
925 S. Creyts Rd.
Lansing, MI 48917
Cost:
$1350 for a Team of 6 or $250 for Individuals
Registration for this event has closed.
***SOLD OUT***
Catalyst 2026 is a statewide summit designed to strengthen administrator and leadership team capacity to build coherent, data-driven systems that support academic, behavioral, and attendance outcomes. Participants explore how MTSS systems can be designed to improve data use, strengthen team structures, high quality Tier 1 instruction, and leverage AI tools to support that work. Through keynote sessions, breakout learning, and collaborative dialogue, leaders apply strategies to strengthen system alignment and implement proactive supports for students.
Who Should Attend
Building principals, assistant principals, district leaders, and school leadership teams responsible for MTSS and student support systems
SCECHs
6 Upon Approval from MDE
Funding Options
Title II, Title VII (Eligible Districts) & Section 31a
Call for Presentations
Catalyst26 is a collaborative learning experience for principals and school leadership teams focused on strengthening classroom instruction, leveraging AI to enhance teaching and learning, and leading sustainable instructional improvement across the school.
Sessions should align to one of the following categories:
- Powerful Tier 1 Learning Through Disciplinary Literacy
- AI That Supports Teaching and Learning
- Leading Smarter Systems
MASSP Cancellation Policy
Cancellations made ten (10) business days or more in advance of the training date, will receive a 100% refund. Cancellations made after this date, including no-shows, are nonrefundable. Registration fees may be transferred to another individual by contacting the MASSP office at (517) 327-5315.
In the event that MASSP must cancel a training due to unforeseen circumstances, including inclement weather, participants will be refunded the cost of registration or may credit the fee toward an upcoming training. MASSP does not assume responsibility for any additional costs, charges or expenses; to include, charges made for travel and lodging.
October 6, 2026
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Arrival, Registration, and Team Seating
October 6, 2026
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM
Learning Apprenticeship
- Consume → Construct → Communicate
October 6, 2026
9:15 AM – 10:30 AM
Interactive Keynote Conversation
- Student Voice
- Practitioner Panel
- AI as an Accelerator for Responsive Systems
October 6, 2026
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Team Workshop 1: Seeing Your System Clearly
- Analyze Current Tier 1 and MTSS Systems
- Identify System Breakdowns
- Develop Team Problem Statement
October 6, 2026
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Lunch
October 6, 2026
12:15 PM – 1:05 PM
Breakout Sessions #1
- Targeted Problem-Solving and Innovation
- Building the Foundation: Disciplinary Literacy, Tier 1 and PA 146 – Jenelle Williams, MAISA
- The Math MTSS Operating System: All Three Tiers, One Place – Jonathan Decker, Goblins & Kourtney Addleman, North Adams–Jerome MS/HS
- We’re Not Short on Data. So What Are We Short On? – Cassy Tefft de Muñoz & Tracy Morgan, College Board
- Building an MTSS Framework to support PA 146 – Rebecca Young & Katy Dennis, Michigan Department of Education
- Data to Action in Real Time: Transforming Tier 1 Instruction with AI – Kim Foley, LinkIt!
- Reimagining Tier 1: How Real-Time Visibility Shrinks MTSS – Hattie Strong, SchoolAI
October 6, 2026
1:05 PM – 1:15 PM
Transition
October 6, 2026
1:15 PM – 2:05 PM
Breakout Sessions #2
- Deepening Practice and Exploring Solutions
- Building the Foundation: Disciplinary Literacy, Tier 1 and PA 146 – Jenelle Williams, MAISA
- More Thinking, Not Less: AI-Powered Disciplinary Literacy Lessons – Dawn Meitler, Freeland Community School District & Jen Lawson, Northville Public Schools
- From Passive to Participating: Designing Engaging Learning With AI – Aaron Baughman, MASSP
- Intentional MTSS: Connecting Tier 1, Intervention and Enrichment – Melissa Lane, Fenton Area Public Schools; Zach Bradley, Deb Chapman & Sarah Foster, AG Schmidt MS
- Special Education and MTSS: Strengthening Tier 1 for Every Learner – Elizabeth Santer, Oakland Schools
- Everyone is Trained in Disciplinary Literacy, Now What? – Jason Bettin, Emily Collias, Andrea Burns & Bob Smitka, Roseville HS
October 6, 2026
2:05 PM – 2:15 PM
Transition
October 6, 2026
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Leadership Design Studio
- Part 1: Connecting the Dots
- Part 2: Facilitated Design Conversation
October 6, 2026
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM
Leading Smarter Systems of Support
- Team commitments
- Next steps
- Improving the student experience
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
Building the Foundation: Disciplinary Literacy, Tier 1 and PA 146
Jenelle Williams, MAISA Project Director, Disciplinary Literacy Professional Learning
Meeting the expectations of PA 146 at the secondary level requires more than adding interventions. This session helps administrators strengthen culturally sustaining Tier 1 systems by aligning evidence-based instruction, disciplinary literacy and schoolwide leadership practices. Participants will explore how coherent systems can expand access to rigorous content, honor adolescents’ identities and strengths, strengthen MTSS implementation, and inform practical next steps.
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
The Math MTSS Operating System: All Three Tiers, One Place
Jonathan Decker, Goblins & Kourtney Addleman VP of Sales & Revenue, North Adams–Jerome Middle/High School Teacher
Your data says which students are behind in math. It rarely says why, or who has time to fix it. A math teacher and Goblins walk through one system running all three tiers: live 1-on-1 help inside Tier 1, differentiation without pull-out for Tier 2, and Infinite Mode for Tier 3, which pinpoints the missing prerequisite skill instead of sliding students back a grade. ESSA Tier 2 study, 5,226 students: six-plus months of additional math growth.
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
We’re Not Short on Data. So What Are We Short On?
Cassy Tefft de Muñoz, College Board Senior Director, K-12; & Tracy Morgan, College Board Director, K-12
School leaders have never had access to more data. But as Michigan doubles down on literacy and evidence-based instruction, how do we turn SAT Suite data into Tier 1 change? This session examines what happens when results arrive, presenting a diagnostic approach built on asking different questions: distinguishing instructional problems from intervention problems, and identifying readiness entering the building. Through an interactive audit, teams will leave with sharper questions for action planning – tied to PA 146, disciplinary literacy, and MTSS.
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
Building an MTSS Framework to support PA 146
Rebecca Young & Katy Dennis, Michigan Department of Education K-12 Statewide Literacy Consultants
Join the MDE Literacy Consultant team as we guide you through understanding the requirements and timeline of the K-12 Literacy and Dyslexia Law (PA 146 of 2024), focusing deeply on building the MTSS framework at the secondary level in order to move from policy to practice. Our session will specifically focus on the MTSS components of Tiered Delivery of Instruction, specifically Tier 1, as well as Team Based Leadership, and Data-Based decision making and responding to your implementation questions.
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
Data to Action in Real Time: Transforming Tier 1 Instruction with AI
Kim Foley, LinkIt! Account Director
In this interactive session, discover how secondary educators can move beyond time-consuming spreadsheets and transform Tier 1 instruction using real-time data and conversational AI within LinkIt!. Participants will explore how to leverage teacher-level dashboards and Navi AI to rapidly surface actionable classroom insights, drive small-group differentiation, and address core instructional questions in real time.
Breakout Session 1
October 6, 2026 | 12:15 PM
Reimagining Tier 1: How Real-Time Visibility Shrinks MTSS
Hattie Strong, SchoolAI Director of Partnerships
Most MTSS referral pipelines swell because Tier 1 visibility arrives too late: after a quiz, a unit test, or a behavior incident. In this session, leaders walk a practical “time-to-visibility” audit of their own Tier 1 system, then see what changes when every learner’s thinking is visible during the lesson. You’ll leave with a clear picture of how teacher-designed Spaces (AI-powered learning workspaces in SchoolAI) feed real-time mastery insight so support decisions happen before a small struggle becomes a referral.
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
Building the Foundation: Disciplinary Literacy, Tier 1 and PA 146
Jenelle Williams, MAISA Project Director, Disciplinary Literacy Professional Learning
Meeting the expectations of PA 146 at the secondary level requires more than adding interventions. This session helps administrators strengthen culturally sustaining Tier 1 systems by aligning evidence-based instruction, disciplinary literacy and schoolwide leadership practices. Participants will explore how coherent systems can expand access to rigorous content, honor adolescents’ identities and strengths, strengthen MTSS implementation, and inform practical next steps.
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
More Thinking, Not Less: AI-Powered Disciplinary Literacy Lessons
Dawn Meitler, Freeland Community School District Educational Consultant; & Jen Lawson, Northville Public Schools Instructional Technology Integration Coordinator
As AI reshapes classrooms, the risk isn’t that students will think too much, it’s that they’ll think too little. This session gives principals and leadership teams a hands-on look at building thinking-classroom disciplinary literacy lessons using entirely free AI tools. Leaders will experience live demos of tools that spark curiosity, make student thinking visible and deepen disciplinary literacy, then leave with a design lens to bring back to their staff: Does this task make students think more, or less?
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
From Passive to Participating: Designing Engaging Learning With AI
Aaron Baughman, MASSP Associate Director of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships
AI becomes powerful when it helps students do more, not less. Explore how existing lessons can be strengthened to increase student choice, questioning, discussion, creation, and meaningful interaction while keeping the curriculum and learning goals intact. Participants will leave with: practical engagement strategies and ideas for transforming an existing learning experience using SchoolAI, Gemini, Canva, or tools they already have.
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
Intentional MTSS: Connecting Tier 1, Intervention and Enrichment
Melissa Lane, Fenton Area Public Schools Assistant Superintendent; From AG Schmidt MS: Zach Bradley, Assistant Principal; Deb Chapman, Instructional Coach; & Sarah Foster, MTSS Lead
Discover how Fenton Area Public Schools is building a coherent secondary MTSS system that connects Tier 1 instruction with timely intervention, additional support and enrichment. Explore how a twice-weekly flexible learning block uses evidence of student learning to provide reteaching, academic, behavioral, and SEL supports while preserving student voice and choice. Presenters will share scheduling strategies, high-interest enrichment opportunities and practical lessons for creating a sustainable system that responds to student needs.
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
Special Education and MTSS: Strengthening Tier 1 for Every Learner
Elizabeth Santer, Oakland Schools Executive Director of Special Populations
Special education should not sit outside of MTSS. In a strong system, it is part of the design and delivery of high-quality Tier 1 instruction from the beginning. This session explores how special education fits within MTSS, common pitfalls that unintentionally separate general and special education, and how differentiated learning experiences (DLEs) can create greater access and engagement for all learners. Participants will leave thinking differently about how Tier 1 can be designed to work better for more students from the start.
Breakout Session 2
October 6, 2026 | 1:15 PM
Everyone is Trained in Disciplinary Literacy, Now What?
From Roseville HS: Jason Bettin, Principal; & Emily Collias, Andrea Burns & Bob Smitka, Teachers & Disciplinary Literacy Team Members
Roseville High School is in year five of building a Tier I instructional culture grounded in the Disciplinary Literacy Essential Practices. Attendees will hear our story, lessons learned, and strategies for sustaining these practices across content areas through ongoing coaching, support, and strategic planning. Participants will leave with ideas for developing a long-term implementation and sustainability plan.