Connecting Students to Real-World Pathways: Coopersville High School’s MEPP Program
At Coopersville High School, the Manufacturing, Engineering, Partnership Program (MEPP) is redefining how students experience career and technical learning. Principal Dr. Tricia McPheron shared that the program grew from the vision of a group of teachers across engineering, industrial arts, science, and math who wanted to create meaningful opportunities for students whose strengths may not always surface in traditional classroom settings. MEPP provides a clear pathway for students to apply skills developed…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
This week the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid heard testimony from MASSP’s Bob Kefgen, delivered in collaboration with MASA, urging lawmakers to move Michigan toward a weighted per-pupil funding system that ties dollars more directly to student need while reducing the red tape and reporting requirements created by our current patchwork of categorical programs. For building administrators, the practical significance is that such a system would make school funding more stable…
When Deepfakes Enter the Hallway: Navigating AI Impersonation in Schools
Students are sharing a video that appears to show the teacher saying something offensive. The teacher insists it never happened. The video was created overnight and posted online. By the time school begins, it is already circulating among students. Situations like this are beginning to appear in schools across the country. Artificial intelligence tools can now generate convincing images, audio, and video that make it appear as if someone said or did…
MASSP Leadership Advisory: AI Impersonation and Deepfakes in Schools
Leadership Considerations and Practical Guidance for Principals AI-generated impersonation and deepfake content are beginning to surface in schools, creating new leadership challenges for building principals. When manipulated media targets a student or staff member and begins circulating among students, the situation can escalate quickly, damage reputations, and disrupt the learning environment. These incidents are often emotionally charged, legally complex, and time-intensive for administrators to resolve. The challenge becomes even more complicated when…
Leadership in Motion | Leading Above the Line: How Principals Recognize Fear and Choose Better Responses
Leadership in Motion – Navigating Change, Shaping Culture, and Driving Impact Secondary school leadership places you under pressure almost daily. A frustrated teacher walks into your office after a difficult class. A parent emails demanding immediate action. A district directive arrives that will impact your master schedule. A staff meeting begins to drift toward tension and blame. In moments like these, something powerful happens inside every leader. Before we speak or act,…
Supporting Vape-Free Schools: Alternatives to Suspension & Student Support
Written by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Michigan Tobacco Section and the American Lung Association’s Community of Practice on Alternative to Suspension will help K-12 schools navigate the vaping public health emergency with tools to protect and support students impacted by nicotine use, we invite Michigan schools to join us to learn more about our Vape-Free Schools Initiative including resources to address tobacco and nicotine use, policy review, alternatives…
When Student Walkouts Test Leadership: Setting the Climate Under Pressure
There are moments in a secondary school when the temperature rises quickly. A social media post spreads.Students organize.Parents call.Local media starts asking questions. By the end of second period, you can feel the pressure in the hallways. The question is not whether you feel it. You will.The question is what kind of leader you will be when you do. Student walkouts connected to immigration enforcement and other national issues are creating that…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
Governor Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State address this week, focusing her education remarks almost exclusively on early literacy—highlighting implementation of the science of reading, dyslexia screening, tutoring, LETRS training, and expanded PreK—while introducing no major new K-12 proposals and instead directing lawmakers to her executive budget as the true roadmap for her final year. While literacy dominated the rhetoric, the more consequential policy debate for secondary principals…
LegalEase March 2026 | Student Walkouts – When Students Choose to Speak With Their Feet
The world is showing no sign of providing fewer topics for students to get riled up about. And while student civic engagement is typically something to be celebrated, when that engagement manifests itself as protests and walkouts during the school day it presents school districts with a host of things to consider. Free Speech The US Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines made clear that neither “students or teachers shed their…
MARCH 2026 Quick Tips | Spring into End of Year Planning
As we move into March, our board members have shared timely, practical ideas to help you lead with intention and momentum. From continuing to share MiLEAP’s financial resource toolkit with graduating seniors, to beginning soft rollouts of initiatives for next fall, these insights are designed to make your work more strategic and manageable. Aaron Romoslawski, Assistant Principal, Forest Hills Northern High School Use Notebook LM for weekly staff emails to provide a…