Going Digital! How the PSAT and SAT are Changing and What You Need to Know
In 2016, the first set of Michigan students began taking the PSAT and SAT assessment suite. In this seventh year of the PSAT and SAT, we’re still waiting to find out whether the State of Michigan is going to continue with the College Board for year eight and beyond or move to another assessment. While there may be questions about whether the SAT is going to be reauthorized for MI students and/or…
Nov. 22 LegalEase | “This Article Has Been Removed”
Disappointingly, public schools have become a hotbed for political strife while society’s culture wars continue to rage. Caught in the middle of this tug-of-war, administrators are increasingly stretched and pulled to handle every molehill that some insist is a mountain. The controversy du jour? Books and other materials kept in school libraries and media centers. The works most scrutinized are often those that cover LGBTQ+ subject matter. Defenders of these works often…
Public Perception of our Profession: A Crisis of Perception, An Opportunity to Build Confidence
Each year, PDK releases their poll of public perceptions on the profession of education. It is often not flattering and follows the ebbs and flows of our cultural whims. This past year, Americans rated their public school at their highest level in the last 48 years. Though that sounds incredibly positive a deeper dive into the data presents a much more nuanced and concerning challenge to us as educational leaders and opportunities,…
MASSP School Safety Policy Priorities Survey
As the front line responders in a crisis, Principal voice is essential in all matters surrounding school safety. In order to elevate the voice of building administrators, we are asking for your help to move MASSP to a more proactive position so we can better guide policy discussions and support you as building leaders. To do that, we have put together a short, seven minute survey for members. The short video above…
Strengthening Leaders, Impacting Schools: A Professional Learning Network for Aspiring, Emerging and Advancing Principals
Good principals aren’t born, they’re mentored. In 2008, I was a new administrator tasked with leading a group of educators to create a new school. That challenge was exacerbated by the fact that it was an IB school with a unique teaching structure, curriculum and unique enrollment and student system. I was not prepared for the task and was on an island. I needed a community of support and was desperate for…
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…
Search & Seizure
Provided for MASSP's LegalEase by our partners at Miller Johnson Attorneys. Prior to Oxford, we were receiving a number of questions about students bringing weapons to school – something we attributed to a larger pattern of people behaving poorly due to the pandemic. Post-Oxford, the questions became – and continue to be – more proactive (i.e., “How do we find the threat before it becomes dangerous?”). The ongoing spate of questions suggests now is…
Crisis Team: What is the Role of Office Staff?
Schools are generally well-organized systems that function with great efficiency under normal conditions. During a crisis, however, schools face uncertainties. While maintaining day-to-day operations, they must adapt to unexpected and often unpredictable situations. For schools to effectively address the many issues that typically arise during a crisis, a preplanned, systematic organizational model to direct decisions is essential. To be effective, a school's crisis response model must plan for and anticipate a few…
Return to School, Return of Hemp/CBD
As promised in our last LegalEASE, this month’s article will focus on the legal status of hemp/CBD products (oils, gummies, etc.) in school environments. In 2018, as part of a “farm bill,” Congress legalized hemp/CBD. Legally speaking, hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant, but hemp has less than .3% THC. Hemp is not marijuana and is not an illegal Schedule I drug. A CBD product can be derived from…