April 24, 2018
2018 MEMSPA Salary Survey Open Now!
Please take 5 minutes to participate.
MEMSPA Summer Leadership Institute 2018
Syndee Malek, MEMSPA Associate Director
Ready, Set, LEARN! Registration for the MEMSPA Summer Leadership Institute 2018 is officially open! This year’s SLI will be held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in beautiful downtown Kalamazoo July 31st-August 1st ! The theme is “Literacy Integration ‘Setting Your Compass for Success'” . There will be sessions that offer content matched to the needs of our MEMSPA leaders and teams!

The Institute is an in-depth and practical learning opportunity for practicing and aspiring principals as well as teacher leaders. School leaders will leave with the knowledge and confidence to implement key concepts and new skills. Kick your school year off right with MEMSPA.

Are You a Treasure Seeker?

Pirates are on a constant quest for riches, but PIRATE Leaders seek even greater rewards: amazing schools, engaged students, and empowered educators who know they are making a difference.

Don’t you want to LEAD LIKE A PIRATE??? Join us for the Opening Keynote by Beth Houf the Co-Author of Lead Like a PIRATE : Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff.

Closing Keynote by Carla Tantillo Philibert!

Carla Tantillo Philibert is a recognized expert on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), mindfulness and yoga practices in the school setting. She is the founder of Mindful Practices, co-founder of Class Catalyst and oversees a team of dedicated practitioners who have served thousands of students and teachers across the country since 2006. Educators and learners alike benefit from activities designed to bring all members of the classroom into community, creating a safe, equitable learning environment. MEMSPA is thrilled to host Carla!

Set your Compass for Success with us in Kalamazoo, July 31st-August 1st !
Principal to Principal: What about the FATHER?
Derek Wheaton
Derek Wheaton
“Nobody appreciates daddy . . . Nobody ever says, “Hey, Daddy, thanks for knocking out this rent!” “Hey, Daddy, I sure love this hot water!” “Hey, Daddy, it’s easy to read with all this light!” 
- Chris Rock, comedian

When my sister’s son was born, before I had kids of my own, I couldn’t contain my excitement and enthusiasm for visiting her and holding this precious bundle that I got to call nephew! My self-centered, egocentric brother-in-law was a bit miffed and couldn’t stand that everyone in the family was putting all the attention on the mom and the baby and loudly proclaimed: “What about the FATHER?”

At the time of course, we could have cared less about him, but despite his egotism, I have to admit that he was definitely right about something. A boy needs his father!
Last Chance to win a classroom library courtesy of the MEMSPA Foundation!
Blog for a Chance to Win a Classroom Library!!

The MEMSPA Foundation, with the support of Scholastic, is excited to announce that we will be giving away up to 7 classroom libraries to deserving kids and leaders across the state!

What does it take to win a library?
Submit a 300-500 word blog relaying why your classroom deserves these books by April 25th! What have you done or would like to do that these books can help to accomplish?

Join us in this pledge to help improve #MichiganLiteracy.

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for MASP's Summer Conference event, featuring the PREP aRE Curriculum.  The PREP a RE curriculum has been developed by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) as part of NASP's decade-long leadership in providing evidence-based resources and consultation related to school crisis prevention and response. PREP a RE training is ideal for schools committed to improving and strengthening their school safety and crisis management plans and emergency response.

The conference brochure is attached here for your convenience. This conference will be held at Mission Point on Mackinac Island, June 20-22, 2018. 

Additional information can be found in the conference brochure . 
Registration is now available online:  2018 Summer Conference. MASP is very excited to be able to provide this excellent opportunity for professional development. We hope to see you there!
Partner Spotlight
Introducing our MEMSPA's newest partner... Standard for Success!

A Testimonial from Steve Baker
Steve Baker has worked in the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District since 1985 as a high school math teacher for 11 years, middle school assistant principal for 3 years and as the high school principal for the last 18 years.

With the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2012, teacher evaluations took on a new look for every school district in Indiana. For the first time, schools would have specific guidelines and expectations on how teacher evaluations were to be conducted. It gave schools common rubrics and procedures to evaluate teachers on an annual basis. This also gave evaluators an avenue to provide teachers with valuable feedback and information to help guide and improve teacher performance.

The new teacher evaluation system also gave administrators the opportunity to use new evaluator tools to help guide the process Standard for Success is one tool that was created with the input from principals to create an effective vehicle to enhance the evaluation process. This simple, yet comprehensive instrument has provided evaluators a consistent and reliable method to generate dialogue centered around improving teacher performance. I have used Standard for Success since its inception. It has allowed me to have very directed and purposeful conversations with teachers. These conversations have led to improvement in the area of teacher instruction that has been welcomed by teachers who truly want to improve their craft.

Before Senate Bill 1 was passed in 2012, I believe that teacher evaluations were inconsistent and not conducted as often as they should. This bill has provided administrators with the incentives, tools and consistent language to work with our teachers. Teacher evaluations’ primary purpose is not to identify and dismiss poor teachers, it is to provide ALL teachers with a snapshot of where they are, where they need to be and a roadmap on how to get there. I have become a better evaluator over the last five years because I have embraced this opportunity to stand alongside my teachers as we travel the journey of education together.


Build the Classroom Libraries You Have Always Wanted!
 
With National Geographic Learning, you can Build Engaging Fiction and Non-Fiction Libraries

  • Customized to meet the needs of your classroom
  • Hundreds of titles to select from
  • Purchase by individual title, by theme or by classroom set
  • Offering Science, Social Studies, Leveled-Readers, Chapter Books, Fun facts and More!
 
Visit our website or Contact your K-8 Learning Consultants, Terry Harvey and Suella Bailey, to Learn More:
 
Terry Harvey
Eastern Michigan Learning Consultant
Phone: 248-705-0977
 
Suella Bailey
Western Michigan Learning Consultant
Phone: 231-578-6978