MASSP News Center

State restructuring efforts for NCLB often take a back seat to the more comprehensive reforms. Look for State Superintendent Mike Flanagan’s remarks in the last paragraph of the Wall Street Journal article.

MASSP’s own, William Scaletta, principal of Lakeshore High School Stevensville, MI, has been elected to the prestigious NASSP Board of Directors at the NASSP Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX this February. Bill (preferred) will serve a four-year term representing Region 4, which includes Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, as well as Michigan.
“I […]

By Butch Yurk
Principal, Manistique MS/HS
MASSP Board of Directors Member
The Academic Booster Club was formed at Manistique High School in 1989.  Initially, the group was spearheaded by a dynamic high school English teacher named Betty LaPointe.  Betty sought out a few parents and other community members who had the vision of forming a club that would […]

Each year, Michigan Association of College Admissions Counselors (MACAC) hosts two National College Fairs in Michigan.

The West Michigan Fair in Grand Rapids April 15th
Metro Detroit Fair in Livonia April 17th.
Each fair hosts over 120 colleges (including nearly every college in Michigan) and offers parents and students the chance to talk with admissions representatives about their […]

Closing the Achievement Gap for African American Males
By Diane McMillan
Associate Director
Managing successful transitions from elementary to middle school is tough in and of itself. Managing that transition for students who are already falling into the achievement gap is even tougher. I attended a recent conference in Louisville, KY and attended a session […]

By Diane McMillan
Associate Director
The Next Generation in Assessment and Accountability was the topic of a March forum in Chicago. I attended with a team from around the state to discuss what assessment will look like in the next ten years in Michigan and implementation of the Secondary Credit Assessment system.
Joseph Martineau, the new […]

Here is a sample clip from the Marshall Memo. MASSP has just entered into an agreement with the Marshall Memo to bring you the latest in educational new in a condensed form. It’s just another way we at MASSP strive to serve you by bringing the latest and best information right to your desktop!
Eleven […]

By Diane McMillan
MASSP Associate Director
Just about everywhere I go these days, I hear frustrated and sometimes angry educators weighing in on the details of the Michigan Merit Curriculum Personal Curriculum (PC). With MDE, special educators, ISDs, superintendents, Central Office personnel, and others all vigorously expressing their views about the RIGHT WAY, to implement the […]

By Steven M. Beyer
Associate Principal, Stevenson HS
Doing What We Do Best:
A Simple Straight Forward Approach to Improving Student Achievement
One of the great advantages of being a building administrator is that you see first hand the issues confronting public education. I see the Keep-It- Simple approach as the easiest, most straight forward way […]

By Diane McMillan
Associate Director
As stated in the January 2008 article, the grade level and high school Content Expectations are huge steps in the direction towards the goal of preparing all students for postsecondary education and work. However, unless implemented with fidelity and in ways that address the learning styles of all students, they remain […]

By Pat Wilson O’Leary
Vicksburg Community Schools
The classroom is where the rubber meets the road in schools. Our best assessments, curriculum, and instruction make it or don’t within the separate four walls of the classroom.
This article is second in a series of three concerning walk-through observations. As clarified in the first art, what you observe […]

By Kevin Mowrer,
Principal, Manchester High School
A current elementary model is making its way to the middle and high school ranks. The tiered intervention approach has captured the attention of secondary administrators who are looking for ways to support struggling students in the Michigan Merit Curriculum.
The Michigan’s Integrated Behavior and Learning Support Initiative (MiBLSi) […]

Round Two of the CareerForward® Support Grant Begins
Eighty-six middle schools and high schools were granted $1,000 to $3,000 dollars, depending on size, in the first round of the CareerForward® Support Grant program. The grant is being promoted and administered in a joint partnership effort with MASSP, Traverse Bay Intermediate School District, MDE, MVU […]

As school districts experience shifts in population and demographics, training staff to work with new student populations is an interest. This article is from Teacher Magazine and outlines ways to foster a culturally responsive school setting that meets the needs of all students. Click here to read:
Seven Principles for Developing a Culturally Responsive Faculty

Iron Mountain High School is located in the city of Iron Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; 300 miles north of Chicago, Illinois, and 500 miles north of Detroit, Michigan. Iron Mountain High School, a class B school, has an enrollment of approximately 430 students, and is proud to be the home of the first Academic […]

Technology can be used as an aid for solving the dropout dilemma according to eSchool News. Educators nationwide are concerned about stemming the tide of high school dropouts. New data suggest the steep economic impact that dropping out of school can have on individuals, and on the economy as a whole. But whether it’s for […]

October 19, 2007  
LANSING – To prevent another security breach of the grade 5 and 6 MEAP writing prompts, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is requiring that all fifth and sixth graders in the state be given the replacement writing prompts as the first school activity on […]

MASSP has joined with MDE, MVU, Microsoft, and Traverse Bay Area ISD to offer a one-time bonus stipend of $1,000 to schools who make a two-year commitment to adopt and implement CareerForward ™ in their middle school or high school classrooms.
CareerForward ™ is designed to help Michigan students understand how to plan their work lives […]

On October 8, 2007, 5 schools gathered to receive training on a great new school improvement program called RSVP: Raising Student Voice and Participation. The schools in attendance: Grayling HS, Grand Blanc HS East, Franklin (Livonia) HS, Milan HS and Hudsonville HS.
These schools spent a half-day in Lansing preparing to take back to their […]

From the MDE Website
State Board Approves Content Expectations for State’s K-12 Social Studies Classes
October 1, 2007
LANSING – The State Board of Education unanimously approved today the state’s new Social Studies content expectations for grades K-12.
These are the first updates to Michigan […]

By Diane McMillan
Associate Director
I’ve come across several interesting articles and blogs about Middle Level instruction in the past two weeks and I’d like to pass the knowledge along. Many of these articles are tagged on our website’s del.ic.ous social bookmarking site. Check out our new website www.mymassp.com. Renew your MASSP membership […]

From the President
David Feenstra
Now, more than ever school administrators need to collaborate with each other to ensure that we are providing all students with systematic interventions to meet the State graduation requirements for the Class of 2011. Principals and teachers will be establishing identification criteria, developing academic support programs, and adjusting teaching techniques […]