Are your students safe while online? Michigan families, especially minors, are becoming inundated with advertisements from alcohol, tobacco, pornography and gambling marketers through different internet and cell phone inboxes. Thankfully, the State of Michigan offers a free program to stop adult advertisements from reaching e-mails, mobile phones (text messaging ads) and instant messenger IDs. The Michigan Child Protection Registry is a free do-not-contact service for Michigan’s families and schools and can be located at www.protectmichild.com.

Do you have a program in your school district that has positively impacted student achievement? Do your administrators engage students in creative ways of problem solving? Do you have any student-created initiatives that are making a positive difference in your schools or community? Does your staff demonstrate innovative thinking and passion in engaging students?

If so, we would like to encourage you to share your district’s best practices with other educators throughout Michigan, and receive the recognition and reward deserved for driving excellence in education in your schools.

This past week I came across a brilliant article by Dr. David Arsen, Professor of K-12 Administration at the MSU College of Education. This open letter to Governor Snyder is a response to the proposal put forward by the Oxford Foundation for reshaping Michigan's school funding system and it lays out a compelling case. I found myself agreeing with Dr. Arsen on many fronts and would urge you to give it a read.

This week, the Michigan Department of Education announced that two Michigan schools have received the prestigious Excellence in Practice Awards from the Michigan Department of Education, recognizing exemplary practices in preparing Michigan's students for careers and higher education. The awards recognize successful, exemplary state-approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and career initiatives. These are programs that demonstrate outstanding outcomes, produce measurable results for students, and meet the challenge of high academic rigor.

It is important to know the law regarding your own contract and possible non-renewal. The following article, which outlines some important approaching dates regarding non-renewal, comes courtesy of the Clark-Hill law firm and was written by Marshall W. Grate. If you are given notice and need help or support, please contact the MASSP office for assistance and guidance. It is important to note that Section 1249 of the School Code repeatedly states that administrators must be given ample opportunities to show improvement.