MyMASSP -

• MASSP Board of Directors Meeting Notes
  

  On December 5 and 6, 2007 the Board of Directors met in Mt. Pleasant.  Following are highlights of what took place.

• The Board was presented and approved the audit report of the MASSP.  Financially the associataion is in good shape. 
• Membership is down from the previous year.  If you know someone who has not joined this year, please lobby for him/her to become a member once again.  The strength of the association is in our numbers!
• Bill Scaletta will be the MASSP represetative on the NASSP.
• Discussion was held regarding  the proposed legislation that would prohibit a school district from promoting a student to the fourth grade unless the student had demonstrated basic literacy skills at the third grade level.
• Jim Ballard briefed us on new laws and some that are being talked about such as Common School Calendar; Graduation requirements for Transfer Students; Cumpulsory Attendance until age 18; Recommnedation to reduce cost on the MME; and restricting travel rules in place by the MHSAA.
• Reports were given regarding EdTrust, CTE Commision Showcase at the Capitol, replacing our Principal of the Year Award with a different program that showcases schools, the MASSP Executive Series participation and promotion, the Wallace Grant participation, and the adminstrative certification process.
• Jack Roberts briefed us on news from the MHSAA.
• Presentations were also made by Eduguide: Partnership for Learning, and a briefing on the process for Merit Curriculum FAQ's and school report cards.
• The next Board of Directors meeting is in March.
• Now is the time for you to consider running for a position on the Board of Directors!
• REGION I UPDATE/NEWS
  

  Region I recently held it fall meeting in Marquette.  It was good to see collegues from one end of the U.P. to the other.  Our guest speaker was Dectective Srgt. Jay Popard from the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children.  Jay is available to come to schools and give presentations to your students.  There is so much that students from elementary to high school should know before entering info onto social websites.  In one of his demonstrations., Jay showed how a perp could locate a child, down to street address, within 20 minutes.  The only info that was given was a first name, brothers first name, interests, and something like school mascot.  If you need more info call and I can get you connected with Jay or check out "NETSMARTZ.ORG". 

   Jim Ballard was also in Marquette on Thursday the 6th.  He provided us with legislative updates and MASSP news.  It is always good to hear first hand what's coming out of Lansing and for Jim to get our views here in the U.P.

   The Board of Directors met the following week in Mt. Pleasant.  MASSP is down in membership.  If you know of principals, assistant principals, dean of students who are not memebrs, please encourage them to join.  The bigger the voice, the louder the voice, the more we are heard.

   Presenters at the board meeting were EduGuide.  Check them out at www.partnershipforlearning.org  and Jan Ellis from MDE, Office of Communication, and Jack Roberts from MHSAA.  We were also presented with materials from EdTrust.  Check this site out at www2.edtrust.org . 

   Look into info about these legislative updates, if you haven't already:

  HB 549//Common school calendars within ISD district

  SB 403//Graduation Requirements - Transfer Students--Personal Curriculum Options

  HB4042//Compulsory Attendance Age/Truancy/Drivers License, Raising the age to 18 years old before drop out

  SB834//Financial Literacy or a course similar can be counted as a math credit

  SB's 805 - 814//Recommendations to reduce costs within the MME, including eliminate Workeys, eliminate SocSt assessments, eliminate writing portion of the ACT, eliminate SocSt MEAP, eliminate end of course assessment development, eliminate State funded retakes of the MME.

  Call if you need more info, 906-341-4300....sorry for typos.  Spring Meeting for Region I is April 23rd and 24th.  Please plan on attending....mark your calendars now.  Thanks and have a great holiday season.

• Incentive pay for principals could be viable, experts say
  

  Pay for performance, a hot-button topic when it comes to talking about America’s teachers, could be knocking on the door of the principal’s office.

• Horace Mann Service Corp. Underwrites School Secretary Award and Conference
  

  MASSP has just signed an updated agreement with Horace Mann Service Corp. to jointly sponsor the Secretary of the Year program and conference. In addition they will support the association by furnishing pens and padfolios for member use.

  We are please that Horace Mann has become a very strong corporation sponsor for our members.

• Center Rep Meetings Held
  

   

  Here is an update from the MASSP Center Rep meeting held on Dec. 5th and 6th.

  • The MASSP Board Directors met yesterday and today here in Mt.
    Pleasant and covered a variety of issues. Some of the highlights
    include:
• The website has been overhauled and updated with many new features
  available for members to view. If you are having any trouble logging
  in please call the MASSP office and they can get you up and running in
  just a few minutes.  MAKE SURE TO enter the CENTER 8 group!
• Elections for the Board of Directors will be in the spring. If
  you are interested in running as a center chair, officer, or president,
  please feel free to contact me or Jim Ballard for more information.
• There are many great conferences, workshops, and webinars sponsored
  by MASSP coming up over the next few months. Please check the website
  for upcoming events that you or your staff might be interested in.  In particular the webinar on Girls and Gangs and EduTrust are REALLY WORTHWHILE.
• We want to wish Carol Rook best wishes as she steps down from her
  position at MASSP in two weeks to move to Arizona. For those of you
  who have had a chance to work with Carol or have met her through
  various MASSP activities you know how important she has been to our
  organization and we certainly want to wish her well as she transitions
  into this new part of her life

 
5.  Your association continues to be financially sound -- despite a dramatic           drop in membership. 

 
6.  EduGuide  -- The board heard a presentation from Bryan Taylor of                     EduGuide.  Eduguide provides parents information and support on helping             them get their child into college.  Bryan asked for our help and leadership in         getting his message out -- check out his webpage, as it will be a real                 benefit to your students! Go to www.eduguide.org.

  7.  Legislative Updates --  Now that the dust has settled on this year's budget          plan, there are a few items out there...the common school calendar plan             for ISD's is a done deal, with ISD's working on a common Winter and Spring         Holiday break.  MMC/Transfer Student law will get done to allow students         transferring from private schools or out-of-state to graduate with some             exemptions through a Personal Curriculum.    Other items of interest:  SB         807-814...Senator Jelinek and Switalski have several proposals to save             costs on the MME -- including eliminating the Social Studies assessments,         thinning out re-takes, and limiting the wrap-around costs of the MME.              Stay tuned!

     8.  Jack Roberts from the MHSAA presented -- and as figured, girls                     participation is down this fall.  He projects long nights for your athletic             directors with winter sports.  He did say that deep down everyone was             rooting for Blissfield!!!  With that said, ideas around financial equity are not         on the table at this time.  The MHSAA is making major strides on                     addressing the Trimester concept -- so if your school is on trimester or             considering it, make sure to pay attention to any potential changes in             eligibility an enrollment.

       9.  MEEMIC and MASSP are partnering on a new way to honor principals and         schools -- look for more on our website. 

 

 

• Board of Directors Meeting Update
  
  • The MASSP Board Directors met yesterday and today here in Mt. Pleasant and covered a variety of issues.  Some of the highlights include:
• The website has been overhauled and updated with many new features available for mem