Transforming the Path to High Student Achievement—this theme for the 2012 MASA Fall Conference promises to frame some highly engaging, relevant professional learning opportunities for MASA members of all types. Register now for the event, which takes place September 26-28, 2012 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City.

Traditional favorites are back

As has been our practice, MASA will host its popular New Superintendents Preconference starting Tuesday, September 25 and continuing through the morning of September 26, 2012. Our seventh annual MASA Exhibit Show will kick off on Wednesday following the day’s events and open again for the lunch hours on Thursday. The Exhibit Show continues to grow in size and popularity as members enjoy access to food, beverages, networking and conversations with the business partners who raise awareness of industry news and best practices.   

Conference participants will enjoy a great lineup of keynote speakers.

• Stephanie Hamilton, Educational Specialist, IT and Learning Technologies from Apple, Inc. will take the stage on Wednesday.  
• John Draper, author of Crucial Conversations About America’s Schools will addressing the group on Thursday.
• Friday morning will open with quick legislative updates from Brad Biladeau of MASA. He will be followed by Bruce Umpstead, Director of Integrated Technology at MDE, who will share news about 5-4-3-2-1 and Tech Readiness.  Amber Arellano, Executive Director of The Education Trust-Midwest will report on the latest from the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness.

Other features include our traditional Rose Memorial, 30 action packed and relevant clinic sessions, Courageous Journey™ orientation and work sessions, help desk support from Apple, Inc. and Atomic Learning for our MASA/RDI Mobile Device project, and all-important networking opportunities from start to finish.

NEW for 2012!

Added features for first-line assistants

This year’s theme and current collaborations make it the perfect time to partner with Michigan ASCD to bring some added value to the conference—particularly for our first-line assistant members. For the first time, Michigan ASCD will offer a Wednesday-morning preconference on Educator Evaluation and Quality Instruction. The session will feature Debra Pickering, Senior Scholar from Marzano Research Lab, and will be open to all MASA members.

In addition, we have created a conference track entitled Leading from the Middle—Supporting your Superintendent for MASA members who are firstline assistants and also Michigan ASCD members. We hope superintendents will encourage their central office administrators to take advantage of the great line-up of professional development opportunities designed specifically with their interests in mind.

Friday Optional Dialogue Sessions.

Your MASA Conference Planning Committee has reviewed member attendance and evaluation feedback and is providing a new optional event to close the conference. Like always, Friday’s events (September 28) will begin with a full breakfast. At 8:15 a.m. we proceed with the three updates mentioned earlier. Then participants will be released for a brief break at 10:00 a.m. Then from 10:15 –11:30 a.m., participants have the option to stay for one of five highly engaging sessions (see descriptions below).

These will be offered at NO extra cost, but members must pre-register to participate. Come prepared to learn and share around some highly relevant and useful topics in school leadership today. Those who do will receive a value-added resource take away.

Choose from five Dialogue sessions: (full descriptions below)

1. Issues in Evaluating Superintendents and Other School Administrators
2. Creating Effective Governance Team Relationships
3. Surviving in Turbulent Times: A Recapitulation of Success Strategies Implemented in Urban School Districts
4. Welcome to School Administration—Population 1
5. Colleagues Empowering Others in Creating 21st Century Learning Environments

 1. Issues in evaluating superintendents and other school administrators

In this interactive session, presenters will discuss four hot issues identified in the literature and in national and statewide dialogues on administrator evaluation. Participants will hear how some colleagues are addressing these issues and leave the session better prepared to design and conduct evaluating systems (for themselves or others) that guide growth and leadership development. This session is ideal for superintendent-firstline assistant teams.

Presenters: Pat Reeves, Associate Executive Director for Administrative Certification & Endorsement, MASA; Pat McNeil, Executive Director, Michigan ASCD

2. Creating Effective Governance Team Relationships

Effective governance team relationships don’t occur by happenstance. There are specific steps that successful school superintendents take to increase the potential to create effective and lasting governance team relationships. This session will provide best practices to help insure that effective governance team relationships are created and maintained at the local school district level. Session topics will include: characteristics of Peak Performing Governance teams; key components to establishing effective relationships; role and responsibilities; the importance of clear communication protocols; and the impact of transparency in the governance relationship.

Presenter: Mike Wilmot, President of Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI)

3. Surviving in Turbulent Times: A Recapitulation of Success Strategies Implemented in Urban School Districts

Current political and economic conditions take a tremendous toll on America’s public schools. Arguably, no other chief executive officer in either public or private sectors has been required to navigate through massive political shoals and mediate between quality educational offerings, all while experiencing dwindling resources and increased demand for accountability. Despite changes occurring in student demographics, today’s superintendents are responding to the need to improve student achievement. The debate rages over the importance of leadership on influencing the performance of organizations. As job complexity increases, so have the fears of a dwindling pool of qualified leaders to assume these positions. For schools to compete and thrive in the future, they must have leaders who are willing to take risks in uncertain economic and political times. The presenters of this roundtable will explore the practices of experienced superintendents in three mid-sized urban school districts. Each has met the challenges and turned them into opportunities by using political acumen, reducing the achievement gap between majority and minority students, and engaging community stakeholders toward a common vision.

Presenters: Members from the Michigan African American Superintendents Association (MAAAS)

4. Welcome to School Administration—Population 1

Session Description: With all of the issues facing education today, the role of the School Administrator has taken on many added hurdles and obstacles. In an effort to reduce financial obligations without effecting classroom instruction, many schools are reducing or combining the number of administrative and supervisory positions.  Two administrators that wear several hats in their respective districts and are their districts’ "Jack-of-all Trades" will share a bit of their stories.  Do you wonder if this job is even possible?  What does an average day look like?  What additional issues and problems do they face on a regular basis?  If you are even considering reduction of administrative positions while trying to maintain services, you should listen to how these guys serve as ringmaster of this "three-ring circus." 

Presenters: Bob Gendron, Superintendent, Pentwater Public Schools; Mike Sweet, Superintendent, Walkerville Public Schools; Jerry Jennings, Assistant Director, Courageous Journey, MASA

5. Colleagues Empowering Others in Creating 21st Century Learning Environments
 (note this session will go an additional ½ hr. to end at noon)

Four superintendent colleagues will share elements of their work as they seek to connect in, surf on, power up, achieve higher and produce more.  The role of the superintendent as the instructional leader is critical in creating a culture of innovation.  This interactive session will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about pilot projects that are transforming instruction in the classroom including successful elements of a 1:1 initiative, how to build an infrastructure to support 21st century learning, critical elements of professional staff development, and rubrics to assess student work in 21st century skill sets.  A rich dialogue is expected as attendees and presenters share successes and challenges in designing classroom and campus learning environments that meets the needs of today’s learner. 

***Note: One of the expected outcomes of this session is the creation of a professional learning network (PLN) for superintendents in Michigan using Edmodo as a learning platform. Learning activities and sharing of resources will begin prior to the conference and continue after the conference. Attendees are encouraged to register for this workshop early to become part of this PLN. Please bring a Wireless Communication Device (WCD), such as an iPad, to the session.

Presenters: David Richards, Superintendent, Fraser Public Schools; Brian Davis, Superintendent, Holland Public Schools; Dave Tebo, Superintendent, Hamilton Community Schools; Fred Clarke, Superintendent, Rochester Community Schools