#HighlanderNation 11.1.17

As I shared at our Opening Day, my family has been in a state of transition since mid summer. Our move has provided new adventures and learning in addition to stress and anxiety. I think trying to mask the sometimes difficult nature of change with smiles and humor is disingenuous. Change is scary, it's hard, and at times just plain exhausting. As a family, we are just taking it step by step, supporting one another, asking for help when we need it, maintaining perspective, and pausing every so often to enjoy the ride. The growth in this journey has been worth any discomfort.

As you embark on change in your life (both personally and professionally) please know that the Highlander family is here to support you. There will be successes and setbacks. Thank you for taking a risk to provide new and better opportunities for our students and families. Ultimately, we are in this together. #OneHowell

Adaptive Plan
During my first year, I convened a broad group of stakeholders to develop a Strategic Plan for the district. The intent of the plan is to establish a set of values, goals, and objectives to provide a long-term direction for the district while ensuring alignment to and support for individual school improvement plans. Moreover, with a commitment to maintaining a plan that is able to respond to change, I have intentionally shifted the language from "strategic" to "adaptive." For additional context on this shift, I have linked this article.

At the October 9 board meeting I updated our board of education team on the progress on this plan in addition to the short and long-term next steps. In summary, here are some of the key accomplishments from last year:

• Increased safety and security through the addition of a district resource officer (from the Howell City Police Department) and support from the Community Outreach Division of the Livingston County Sheriff's Department
• Increased teaching and learning opportunities through the adoption of a comprehensive instructional framework and the completion of Phase 1 of the technology bond
• Focused on building and sustaining a positive district culture
• Increased social and emotional support through the addition of elementary counseling support
• Increased post-secondary opportunities through the addition of an Early Middle College (Health Sciences and Manufacturing pathways)
• Increased two-way communication with families and staff through multiple forums
• Developed support systems for board and staff through induction programs
• Increased intentional business and nonprofit partnerships
• Maintained a commitment to sound financial stewardship through right-sizing the district

With regards to next steps, there are a number of things in motion and I wanted to update you on a few:

• Five-Year Curriculum Cycle - the Instructional Services Department has identified an Instructional Liaison Team to facilitate the curriculum work identified by our Curriculum Council. Rather than jumping right into standards and scope and sequence work, this team will start by developing an "HPS student profile" of what we want our students to know and be able to do. This will provide a broader foundation and vision for our direction.
• School Reform Priority Areas - through both district and school improvement planning, each level has identified priority areas for growth. Specifically, I wanted to update you on the work occurring at the elementary and high school levels.
• Elementary (Acceleration and Enrichment) - in the context of a comprehensive multi-tiered system of support for our students, we have initiated a process to develop recommendations for a system of acceleration and enrichment for our students. Specifically, we have a team researching best practices and examining feasibility in preparation for both short and long-term recommendations in February.
• High (Innovative Learning Initiative) - a high school team is in the process of developing recommendations for alternative learning opportunities for our secondary students. This team has conducted research and site visits to determine how we can best engage some of our students who have experienced setbacks during their career.
• Social and Emotional Support - this year our 31a at-risk allocation (from the State) increased. These funds must be used to support at-risk students in the district. In turn, we are now using some of this allocation to fund the middle and high school Student Services Advisor positions (formerly Dean of Students). In addition, the board recently approved a Student Services Advisor position at the elementary level. The intent of this position is to provide front line behavior intervention support. While the position is intended to support all elementary schools, it will initially be placed at Three Fires to provide support and assistance with the immediate needs at this building.

Weekend Survival Kits

I am excited to announce a new partnership to support our students and families facing hunger. Weekend Survival Kits mobilizes communities to provide food on the weekends to children who may otherwise go hungry. We are preparing for a December 1 launch for four schools - Hutchings, NW, SW, and Parker and a mid-January launch for Challenger, Three Fires, Voyager, HW, and HHS. Thank you to our counseling teams for their support in implementing this initiative.

Support and Service Persons of the Year

We are now accepting nominations for the 2017/18 Support Person / Service Person of the Year. Due to the large number of employee groups that support Howell Public Schools, we divided the employee groups into two categories.  We will honor a Support Person of the Year (secretary, main office clerk, library services coordinator, bookkeeper, computer technician and non-union support staff), and a Service Person of the Year (paraprofessional and general education aide, copy clerk, mentor, hall monitor, food service, and maintenance). Nominations can be submitted online at https://goo.gl/MVNNte. Nominations are due by Friday, November 10 no later than 4 p.m.

Varsity Volleyball District Playoffs
Our Varsity Women's Volleyball team competes in the State District Playoffs tonight (Wednesday) at 6:30 p.m. at the HHS Fieldhouse. Let's take advantage of our home court. Come on out and support our girls! GO HIGHLANDERS!

Almost, Maine
Our amazing Performing Arts Department is preparing for opening night of Almost, Maine. Set on a cold night in the middle of winter, Almost, Maine is a collection of short scenes featuring various residents of the town falling in and out of love in various unexpected ways. Opening night is Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. with additional shows on November 4 at 7:00 p.m. and November 5 at 2:00 p.m. All shows are at the Rod Bushey Performing Arts Center. Advanced sale tickets are available at the HHS main office and Schafer's House of Music.

HHS Student TEDx Event

The high school is coordinating a Student TEDx event on November 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Howell Theater. This is part of our intentional goal of providing more opportunities for our students to have voice in their learning experience. Due to the requirements from TED Talks as well as the venue, this event is not open to the public. The following students will present on the topics listed:

• John Seck (Being aware of racial stereotypes and not letting them define your perspective)
• Ashley Dunn (Gecko's and Nanotechnology)
• Gwyneth Labine (Anti-bullying)
• Allison Mitter (Being comfortable with who you are and not conforming to what other people want/expect)
• Jordan Chantaca (Importance of community service)
• Jakob Ferris (Leadership)
• Andrea Spisak (Cultural awareness)
• Mikayla Norton (Always find the positive in people)
• Jenna Wincher (overcoming challenges posed by dyslexia) 
• Jared Osborne (finding passion in school/Photography)
• Special Guest Alumni Emma Badgett (celebrating diversity) 

Howell Education Foundation (HEF) Teacher Grant Application
We are fortunate to have the support of the Howell Education Foundation. The HEF was established in 2003 to enhance the work of the Howell Public Schools and, through grants, has provided unique teaching and learning opportunities for our staff and students. If you are interested in applying for a grant click here for the application. 

DHHS Fundraiser
The Livingston County Department of Health and Human Services has been a great partner and resource for the district. This year, they are providing on site support for our students and families at Three Fires Elementary. On Monday, November 6 there is a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings to support DHHS. For more information, click here.

Read More →

Where Did September Go? #HighlanderNation 10.2.17

HPS Team,

Well, it's certainly fun to start Homecoming week after a dramatic win over Brighton. Congratulations to our student-athletes who demonstrated big hearts on Friday evening. We kick off our Homecoming week district-wide with Spirit Week, beginning today. For a complete list of the week's activities, click here. I look forward to celebrating with all of you. 

 










In the spirit of the community coming together for Homecoming, I wanted to share a few additional community events happening this week. Each event supports a unique need in the community and truly demonstrate the #OneHowell spirit.

HHS Interact - Ribbon Warriors Beneficiary Application
One of the events that will take place this week at the HHS Pep Assembly is the annual Ribbon Warriors fundraiser. This is organized by our HHS Interact Club and the proceeds go directly to support a local Howell family impacted by cancer. To nominate a family, please complete this application and return it by October 27.

Documentary Raises Funds for Rare Terminal Disease
One of our Highlander families, the DeWitts, will host a screening of the documentary, The Ataxian, on Sunday, October 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Howell Theatre. Jack DeWitt, son of Lee and Ruth DeWitt, has been diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) - a debilitating, life-shortening disease that currently has no treatment or cure. Jack is currently a senior at HHS. For more information on the screening, click here. To view the press release, click here. 

Tour de Livingston
The Tour de Livingston bike ride on October 8, 2017 is a great family friendly community event for all ages, providing an opportunity for bike riders of all skill levels and families with children to enjoy outstanding fall colors. 

NEW THIS YEAR: A family-friendly ride, offering various distance routes beginning and ending in Island Lake Park. There will also be a Kid’s Zone, sponsored by HPS, with various activities for young children. Registration, breakfast and lunch take place at Mt. Brighton.

All proceeds from this event help to: bridge the gap for local hardworking families struggling to meet their most basic needs; prepare every child to be ready for success; and build a healthy community for all residents via the Livingston County United Way. Participating in the 10^th Annual Tour de Livingston is a great way to make a positive impact on our local community.  Click here for more information and to register for the event.

The TdL official jersey was designed by our very own
HHS student, Nathan Eades, from Mr. Mozdzierz's Digital Imaging course.

As we come together to celebrate this week, let's remember the power of our community to make a difference in the lives of others. Have a great Homecoming week!

Read More →

That's a wrap

HPS Team,

A little over a week ago, we celebrated as 591 seniors walked across the stage and became graduates of Highlander Nation. It's hard to believe that just 13 years ago, these graduates started kindergarten. Through your high expectations and support, they are now equipped with the confidence, skills, and knowledge for the next chapter of their lives. As we bring closure to this year, it's important to understand that we are all part of something much bigger than any one year. It's a process involving the development of our students; a process that includes high and lows, failure and growth, embraces risk-taking and adventure, and through it all, we get to laugh and have some fun.


Thank you for your commitment to this process. While there are certainly challenges and setbacks, there is nothing more special than watching a student become empowered, find his/her passion, and ultimately become prepared to serve our community and country. We are all integral in making this possible.

To this end, many of our students have finalized plans to attend college at places like the University of Michigan, Grand Valley, Central Michigan, Penn State, the University of Alabama, Michigan State University, and Harvard. Others will immediately prepare for a career at places like the Culinary Institute of America and the Michigan Career Technical Institute. And some have chosen to serve our great country in the Armed Forces.


I would like to wish all of our retirees a very happy retirement. Enjoy the extra time with family and friends, new adventures, and coffee in your pajamas. Thank you for your service to our students, families, and our collective team. Your legacy is strong and will live on.

I wish all of you a very peaceful summer. Please take time to take care of yourself. Relax and refresh. Find your balance. Amy and I are taking the kids to Montana later this month. I look forward to quality time with her, fly fishing the Sun River, watching our kids experience new adventures, and overall, a little slower pace. Have a wonderful summer!

Read More →

#HighlanderNation 5.12.17

Senior Survivor - the 10th annual Senior Survivor was amazing. Within a five-day period Senior Survivor raised more than $78,000! These funds will go to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and their intent is to keep these funds local to support our students and families.

Teaching Interacting Encouraging Students (TIES) - on Monday evening, Trish Poelke and Melanie Post updated the board on the TIES pilot at Parker. In short, TIES links a general education student mentor with a student with social and/or emotional challenges in order to provide them with support and equip them with tools to thrive in various settings. As we examine strategies to support our students with social and emotional needs, this structure is research-based and the pilot has been highly successful. We look forward to expanding this framework to all schools in the district in the future. For more information, you can view a short video from the Parker pilot by clicking here.

Technology Bond Update - as you know, we have been delayed with the distribution of the staff devices. The main reason for this is due to the model change that occurred with the iPad. As we were preparing to finalize the order, Apple came out with a new model and reduced price. In turn, we took advantage of this opportunity to save bond dollars that can be reinvested in phase I technology needs. The plan is to distribute staff devices so you are able to take them home for the summer.

Middle School Advisory - Trish and Melanie also updated the board on an advisory structure that will be embedded into the middle school day in the 2017-18 school year. Designed to support the emotional intelligence of our students, the advisory structure will enable the middle school teams to focus on some of the essential skills (i.e. leadership, positive relationships, self awareness) required to succeed in life. Through this structure, the intent is to provide for more intentional time to implement skills from some of our current and new initiatives such as Capturing Kids Hearts, PBIS, TIES, and Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) to name a few. I would like to thank the middle school leadership teams for providing these opportunities for our students. For some additional background information on emotional intelligence and its significance in the school setting, I am linking an article, A Case for Emotional Intelligence in Our Schools.

HEF Golf Outing - the weather forecast is sunny and warm for the Howell Education Foundation's "Lucky" 13th Annual Golf Outing to be held at Chemung Hills Golf Club in Howell on June 20. Put together your foursome now for a great day of golf on a beautiful course, good food, prizes, and all for a good cause.  Last year 47 HPS staff members participated - a wonderful turnout.  Will you join us this year? The cost is $75 per golfer and registration is easy - just go to HowellEducationFoundation.com and click on the link. If you need more information, please contact Sue Hordos at hordoss@HowellSchools.com. Golfers of all skill levels are welcome - the format is best ball.  This is a great way to wrap up the school year and have a good time - come on out!

Read More →

#HighlanderNation 4.27.17

HPS Team,

Administrative Professionals' Day - Wednesday, April 26 marked Administrative Professionals' Day. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank and recognize our amazing support staff. As the front line of the district, they are the smiling faces, the student support, the problem solver. They are the backbone of our organization. On behalf of the entire district, thank you for your support in making this a great place for our students, staff, and families.

Senior Survivor - it has been amazing to watch the events of this week. Our vision of "empowering students to be successful citizens" embraces the intentionality of making sure students have voice in all aspects of their learning experiences. This event is an outstanding example of empowering our students to engage with the community, develop a school culture focused on giving, and connecting experiences to the real world. I look forward to seeing the final results on Friday afternoon. We plan to stream the announcement via Facebook Live and it will be posted on Facebook immediately following the announcement. The link to the district Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/howellpublicschooldistrict. 

State of the District - on Tuesday evening I shared the second State of the District presentation with our community. I enjoyed this opportunity to connect with our stakeholders. The presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

May 12 Half Day Update - our final half day of the school year is scheduled for Friday, May 12. The dismissal times will be slightly later than our first two half days to ensure that we meet the required number of instructional minutes established by the State of Michigan. On May 12, our high school students will be dismissed at 10:52 a.m., middle school students will be dismissed at 10:53 a.m. and elementary students will be dismissed at 12:07 p.m. This change will not impact the negotiated DPPD time accounted for in the 2016-17 school year calendar.

SE/TF Transition - the Transition Team continues to progress on the consolidation process of SE and TF elementary schools. For purposes of an update, I wanted to share the most recent update sent to our SE and TF families. The update can be viewed by clicking here.

Partnership with Department of Health & Human Services - as I shared in my State of the District presentation, about 1 out of 10 students in our district have been absent more than 10% of a school year. Obviously, there is a direct correlation between student attendance and learning outcomes. One of the challenges with addressing truancy is effectively connecting families to resources that can assist with eliminating or reducing barriers that exist with getting their child to school. As both an early intervention and direct support structure, we are partnering with DHHS next year to launch a pilot that will place a community resources in one of our schools. We are launching this structure at Three Fires as our data shows the greatest need for truancy support at this building. We shared this information with the board on Monday evening. You can view the presentation by clicking here. I would like to thank Jennifer Tate (Director at DHHS) for her willingness to partner with us to support our students and families. We will assess this pilot at the end of next year to determine next steps.

HHS Interact and Torch 180 Glow Run - if you are available on Friday evening, our HHS Interact and Torch 180 are partnering to put on the Glow Run. The profits from the run will directly benefit our students as they prepare for life beyond high school. Registration is linked here.

Read More →

District Updates - 4.17.17

HPS Team,
I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. I wanted to provide a few updates as we kick off the week.

Early Middle College (EMC) Programs
As part of the district's strategic plan, we continue to take steps to offer early middle college opportunities to our students. In short, an EMC requires students to remain in high school for a fifth year which allows them to graduate with a high school diploma and up to 60 transferable credits, an industry credential or an Associate degree as well as career experience through internships. While they remain an HPS student, EMC students will attend college classes their fifth year. In addition, students will participate in the symbolic senior ceremonies (i.e. graduation) with their four-year cohort. The board passed a resolution to support the implementation of two early middle college programs to begin next school year. In partnership with LESA and assuming our application is approved by MDE, the first programs we plan to launch are health sciences and manufacturing. This is an exciting development for our students and families. To view the report provided to the board, please click here.

Intra-District Schools of Choice
We currently have approximately 500 students exercising an approved intra-district transfer request to attend a (elementary and/or middle) school outside of their attendance area. While there are certainly legitimate reasons for an internal transfer, the previous criteria was based primarily on space in the building. Over the years, this has created challenges including lost instructional time due to transfer buses. 

At the April 10 meeting, the board approved revisions to policy 5113.01 (Intra-District Schools of Choice). The guidelines now require a centralized committee to review all internal transfer requests using the following criteria:

1. Is there space in the receiving school?
2. Are there family dynamics that warrant the move (i.e. keeping siblings together, split families, child care etc.)?
3. Is it in the best interest of the student’s educational success?

These guidelines do not apply or change a placement of any student or family granted a transfer request prior to the implementation of these guidelines. In addition, district employees may continue to exercise the option of sending their child to the school of their employment.

If finances allow, the District will continue the practice of transfer buses through the 2021-2022 school year to accommodate students previously granted a transfer request. After the 2021-2022 school year, transfer buses will not be assured.

Plasma Cutter Purchase

I received a question regarding the recent purchase of a plasma cutter for our HHS manufacturing program. The question related to the cost and how the district can afford such a purchase. For context, I wanted to provide some background on funding sources for some of our programs. In partnership with LESA, we provide some of the best Career Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in the state. These programs receive targeted state funding (section 61c “added cost” funds) designated by law for those particular courses, because such courses often have high equipment and operational costs. Although that state funding is sometimes insufficient to cover actual costs, our CTE teachers have found creative ways to leverage those funds to benefit our students. In particular, our CTE manufacturing program found a way to upgrade to the latest technology without any impact to the District’s general budget. We were able to purchase a state-of-the-art Plasma cutter by combining state designated CTE funds with proceeds from selling the existing, aging Waterjet cutter at auction. Specifically, the Plasma cutter cost $28,045 and was paid for with $18,867 in state CTE funds and $9,178 from the sale of the Waterjet. Ultimately, our students benefit from the creative ways our CTE teachers leverage targeted state funding to upgrade equipment for their programs.

State Budget Update
We continue to monitor the budget developments at the state level. MASA recently released a 2017-18 School Aid Budget Summary that compares the proposals from the governor, House, and Senate. This continues to be a fluid process.

Winter Sports Report
John Young, our athletic director, shared a report on our winter sports season. Our student-athletes continue to impress both on and off the field. They were recognized for a number of team and individual accomplishments while working to achieve a combined 3.29 GPA. Thank you to our coaches for providing our student-athletes with these life-long learning experiences. To view the complete report, please click here.

State of the District
I would like to invite you to the second annual State of the District on Tuesday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m. in the Parker Middle School commons. Please RSVP to Jan by April 21.

Read More →

Happy Spring!

HPS Team,

This version of #HighlanderNation is in video format. The 3.30.17 #HighlanderNation can be viewed by clicking here. I have also embedded links in the blog below to allow you to skip ahead to certain sections of the video.

Highlights include...

• New website going live on Thursday, March 30 (skip to here)

• Technology bond update - student devices (skip to here)

• 2017/18 school start date for students - September 5, 2017 (skip to here)

• District Highlights (skip to here)
• Kindergarten registration
• Lansing Art Gallery's Art Scholarship Alert (ASA)
• LOC partnership expansion
• United Way Youth Organization of the Year - HHS Volleyball
• MACUL
• Fire Academy Training
• HHS Spring Production - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Regional First Robotics Competition at Parker

• Legislative Update (skip to here)
• State budget process
  Click here to view the proposed House School Aid Budget
  Click here to view the proposed Senate School Aid Budget

• Federal budget process
  Click here to view the MASA Overview of the proposed federal budget for education

Read More →

Highlander for Life

HPS team,

One of the objectives of the district's strategic plan is to "develop a district-level culture." To this end, we have been working on a branding and messaging strategy to impart a “unified signature” for our organization. The strength of our collective communication is dependent upon a strong, unified identity; a #OneHowell approach.

Are we currently intentional about imparting a unified signature? To answer this question, we must first assess how we represent ourselves to our external stakeholders. The graphics below are just a few examples of how we currently present to the public.

To initiate a more unified identity, we are transitioning to a new logo and motto and updating our mascot. The new logo will utilize the block "H" along with "Howell Public Schools" which can be viewed below.

This means we will be discontinuing the use of other logos (i.e. the seal and various "H" logos) except in unique circumstances (i.e. alumni events).

The Highlander mascot has been and continues to be a point of pride for our community. Currently, the Highlander generates a lot of passion at the high school. Building on this momentum, we want to develop the same type of enthusiasm around the Highlander at the elementary and middle levels. In turn, we will be using the new mascot and motto below to build this foundation with our students and families. We will continue to use both our traditional Highlander mascot (at right) along with the new mascot at the high school. While we are building community and district pride around the Highlander, the elementary and middle schools will continue to enjoy their individual school spirit through the use of their respective mascots.

In order to utilize our new logo, mascot, and motto in a consistent manner, we have developed a style guide to provide clear expectations as we move to a “unified signature.” The style guide provides document templates, official stationery, email signatures, etc. while also addressing the dos and don'ts of logo and design use. We have established a July 1 target date to transition all forms of communication to align to the style guide expectations. In addition, we will also use this transition as an opportunity to fully implement the Google platform (Google docs, slides, sheets, folders, etc.) in the district.

Accordingly, the next steps of this process involves scheduling training with central office staff, all administrators, and office staff at each building. The training sessions will commence on March 6 and full details of the training schedule will be forthcoming. We will distribute the style guide along with additional expectations after these trainings are complete.

Read More →

Owning our message - a response to the latest noise

HPS team,

In the past two weeks, I have been asked multiple times about my feelings on the DeVos confirmation. Each time (whether face-to-face, through email, a Tweet, etc.) the question seems to be followed by a few statements about the current state of the public education system: how public schools are in crisis, how they do not prepare students for the next chapter of life, how they waste money, etc. It's the same statements I have heard from some state and federal politicians, pundits, "experts," and my Twitter feed. 

I think, when confronted with these statements, I must look quite confused. You see, I don't have this view of public education and, quite frankly, I don't understand the broad generalizations that are being applied today. I think generalizations are dangerous. They lead to partially informed discussions about very serious issues. 

Therefore, in my last interaction, I responded by expressing my confusion with the assessment of the "system." I asked the person when was the last time he had been in a public school and what evidence he had to support his statement. When he offered none, I proudly shared with him the highlights of my last two weeks in HPS. I shared how the Howell/Brighton boy's basketball game on Friday evening represented the very best of our community as they won the KLAA division championship, how some of our elementary students are on their way this week to the Sea Life Aquarium to see their PBL on display, how one of our teachers was named the 2017 Michigan School Vocal Music Association Teacher of the Year, how are JROTC program won yet another state-level competition, how our students launched two more student-run credit unions, and how three of our senior soccer players just signed to play in college. And, this was just the past two weeks and what was fresh on my mind.

I don't know what a DeVos confirmation means for us. What I do know is that we can no longer sit back and allow others to define us. We must all help to tell our story. We must be ambassadors of Highlander Nation. If we don't, I can assure you that many are prepared to latch on to the generalizations. I am proud to lead a public education institution that collectively works each day to ensure opportunities for all of its students.

While I may not have changed an overall attitude in my latest conversation, I felt good telling our story. It's a pretty good one.

Thank you for all you do! Have a great rest of the week!

Read More →

District Updates - 2.6.17

HPS team,

I hope you had a great weekend! Wow, what a game! We spent the rest of our weekend running kids between athletic events and celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday. She somehow convinced us to have a sleepover with nine girls; it was intense.

This week marks National School Counseling Week. I would like to use this as an opportunity to recognize and thank our amazing counseling team. I feel very strongly that we cannot begin to focus on content knowledge, transferable skills, attendance, etc. until we have created an environment that is grounded in the social and emotional well-being of our students. From as early as kindergarten, our counseling team works to develop this foundation. They do this by working directly with students and families to equip them with the tools they need to be successful, responding in crisis situations, and providing systemic support to build a collective capacity of empathy, independence, and self-awareness. In addition, our counselors are instrumental in ensuring access to individualized educational pathways at each stage of a student's academic career. From developing academic support plans to successful transitions at middle and high school to planning for a career or college, our counselors are instrumental in each student's success at HPS. I am grateful for the support they provide our students and families. Please join me in thanking our counselors. 

District Updates

Building-Level Communication - one of the objectives of the strategic plan is to increase communication to our families from both the district and the buildings. Last year, we started MacGregor's Message as a bi-monthly update for our families of district news and highlights. Starting this semester, on the off weeks of MacGregor's Message, each building will begin sending their respective communications. In short, they will include consistent district-level information as well as information specific to their building. 

Online Grade Reporting, Registration, etc. - as we look to next year, we will be taking intentional steps to move more of our current systems of doing business with our families to an online platform. This will include utilizing PowerSchool's online tools for grade reporting, online registration, schedule pickup, etc. We will begin this transition this year with online progress reports.

Leadership for Maintenance, Operations, and Custodial Services - in April 2015 when the Director of Operations left the district, a "Lead Maintenance" position was created as a pilot structure. For the past 18 months, Chris Eaton has served in this capacity. After assessing the pilot structure, I determined that in a district our size (eleven buildings consisting of over 1,500,000 square feet along with their grounds) we need to have formal leadership in place to provide our staff, students, families, and community with the standard of excellence they deserve. In turn, at the January 23 board meeting, the board took action to approve a Supervisor of Maintenance, Operation, and Custodial Services position. After providing exceptional leadership during the pilot structure, Chris Eaton will assume this position. While Chris is a familiar face in the district, please take an opportunity to welcome him to this new role.

District Highlights

Kelli Falls (Parker Middle School) - Kelli was named the 2017 Michigan School Vocal Music Association Teacher of the Year. This is an amazing honor and symbolizes the talent we have leading our visual and performing arts department. Kelli was selected for this honor by her peers from around the state and received her award last month at the Michigan Music Conference. You can read more about this amazing honor at https://goo.gl/2UDTi0. Congratulations Kelli!

Athletics - our student-athletes continue to excel this season. Our gymnastics team is currently tied for first place in their division, and last week our boys swim and dive team moved into first in their division. Both our boys and girls bowling teams are currently in second place, and last weekend, Dean Fassero bowled a perfect game in the team's meet against South Lyon. Also, boy's basketball clinched at least a share of the division title; the first since 1996. Additionally, five student-athletes recently committed to play at the next level. Joey Gossett and Ryan Brennan both committed for football and Ashley Strong, Emmaly Badgett, and Lauren Yoder each committed for soccer. Congratulations to these student-athletes.

LOC Federal Credit Union Partnership - all of our buildings have strong partnerships with various businesses and non-profits in the community. LOC Federal Credit Union has proven to be one of these strong partners. Through this partnership, we are able to provide our students with real-world experiences by running a student-run credit union. Our students have developed resumes, completed applications, and engaged in interviews while preparing to take on positions such as branch managers and bank tellers. As of last Friday, with the grand opening of the branch at Northwest, we have student-run credit unions at Three Fires, Voyager, Hutchings, and Northwest. In the next couple of weeks, we will further expand this partnership at Highlander Way; this will include a class along with the branch. We will continue to expand this partnership in the next couple of years. I am very thankful for the support of LOC Federal Credit Union.

Read More →

Listening to Our Community

HPS team,

Each year, we conduct a fall and spring student enrollment count. The fall student count was 7,131 students. As projected, this was a decrease of 163 students from the 2015-16 school year. Since 2008, we have experienced a decrease of approximately 1,350 students (from ≅8,500 to 7,131 respectively). As you know, our revenue relies almost entirely on a per pupil foundation from the State; which is currently $7,511.00 (per pupil).

The loss of students on both a state and local level is the result of a number of factors. The two biggest factors are economic conditions (the recession of 2008) and lower birthrates. To highlight the impact of these two factors, consider are graduating (exiting) class of 2016 of approximately 610 students compared to our kindergarten (entering) class of 2029 of approximately 490 students.

In addition, many districts have experienced a loss of students due to the increase in school choice in the state of Michigan. We are no exception. We currently have a number of students (who reside within our district boundaries) choosing to attend school some place besides HPS; this could be public (traditional or charter), private, or home school. If we are going to become the first, best, and only option for families in this area then we must determine the reasons why families make a different choice and respond accordingly. To this end, I have engaged the services of EPIC-MRA, an established survey research firm, to conduct a survey of our current families as well as families who reside within our district but have decided to enroll their children in another district. If there are concrete reasons that surface then we must be willing to act on these immediately.

The online survey will be sent to our families this afternoon and it will remain open until February 5. I look forward to sharing the results with you so we can be better informed as we work to provide the very best education to all of our students.

Read More →

Moving forward...together

HPS team,

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. 

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

This quote sits above my desk and resonates with me in a number of ways. It speaks to the larger historical and contemporary struggles in our world, our country, and our community as well as the commitment that is necessary to make progress. It speaks to sacrifice, lives lost, and potential never experienced. It provides perspective. 

It also speaks to our current, local challenges. From inadequate per pupil funding to so many of our students needing a positive, stable environment to the uncertainty in the direction of public education, we are not short on work. As we look to confront these challenges, I ask that we do so together. I ask that you reflect each day on what you are doing to make our district a better place? We are all accountable. We only get better through our commitment to move forward together.

Organizational Meeting of the Board of Education - at the January 9 board of education meeting, new board member Courtney Tarara was sworn in and took her seat on the board. In addition, the board elected its officers; Mike Yenshaw is President, Stacy Pasini is Vice President, Grace Trudell is Treasurer, Brent Earl is Secretary, and Gregg Gilligan, Courtney Tarara, and Marcus Wilcox are Trustees. I am thankful to work with such a dedicated team and I know they are committed to moving the district forward.

Southeast/Three Fires Consolidation - at the December 12 board of education meeting, the board voted to approve the recommendation of the district’s Facilities Utilization Committee to consolidate Southeast Elementary and Three Fires Elementary at Three Fires Elementary for the 2017-2018 school year. This was a very difficult decision that the board did not take lightly. Each board member spent a great deal of time reviewing the information provided to them by the committee as well as conducting their own research. Now that the Board has approved the recommendation, we have formed a transition team that will be tasked with ensuring a smooth transition for students and staff.

Since the Board of Education approved the recommendation from the Facilities Utilization Committee, I have been examining various options for the building leadership at Three Fires Elementary. We are very fortunate to have two outstanding principals in Mrs. Naghtin and Mr. Starkey. Both have done an exceptional job in their current roles. After meeting with both of them, I have decided to have Mr. Starkey assume the principal role at Three Fires Elementary starting with the 2017-2018 school year. Mrs. Naghtin will pursue a new role and opportunity within Howell Public Schools.

District Highlights - there are always great things going on around the district. This past weekend, Mr. Stimson facilitated a weekend band camp at Parker Middle School in which students spent the weekend engaging in additional instruction and bonding with their peers and teachers. The event concluded with a concert for the community on Sunday afternoon.

Second-grade students at Southeast Elementary recently wrote persuasive letters to support a grant application for a new drinking fountain with a water bottle filling station. Using the principles of project-based learning, the students learned about the health benefits of drinking water and surveyed their schoolmates to gather their thoughts on a new drinking fountain. That research was used as supporting evidence in their letters as to why Southeast should be awarded the grant.

One of our goals is to expand robotics opportunities throughout the district. This year, we have added a number of teams. Team KAOS, one of our middle school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams, will represent Michigan at the FIRST Robotics Super Regional North Championship this March. The team has had a great season so far. They were part of a winning alliance of three teams at a qualifying event and claimed third place overall at the Michigan FTC State Championship.

As we continue to expand meaningful business partnerships at all of our schools, I am excited to share that Hutchings, Northwest, and Highlander Way will formally launch student-run credit unions at their respective buildings in the next few weeks. This is part of an expanding partnership with LOC Federal Credit Union. I am thankful for their support and the leadership opportunities provided to our students.

Winter Sports - Our winter sports season is in full swing, and it is shaping up to be a very exciting one. Our girl's varsity basketball team is continuing their success from last year and currently has a record of 8-0, defeating some very tough opponents early in the season. The wrestling team is doing well, and hockey is undefeated in our league and has a record of 8-6 overall. The boy's varsity basketball team is also off to a great start with a record of 5-3 and boy’s swim and dive is picking up where they left off from last year. If you have an opportunity, I encourage you to watch our student-athletes in action. You can view our athletic schedule at https://goo.gl/1Y3gvB.

Howell Education Foundation Gala - the HEF is hosting a gala on Saturday, February 25 at Crystal Gardens. HEF’s mission is "to encourage students to fulfill their dreams and to reach their full potential." Through the gracious support of our community, the HEF provides classroom and program grants to fulfill its mission. The profits from the Gala will directly support the students in Howell Public Schools. If you are interested in attending, sponsoring, or volunteering, please click here.

Rotary Youth Exchange - the Rotary Club of Howell is a very active organization in our community. One role it fulfills is providing our students with opportunities to travel abroad while also hosting students from other parts of world at HPS; this is all possible through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. We are in need of identifying host families for next school year. You can learn more about this program by clicking here. If you are interested in being a host family, please contact Steve Manor at teach34@comcast.net.

Canned Food Drive - Thank you so much to everyone who donated money and cans for our Gleaner's Food Drive!! 13,000 cans were collected by our Student Leadership class.

Read More →