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.

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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!

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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.

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