December 19, 2024

Erskine Budget Discussion and Strategy Session Materials

On December 12th, Superintendents Dr. Dan Bittman of Elk River and Dr. Ann-Marie Foucault of St. Michael-Albertville presented information about their budget situations and strategies for engaging staff and community members. Roughly 35 superintendents and their business officials from the NW region of the state attended the session. Dr. Bruce Jensen provided the meeting space and a delicious lunch we were all grateful for. Here are the Slides they presented. 

Thanks to both superintendents and of note, Dr. Bittman retired from Elk River Schools a day later!

The fifth and last session will occur in Redwood Falls on December 19th. 

Principal Associations Organizing Legislators Acting as “Principal for a Day”

On behalf of MESP and MASSP, I encourage you to talk to your principals about hosting your local legislators to be a “Principal for the Day” in your district.  Here is a link to additional information you can share with your principals. This is the second year the program is being offered. Last year was a great success. Let’s help bring in many legislators to our schools by participating in this effort on January 9, 2025!

MASA READS Book Suggestion

Shane Lopez’s book, Making Hope Happen, explores hope as a transformative force in

the lives of individuals. Key points from various chapters include:

• The Nature and Importance of Hope:

  • Hope is a vital, life-sustaining force, like oxygen.

  • It positively correlates with health, longevity, and success.

  • Hope involves four core beliefs: the future can improve personal agency

With multiple pathways to achieve goals, and acceptance of

obstacles.

• Cultivating Hope:

  • It is a learnable and a shareable mindset.

  • The Hope Cycle includes goals, agency, and pathways.

  • Practices like” nexting” and “futurecasting” help envision and connect with

  • a better future.

• The Impact of Hope:

  •  It drives success in education, work, health, and overall well-being.

  • Hopeful leaders inspire commitment and resilience.

  • Hopeful individuals are better at problem-solving, more resilient, and

achieve better outcomes compared to their less hopeful peers

•  Strategies for Building Hope:

  • Reassess and re-establish goals when circumstances change.

  • Link efforts and learning to future aspirations, particularly for children.

  • Practice storytelling to make goals vivid and motivating.

• Hope in Practice:

  • Specific tactics for individuals and leaders include modeling hope,

teaching multiple strategies to achieve goals, and connecting actions to

meaningful futures.

The overarching message is that hope is essential, accessible to all, and can

significantly enhance life outcomes when nurtured and shared.

Thanks to Dr. Bill Sommers for the recommendation and book notes!

Leadership Matters!

“I love it when superintendents…support the principals, value the teachers, and care about the kids.” - Danny Steele