It has been a very busy month here at MSAA and it is only the 10th! Our professional development opportunities abound right up to the winter break. Check out our Professional Development and the myriad of opportunities available to you and your teachers!

I want to call particular attention to MSAA's very cool initiative Ignite and Unite, the brainchild of President Kathleen Duff! Introduced at Convocation, Kathleen shared about the power of storytelling to unify our PreK-12 organization. So many amazing things are happening across the Commonwealth and this is our opportunity to learn from and with one another. At Convocation, Kathleen shared, "Your voice has a unique story and that story has the power to change a life and the world." Click here to access the videos!

I encourage you to watch the fabulous video productions from four of our principal colleagues: Stephen Mordewnweck, Principal of the Eleanor Johnson Middle School in Walpole, Henry Turner, Principal of Newton North High School in Newton, Ross Thibault Principal of Dartmouth High School, in Dartmouth and David Keim, Principal of the Fred W. Miller Elementary School in Holliston. I believe one aspect that makes this project so exciting is how each principal followed the same set of instructions and produced very unique movies! I am looking forward to the next set of movies! They are published monthly so stay tuned to our Twitter feed and to this newsletter for further publications.

Upcoming events are listed below and their links are in chronological order underneath this bulleted list and the #MSAAchat Twitter information.

• Aspiring Administrator Professional Development on Thursday, 12/12 at the MSAA Office
• Annual Urban Best Practice Summit Wednesday, 1/8 at the MSAA Office
• Student Council Advisor Workshop Friday 1/24 - Saturday, 1/25 at the Resort & Conference Center in Hyannis
• PK-8 Spring Conference Friday 3/27 at Devens Common
• NAESP Leadership Immersion Institute Thursday 5/5 - Friday 5/6 in Augusta, Maine
• National Student Council Conference Monday, 6/22 - Wednesday 6/24 in Denver, Colorado

In closing, on behalf of the MSAA we would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a joyous New Year.

Warm Regards,

Beth Wittcoff

MSAA Assistant Director

Middle Level and Elementary Committee Liaison

Social Media

12/10 Featuring Thomas C. Murray, presenter and author of Personal & Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences That Impact a Lifetime. Available in Amazon

1/14 Featuring Suzy Brooks and Matt Joseph, Massachusetts administrators and authors of Modern Mentor: Reimagining Mentorship in Education. Available in Amazon

Both should prove to be excellent chats.

NAESP Leadership Immersion Institute

May 5-6, 2020 | Augusta, ME

This 2-day event is a highly structured, interactive professional learning opportunity that integrates research-based best practices in mentoring and adult learning with educators’ knowledge and experiences. Principals from all grade levels and district personnel are encouraged to participate! Training topics include:

• Mentoring Principals to Lead Learning Communities
• Build Culture: Creating Schools that are Great Places to Teach and Learn
• Empower People: Leading Learning to Bring Out the Best in Teachers and Students

· Optimize Systems: Ensuring School Operations, Processes and Contexts Support Effective Teaching and Learning

The program curriculum has been newly redesigned to align with NAESP’s 2019 edition of Leading Learning Communities: Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals, the 2015 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and NAESP’s Mentor Competencies. To register or learn more about the program, visit https://www.naesp.org/mentor.