It was awesome to see so many board members and superintendents pack the room this morning. We started the morning off on the right foot by celebrating the achievements of Allendale Public Schools and Rochester Community Schools. The two districts joined just 10 others across the state to be named Board Visionary Leadership Award winners. The boards were recognized for excellence in school governance and for creating a vision of leadership that leads to improved student achievement. Please be sure to congratulate board members from these two districts! Does your board have what it takes to join these ranks? If so, be sure to get started on your application for next year. See the winning BVLA submissions in the Governor's Prefunction Area by the MASB Bookstore.
We also had a beautiful musical presentation from the Traverse City High School Spring Quartet. Their music filled the room with joy and reminded us of the importance of arts in our schools.
Board members were expecting an address from Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Flanagan. Unfortunately, due to some personal issues, Superintendent Flanagan wasn't able to be with us in person. Instead, he sent a video message about the need for us to raise the bar and set our expectations high for ALL students. Attendees were the first to see Flanagan's message, ahead of it being shared statewide. Watch his message.
Let us just say again how exciting it is to see so many boards and superintendents committed to improving their skills so they can improve the educational experience for students. Thank you!