Welcome to Montcalm Area ISD

WHO:  Center-Based Staff, GSRP Teaching Team, Special Education Teachers, Teachers

WHAT:  Early Math Leadership Institute Purpose: The Institute aims to unite Michigan education leaders to enhance their understanding of early mathematics teaching and learning. We will explore resources, foster community, and inspire a systematic approach to implement transformative practices. Our focus is to clarify and refine your PK-5 mathematics professional learning system, promoting consistency across programming. 

Day 1: Impact Classrooms by: Fostering Collaborative Experimentation for Students, Early Math Values 1&3 and Principles for Teaching and Learning to Teach

Day 2: Impacting Systems by: Fostering Collaborative Experimentation for Teachers, Systems of Supports for Teacher Learning and Principles for Adult Learning

WHO:  Instructional coaches, Elementary

WHAT:  MAISD is proud to offer a Peer Coaching Learning Lab where instructional coaches will explore effective feedback techniques by practicing, observing peers, and reflecting together while helping to streamline evidence-based coaching practices across diverse educational settings. Participants will be introduced to tools and strategies to support effective coaching dialogue and deepen their impact when working alongside teachers.

To foster collaboration and shared learning, each coach will be paired with a coach. 35a(4) funded coaches will be partnered together. For those joining from outside the Literacy Network, we encourage you to participate alongside a coach from a nearby district or a member of your own district team. 

**35a4 funded coaches: Mileage beyond your regular commute will be reimbursed by the MAISD.

WHO:  New Coaches, New Teacher Consultants WHAT:  Learn how to coach teachers and other school staff with a simple coaching cycle framework. Discussion on the data collection tools to make coaching easier. Learn the priority skills for coaching, how to pick a starting skill for coaching and how to keep everything organized!

WHO:  Administration, Coaches, Consultants, Special Education Teachers, Teachers

WHAT:  MAISD is proud to present CHAMPS. The content will explicitly align to

your School Wide expectations in the context of the classroom. CHAMPS

assists classroom teachers to design, or fine tune, a proactive and positive

classroom management plan that will overtly teach students how to behave

responsibly. CHAMPS strategies are easy to implement and will: Reduce

classroom disruptions and office referrals, improve classroom climate,

increase student on-task behavior, and establish respectful, civil

interactions.

See flyer for additional dates and times

Build a Strong Foundation in Explicit Instruction Join us for a professional learning series focused on the core principles of explicit instruction, a proven, research-based approach to teaching that ensures every student has a clear pathway to success. What is Explicit Instruction? Explicit instruction is a structured, intentional teaching approach where educators clearly model skills, guide students with active practice, provide timely feedback, and gradually release responsibility for independent mastery. In this series, we will: ● Explore the foundational components of explicit instruction: I Do, We Do, You Do. ● Practice strategies that engage all students in active participation. ● Discuss ways to provide immediate, meaningful feedback. ● Plan for vocabulary instruction Why This Matters: Explicit instruction empowers teachers to make learning visible, equitable, and achievable for all students—especially those who need additional support.

WHO:  Teachers, SECONDARY Educators in their second year, third year and beyond WHAT:  MAISD is excited to continue the New Teacher Academy for SECONDARY educators in their second year, third year and beyond. This series will build on the foundationestablished during the First Year New Teacher Academy to further develop and grow professional practice! Participants will reflect on their teaching experience with the eye on refining their professional practice,, explore the MAISA Disciplinary Literacy Essentials 6-12, learn student engagement strategies in secondary classrooms, and grow in the use of best practices for assessment and instruction.

WHO:  Elementary Teachers WHAT:  MAISD is excited to continue the New Teacher Academy, building on the foundationsestablished during the First Year New Teacher Academy to further develop and support our newer educators! This hybrid series is designed to move from knowledge to action—supporting teachers as they apply high-impact strategies that improve student learning. This phase of our work aligns closely with Michigan’s Essential Instructional Practice #1, as we deepen our focus on creating consistent, supportive classroom environments through intentional routines and instructional practices that maximize learning time and set students up for academic success.

All sessions will be virtual using Zoom
Looking to collaborate with others to improve engagement, relevance and authentic learning experiences for students? Join the MAISD Disciplinary Literacy Community of Practice! This community of SECONDARY administrators and instructional coaches and literacy leaders will focus on developing deep understanding of Disciplinary Literacy (DL), its essential instructional practices, and collaborate to implement disciplinary literacy in their unique context.

Virtual/Online WHO:  MTSS Coordinators WHAT:  As a group, we will explore topics related to Multi Tiered Systems of Support.  Topics will include district coordinator tasks to keep your system running smoothly including: fidelity in administration of behavioral screenings and fidelity for implementation of interventions.  Participants will identify possible data sources for district and school assessments including: school wide positive behavior and supports tiered fidelity inventory version 3.0 (SWPBIS TFI 3.0), reading tiered fidelity inventory (R-TFI) and district capacity assessment (DCA).  Participants will participate in a protocol for a current problem of practice that they have encountered in their district with feedback from other districts.

This 2 day series will deepening knowledge of the continuous improvement processes and MICIP platform for district leaders and teams. The MDE continuous improvement unit will facilitate learning and provide technical assistance. Lunch will be on your own. Please refer to MAISD/Stanton, MI Area Restaurants for lunch options or pack a lunch. SCECHs provided through MDE

WHO:  GSRP Teaching Team WHAT:  To support high-quality early childhood education and maintain fidelity to GSRPstandards, our teaching teams will engage in professional learning grounded in key resources, including the Early Childhood Standards of Quality, LARA licensing guidelines, the GSRP Handbook, and Implementation Manual. We’ll also reference Teaching Strategies materials to strengthen curriculum and assessment practices. Practical tools from our shared library, Dropbox, and classroom documentation will guide implementation.

CRM’s goal is to help to create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-focused” communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach. CRM Workshops introduces the six wellness skills of CRM designed to help adults and children learn to track their own nervous systems in order to bring the body, mind and spirit back into greater balance, and to encourage people to pass the skills along to family, friends and their wider community.

See flyer for additional dates and times!


WHO:  Special Education Teachers, Teachers, Teachers in their first year

WHAT:  MAISD is proud to present a series of opportunities for New Teachers! In September

learning will be around starting out the school year strong. In October, participants will

learn about classroom management, student engagement and the Michigan Code of

Educational Ethics, making the most of your mentor/mentee relationship and establishing

a classroom culture. In November, participants will enjoy a session around planning and

teaching for student learning and thinking and more active engagement strategies. In

January, participants will learn about assessment for learning. February will have

participants discussing effective communication with administrators, colleagues and

families. March will be a time for reflecting about how to manage stress and staying in

the field of education long-term. The New Teacher Academy will wrap up in May with

reflection about how the year was and what could be done differently.

WHO:  Administration, Coaches, Consultants, Interventionist, Special Education Teachers, Teachers WHAT:  This is a training on the foundations, guidelines, administration and scoring of theAcadience Reading K-6 assessments. Participants will be given opportunities to practice administering the assessments throughout the day using pencil and paper AND digital scoring.