Brumbaugh for Public Education

10/12/2024

Insightful podcast from Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) about the challenges that school districts face recruiting and retaining great talent in the business office.

Podcast Episode · MI SoundBoard · 10/11/2024 · 42m

01/16/2024

James Madison College was one of the best parts of my experience at Michigan State. More of a community than a college. Happy to talk to any interested students or link you up with someone there if you can’t attend.

Registration is open for Meet Madison Days! These sessions are designed to help admitted students make their final decisions.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-meet-madison-days-for-admitted-students-tickets-779525440577

10/13/2023

October is Principal Appreciation month, and we are lucky to have an amazing team! Thank you for your leadership!

10/09/2023

GPPSS BOE PRE-READ (Week of 10/9)

Good morning, friends and neighbors. The Grosse Pointe Public Schools BOE will have a regular meeting on Tuesday 10/10 at 6:30pm in the Brownell MS multipurpose room. It will be preceded by a special session at 5:30pm to receive training from Board counsel Collins & Blaha on “threat assessment and district liability.”

KEY BOE MEETING ITEMS:

AGENDA:
https://www.gpschools.org/cms/lib/MI01000971/Centricity/domain/61/10.10.23_agenda/Agenda_10.10.23_WEB_Updated..pdf

WATCH THE MEETING:
https://gppssvideo.weebly.com/

KEY ITEMS

- We will receive an update on district special education leadership and staffing.

- We will have a brief reception to mark Deputy Superintendent Dr Bishop receiving a prestigious leadership award, and my departure from the community.

- Second read of a resolution to clarify procedures for use of Board counsel Collins & Blaha.

- First read of a resolution to establish a budget committee, separate from the finance and facilities committee.

COMMITTEE NOTES

Policy and Contracts met last week and discussed MICIP, which are the current statewide processes to track school improvement, and how the district consistently goes above and beyond state standards to pursue improvement toward educational excellence. There was discussion about increased reporting and/or communication about district plans and successes in this regard. They next meet 11/7 at 5pm at the Barnes PLS.

Finance and Facilities met last week to discuss air conditioning, building-level reporting, and enrollment. They next meet 11/7 at 6:30pm at the Barnes PLS.

Community Engagement met last week to discuss lunches, enrollment procedures, and athletic event attendance by students outside the district. They next meet 11/8 at 6:30pm at the Barnes PLS.

- Curriculum met last week to discuss public fora for curriculum review, the Middle School Study, and brainstormed future areas of focus. The committee next meets 11/8 at 5pm at the Barnes PLS.

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

The Board engaged Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) to help find our next superintendent. Your input is critical to this process. Please see below for more information on the process, how to get involved, and a link for a survey.

- More info:
https://www.gpschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=1&ModuleInstanceID=5241&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=59274&PageID=1

- Community survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GPSEARCH

This post represents my own opinions and observations, and does not speak for GPPSS or the BOE.

10/05/2023

We are so excited to announce our Fall Concert!!! Please join us and our new Choirs Director Ms. Peyton Weil and Accompanist Mrs. Catherine Trudell💚💛🎤

09/26/2023

GPPSS BOE PRE-READ - Week of 9/25 (updated)

Good evening, friends and neighbors. There will be a regular meeting of the Grosse Pointe Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday 9/26 at 5:30pm in the Brownell MS multipurpose room. Please note that the posted time is earlier than we usually start, and that all requests to make public comments must be submitted by online form or turned in on paper prior to the end of the superintendent’s report.

There are several routine business items on the agenda, and three items worth special attention:

- (UPDATED) Our early start is to accommodate a BOE workshop on the superintendent search. We will discuss processes, timelines, the preliminary job posting, and proposed salary range.

- Naming of the North HS Library in honor of former GPPSS Superintendent Suzanne Klein

- A proposed questionnaire for prospective applicants to fill my Board seat after my family departs the Grosse Pointes due to work, as I detailed in my last post. There was a special session on this matter last week, which unfortunately I could not attend as we were looking for housing in DC.

Note that committee meetings are scheduled to resume the first week of October.

Agenda:https://www.gpschools.org/cms/lib/MI01000971/Centricity/domain/61/09.26.23_agenda/Agenda_9.26.23_WEB.pdf

Watch the meeting: https://gppssvideo.weebly.com/

09/21/2023

🥇🥇ICYMI... Grosse Pointe South's Carly Brown is a WORLD CHAMPION!!! Carly was selected to the U.S. Women's Under 19 Team. In August, she competed in the 2023 World Rowing Championships at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, site of the Paris 2024 Olympics. On the final day, the U.S. boat raced past Italy and Australia to take home the gold! CONGRATS CARLY!!! 🥇🥇

09/12/2023

GPPSS BOE PRE-READ - Week of 9/12

Good evening, friends and neighbors. On Tuesday 9/12, there will be a regular meeting of the GPPSS Board of Education at 8pm in the Brownell MS multipurpose room. It will be preceded at 5:15pm by a special session to discuss attorney-client privileged information and a training at 6pm by Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) on the superintendent search process; both will be in the Brownell MS library. There have been no committee meetings since our last BOE meeting, but they will resume in October.

The three main items on our agenda will be discussion and approval of a superintendent search firm, a proposal to clarify procedures for using the Board legal counsel (Collins & Blaha), and a proposal to name the renovated North HS library after retired GPPSS Superintendent Suzanne Klein. Please also welcome back our former deputy superintendent for business operations, Chris Fenton, who has agreed to serve as our interim superintendent during the search process.

Reminder — requests to submit public comment can be submitted online tomorrow, or in person at the meeting prior to the end of the superintendent’s report.

Agenda:
https://www.gpschools.org/cms/lib/MI01000971/Centricity/domain/61/09.12.23_agenda/Agenda_9.12.23.WEB_.pdf

Watch the meeting:
https://gppssvideo.weebly.com/

09/06/2023

Good morning, friends and neighbors. I hope everyone had a great first day back at school! Two pieces of important Grosse Pointe Public Schools news—

Last night, in special session, we approved contract extensions for our remaining executive administrators: Deputy Superintendent Roy Bishop, Director of Pre-K and Elementary Keith Howell, Director of HR Nicole Pilgrim, and Director of Instructional Technology Chris Stanley. Their contracts included updates that I hope will help return stability to our leadership team after a series of unfortunate departures. These leaders are consummate professionals who put kids and learning first, and I am profoundly grateful for their continued service to our community.

I also shared the difficult news that we just received orders to relocate back to DC in 60 to 90 days. While I am saddened to need to leave the board, and we are heartbroken to leave our beloved community, it has been my honor to serve you as a trustee and an advocate for public education during my time here. We do not have a more specific timeline for our move, but will update you when we know more.

I will continue to do the best I can to serve you during my time remaining here. After I depart, the board will appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of my term, as my seat will be on the ballot in November 2024.

Thank you to our community and staff for making GPPSS such a wonderful place to live and learn. Here’s to a wonderful 2023-24 school year!

09/05/2023

Just so you don't have to look it up like I just did, here are the start times:
High School - 8 a.m.
Middle School - 8:15 a.m.
Elementary - 8:20 a.m.
Tomorrow is NOT Late Start.

We're so excited to see you! It's going to be a great year.

08/31/2023

For the third time in his career, Dan Griesbaum Sr. is stepping in as Grosse Pointe South’s interim athletic director after Brandon Wheeler left his post as the Blue Devils AD and assistant principal to accept a new role as principal of Marquette Senior High School, a Class A high school with roug...