Superintendent's Workforce Guide

The Office of Educator Excellence at the Michigan Department of Education wishes all educators a great start to the 2021-22 Academic Year!

Welcome to the Superintendent's Workforce Guide. Please view the links and guidance related to:

Recruiting Educators

• The Future Proud Michigan Educator Program
• The Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educator Campaign
• Growing the Local Educator Workforce

Recognizing and Retaining Educators

• #proudMIeducator & Educator Recognition
• Educator Evaluation Resources

Requirements and Reporting

• Educator Certification, Placement, and Permits
• Data & Reporting Reminders
• The Michigan Code of Educational Ethics

A brief overview of the resources can be seen in the video below.

As a continuation of Michigan's efforts to grow and diversify the educator workforce and reduce educator shortages, MDE is providing resources that facilitate recruitment into the profession for an existing pool of candidates to address short-term school vacancies and long-term staffing needs.

The Future Proud Michigan Educator pathways focus on four populations of future educators:

• Individuals working in PK-12 Schools
• Career Changers
• Educators transferring licensure from other states
• Students in grades 6-12

The Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educator campaign allows educators with expired credentials to return to the teaching workforce by reducing or eliminating professional learning recertification requirements.

To participate in the campaign, districts may apply for a waiver on behalf of the educator for a reduction or elimination of professional learning hours, depending on the individual's years of teaching experience and time away from the workforce.

Have questions? Welcome Back PME Frequently-Asked-Questions

Have you considered hiring a student teacher, teacher candidate, or residency candidate under a full year basic permit to fill immediate staffing needs? Or how about developing a current employee through an expedited preparation program? Clicks on the links below to learn more about recruiting and placement options.

• Supporting Hard-to-Fill Positions With Teaching Candidates
  
• Expedited Educator Preparation Programs
  
• Hiring Alternative Routes to Certification
• Free and Low Cost Professional Learning Resources

#proudMIeducator is a digital media initiative that aims to acknowledge, elevate, and celebrate the work of great educators in the State of Michigan.

Michigan’s educators are among the nation’s best and it’s important to highlight the incredible work they do every day to provide our next generation with a high-quality education. Educator recognition is a key component in an effective educator retention strategy. Learn about state and national recognition programs to help shine the spotlight on the all-too-often unsung heroes in our schools across the state.

Do you know a Proud Michigan Educator that should be highlighted in a future #proudMIeducator video? We want to know! Complete this easy proposal form (below) to get started.

Educator Evaluation legislative requirements remain. Update your evaluation reporting and record-keeping with the resources below.

• Annual Educator Effectiveness Data Appeals Window (September 1- December 1)
• Educator Evaluation Record Keeping & Audit Checklist

There are many solutions to address staffing challenges; understanding the options for teacher placement, permits, and authorizations can help maximize available human resources.

• Daily Substitute Permit as a Transition Plan
  
• Grow Your Own: Addressing Vacancies
• Courses That Can Be Taught
• Appropriate Placement of Educators
• Conviction Disclsoure Reporting

Certification Considerations:

• Districts are responsible to ensure that permits and authorizations are valid prior to teacher placement.
• Out-of-state certificates are NOT valid in lieu of Michigan certification or a valid permit.
• Think ahead about staffing decisions; some certificate renewal requirements include an assigned mentor and observation of instruction.
• Consider opportunities to grow-your-own teaching staff by assisting staff transition from a daily to a full-year permit, then to certification.

• MDE-MEMO: "Important Registry of Educational Personnel Fall Data Request" requests the close examination of the submission of virtual/online teachers, vacancies, and employment status during the 2021 fall registry of educational personnel (REP) collection.
• A new contact type, Human Resource (HR) Contact, has been added to the Educational Entity Master (EEM). This contact will be used by MDE to communicate regarding matters such as staffing, job fairs, and other HR related questions. It is recommended that all districts add a Human Resource Contact in EEM. For guidance on how to add, remove or edit a contact, please see the How to Add, Remove or Edit a Contact in the EEM guide.

• EEM entity authorized users are responsible for keeping their entity records up-to-date to ensure data management and submission.

• To identify the current authorized users for the EEM for your district or educational entity, please email the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) Customer Support at cepi@michigan.gov or call 517-335-0505 x3.

The Michigan Code of Educational Ethics (2019) provides principles for best practice, mindfulness, self-reflection, and decision-making – setting the groundwork for self-regulation and self-accountability. The establishment of this Code honors the public trust and upholds the dignity of education across the state.

• Michigan Code of Educational Ethics
• Disclosure of Criminal Convictions

The Office of Educator Excellence serves the community by providing whole-child centered resources to ensure every student in the P-20 system has equitable access to a high-quality, barrier-free system of education professionals. This is accomplished by the recruitment, preparation, certification, development, support, retention, and recognition of educators through collaboration with internal and external partners.

Please share your feedback:

Email: MDE-EducatorHelp@Michigan.gov
Website: michigan.gov/mde
Location: 608 West Allegan Street, Lansing, MI 48915, USA
Phone: 517-241-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/MIEducator
Twitter: @MIEducator