Kicking Off the 2024-25 Michigan EPFP Year

Over the last few months, following the news has been a dizzying challenge with ceaseless political shocks, constant flux, and the emergence of “unprecedented times” as “the new normal” (Wired). On the federal level, observers have seen two assassination attempts against a former president, an incumbent president withdraw from his reelection campaign, a new Democratic presidential candidate challenging various racial and gender barriers in securing her party’s nomination, and never-ending August and September surprises that likely foreshadow added October ones. In Michigan, policy watchers have tracked a state budget that “shocked education leaders,” a flurry of legislative action on important K-12 issues, and races in the Michigan Legislature that could end “Democrats’ prized trifecta” (Chalkbeat Detroit; July 2024 Capitol Perspectives; August 2024 Capitol Perspectives; Chalkbeat Detroit; Politico). Locally, folks have witnessed “battles for control” over essential institutions and the “continuing” of a national “trend toward more polarization” (Vanderbilt University).

In the shadow of this political pandemonium, a certain level of disengagement, withdrawal, and apathy might be understandable. However, unfazed by this dynamic and unwilling to give in to these temptations, in September, 33 Michigan education professionals interested in honing their policy, leadership, and networking skills ran towards this uncertainty, traveling to Michigan State University from across the state to inaugurate the 50th iteration of the Michigan Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). While the weight of this political moment, the country’s many upcoming consequential elections, and Michigan EPFP’s golden anniversary make this year feel unique, the program’s core remains true to the model that has served Michigan’s aspiring education leaders so well during the last five decades. As such, over the next ten months, this program, which is facilitated by the Office of K-12 Outreach in partnership with the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), will offer selected Fellows a carefully curated opportunity to grow personally and professionally; build a broader network of passionate policy entrepreneurs, implementers, and evaluators; progress on self-identified learning priorities; and travel across the United States in the pursuit of improved life chances for young people.

With so much work to do, the Michigan EPFP Fellows met twice in September — early and late in the month. At the first session on Monday, September 9th, the Michigan EPFP Co-Coordinators focused on attending to the program’s networking strand and developing a professional learning community to ensure that Fellows would feel comfortable pursuing transformational change. To start addressing these goals, the day opened with session attendees sharing a bit about themselves via large group introductions and an extended icebreaker that had them construct human billboards summarizing their learning objectives, personal backgrounds, core values, and life experiences. Then, the group took some time to review Michigan EPFP’s components, generate some group norms, reflect on this cohort’s place in the program’s history, and develop a rough consensus on some essential elements of policy, leadership, and networking. From there, the group heard from Dr. David Arsen, Professor Emeritus of Education Policy and K-12 Educational Administration at Michigan State University, to get a bit of a teaser into the types of education policy controversies they will engage with throughout the experience and gain some inspiration for analyzing them. During his time with the Fellows, Dr. Arsen weaved together takeaways from his recent research around school finance, schools’ place in economic development, and the under-discussed challenges of rural education. He also offered the group some time to share their background experiences with education policy and ask their questions about the day’s key themes. Finally, the cohort thought about effective networking strategies, considered best practices from Leadership Networking: Connect, Collaborate, Create, and mapped their professional networks.

Fellows engaging in the human billboard icebreaker and listening to Dr. Arsen

At the program’s second session on Monday, September 23rd, the cohort’s focus shifted to the program’s leadership strand as the Fellows worked to further understand their role in advancing their organizations’ work and effectuating policy change. First, Dr. Bryan Beverly, Director of the Office of K-12 Outreach and Michigan EPFP Co-Coordinator, and Dr. Tara Kintz, Outreach Specialist in the Office of K-12 Outreach, introduced the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and helped Fellows identify their personal preferences. During their presentation, both speakers emphasized that results from this instrument are not a box to be constrained by but a starting point for thinking about leadership and engaging others. With that, they explained how the tool offers the group a chance to delve into discussions about their default orientations, leadership styles, and needs from other individuals. After that, the group discussed leadership in the policy context, and Tyler Thur, Associate Director of Data & Evaluation for the Office of K-12 Outreach and Michigan EPFP Co-Coordinator, walked the session attendees through a collection of online resources for developing policy and legislative expertise. Finally, to help the group further consider leadership essentials, Dr. John Lane, Outreach Specialist in the Office of K-12 Outreach and Michigan EPFP Co-Coordinator, shared the utility of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument as a means of becoming aware of one’s default approach to conflict, understanding others’ conflict styles, and considering the ways that diverse preferences can align for productive workplace outcomes. Finally, the group reflected on key leadership takeaways from this session and how they might be revisited at the Fellows’ next gathering — the Regional Leadership Forum in Pennsylvania.

The 24-25 cohort lined up according to MBTI preferences and learning from Dr. Lane

In addition to these two all-day sessions and the upcoming RLF, taking place on the Gettysburg Battlefield and at the U.S. Army War College, the 2024-25 Michigan EPFP calendar will include eight more content sessions (six in-person and two held virtually), the Washington Policy Seminar in Washington, D.C. focused on federal education policy, a Day at the Michigan Capitol covering state education policy, Learning Team presentations by the Fellows that apply skills learned throughout the EPFP experience to effectuate policy change, and access to copious resources and virtual events from the Institute for Educational Leadership and its partners. Readers interested in following this cohort’s growth and celebrating Michigan EPFP’s 50th anniversary later this year can follow the program on social media and in future editions of In Focus. Emblematically, the October newsletter will include a deep dive into reflections from next month’s Regional Leadership Forum. Folks with resultant questions or who are interested in participating in Michigan EPFP next year can visit the Michigan EPFP website or contact a Michigan EPFP Co-Coordinator.

Michigan EPFP’s cohort for the 50th anniversary of the program