Issue 66 | May 2025
Be sure your email address is up-to-date in the Michigan Online Educator Certification System to receive important notifications regarding YOUR certificate.
Please see the archived newsletters for other important information that affects licensure.
Teacher Appreciation Video Project
In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, which took place from May 5-9, 2025, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) recognizes the diligent and committed educators throughout the state. As a key component of MDE's strategic initiatives, we are proud to celebrate Michigan teachers throughout the entire month of May.
MDE invited families to submit videos of their students thanking specific teachers for their impact. Parents, guardians, and students delivered! The submitted videos are amazing and are posted on the Teacher Appreciation Month webpage and MDE’s YouTube channel. The Office of Educator Excellence (OEE) Facebook page will be sharing the videos throughout the month of May. Join the celebration by using the hashtag #MITeachAppreesh in your own messages of appreciation!
2026-27 Michigan Teacher of the Year Nomination Window Opens Tomorrow
MDE will open the 2026-27 Michigan Teacher of the Year nomination window Wednesday, May 21, 2025. This annual program recognizes outstanding teachers in our state. Each year, 10 Regional Teachers of the Year are selected through a competitive application process, with one of the Regional Teachers of the Year named Michigan Teacher of the Year.
Parents and/or guardians are invited to nominate a teacher. To be eligible, a nominee must have a valid Michigan teaching certificate, at least five years of teaching experience in Michigan, and be in good standing with their school or district.
Please make nominations using the online form, which is available until Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., eastern standard time (EST).
We recognize that some districts and intermediate school districts have an established process for awarding local teachers of the year. District representatives are welcome to nominate their district level teachers of the year by directly emailing MTOY@Michigan.gov.
To learn more about the Michigan Teacher of the Year program and MDE's other educator recognition programs, visit the program webpage. Please contact MTOY@Michigan.gov with questions regarding the program or nomination process.
Update: Availability of State Assessment Student Growth Reports
The fiscal year 2025 (FY25) State School Aid Act did not provide funding for MDE to contract SAS® EVAAS to provide value-added reports to intermediate school districts (ISDs) and local education agencies (LEAs), both traditional public school districts and public school academies. Therefore, reports will not be developed for the state assessments for the 2023-24 academic year. While school district users will find that the login-restricted website will no longer be accessible, the publicly available external website will continue to display reports through the 2022-23 academic year.
For the most updated state assessment student performance information, including for the 2023-24 academic year, Michigan ISDs and LEAs can securely access student growth reports in the dynamic reports section of the MDE Secure Site. Additionally, publicly accessible student growth reports can be found on MISchoolData.org. Please send any questions to MDE-EdEvals@Michigan.gov.
Reminder: Permits Available Soon for the 2025-26 Academic Year!
Districts must ensure educators hold valid credentials appropriate for their assignment. When a certified individual is not available, temporary credentials are available for districts to assign non-certified or under-certified educators.
Beginning July 1, Michigan schools can apply for staffing flexibilities for educators. These staffing flexibilities include permits, Special Education Approvals, and Annual Career Authorizations (ACA). Permits and ACAs are applied for and issued to the employing school district. As a reminder, the Daily Substitute Permits are intended for intermittent assignments and are valid for 90-consecutive calendar days if the individual remains in a single assignment.
For more information on staffing flexibilities, please visit the Educator Staffing and Placement webpage.
MiEdWorkforce Update
The Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) and MDE are developing a data system called MiEdWorkforce to replace the Registry of Educational Personnel (REP) and the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS).
MiEdWorkforce is expected to go live in summer/fall of 2027.
In preparation for the launch, the MiEdWorkforce team has started critical partner engagement sessions with educators, representatives from PK-12 schools, educator preparation providers, and employment contractors.
The first round of sessions covered features related to employment data and unique identifier assignment. During the discussions, the team shared previews of proposed system functionality and participants provided input and feedback.
- 92% thought the sessions were worth their time.
- 92% would like to participate in future discussions.
- 83% felt this change would improve their work.
- 100% thought the development of MiEdWorkforce is a needed change.
Future sessions will include educator credentials, educator preparation programs, and professional learning.
For inquiries, please contact the MDE help desk (MDE-EducatorHelp@Michigan.gov) and CEPI customer support (CEPI@Michigan.gov).
Professional Learning Reminders
Teaching Certificate Renewal
Teachers are required by rule to accumulate a total of 150 education-related professional learning hours to renew or progress their teaching certificate. These hours may include college credits, State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs), and District Provided Professional Development (DPPD). All DPPD hours accrued after July 1, 2020 must be entered as SCECHs by the district or another SCECH provider. DPPD hours obtained prior to July 1, 2020 must be entered by the educator and then submitted to the district for verification using this process. Educators should check their Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS) account to verify their professional learning hours. If an educator finds a discrepancy in SCECH hours, they should contact the SCECH sponsor.
Professional Learning and Mentoring Laws
Districts are required by law (MCL 380.1527) to provide at least 5 days (30 hours) of professional development to all teachers annually. Teachers within their first three years of classroom teaching must be assigned a mentor and receive an additional 15 days (90 hours) of professional development over those three years per MCL 380.1526. Districts must maintain documentation related to both professional learning laws and enter new teacher professional learning hours into Field 24 of the Registry of Educational Personnel (REP). In addition, per MCL 380.1249b(1)(o), districts are required to assign a mentor or coach to each school administrator (excluding superintendents) for the first 3 years in which the school administrator is in a new administrative position.
School Safety
As part of MCL 380.1526, districts must provide a MDE approved First Aid/CPR course to teachers in their first year of employment in classroom teaching. Due to this requirement, school safety trainings are accepted as district provided professional development and count toward recertification.
Helpful resources:
FY25 Student Loan Repayment Program Update
The individual application window for the FY25 Student Loan Repayment Program ended Monday, May 19, 2025. This year, eligible school staff members applied directly for the program using the updated eligibility requirements, timeline, and instructions on the Student Loan Repayment Program webpage.
The end of the individual application window means that the next phase, employment verification by districts, can begin. The employment verification window starts Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and closes at 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. A notification about the employment verification phase, including instructions for completing the verifications, will be sent to all authorized Grant Electronic Monitoring System/Michigan Administrative Review System (GEMS/MARS) staff members at the districts where eligible individuals claimed employment on submitted applications. Note that only those districts that have employees submitting individual applications will receive a notification.
It is vitally important that districts receiving notifications complete the employment verification step by the deadline of 5 p.m. EST, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. An individual educator’s application will not be processed without employment verification.
For questions about the Student Loan Repayment Program that are not otherwise found on the Student Loan Repayment Program webpage or on its associated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpage, please contact the 27k team at MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov.
The Future Proud Michigan Educator Military Veterans Grant
MDE is still accepting applications for the Future Proud Michigan Educator (PME) Military Veterans grant. This grant can be used to provide a salary for qualifying military veterans for up to two semesters of student teaching and cover additional costs or fees associated with seeking a teaching certificate. This grant targets the goals in Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan by focusing on increasing the percentage of adults with post-secondary credentials and the number of certified teachers in areas of shortage. For more information, please visit the Future PME Military Veterans webpage.
We Need Your Voice!
Interested in sharing your perspective with the Office of Educator Excellence on a future project? We are always looking for new individuals to participate in workgroups, review committees, and other projects involving Michigan’s education workforce. To be considered, please complete the following form:
Talent Pool
The Michigan Talent Pool is a group of elementary and secondary educators nominated by their supervisors that the Michigan Department of Education draws upon throughout the year when opportunities for engagement and recognition become available.
We welcome recommendations of outstanding classroom teachers and/or principals who exhibit strong potential for professional leadership, and demonstrate the following:
- Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school;
- Exemplary educational accomplishments beyond the classroom;
- Contributions to education that are largely unheralded, yet are worthy of the spotlight; and
- An engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.
Recommendations to the Talent Pool should be submitted by the nominee's supervisor and can be made via the online recommendation form.
The nomination form includes a one-page letter of recommendation explaining how the nominee meets the above criteria. Please note that these recommendations are confidential and should not be discussed with the recommended educator or others in your school or community.
Please direct any questions to Jennifer Robel at RobelJ@Michigan.gov.
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