Tom Lietz

The Real Culprits Behind every strongperson is a failed center.

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Last week's Assessment and Accountability Spotlight finally listed training for the new WIN Assessments replacing the ACT Workkeys in Michigan. If you haven't seen it and signed up, they're this week!
@michiganprincipals.bsky.social

LLMs continue to evolve whether we’re paying attention or not!

Judge rules Trump administration can not withhold funding from Harvard The Trump administration illegally withheld federal funding for alleged antisemitism violations, a federal judge in Boston ruled.

Breaking news: The Trump administration illegally withheld billions from Harvard University for alleged violations of rules against antisemitism, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Great couple of days in the UP at Kingsford HS and then with the k12 team at Norway Vulcan! @michiganprincipals.bsky.social

Cost of Trump's D.C. Occupation: $1.1M per day.

Cost to operate public housing for D.C.'s entire homeless population: $169,226 per day.

It's not about what this country can or can’t afford.

It’s about priorities.

A great and free opportunity for Michigan principals, counselors and wellness staff! @michiganprincipals.bsky.social is hosting free webinars with MDHHS on vaping policy. massp.com/2025/08/star...

This is illustrative of common AI issues:
1) When you get an instant AI answer, it is from a small model, which are weak models, especially at math.
2) Non-reasoning models, like the one powering AI overview, only “think” as they write, they make mistakes & then back justify them as they write more

U.S. citizen detained by Border Patrol captured arrest on video

MASSP Deputy Exec. Director @prinripmaster.bsky.social with another great read in today's Principal Power Up! As leaders, we often look in the convenient places for answers. Those convenient places are rarely where the answers live!

In this week’s Leadership in Motion section of the Principal Power Up, @MASSP Deputy Exec. Director Colin Ripmaster asks a critical question about school culture and what we are listening to and focusing on!

They’re not banning books because they’re dangerous—They’re banning them because they expose the truth.

📚 Erased tells the history they tried to bury—& now they’re coming for it. If it’s “too dangerous to teach,” you need to read it.

⚠️Read it before they ban it for good: stan.store/gxldsociety/...

One thing the GPT-4o personality issue demonstrates is that treating AI like every other online product by maximizing for engagement & likeability will have unintended consequences that could cause real problems, both for the usefulness of the models & for the people using them,

Great start to my morning at the AIR Show. Thinking around AI and Media Literacy. Media 1.0 (Human) and 2.0 (human+AI) and Media 3.0 (AI agents) are creating more “media” now than all of history. Kids and adults must learn how to know and be critical consumers. @massp

Whitmer vape tax plan would ban most flavors as ‘contraband’ | Bridge Michigan Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to tax e-cigarettes would also ban any vape products not approved by the FDA, treating them as contraband subject to ‘seizure and forfeiture.’

Whitmer vape tax plan would ban most flavors as ‘contraband’ www.bridgemi.com/michigan-gov... via @bridgemi.com

The Bridges Worth Burning Many times a day I think about the people I used to feel close to, the ones I once felt at home with, those whose presence I previously found comfort in.

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I'm Not Running in 2026, But I Am Getting to Work We all have work to do in delivering a better kind of politics for America.

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Excited to be at @michiganstatefb.bsky.social with the @collegeboardpress.bsky.social collab on AP African American Studies to learn about challenges and opportunities with educators and students! @MASSP

Bulletin board with the title "Advice to my middle school self." Around the bulletin board are small notes teachers have written alongside photos of the teachers in middle school.

What advice would YOU give your middle school self?

Principal @bethhouf.bsky.social invites her team to answer that question and share with students!

One of my companies informed me they cancelled a $2m conference in Florida. Why ?

They didn’t feel they could pass on the incremental cost of tariffs. So they are cutting expenses.

That’s a city that lost a ton of tourism revenue.

The cost of tariffs isn’t just the cost of the tariff

A jam packed Headlines @MASSP members! @BobKefgen’s week in politics (it was busy), the second article in our series on the new BTAM requirements, a critical piece on how to apply for 27h mentoring grants for MASSP Strengthening Leaders, Nina takes on politics and Middle School!

Excited to learn and network at #macul25! I will be leading a session for school leaders on planning and communicating change around AI integration in your school! Looking forward to seeing you there! @MASSP

A fantastic read today in the @MASSP Principal Power-Up from Deputy Exec. Director Colin Ripmaster @prinripmaster.bsky.social! It's in your in-box!

Take a look at Headlines this AM! @BobKefgen and I co-wrote a piece on the new School Threat Assessment requirements passed under HB5549 which goes into effect next fall! This is the first in a series of articles that will break down the law and reqs. @MASSP

The past 18 months have seen the most rapid change in human written communication ever

By. September 2024, 18% of financial consumer complaints, 24% of press releases, 15% of job postings & 14% of UN press releases showed signs of LLM writing. And the method undercounts true use.

A reminder for these times.

Science O Saturday at the district tournament. Proud of Will who was the only kid doing 3 events. One even went poorly. It was first but the boys rebounded getting 1st Place in Reflection Relay (well done coach Rob) and 3rd in Weather or Not. Proud of the boy and his team who took 1st place overall!

Great read this morning from @MASSP Dep. Exec. Director @prinripmaster.bsky.social. MASSP Members can check out the article in yesterday's Principal Power-Up!

Excited to be in Marquette representing @MASSP for a couple days of the UP Principals Summit.