MEMSPA Region 12: West Michigan Leadership Update

MEMSPA’s Region 12 encompasses Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, and Ottawa Counties on Michigan’s west side. Region 12 Leaders continue to do amazing things to support their students, staff, and communities and we are excited to highlight some of the amazing leaders we have on the Sunset Side. 

MEMSPA Region 12 members Dr. Kristen Dewitt of Jeffers Elementary School in Spring Lake, Michael Ghareeb of Lakewood Elementary School in the Holland West Ottawa Public Schools, and Joe Szymanski of Forest Grove Elementary School in Hudsonville have led their respective schools to be named 2025 Michigan Blue Ribbon Schools. Congratulations to you, your students, and your staff! 

Several principals are seeing profound results by intentionally embedding inclusion and leadership into the fabric of their school day.

Baldwin Street Middle School in Hudsonville launched a groundbreaking, enhanced LINKs program focused on "Elevating Inclusion." Principal Ryan Crete's team transformed a traditional peer buddy system into a structured initiative:

• Explicit Instruction: General education LINKs now participate in weekly advisory sessions to explicitly teach them about different disabilities, fostering knowledge and empathy.

• Expanded Roles: LINKs serve as peer supports in core academic classes, not just electives, promoting inclusion in environments essential for academic growth.
  The result is a program building a generation of informed, compassionate, and engaged student leaders with a tangible impact on school culture.

At Ross Park Elementary in Mona Shores, Principal Kerri Rakocy centers her school's philosophy on "Students Owning their Learning & Leading the building." The school, which houses two MOCI and two ASD classrooms, uses this philosophy to foster a strong, empathetic school community. The Student Leadership Team actively contributes by assisting with transitions, leading assemblies, and celebrating student achievement. This work is supported by a staff culture that is unwavering in its positivity: they consistently "build each other UP, show UP, and always look UP," ensuring students feel safe enough to take risks and truly want to attend school every day.

Beechnau Elementary School (Ravenna) Principal Wendi DeJonge demonstrated rapid, student-centered leadership by successfully opening an Intensive Resource Room to meet the specific needs of an incoming student. The key to their success was creating a structured yet inclusive environment. Students benefiting from the resource room engage with their peers for specials, lunch, recess, and academics. This commitment to doing what is best for kids—and ensuring staff are supported to execute that vision—led one visiting ABA therapist to call it the "best program I have seen."

West Michigan also has some of the best outdoor spaces in both the state and in the country! Region 12 leaders are utilizing the outdoor spaces in their communities to enhance the learning experiences for their students. 

Shoreline Elementary in Whitehall, led by Principal Beth Whaley, has fully embraced its outdoor environment, earning the Michigan Green School certification for their efforts:

• Farm-to-Table Learning: Utilizing a grant through the Muskegon Area ISD, students work with Farmer Lori in a hoop house and garden, planting and harvesting crops that are then used by the school kitchen staff in lunches.

• Outdoor Calming Center: In partnership with a school counselor, a 1st grade class designed and built an outdoor calming area as a place-based education project. This project integrated SEL, math, and literacy standards, and even involved collaboration with the high school woodshop class to build their vision.

• Wednesdays in the Woods: Two first-grade teachers utilize a multi-acre property on the White River for weekly outdoor learning, where 50 students access their curriculum while acting as stewards of the Earth.

Similarly, Holland Heights Elementary is continuing to grow their teachers and school around Nature Based Learning under the leadership of Principal Kevin Derr (the 2024 MEMSPA Region 12 Honoree). All grade levels take their learning off site once a week for a couple of hours to local natural settings like a County park or Outdoor Discovery Center. This long-term commitment is being reinforced by upcoming building construction, which will include better support for nature-based learning when students move back into the renovated facility in August 2026.

Region 12’s leaders continue to demonstrate their commitment to creating school cultures where all students are included and the whole child is educated. The initiatives highlighted above allow for all students to be empowered in ownership of their learning and to learn the skills needed to be successful in our ever-changing world. Keep doing amazing things, Region 12 Leaders!