Skip to content

2025 Principal of the Year

Each year we celebrate one outstanding principal with this special award!

2025 MEMSPA Principal of the Year
Dina Rocheleau, Principal, Glen Lake Middle School
Glen Lake Community Schools

When Dina Rocheleau stepped into leadership at Glen Lake Middle School, she brought with her a commitment to building a culture where every student feels known, supported, and valued. Her leadership centers on connection—not only between students and teachers, but between the entire school community and the systems that help them thrive.

Rocheleau has long been an innovator in social-emotional learning (SEL) and mental health initiatives, leading this work well before it became a statewide focus. She developed comprehensive, school-wide structures that make belonging the norm.

Under her guidance, student-led mental health teams have become a hallmark of Glen Lake’s school culture. Rocheleau’s willingness to trust students with real ownership has shifted how schools across Michigan view student voice and well-being.

Through her inclusive leadership, Rocheleau helped launch initiatives like Link CREW, creating a culture where students are welcomed and supported from day one—embodying the belief that no student should ever eat alone.

Beyond her own building, Rocheleau’s impact reaches far and wide. She has supported MAASE’s Inclusive Leaders program, strengthening systems of support for all learners. She has served on Michigan’s State SEL Committee, helping shape statewide approaches to whole-child education, and has presented nationally on SEL, MTSS, equitable systems, and school improvement practices.

Her colleagues describe her as fearless, innovative, and unwavering in her commitment to kids. Parents say she “just has a way of seeing what students need,” while her staff simply call her “the heart of the school.” And perhaps most meaningfully, students describe her as the person who “makes big things feel small and makes [them] feel safe.”

Rocheleau spent 18 years in Southeast Michigan as both an elementary principal and central office leader. Her career also includes roles as an Early Childhood Special Education Consultant with an intermediate school district, Assistant Principal and Exceptional Student Education teacher in Florida, and adjunct professor at Eastern Michigan University. She has also served as a board member with Michigan Playworks, advancing her commitment to inclusion, engagement, and play-based learning.

Rocheleau grounds her leadership in a guiding belief she often shares: “Cognitive function is built on emotional platforms.” To her, learning happens best when students feel supported socially, emotionally, and academically—and her career stands as proof of that conviction.

Even with her many professional achievements, Rocheleau is most proud of her role as a mother to two “pretty cool kids,” reminding everyone around her that love, connection, and belonging are at the heart of great leadership.

We proudly celebrates Dina Rocheleau, 2025 Principal of the Year, for her extraordinary leadership, compassion, and lasting impact on Michigan’s students, educators, and schools.