Brian Davis

Associate Executive Director of Professional Learning

Dr. Brian Davis is the former superintendent of Holland Public Schools after serving as an administrator in the district for 21 years, 13 as superintendent. He has experience in rural, urban, and suburban school districts in the various roles of teacher, counselor, principal, assistant superintendent of instruction/school improvement, and superintendent. He has served as a member of MASA’s Executive Board and the Middle Cities Education Association Board of Directors, as well as MASA’s Professional Growth and Leadership Committee and Strategies for a New Educational Landscape (SNEL) workgroup, and MDE’s New Better Normal Workgroup. 

Throughout his career, Davis has collaborated with MASA to develop programming for district leaders, including MASA’s Mentor Coaching Cadre. He is a former MASA Council Member and President of Region 3. He also served as a professional judgment approach panelist for the Michigan School Finance Research Collaborative. Davis was named MASA’s Superintendent of the Year in 2011. 

He has a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in Educational Research, Leadership and Technology. 

Company MASA

AllSessions

Day 2

January 19, 2023

10:30 am

District Leadership that Works: A Panel Discussion with MASA Superintendents of the Year on how to Implement Research-Based Best Practices

Prairies VI (Lower Level)

Brian Davis Wanda Cook-Robinson Dania Bazzi Dave Campbell Rusty Stitt

19 January

Time: 10:30 am - 11:45 am

Location: Prairies VI (Lower Level)

Speaker: Brian Davis Wanda Cook-Robinson Dania Bazzi Dave Campbell Rusty Stitt

In this session attendees will learn from MASA Superintendents of the Year on how they have utilized research-based best practices. The panel consists of superintendents from rural, urban and suburban school districts. They will share their tools, techniques, and strategies along with how they have overcome obstacles to best serve and support their school communities.

The discussion will be based on the six district-level leadership responsibilities that significantly impact the superintendent's abilities to lead: goal setting process, non-negotiable goals for student achievement and instruction, board alignment supporting district goals, monitoring the goals, use of resources to support the goals, and providing a defined autonomy to principals (based on Marzano and Waters book, District Level Leadership that Works, 2009).

Attendee takeaways from our session:
* Gain an understanding of the evidence based best practices/responsibilities that correlate to student achievement.
* Learn the techniques, strategies and tools that recognized superintendents used when implementing evidence based best practices.
* Find ways to combat the many obstacles that superintendents face when implementing evidence based best practices.