ABOUT DR. CHELSEA HARRIS-HUGAN
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan has been in education for over 20 years. Her years of experience as an educator span from preschool to high school. In addition to her role as an educator, she is a mom of three adult children and a wife of 28 years. She enjoys spending time with family and most water sport activities.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University, her Master’s Degree from Wayne State University, and her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from North Central State University in Arizona. She is a lifelong learner with a passion for nurturing and educating children as well as young adults.
This year will mark her 23rd year in education. She has been a classroom teacher, literacy coach, curriculum coordinator, curriculum director K-12, and early childhood director. She was the principal of the largest elementary school in the Oak Park School District. She has served communities that were under-resourced in Detroit, Michigan, as well as schools with greater resources in Plymouth-Canton, Michigan.
Her work as a principal has been the most fulfilling. This life’s calling allows her the continued opportunity to work collaboratively with teachers daily while remaining connected to students’ learning and growing.
She is a firm believer that every child can succeed and that positive nurturing relationships between students and staff builds self-assurance in students to use their intellect, to shape their future and the future of their community and the nation.
RESOURCES:
Ypsilanti Community High School
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: This is 89.1 WEMU, and I'm Caroline MacGregor. Today, I'm speaking with Ypsilanti High School Principal, Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan. Thank you for taking the time! And first of all, congratulations on being recognized as the first HP AI Spotlight School in the country!
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: Yes, thank you! It's amazing for us as a school, for our students, for our community. It has been an amazing journey, and it's like a dream come true for our students! It gives them a wealth of resources and technology that a lot of schools don't have right now.
Caroline MacGregor: I know last year, Ypsilanti Schools received--was it--$42 million from the state to help pay off debt. How is the school doing now in terms of its operations?
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: I think we're thriving. We're doing a great job of being able to support our teachers with more professional development, support our students with programs specific to their learning needs, specific to social-emotional pieces that support them as scholars in their academic needs and being able create sustaining programs that will support our students and support them in a whole child model.
Caroline MacGregor: I know that Michigan suffers from a teacher shortage. Where do you stand at Ypsilanti Community High School? Are you struggling to find teachers? And I'd like to also talk to you about the pay for teachers, which, I believe, is below other states and below the stats nationally speaking.
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: Well, right now, we have an amazing program with a partnership through WCC and EMU, where our 11th and 12th grade students have the ability to enroll in WCC for the first year. And then, in the second and additional years, they enroll in Eastern Michigan University. And it's a teacher pipeline program, and it allows our students to go to school for free. And the goal is to prepare them, get them through their education program, and then they come back to us to actually teach in the district that they graduated from and grew up in. So, that's one way that we are truly speaking to creating a community of learners and keeping those folks that are most treasured and most precious to us--our teachers--in our community. I work hard to build relationships and to make an environment where teachers want to stay. So, I don't have as high a turnover as some other schools and other districts, but I think some of my harder areas to fill when they do open are generally math and sciences.
Caroline MacGregor: That seems to be the case in so many districts across the country.
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: Yep. Yep. From a broad perspective, I think there are just fewer people that enter into those math and science fields.
Caroline MacGregor: With regard to teacher pay, I know there was a report from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University last year that analyzed the current state of teacher salaries in Michigan, and it basically showed that average teacher salaries in this state have fallen, as we stated, below the national average and have declined over the last two decades when adjusted for inflation. And also, I believe, on average, teachers earn more than 20% less than other college graduates with similar levels of education and experience. What are your thoughts on this?
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: Well, I think that, as a nation, we need to value our teachers and the people that sit before our students and our own children each and every day. There's not one person on this earth that hasn't been impacted by a teacher. I can ask anybody, "Who was your kindergarten teacher?" And you probably would be able to say that right away. "Who was your favorite teacher?" You would be to tell me that right away. "What did that teacher do for you that made you feel this way or that impacted you?" It always comes back to a teacher. And I think that if we were more conscious of that as a nation, then the finances and the pay for teachers would not be something that would be a topic of discussion because we would value the folks that sit in front of our students and change the lives of our students each and every day.
Caroline MacGregor: With regards to test scores, how are you doing in this area? And I also wanted to ask what your thoughts are regarding the RoadMaps learning tool in relation to test scores.
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: I think RoadMaps is an amazing tool that supports student learners to get them up to grade level and surpass that. As far as test scores, we are working every day and looking at where our students are as learners specifically when it comes to testing areas. We have additional resources for lunchtime math and ELA tutoring. We're working feverishly to ensure that each and every single one of our teachers are differentiated in instruction. And every Friday, we have individual learning hours where our students are using an AI tool. It actually looks at their learning growth and their learning path and creates different resources and problem-solving pieces to speak to them being able to be successful on our state standardized testing.
Caroline MacGregor: If you are just joining us, my guest today on All Things Considered is Ypsilanti High School Principal, Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan. What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing Ypsilanti Community High School today?
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: I think it's a positive challenge. I think it is really about listening to our student voices and designing instruction around what they'd like to learn about and also creating an authentic learning environment, why this particular subject is relevant and how is this going to impact them in the near future or creating optimal learning opportunities that engage our students in the desire to want to learn and want to do and be a better student.
Caroline MacGregor: Teaching in today's society is not easy. Teachers face an awful lot more than just teaching. They're dealing with kids who come from homes where there could be food insecurity, mental health challenges, social challenges, and COVID certainly didn't help. What are the support systems you have in place for teachers at your school?
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: So, some of the things that we do every month, we start our meetings off with good news. We do teacher celebrations. We identify teachers that are doing great things in their classroom. We also make the space where our students have the ability to thank a teacher. It's really about acknowledging them for the work and letting them know that we see you. We see that you're here at 6:15 in the morning when students don't come in until 7:15. We see that you're here when I'm leaving out of the parking lot at five, you're still here. We see you are volunteering your time on the weekends to support our robotics teams. I think it's just that continued celebration and acknowledgement that means the world to anybody. If you're working hard, it is important to me as an administrator to tell you that and make sure that we give grace. I think that's so incredibly important and that when we have folks that come in and they're having a hard day, we tell them that. You need to give yourself some grace. If you need to take a break, there are people that are here that can support and that can give you that time. And my administration having an open door policy, I think that piece is really important in being the glue that holds us together and creates a staff that doesn't have a high turnover because they feel as if they belong. We don't have one staff against another because they feel as if they are a part of a community. So, I think it's that culture and climate that is incredibly important. That supports us when it's good times and supports us when there's things that are going on that I need some additional support and I need a little bit of grace and just be from one human being to another. If you're struggling, let's take a break. If you are doing great, let us celebrate you. I think that's incredibly important when we talk about any person's mental health, just celebrating and giving grace.
Caroline MacGregor: How do you receive that grace for yourself?
Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan: That's a great question. I think, honestly, my joy comes from watching other people get excited about things and when they are asking for something that they are passionate about. Like, I have a teacher that is incredibly passionate about esports and affirming, "Yes, let's do it!" Like, hearing their voices and saying this is what our students need, this is what would make us a better and more cohesive team. I think that's the piece that brings me joy and allows me, when I have a rough day, to give myself some grace because I know that my job here is taking care of everybody. And if 90% of those folks are happy and they are in a good place, I think it's where I'm comfortable at nights to sleep, if that makes sense. I have worked in other school districts, and I think that, by far, this district, when they say "stronger together," it truly means "stronger together." It is embodied from our board to our superintendent, to our central office, to our administrators, and then to our schools at large. And I truly think that we live stronger together. So, if I had to end on anything, I think that Dr. Zachery-Ross and the board has done an amazing job of making this an incredibly positive culture and climate for our staff and our students.
Caroline MacGregor: You've been listening to my conversation with Principal of Ypsilanti High School, Dr. Chelsea Harris-Hugan. This is 89.1 WEMU FM Ypsilianti.
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