Introducing our 2024 Officer Candidates
Secretary Candidate (2024-26)
Michelle Cuka, Director of Student Support Services, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
Michelle Cuka, Director of Student Support Services, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
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MASE Secretary Candidate
Michelle Cuka Director of Student Support Services Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools [email protected] |
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MASE Involvement:
Current Secretary
MASE Legislative Committee 2017-Present
MASE Day at the Capitol Co-Chair 2021-22
MASE Nominations Committee - 2021-Present
MASE Membership Committee 2022-present
MASE Federal Advocacy Committee - 2017-2021
MASE Strategic Planning Committee - 2017-2018
MASE Conference Presenter
MASE Slice of Collaboration Presenter
Describe how your leadership experiences, professional or volunteer, have had an impact on fostering change.
I like to believe that as a leader I foster positive experience for students, staff and families. I do my best to model inclusion and acceptance of all both professionally and personally. Whether that is through volunteering as mentor or leading professional development in my own district, my desire to help people shines through my daily experiences. Lifting people up is often a powerful tool to foster incredible change.
Members of the MASE Executive Committee are typically leaders who are already equipped with strong communication and collaboration skills. Describe up to three additional skills you would bring to the executive committee and how you believe they would be beneficial.
As the current secretary of MASE, I bring continuity for another two years. The current exec committee is also comprised of out-state leaders, so I bring in more metro perspective. The exec team is incredibly skilled, so I'm not sure I bring in any skill they doesn't already exist, but I bring a passion for MASE, the desire for state-wide collaboration, strong state advocacy skills, a breadth of B-22 experiences and the desire to continue to grow MASE as a respected organization.
Describe up to three major achievements and/or experiences that will help you be successful on the MASE Executive Committee and why.
After almost 10 years in SpEd support administration, I became the Director at Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, which was my long-time goal as it is where I live and where my children go to school. My entire career has been in the SW Metro region and I have been able to grow deep and collaborative relationships with my surrounding districts and within my region. Furthermore, being an active MASE member I've been able to develop collaborative relationships with other special education administrators across the state. These relationships help give me a broader view on special education celebrations and growth areas across the state. I'm a strong advocate of post-secondary transition and have led two districts to adopt stronger practices around using post-secondary transition goals to guide IEP discussions, in addition to presenting on the topic at MASE and to other districts. We spend a lot of time talking about K-12 in leadership, but often not enough time on the "bookends" of early childhood and transition. I bring a passionate lens around grades 9-12+. Finally - I was selected for and completed the 2 year Minnesota Principal Leadership Academy through the University of Minnesota - which was one of the most amazing professional development experiences of my life to date. It grounded me in research and data, and needing to know what I will measure before implementing new initiatives. It seems simple - but something we sometimes lose in education.
Current Secretary
MASE Legislative Committee 2017-Present
MASE Day at the Capitol Co-Chair 2021-22
MASE Nominations Committee - 2021-Present
MASE Membership Committee 2022-present
MASE Federal Advocacy Committee - 2017-2021
MASE Strategic Planning Committee - 2017-2018
MASE Conference Presenter
MASE Slice of Collaboration Presenter
Describe how your leadership experiences, professional or volunteer, have had an impact on fostering change.
I like to believe that as a leader I foster positive experience for students, staff and families. I do my best to model inclusion and acceptance of all both professionally and personally. Whether that is through volunteering as mentor or leading professional development in my own district, my desire to help people shines through my daily experiences. Lifting people up is often a powerful tool to foster incredible change.
Members of the MASE Executive Committee are typically leaders who are already equipped with strong communication and collaboration skills. Describe up to three additional skills you would bring to the executive committee and how you believe they would be beneficial.
As the current secretary of MASE, I bring continuity for another two years. The current exec committee is also comprised of out-state leaders, so I bring in more metro perspective. The exec team is incredibly skilled, so I'm not sure I bring in any skill they doesn't already exist, but I bring a passion for MASE, the desire for state-wide collaboration, strong state advocacy skills, a breadth of B-22 experiences and the desire to continue to grow MASE as a respected organization.
Describe up to three major achievements and/or experiences that will help you be successful on the MASE Executive Committee and why.
After almost 10 years in SpEd support administration, I became the Director at Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, which was my long-time goal as it is where I live and where my children go to school. My entire career has been in the SW Metro region and I have been able to grow deep and collaborative relationships with my surrounding districts and within my region. Furthermore, being an active MASE member I've been able to develop collaborative relationships with other special education administrators across the state. These relationships help give me a broader view on special education celebrations and growth areas across the state. I'm a strong advocate of post-secondary transition and have led two districts to adopt stronger practices around using post-secondary transition goals to guide IEP discussions, in addition to presenting on the topic at MASE and to other districts. We spend a lot of time talking about K-12 in leadership, but often not enough time on the "bookends" of early childhood and transition. I bring a passionate lens around grades 9-12+. Finally - I was selected for and completed the 2 year Minnesota Principal Leadership Academy through the University of Minnesota - which was one of the most amazing professional development experiences of my life to date. It grounded me in research and data, and needing to know what I will measure before implementing new initiatives. It seems simple - but something we sometimes lose in education.