Public School Committee Mission Statement:
The purpose of the Committee on Public Schools (PSC) is to support and represent public school personnel affiliated with the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA) including Speech/Language Pathologists, Teachers of the Hearing Impaired, Educataional Audiologists, Supervisors of Speech-Language-Hearing Services and other educational personnel. The PSC monitors and responds to issues affecting the provision of services in the public schools. In addition, the PSC encourages and celebrates excellence in public school programs through the conferring of awards.
The Public School Committee consists of speech, language and hearing professionals from across the state of Michigan. The functions of the committee include:
Monitors issues affecting provision of services in the public schools
Coordinates the Public School Forum held at the MSHA Annual Conference
Reviews nominations and selects recipients for the MSHA Program of the Year Award
Submits suggestions to the Vice President for Professional Development and Education for invited speakers at the MSHA Annual Conference.
Everyone is invited to attend and participate in meetings. If you cannot attend, please send your ideas, questions or comments to Ellen Gehl or Lindsey Halpin, 2010 Co-Chairs of the Committee for Public Schools.
Committee for Public Schools Meeting Dates
Meeting Minutes
Committee Organization and Membership
Hot Topics
Attention Public School service providers. Know the Rules!
What Licensure Will Mean to School SLPs....
Tenure for SLPs: What's it All About....
Speech-Language Guidelines Document
Program of the Year
The intent of the Public School Committee's Program of the Year Award is to give visible recognition to outstanding speech, language, and hearing programs in the public schools of Michigan and to those persons responsible for their development and implementation. This is an annual event where recognition is given to one or more programs at the MSHA Annual Conference in March.
State Network
The Public School Committee has determined a need to increase outreach to school board members throughout the state. A new initiative is to establish a network of MSHA members employed in various regional areas within the state. The PSC is striving to identify a MSHA member in each of the 57 intermediate school districts throughout the state who would serve as a contact. Contacts would assume responsibility for relaying concerns of MSHA members within their constituencies to the PSC. In turn, contacts would report back to their colleagues within the ISD any information/support provided by the PSC.
The 57 intermediate school districts are encompassed into four larger regional groups identified within the state:
Region 1: ISDs in the Upper Peninsula and northearn Michigan (typically split into two subdivisions)
Region 2: ISDs in Michigan's thumb
Region 3: ISDs in southwestern Michigan
Region 4: ISDs in southeastern Michigan
The 57 MSHA contacts all belong to one of the four regions. ISD contacts would communicate with one another within their respective regions and a single regional representative would be chosen to sit on the PSC steering committee. Additionally, these regional representatives would communicate directly as MSHA liaisons to the Michigan Department of Education.
The Public School Committee is actively recruiting interested MSHA members as contacts. Consider becoming one of the 57 ISD contacts. You need not be a current member of the Public School Committee to volunteer. If interested, contact Ellen Gehl or Lindsey Halpin, Co-Chairs for the Committee for Public Schools at mshapsc@yahoo.com or call 517.332.5691.
The Regional Representatives living a considerable distance from Lansing could fulfill their obligation to communicate with the Steering Committee by correspondence, e-mail and/or telephone conferencing. Attendance at all Steering Committee meetings in Lansing would not be mandatory.
The Public School Committee is continuing to work on setting up its network of contacts throughout the state in all of the 57 intermediate school districts.

The following list shows the current representatives:
Region 1 (UP & North): 8/17
Clare-Gladwin: Linda
Patterson, Jane Wittkopp
COOR: Jeannette Murray
Traverse Bay: Heather Miller, Debbie Drayton
Nelson
AMA (Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona)
Charlevoix-Emmet: Jill Matthews
COP (Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle): Sue
Ermler**
Copper Country
Delta-Schoolcraft
Dickinson-Iron
Eastern UP (Chippewa-Luce-Mackinac): Janine
D. Parish
Gogebic-Ontonagon
Iosco
Manistee
Marquette-Alger
Mason-Lake
Menominee
Wexford-Missaukee: P.K. Harrison
UP Contact: Suzette Cooley-Sanborn (checking
for links in UP)
Region 2 (Thumb & Mid-State):
11/15
Bay-Arenac: Theresa Dauer
Clinton: Lori Gill
Ingham: Celeste Gerlach
Lapeer: Shellie Butler
Mecosta-Osceola: Colin Macpherson
Saginaw: Judy MeJeur
Sanilac: Pat Sheridan-Schell, Jane White (alternate)
Shiawassee:
Eaton:
Genesee: Maureen Spryshak
Gratiot-Isabella: Amy Van Der Merwe
Huron: Shari Etzel
Livingston: Lori Ziolkowski Goss, Susan
Huelsberg, Maureen Keating Spryshak
Midland County:
Saginaw:
Tuscola
Region 3 (Southwest): 11/17
Allegan County: Sharon Dolfin,
Sally Sterling
Calhoun: Cathryn Kelenske
Ionia: Dana Lepien
Kalamazoo: Dawn Chamberlain, Randee Sedore,
Darcie Martin
Montcalm: Kristine Bowland
Newaygo: DeAnn McClintock
Barry: Susan Egelkraut
Berrien: Shelley Lietz and Frances Roden
Branch:
Cass:
Hillsdale: Janell Wilson
Kent: Kathi De Young
Muskegon: Jean Silbar, Theresa Augustyniak
Ottawa: Sally Shumway, Nicki Callen
St. Joseph County:
Van Buren:
Oceana:
Region 4 (Southeast): 7/7
Jackson: Kary Swiontek
Oakland: Susan Dilgard
Macomb: Terry Lange-Winkle, Maureen
Staskowski
Washtenaw: Kimberly Anderson, Theresa Sutton
Lenawee: Gail Elliott
St. Clair:
Monroe: Julie DuMoulin
Wayne: Diane Betman, Pamela May, Mary
Chambers, Tiffany Mullins