Cedar Springs — Brian Michael and Jordan Van Dyk make a heck of a team. They know this because they’ve worked together at three different school districts over the last 11 years.
Van Dyk was Michael’s teaching assistant at Kentwood’s Valleywood Middle School, and when Michael took an assistant principal gig at Zeeland’s Creekside Middle School, Van Dyk followed.
Now, the duo is bringing their tried-and-true partnership to Cedar Springs Middle School, where Michael is serving as principal and Van Dyke is taking on the assistant principal role.
They’re grateful for the opportunity to continue working together, this time as Red Hawks.
“It’s not often that you get the chance, with somebody you know well, to dive into the work. So I’m excited for that experience, and I’m excited to get the year underway,” Van Dyk said.
Just before the start of the school year, SNN sat down with Michael and Van Dyk to chat about the year ahead. Get to know them better in this edition of Meet Your Administrators:
Brian Michael
Principal, Cedar Springs Middle School
Other positions in education: Michael taught history and social studies at Novi High School, then taught grades 6-8 at Valleywood Middle School in Kentwood before taking on his first administrative position, as assistant principal of Creekside Middle School in Zeeland.
What about jobs outside education? For the past year or so, Michael has cohosted a podcast on the Detroit Lions called “Passing Time: Detroit Lions Talk.”
Education/degrees: Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Albion College, and received an endorsement in social studies from Grand Valley State University before earning his master’s in educational leadership from Marygrove College in Detroit.
What drew you to Cedar Springs Middle School? “I find my niche when it comes to connecting with these kinds of kids, who are going through a transition. If you look at a sixth-grader who’s coming out of the elementary (level), they need a lot of hand-holding and direction. But by the time they get to eighth grade, they’re getting ready for driver’s training, they’re becoming young adults, they’re kind of finding themselves. And I love being part of that transition.”
Why did you want to become an administrator? “I was working at Valleywood Middle School, and it felt like I took on a ton of those leadership-like responsibilities. … I found out that I could impact even more by taking on a leadership role. You can be a little bit more behind the scenes, but also help direct what you found out is best for kids. I saw that at Valleywood, I was able to put that into practice in Zeeland, and now I’m continuing on here.”
What would you like to share about your family? “I’m married to the most beautiful and supportive wife, Lisa. She is my rock, and she supports me in all the decisions that I want to make and sometimes steers me away from the decisions I shouldn’t. I have three boys, Noah who’s 14, Isaac who is almost 11, and Zeke, or Ezekiel, who is almost 8.”
‘It’s an exciting time to be a Red Hawk. It’s an exciting time to be in the middle school.’
— Cedar Springs Middle School Principal Brian Michael
Describe your leadership style in seven words or less: “I’m the grease on the wheels.”
Dogs or cats and why? “I’m a dog guy. Dogs give you that unconditional love; they’re happy to see you. When you can see that wagging tale, it warms you up a little bit.”
Your first concert: “Our Lady Peace at a big festival in Canada.”
If you could choose to have superpower, what would it be? “The meathead of me says super strength, but the educator in me says super wisdom.”
Anything else? “It’s an exciting time to be a Red Hawk. It’s an exciting time to be in the middle school. These kids have some amazing staff that are willing to do the work for them, and we’re here in order to support those staff and those kids wherever we can.”
Jordan Van Dyk
Assistant principal, Cedar Springs Middle School
Other positions in education: Van Dyk was a student teacher, a behavior specialist and a sixth-grade teacher at Valleywood Middle School. Later, at Creekside Middle School, he taught seventh-grade World History and a unified physical education class that paired general education students and students with special needs.
What about jobs outside education? Van Dyk owned and operated a personal training business for several years.
“I loved doing that,” he said. “That was a fun kind of side gig, where I mostly helped elderly clientele gain strength and function.”
Education/degrees: Van Dyk has a bachelor’s degree in social studies education from Michigan State University, and a master’s in educational leadership from Arkansas State University.
‘There’s a huge family feel here. There’s tremendous pride from the community in its school system.’
— Cedar Springs Middle School Assistant Principal Jordan Van Dyk
What drew you to Cedar Springs Middle School? “There’s a huge family feel here. There’s tremendous pride from the community in its school system. … Yes, they have a lot of things that I believe in in terms of their core values, but they already have this community feel that I really respect and love. I thought, ‘Man, if that’s a place I can work, I would love going to a place like that every day.’”
Why did you want to become an administrator? “As a teacher, I was being asked to do other things, and I enjoyed it. … Not only to work with the students, but to also work with the staff on those big-picture items.
“The impact you have in this role, that’s a very motivating thing for me — affecting the overall school systems versus just your individual classroom. That, to me, is so exciting. That’s something I really look forward to.”
What would you like to share about your family? Van Dyk and his wife, Hannah, live in Hudsonville. They have two boys, 2½-year-old Baylor, and 11-month-old Grant.
Describe your leadership style in seven words or less: “I’ll help keep the parts together.”
Dogs or cats and why? “Dogs are clearly superior. They listen to you, they play with you. Cats, my only experience with cats is they wake you up really early to lick your face with sandpaper tongues.”
Your first concert: “My parents took me to Amy Grant at the Van Andel Arena. There was also Bon Jovi at the Van Andel Arena, and I don’t know which one was first.”
If you could choose to have superpower, what would it be? “Teleportation. Being able to just be where you wanted to, instantly.”
Read more from Cedar Springs:
• He’s a man of many passions — including leadership
• Students get inventive at summer STEM camp
