About | Mr. McGirr

"Studium discendi voluntate quae cogi non potest constat" - Marcus Fabius Quintilianus

Chi Alpha Pi Alumus (1987-1993)

I have been teaching in the Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Public Schools full time since 1999, beginning at Strong Middle School and after the job cuts, at Melvindale High School. I have also done some long term work in Dearborn Heights #7 (Annapolis High School and O.W. Best Middle School) and Allen Park Public Schools as well as a full time position at Michigan's first Charter School, Noah Webster Academy in Ionia, MI.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies Education with a minor in English from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. As part of getting my Professional Certificate, I completed a 30 credit hour endorsement program in Elementary Education (Composite of Social Studies, English and Science) at Eastern Michigan University. Through subbing I fell in love with the middle school and in 2006 I completed a Master of Arts in Curriculum & Instruction, Middle Level Education through Eastern Michigan University. My endorsements are BA, CC, CX, Middle Level Specialization, and Elementary Education K-5 All Subjects (K-8 SCC).

I am an Educational Consultant with Vision for Kids doing professional development for teachers in parts of China and Lithuania.

I am a member of the Michigan Institute of Educational Management, the Association of Middle Level Education (NMSA), the International Society for Technology in Education, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, both Bob Jones University (Go Bruins!) and Eastern Michigan University Alumni Associations, and the Michigan Association of Middle School Educators. I also volunteer for the Michigan Association of Middle School Educators as the President-Elect.
I also participate in ISTE's HackED UnConference when I get a chance. This is the group photo from San Antonio, 2017.

Beginning with the Winter Semester of 2012, I began teaching at the University of Detroit Mercy in the College of Liberal Arts and Education as an Adjunct Professor. Some of my students at UDM have done or will be doing their student teaching at Strong Middle School. I'm looking forward to teaching Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Methods classes again this year.

Professional development is an important part of teaching. In addition to district level professional development, I attend the National Middle School Association/Association for Middle Level Education's annual conference, the International Society for Technology in Education's annual conference and the Michigan Association of Middle School Educator's annual conference. I also co-host a podcast for middle level educators called Middle School Matters. We're heard all over the world and are consistently in the top 36 of What's Hot in K-12 Education on Apple's iTunes. I also communicate with other professionals around the world through the #sschat, #mschat and #midleved chat on Twitter.