Teaching Minds, Touching Hearts

When Mike Shortt walks into his classroom each morning, he does so as both alumnus and educator — someone who once sat in the same desks and now helps shape the next generation of Pilots.

A 2004 graduate, Mike returned to De La Salle as a teacher in 2013 after earning his degree in history (with a minor in political science) from Central Michigan University. Between college graduation in 2010 and his full-time teaching role, he worked as a monitor and in-house substitute at De La Salle, while also beginning his coaching career in football.

“I always knew I wanted to come here,” he says. “I didn’t entertain anywhere else. I was just waiting for my time.”

Today, Mike teaches Economics, AP Microeconomics, Personal Finance, and Government in the Social Studies Department. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, he coaches JV and varsity football — returning to JV this year after spending last season at the varsity level — and also leads the JV golf program.

Leading Continuous Improvement

Beyond teaching and coaching, Mike has played a significant leadership role in the school’s accreditation efforts. He led De La Salle’s most recent accreditation cycles through Cognia in both 2021 and again this past fall.  

The accreditation process, which takes place every five years, focuses on continuous improvement. While earlier models involved multi-day campus visits and classroom observations, the current process emphasizes data analysis and strategic planning. Schools submit extensive reports detailing metrics such as:

* College acceptance rates
* ACT performance
* AP participation and average AP scores Read about DLS and the AP Honor Roll
* Student support programs and available resources
* “The goalposts move a little each time,” Mike explains with a smile. “There’s always something to improve — and that’s the point.”

Mike also credits his co-workers. 

"I would like to thank the amazing faculty, staff, and administration for their help in this process, especially those who served on the team with me."

A Global Lasallian Experience

This past summer, Mike completed the three-year Buttimer Institute for Lasallian formation, hosted at Manhattan College in New York.  The program spans three consecutive summers, two weeks each year, and offers a “scaffolded” experience in Lasallian identity and mission.

• Year One focuses on the life and writings of the Founder and connecting his vision to today’s world.
• Year Two centers on pedagogy and the vocation of teaching.
• Year Three Lasallian Spirituality integrates the experience more deeply into participants’ personal and professional lives.

“It’s an amazing process,” Mike says. “It’s a commitment — two weeks out of your summer for three years — but it’s absolutely worth it.”

Participants come from Lasallian schools globally. Over the past three summers, Mike has shared dorm rooms and classrooms with educators from South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Austria, California, Louisiana, and beyond.

One powerful takeaway? Whether in Michigan or halfway around the world, Lasallian educators face many of the same challenges — and share the same mission.

“It’s very encouraging to talk to someone from another country and realize we’re dealing with the same things,” Mike reflects. “It always comes back to relationships with students. That’s in line with what our Founder said — we teach minds, but we also touch hearts.”

Rooted in Community

Now married and living in St. Clair Shores, Mike continues to invest deeply in the De La Salle community that shaped him.

From the classroom to the sidelines, from accreditation leadership to Lasallian formation, his work reflects both gratitude and commitment — the perspective of someone who understands what makes De La Salle special because he experienced it firsthand.

And, as he puts it simply: “It doesn’t hurt to be reminded why we do what we do.”