The Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education is shopping for a district strategic plan. During a work session on Tuesday, the board heard presentations from two possible consultants. They were Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates out of Illinois and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Benton Harbor Superintendent Andrae Townsel said the district doesn’t currently have a strategic plan.
“We’ve just been working off a school improvement plans and district improvement plans, which are basic plans to be compliant for the Michigan Department of Education,” Townsel said. “The strategic plan is a game changer. Every district I’ve worked in prior to Benton Harbor Area Schools, we had a strategic plan, and we increased academic achievement and climate and culture.”
Townsel said he wasn’t left a plan by a predecessor. He said it will be critical to have one as the district improves itself under an agreement with the state. The plan covers the development of the district and would be available to the public. The district could have a new strategic plan by the start of the next school year.
