Alpena Public Schools

August 1, 2025

Strategic Plan Launch

I am proud to announce that the 2025–26 school year marks the first full year of implementation of our new Strategic Plan. This plan, developed over the past year through a collaborative and thorough process, reflects the hard work, deep study, and thoughtful engagement of many across our district.

For those who have taken part in designing a strategic plan, you know it takes a tremendous collective effort to create a framework that communicates the direction, commitments, and priorities of a large organization. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to building this one.  We extend a special thank you to recent AHS graduate Kameryn Rouse for designing these graphics.

Our Strategic Framework

The image above represents our full Strategic Plan framework.

• The top structure features our district mission:

"Alpena Public Schools, in partnership with our community, teaches and challenges all students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens."

• The middle section includes our five strategic goal areas, which will be explored in detail in future Superintendent Updates.

• The foundation includes the statement:

"Continuous improvement through data, communication, monitoring, and support."

This reflects our district-wide commitment to ongoing growth and is directly informed by the Michigan Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP). MICIP provides the framework and tools that guide our approach to setting goals, implementing strategies, and evaluating results.

We recognized that data, communication, monitoring, and support are essential to every goal area. Rather than embedding these elements within each pillar, we made the intentional decision to place them at the foundation of the entire plan.

What to Expect This Year

In the coming updates, I will share a closer look at each of the five goal areas—what they mean, why they matter, and what you can expect from the district. There will also be opportunities for you to stay involved in shaping this strategic plan by:

• Participating in planning sessions

• Providing feedback on Strategic Plan Implementation progress

• Attending Strategic Plan Summits and more

Your voice, as a student, parent, staff member, or community partner, is central to this work. Partnership is not just part of our mission; it is how we ensure our plan remains dynamic, responsive, and effective.

Another Positive Spotlight on APS!

Check out this video highlighting the AHS UR2 ROV Team, which has made it to the World Championship three years in a row! 

You can search the video on YouTube: MATE ROV 2025 World Championship with Hip Hop MD & Team Alpena UR2

Looking Ahead to a Strong Start