9.4.24 Superintendent Update
A Closer Look at the Strategic Plan
Our Strategic Plan has five goal areas: Academics and Programs, Whole-Child Development, Personnel, Family and Community Partnerships, and Stewardship. This month, we will provide a brief overview of our first two goal areas: Academics and Programs, and Whole-Child Development.
Academics and Programs
Focus: Deliver High-Quality Instruction to Maximize Student Achievement
Key Implementation Activities: Teacher Clarity, Instructional Coaching
Teacher Clarity is an instructional framework designed to improve effectiveness by ensuring every lesson is purposeful and learner-centered. It is built around making sure every student in the classroom can answer three core questions: "What am I learning today?", "Why am I learning this?", and "How will I know that I’ve learned it?" In a Teacher Clarity classroom, a student would see explicit Learning Intentions and Success Criteria posted, and they would be able to articulate the purpose and relevance of their lesson. This approach improves instruction by focusing teachers on the most critical content and empowering students to become owners of their own learning. This work is supported by the district's instructional coaches, who partner with teachers in a non-evaluative capacity to enhance all areas of their professional practice. They provide collaborative support, helping teachers refine their craft and effectively implement key district initiatives like Teacher Clarity.
Whole-Child Development
Focus: Optimize Supports to Increase Student Engagement and Growth
Key Implementation Activities: Positive Behavior Intervention System Consistent Behavior Data System
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive framework to create a positive and safe learning environment by teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations. In our schools, this is often built around a few clear, positive expectations, such as Thunder Bay Junior High’s REP; Respect (R), Effort (E), and Personal Responsibility (P), or Wilson’s PAWS; Positive (P) Attitude (A) + Work (W) = Success (S) A consistent system of behavior data collection is the engine of this framework; tracking incidents helps staff identify patterns and provide targeted support precisely when and where it's needed. This proactive approach increases student engagement by creating a safer, more positive school climate, allowing students to stay in the classroom and achieve greater academic and social-emotional growth.
Strategic Plan Continued
Next month, we will take a closer look at the goal areas of Personnel and Family and Community Partnerships.
Stay in the know!
To ensure you receive important and reliable updates, please take a moment to verify that your contact information is correct in our system. Email is our official form of communication, but in a recent district-wide message I sent out, out of nearly 8000 email addresses, over 600 emails were returned as invalid. Verifying your information will ensure you do not miss critical communications from the district.
School Finance
The State of Michigan did not meet its legal requirement to pass a budget by July 1. In contrast, public schools are required by law to adopt a balanced budget for the following school year by June 30. Alpena Public Schools fulfilled this responsibility, approving our 2025–26 budget on time. Because the state budget was not in place, our plan was built on educated assumptions and conservative practices. Like districts across Michigan, we are now waiting for the state to finalize its budget so we can understand the full impact on Alpena Public Schools.
Thanks to the fiscal responsibility and careful planning of APS, we are confident in our ability to manage the uncertainty and withstand even the significant reductions to public education funding currently under discussion at the state level.
Universal Breakfast and Lunch
Without legislative action, the state-funded Universal Meal Program is scheduled to end on October 1st. Recognizing how vital this program is for our students and families, Alpena Public Schools will continue covering the cost of all student meals through October. This ensures that no child experiences a disruption in access to school meals during this time.
If the state does not restore funding, we will be required to return to the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program beginning November 1st. Families who do not qualify under that program would need to pay for meals at that time. To avoid any disruption, we strongly encourage families who may qualify to submit their Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications now.
Our financial analysis shows that without renewed state funding, Alpena Public Schools would face a loss of $264,469 to maintain universal meals locally. While some have suggested that meal funds may shift to the 22f “local control” fund, our review of current budget proposals does not support that claim.