TCAPS trustees to work on strategic plan

Grace George, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

May 10—TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City Area Public Schools board of education trustees will begin developing the school district's strategic plan based on results from surveys sent out earlier in the year.

On Wednesday at 5 p.m., TCAPS trustees will discuss the full results from their strategic planning surveys and begin crafting the school district's strategic plan for the next few years in an open meeting at the Northwest Education Services building at 1101 Red Drive. The meeting is open to the public and will have two public comment sections but will not be televised or recorded like other board of education meetings.

The strategic plan will serve as a guide for the school district's academic and operational goals.

North Ed Superintendent Nick Ceglarek presented some results at a March 21 board meeting, as previously reported. The surveys received responses from over 2,000 individuals — 1,047 parents, 488 staff, 607 students and 67 community members without children in TCAPS.

The results presented by Ceglarek showed high percentages of students feeling welcome at school and appreciation for extracurriculars while staff satisfaction with wages and students' sense of safety at school trended lower. Ceglarek said those lower numbers could be attributed to trends across the state related to factors outside of TCAPS, including the pandemic and the shooting at Oxford High School.

In documents obtained by the Record-Eagle via FOIA Request, verbatim comments from the surveys show some concerns over large class sizes at TCAPS and appreciation for the school district's extensive extracurricular and academic opportunities. The verbatim comments also included high praise for TCAPS teachers and staff.

Requests for more mental health supports, more "real-world and hands-on" classes, more support for students struggling academically and encouragement for more parental and community engagement were included in verbatim comments in the survey as well.

The next strategic planning meeting will take place June 29. There will potentially be a third in July that has yet to be scheduled.