Cherry Knoll Elementary School -

The Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Board of Education approved a five-year Strategic Plan at its regularly scheduled meeting held on Monday, September 8, 2025. This plan represents a student-centered strategic initiative that focuses on improving academic achievement, fostering student connection to school, and promoting student well-being.

The strategic planning process was a collaborative, community-wide effort that involved input from students, parents, staff, and the broader community through surveys and focus groups. The Board hired the consulting firm Galapagos Marketing to support the process, which collected and organized data points that were summarized for the Board in March. From there, three study sessions were conducted to finalize the plan.

The adopted plan outlines five overarching goals, each with specific areas:

• Academic Achievement: Focused on literacy and mathematics.

• Student Well-Being: Focused on connectedness, safety, and mental health supports and services.

• Positive Student Behaviors: Focused on fostering positive student behaviors and effective responses to student behavior. 

• Post-Secondary Readiness: Focused on graduation.

• High-Quality Staffing: Focused on recruiting, retaining, and developing staff.

“This plan is a promise to our students. By making their academic achievement and well-being the central focus, we are committing to a future where every TCAPS student has the opportunity to grow and succeed,” said Scott Newman-Bale, TCAPS Board of Education President. “The data-driven goals in this plan will hold us accountable and ensure we're making real, measurable progress."

Dr. John VanWagoner, TCAPS Superintendent, highlighted the importance of a unified vision and accountability. "Our strategic plan provides a clear and ambitious direction for TCAPS. We are committed to not just setting these goals but to achieving them, and we will report on our students' growth annually to the Board and the community to ensure we stay on track.”