Tecumseh Public Schools ready to roll for new year

With the start of school less than a month away, Tecumseh Public Schools (TPS) is ready to welcome students to buildings that are in shipshape condition. Supt. Dr. Kelly Coffin said that every school in the system has received the attention of the maintenance crew and is ready to open the doors Tuesday, Sept. 3.But the physical aspect of the schools is not the only thing that will be receiving an overhaul and an update before the students return. Coffin said she is in the process of convening a strategic planning committee that will set to work to “chart the course of Tecumseh schools future.”“Everything is immaculate in all of the schools, and we’re ready for classes to begin,” she said. “Maintenance teams have been at work over the summer and we’re in great shape. We began our contract with Aramark on July first, and they have been doing a great job. It’s a different company from last year, but we kept all of the same people. Aramark also contracts for our food service and they are well organized and efficient.” Maintenance, food service, and substitute teachers are provided by private companies for Tecumseh schools and many other public school districts.The process of getting the schools ready for another school year is accomplished in three stages. In June, the buildings are prepped one-by-one by the maintenance teams; in July and August the classrooms are deep cleaned, including the furniture; in August the halls and gym floors are buffed and burnished to a gleam.But with the buildings ready, Coffin’s attention has turned to revamping the big picture of how the school system operates. “I’m really excited about the strategic planning sessions,” she said. “We want to make sure the community knows where we are going as a district. We will be calling in a retired superintendent as a facilitator, and we are hoping to have good community representation along with a board and administrative presence so everyone is on the same page.”The dates of the strategic planning committee meetings are not firm yet, but they are tentatively set for the week of August 19. Exact times and places will be announced as soon as they are arranged."We are looking for input from all parties" said Coffin. "This will not be my plan; this will be our plan. With a new strategic plan we will become more proactive than reactive, but it will be a collective effort. We have gathered all of the data and statistics and will be taking a hard look at them in preparing the new strategy.”The last time that the TPS strategic plan was revised was several years ago. “Things have changed a lot in the district and in the economy in general since the last time this instrument was examined, and changes need to be made with input from all of the stakeholders,” Coffin said.