Brainerd Public Schools Superintendent Developing New Strategic Plan

Brainerd Public Schools superintendent Heidi Hahn has begun developing a new strategic plan for the district.

Since the beginning of March, the district has held both virtual and in-person listening sessions for staff, faculty, students, and the community.

“Right now, we’re just in the initial steps, like I said, of gathering information and doing our listening sessions, but what we really hope to do is develop themes or to identify what will be our goals, our priorities for the upcoming years,” said Hahn. “We really look at this as a one-year, three-year, five-year plan that will be very fluid.”

Many participated in the sessions and were able to voice what they liked about the school district as well as what they wished and hoped for Brainerd Public Schools in the future. Some praised the way the school is prepping students for their futures, while others raised concerns such as administrative support of teachers and staff as well as the mental wellness of students.

“Right now in education, there’s lots of competing priorities,” explained Hahn. “There’s lots of priorities that compete for dollars within the budget, so we really want to narrow our focus. We have a focus on our priorities that can unite everyone. You know, our staff, our students, and our community to make sure we have great things happening for our students.”

PartnerED was hired to lead the process during the listening sessions. They will draft a document for the school board identifying community values, district operations, board and superintendent relationships, and operational expectations for the district.