There have been some high level staff changes at Benton Harbor Area Schools. At Tuesday’s meeting of the board of education, the resignations of three principals were accepted. They are the principals of Fair Plain East, Hull, and the Dream Academy. Superintendent Andrae Townsel, three weeks into his job, told us he wanted to make sure the right people are running all buildings.
“I want to avoid automatic renewals,” Townsel said. “I want to ensure that we’re effectively the leader that are running our buildings. As you know, we are a chronically under-performing school district. That cannot happen moving forward.”
So, did Townsel suggest the principals resign?
“It was not a suggestion of resignation. What it is is there’s a new expectation, a new direction that the district is going into, and the goal is if you want to be on the team, if you want to get the work done, if you want to raise the level of student achievement, we’d love to have you.”
Townsel said staff who don’t wish to work with him on raising student achievement can be moved to other positions. Also accepted at Tuesday’s board meeting were the resignations of the dean of students and the director of student engagement.
