Benton Harbor Schools Superintendent honors teachers and addresses concerns over next school year

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Benton Harbor Schools Superintendent, Dr. Andrae Townsel, went door-to-door to show appreciation to teachers working from home and addresses concerns about the upcoming school year.

“Our teachers are some of the hardest working people on the planet,” Townsel said. “Right now during this pandemic, our teachers are working extremely hard to deliver high quality education to our students at home. We want to say thank you in the most intimate way possible and that’s by giving them some teacher appreciation items.”

According to Townsel, the teachers were “extremely excited” to receive their goody bags.

“I received a handful of emails from teachers across the district, saying thank you and that it meant so much to them and that they felt valued,” Townsel said. “That’s what we were looking for, we just want them to feel appreciated and feel the love.”

When asked about next school year, Townsel said that Benton Harbor Schools are planning to come back for regular schooling, but that they also have a contingency plan with e-learning as a backup in case school buildings cannot open come the fall.

“We are ready to go either way, whether it’s distance learning, whether it’s in-person learning…we are prepared,” Townsel said.

Townsel also confirmed that Benton Harbor Schools served nearly 65,000 meals between breakfast and lunch since March 16th and that they are on track to deliver 100,000 meals to students in need.

“That just shows the commitment we have to this community,” Townsel said. “We love our teachers, we love our students, and most importantly we love our parents.”

Townsel confirmed that there will be a Board of Education meeting next Tuesday to approve the community engagement advisory committee plan.