BENTON HARBOR, Mich – The advisory committee between Benton Harbor Area Schools and the state of Michigan hit the ground running during their first working meeting. 

The group made up of members representing the state, school district and the community establishing each member’s roles and discussing goals they’d like to achieve. 

“My goal in this first working meeting was to try to get the committee organized in a manner where we could really look at the priorities that had to be addressed,” Advisory Committee Chairperson Joyce Parker said. 

The committee established sub-committees with tasks based on each members expertise and a set of target dates to meet.

The group plans to complete an assessment within 90-days, to have an operational plan by March 31^st, and to begin implementing the plan upon approval. 

The group also plans to seek feedback from the community.  

“A big part of the Advisory Committee’s charge is community engagement so what we discussed tonight are areas within the Benton Harbor community where we plan to reach out to the community,” Parker said. 

The subcommittee will begin holding work sessions immediately and the full committee plans to meet again on December 2^nd.