Alpena Public Schools continues to craft its strategic plan, but we like where the district is headed.

News staff writer Temi Fadayomi reported recently that APS Superintendent Dave Rabbideau and the APS Board of Education recently reviewed the latest draft of the plan, which the district hopes to have finalized in time for the start of next school year.

The current iteration outlines five priority areas for the district: academics and programs, whole child development, personnel, family and community partnership, and stewardship.

District officials still are ironing out the specifics for how they’ll accomplish each priority, but we like the priorities outlined thus far, especially the idea of whole child development and family and community partnerships.

Academics and programs are a given. The district is there to educate children, and that has to be its primary focus (according to state test scores and graduation rates, the district has some work to do on that front).

The district must serve its staff well so that its staff will serve the district well.

And the district must be good stewards of the resources it is given.

But we’re glad to see district leaders also interested in focusing on the whole child and partnering with families. Doing so will help the district accomplish its other goals.

Children can struggle to learn if they’re hungry, or stressed, or depressed, or dealing with home-life problems. If they’re dealing with things outside of school, they can at the very least struggle to concentrate on their school work and at the worst act out in disruptive ways.

Focusing on the whole child — meaning not just reading, writing, and arithmetics, but also children’s physical and emotional health — can help students do what they need to do in the classroom.

But a district can’t — and shouldn’t have to — do it alone. They have to have partners outside of school who can help make sure students stay on track and have the support they need to succeed.

So we’re glad to see APS make whole child education and family partnerships part of its strategic plan.

We’re looking forward to seeing more specifics about how they aim to accomplish those goals.