Manistee Area Public Schools
ACADEMICS
MAPS provides a strong foundation for delivering superior academic programming. Our students are engaged by specialized and compassionate educators that empower and inspire their students to recognize their potential, dream big, and make a difference in the world around them.
Mariners Lead the Way!

Guiding Academics
CURRICULUM
What We Want All Students To Learn
INSTRUCTION
How We Adapt Instruction to Meet Student Needs
ASSESSMENT
How We Set Goals and Identify Improvement Strategies
Evidence of Excellence
At Manistee Area Public Schools, we’re continuously working to improve the learning experience for our students. Since 2019, we’ve dedicated Late Start Mondays to give our teachers valuable collaborative time to focus on what really matters: your child’s education. This ongoing learning helps us better understand our students’ needs and continue improving as a team.
During collaborative time, our teachers discuss 4 critical questions to guide their work:
- What do we want students to know and be able to do?
- How will we know if they’ve learned it?
- What will we do if they don’t learn it?
- What will we do if they do learn it?
We’re proud to share that Solution Tree, a national leader in education, has recognized the hard work and dedication happening right here at MAPS. Our teachers are making a real difference, and it’s because of their commitment to collaboration and growth.
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
PLC is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for students they serve.
Below are frequently asked questions about PLCs. Questions and answers taken directly from Frequently Asked Questions About PLCs At Work.
MAPS PLC Purpose Statement
In order to fulfill the commitments we’ve made to our students and families, MAPS has chosen to implement the Professional Learning Communities model for our district. The PLC process allows us to focus on learning, collaboration, and results with the intended outcomes of improving our individual and collective practice as well as increasing student achievement.
What are the three big ideas?
- A focus on learning
- A collaborative culture
- A results orientation
Why are the three big ideas so important to the PLC process?
We recognize that the fundamental purpose of our school and the reason we come to work each day is to ensure all students learn at high levels. We understand that helping all students learn requires a collective, collaborative effort rather than a series of isolated efforts. Therefore, we work in teams and constantly gather evidence of student learning for two purposes: to inform and improve our individual and collective practice and to better meet the needs of individual students through intervention and extension.

Central Office & Administration
Location: 525 12th St, Manistee, MI 49660 | Map
Telephone: (231) 723-3521
Fax: (231) 723-1507
Central Office Hours: M-F: 8am – 4:30pm
Superintendent: Ronald Stoneman
Central Office Staff
Ronald Stoneman
Superintendent - rstoneman@manistee.org
Howard Vaas
Business Manager - hvaas@manistee.org
Amber Kowatch
Curriculum Director - akowatch@manistee.org
Sue Gustad
Assistant Business Manager - sgustad@manistee.org
Sara Schubert
Payroll/Human Resources/Insurance/Lunch - sschubert@manistee.org
Carrie Cameron
Accounts Payable Specialist - ccameron@manistee.org
Lauren Bergeman
Administrative and Communication Liaison - lbergeman@manistee.org