When Andrea van der Laan first came on board as Buchanan Community School District superintendent seven years ago, she said there was no curriculum in place.

Van der Laan changed that, creating a team that would evaluate each subject to put the best guidelines in place.

Throughout her years in the role she also sought to help put the district on a path to academic success, creating not only a curriculum, but also seeking a number of technology and infrastructure improvements, aimed at bettering the classroom experience for students.

Van der Laan announced earlier this year that she would be retiring Aug. 31. Her successor, Tim Donahue, was chosen in April by the Buchanan board of education. Donahue comes to Buchanan after serving as superintendent in Potterville for seven years.

While van der Laan said she did not play a role in choosing him, she has spent the past couple of months helping him to transition, assuring that he is prepared come fall when school starts again.

Van der Laan’s passion for education began at an early age. As a child, one of van der Laan’s favorite hobbies was playing school.

Van der Laan went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Calumet College and a doctorate in education from Eastern Michigan University. Through her schooling she became inspired to teach not so much by the textbook, but rather based upon the individual learner — a perspective she said helped her to form a curriculum plan.

“You have to make learning fun and relevant,” van der Laan said. “Ninety-nine percent of issues are relationship problems. If you do not have a relationship with that kid and they do not like you, they will not learn. You have to be that coach, that person who says ‘you can do it.’”

Prior to serving as Buchanan superintendent, van der Laan served as a teacher and later a principal at Huntington Elementary in Wyoming, Michigan for 12 years.

Wanting to be closer to family in southwest Michigan, van der Laan moved to Buchanan and continued to pursue her passion for the education field, only in a different capacity.

“I decided to try for a new role,” van der Laan said.

To this day, van der Laan said she remains grateful to the school board who took a chance on an elementary school principal with no central office experience.

Looking back on her time in the district, van der Laan said among some of the district’s proudest accomplishments were initiating a number of technology and infrastructure updates, while also garnering more funds to improve the classrooms through grants.

In one instance, van der Laan said she helped to expand funding for a target title federal grant for approximately $500,000. The grant initially could be applied only to free and reduced lunch populations, which comprises about 51 to 52 percent of the district’s population, van der Laan said.

“I said ‘what about the kids that are not on free and reduced lunch? You can’t use the grant money for that?” van der Laan said.

Van der Laan helped to get a plan underway to utilize the funds for the entire student body. After an audit from the Michigan Department of Education, the plan was approved between 2012 and 2013.

The funds supported the curriculum teams and helped the schools to provide access to literacy coaches, counselors and school interventionist, which help struggling students work with smaller groups of students.

Van der Laan said she also got to witness positive technology and infrastructure upgrades, some of which were made possible through the 2013 capital improvement bond approved by voters. Schools were equipped with security cameras and updates to the public announcement system, as well as internet performance upgrades.

Other technology upgrades included students access to chrome books. Middle school students have already been outfitted with the computers and a classroom set is available at the high school.

Van der Laan said it seems the changes have paid off. 

“We are monitoring data and closing gaps,” van der Laan said. “We are seeing an increase in instruction, where students are really starting to understand it. I think that the teachers’ opus is instead of just being on the curriculum they look at the individual student.”

As she wraps her work up in the weeks to come, van der Laan expressed gratitude toward the school board and thanked them for a job well done.

“They have been extremely supportive,” van der Laan said. “They have just always been in the background and when a problem came up they were always there. I have had a great board all seven years.”

After Aug. 31, van der Laan said she plans to travel with her husband, Boyd.

However, she is not quite done with teaching yet.

Van der Laan intends to work part-time as a mentor resource for incoming principals.