Q&A with Bay-Arenac ISD Superintendent Shelly DuCharme

In May, the Bay-Arenac ISD (BAISD) announced its next superintendent – Shelly DuCharme, a 26-year veteran of schools in the region. Before joining the ISD, DuCharme served as Associate Superintendent of the Gratiot Isabella RESD, where she led the Department of Educational Innovation and Technology. Her career has also included roles as Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Bay City Public Schools, principal at both elementary and middle school levels, literacy coach, and classroom teacher which provides her with the deep understanding of the needs of students, teachers, and community partners.

Route Bay City spoke with DuCharme to learn more about what the ISD provides to the community and students.

Q: Can you explain how the Bay-Arenac ISD and the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Center fit together? What is the mission of each organization?

The Career Center is operated by the BAISD and is the main way we support Career and Technical Education for the high school students in our constituent districts. The Career Center is a major asset to the ISD and our region, as the ISD’s mission is to Strive for Excellence with a vision of providing an inclusive environment that serves to empower our community. Our broader mission is to coordinate and deliver services designed to improve education and student learning across the region. This aligns nicely with the mission of the Career Center in providing quality training in a safe and nurturing environment, working cooperatively with neighboring schools to meet the changing needs of our students and community.

Q: What drew you to this job at the Bay-Arenac ISD?

A: What drew me to BAISD is the clear and demonstrated commitment to support every learner from early childhood through post-secondary readiness. The ISD is unique because we simultaneously support every district through our core services while directly impacting hundreds of students within our Early Childhood, Special Education, and Career Center programs. Through this level of support, we are deliberately building a community where students can graduate, have every opportunity to thrive, build meaningful careers, and confidently choose to stay here to raise their own families in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

On a personal level, this role is a homecoming built on gratitude. During my time at Bay City Public Schools, I was a direct recipient of the essential service and leadership provided by various departments within the ISD. I experienced firsthand the genuine commitment to collaboration, meeting each local district where they were to fuel growth that impacted our entire region. To now have the honor of joining and leading this organization that was so influential in my own professional development as a local leader is a privilege. It is an opportunity for me to give back to the community that embraced and helped shape my career.

Q: What’s going well for the Bay-Arenac ISD?

A: The ISD has many strengths including strong collaborative community partnerships, robust early childhood and special education programs and fiscal stability. All of these are possible because of the dedication and commitment of every employee. BAISD is an amazing place because of the 350 employees that are committed to giving their very best to students, colleagues, and our community each day.

Q: What challenges do you expect schools, especially the Bay-Arenac ISD and Career Center, to face in 2026?

A: What sets BAISD apart will be how we respond to challenges we face by shifting them into critical opportunities for growth, innovation, and perseverance that strengthen our commitment to our students and community. In 2026, three main areas that will require our strategic attention within the ISD and Career Center:

1. Talent Pipeline and Retention: Securing a talent pipeline that retains top-tier teachers, especially in specialized areas of Early Childhood, Special Education, and CTE programs.
2. Regional Well-being and Support: Leading ongoing and expanding muti-tiered system of support of the mental and behavioral health crisis through trauma-informed practices and interventions.
3. Technology Relevance and Investment: Staying current with the ever rapidly changing landscape of technology including the Career Center’s equipment to secure ongoing relevance to our region’s economic development.

Q: How will you make the most of the Bay-Arenac ISD assets? How will you address the challenges?

A: Our greatest assets at BAISD including the Career Center are, without question, our students. Our primary function is to empower them for success, and every other asset – our staff, our facilities, and our systems – are to serve as a resource to maximize student opportunity and support.

Q: What are your goals for your first year on the job?

A: My goals for the first year as BAISD Superintendent are focused on listening, learning, and strengthening our entire regional system. I have been engaged in listening tours by meeting with local Superintendents, Board Members, ISD Directors, as well as a range of local and ISD staff and community leaders to fully understand our current needs and successes. Our cabinet team has worked collaboratively with our administrative team to review and identify key focus areas within our Strategic Plan. BAISD has made significant progress towards strategic plan goals in some areas and we have identified areas that may need a refresh to meet the evolving needs of our students and schools we serve.

Ultimately, my goal for my first year is to translate these conversations into tangible improvements and a clear path forward for every student we serve. This includes building foundational consensus and securing resources that align with these priorities. This first year is about solidifying our partnerships so that we can accelerate action and deliver powerful results across our region.

Q: What is something you wish the community understood about the Bay-Arenac ISD?

A: That the ISD is an essential service hub and vital partner for all local education. We are not a local school district and therefore, not a competitor. Our role is unique, in that we are a regional service provider established to support schools in Bay and Arenac counties. By operating at scale, we handle the services that are too expensive or too specialized for a single district to manage on their own. Our core value is the ability to pool regional resources to provide specialized, high-cost compliance, technical, and educational services at a fraction of the cost ensures accessibility and efficiency across the entire region.

Q: What is something you wish the community understood about the Career Center?

A: The Career Center is more than a vocational or skill center of the past. This is a place that prepares our students to be college bound and career ready supporting whatever path they decide to pursue. Through the Career Center, students can earn a significant amount of college credit, earn industry credentials and certification. For example, students can earn a Child Development Associate credential in careers in education or a Certified Nursing Assistant and Patient Care Tech certification in nursing and advanced medical careers. The experience at the CC gives them a significant competitive advantage whether they are college bound, earning technical certifications, or seeking immediate employment.