Some parents are speaking out against returning to in-person classes in Ann Arbor
Updated Feb 01, 2021;
Posted Feb 01, 2021
empty classrooms at Bach Elementary, 600 W. Jefferson St. In Ann Arbor on Thuraday, July 23, 2020.
Facebook Share
ANN ARBOR, MI - Some parents are concerned the timing isn’t right for in-person classes to return to Ann Arbor Public Schools.
While the district has mainly heard from parents expressing frustration with their children remaining in remote learning, a number of parents who spoke at the Jan. 27 Ann Arbor School Board meeting said they’d like the district to stay where it is.
District officials have said they’re targeting an early March return to in-person classes, although a specific date has not yet been set. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she’d like all Michigan districts to offer some type of in-person learning by March. 1.
‘We’re running out of time’: Ann Arbor parents rally to advocate for option of in-person learning
Updated Jan 30, 2021;
Facebook Share
They want kids to have an option for in-person learning.
Ann Arbor Reasonable Return held the rally to press AAPS to commit to a date for a return to in-person classes. AAPS has been in a remote learning format since March, but parents want their students to have the choice to learn in person.
“The preponderance of the evidence has shown that it’s safe to do so if you have mitigation in place, and the district has told us that they do,” said Kathy Bishop, an AAPS parent and Michigan Medicine employee. “There’s really just no reason that our kids have not had the option to go back.”
Ann Arbor parents rally for students to return to the classroom
Ann Arbor Kathy Bishop s second-grader was falling apart this fall as she tried to navigate virtual learning.
The struggles became so dire that Bishop pulled her child from Ann Arbor Public Schools Allen Elementary and sent her to a private school with an in-person learning program. She s a social kid, Bishop said. She loves school and was just falling apart.
Bishop joined Saturday with about 100 other parents, educators and members of the grassroots advocacy group Ann Arbor Reasonable Return to urge the district to abide by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer s goal of reopening Michigan schools to in-person instruction by March 1.
Parent says need ways to reopen now, not another reason to stay closed’ By
January 18, 2021
Ann Arbor Public Schools officials say they are unlikely to meet Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s call to return to some form of in-person instruction by March 1. They cite a need for nearly all teachers to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
Establishing vaccinations as a prerequisite for a return to the classroom, announced Jan. 13 by Superintendent Jeanice Swift, reverses a position she had taken only a month ago.
“While we had not planned . to await the vaccine, we did not understand for sure how quickly that would be coming,” Swift said Jan. 13. “Now that we understand the vaccine is here, it seems in the best interest of safety and of health for our teachers to be able to have their vaccine appointments.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday urged Michigan schools to offer all K-12 students an option of returning to classrooms by March 1.
The guidance was not an order local school districts will continue to be allowed to make their own decisions about what is best for their communities but Whitmer’s message offered a glimpse of a return to normal life as COVID-19 vaccines begin to be administered, however fitfully, through the winter.
“The value of in-person learning for our kids is immeasurable, and we must do everything we can to help them get a great education safely,” Whitmer said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many students are potentially impacted by the state’s tweaked guidance on school reopenings. Most districts in the state have offered at least an option of in-person instruction at some point during the current school year, which began in September.