Tag Archives: Ann Arbor Public Schools

Target volunteers read with Lawton Elementary students

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Target employees volunteered at Lawton Elementary as part of "Read Across America."

Target employees volunteered at Lawton Elementary as part of “Read Across America.”

By Tara Cavanaugh 

“You’re never too wacky, too old, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”

That’s the slogan of “Read Across America,” a National Education Association program that focuses on motivating children and teens to read. The program, now in its 16th year, attracts participation from many organizations and businesses, including Ann Arbor’s own Target, which sent volunteers to Lawton Elementary on May 20 to read with children throughout the school.

The Target employees visited five classrooms during the morning, reading to students in groups or helping individual students read books aloud.

Target also donated Dr. Seuss books, charts teachers can use to track students’ reading, and flash cards.  Continue reading →

22 AAPS high schoolers recognized at Alpha Phi Alpha Student Recognition Luncheon

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On Saturday, May 11 the Theta Zeta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. , recognized 22 Ann Arbor Public High School sophomores, juniors and seniors at its 18th annual Student Recognition Luncheon at the Sheraton in Ann Arbor. Continue reading →

Community teacher wins Michigan Writers Cooperative chapbook contest

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Ellen Stone has won the 2013 Michigan Writers Cooperative Press chapbook contest. Her poetry collection, “The Solid Living World,” will be published and available in June. Stone teaches at Community High School in Ann Arbor where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has been writing poems since graduating from Antioch College in the early 1980s. She joined Michigan Writers after falling in love with northwestern Michigan, land reminiscent of the rolling hills and rivers where she grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania.  Continue reading →

Forysthe ‘buddies’ mentor special needs students in gym class

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Gym teacher Kelly Bert and a seventh grade peer mentor help a special needs student during the adaptive gym class at Forsythe Middle School.

Gym teacher Kelli Bert and a seventh grade peer mentor help a special needs student during the adaptive gym class at Forsythe Middle School.

By Tara Cavanaugh

Gamal has a distinct swagger as he walks through Forsythe Middle School’s hallways.

Some might say that swagger is the uneven gait that comes from his disability. But ask anyone at Forsythe, and they’ll tell you that his swagger comes from confidence.

Gamal is a special education student, and he’s one of the most popular kids in the school. His popularity is likely due to the school’s adaptive physical education class, which pairs special needs students with general education “buddies,” sparking friendships and understanding between the two student populations.

Gym teacher Kelli Bert helped found the program ten years ago. “It’s so popular now that there are more kids who want to take it it than there is room,” she said.

The class is already large, with 35 students. That’s because twice as many general eduction students take the class as special needs students. The large class size ensures that the special needs students get plenty of attention.

“The students give more effort with their friends than they will with an adult,” Bert said. “They’re just like any other kid.”

Continue reading →

U-M rowing team meets Pittsfield pen pals

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By Tara Cavanaugh

After three months of writing letters back and forth, Pittsfield fifth graders finally got a chance to meet their pen pals on the University of Michigan women’s rowing team this week. Continue reading →

‘Midnight Muse’ inspired by surrealism, the unconscious at Clague

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Midnight Muse

Congratulations to Clague’s Art Students for a successful show, Midnight’s Muse, held April 25th and 26th, on the stage at Clague!  The students’ work was inspired by their discussions on Surrealism and images of the unconscious mind. Through the exploration of ideas connected to dreams, nightmares, the moon, and midnight; as expressed through the strange, perhaps eerie creations of artists such as Tim Burton, Joan Miro, Alexander Jannson, and Abigail Larson, a dark theme acted as the insight behind their varied visions. Students also found the grim inklings of Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gorey, as well as the twisting architecture of Frank Gehry, to be insightful and illuminating. Continue reading →

VIDEO: U-M softball team visits Abbot Elementary pen pals

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By Tara Cavanaugh

The University of Michigan softball team is pretty busy these days. The team just won another Big Ten Title, their sixth in a row, and are set to play at the next Big Ten Tournament in Nebraska this weekend.

But today the players took the time to visit their pen pals in two fifth grade classes at Abbot Elementary and to do some community service cleanup together on school grounds.

U-M softball player Brandi Virgil helps clean up the school grounds at Abbot.

U-M softball player Brandi Virgil helps clean up the school grounds at Abbot.

Continue reading →

“This is a serious situation, and it’s not new” Parents, administration review 2013-2014 budget

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Parents, students and staff discussed the 2013-2014 budget at a Community Budget Forum May 2 at Huron. The next forum takes place May 7 at Pioneer.

Parents, students and staff discussed the 2013-2014 budget at a Community Budget Forum May 2 at Huron. The next forum takes place May 7 at Pioneer.

By Tara Cavanaugh

At the Community Budget Forum Thursday night at Huron High School, the crowd of parents and staff listened attentively as the administration laid out the 2013-2014 budget and the suggested cutbacks. The atmosphere was civil, constructive, and most of all concerned.

There is plenty to be concerned about. The Ann Arbor Public Schools district is facing a $8.6 million shortfall next year, and large budget deficits are projected to continue in the coming years.

AAPS Superintendent Dr. Patricia Green asked the crowd to understand the source of the cutbacks, and to offer constructive feedback.

“This is a serious situation, and it’s not new,” Dr. Green said. “Tonight’s not about: Don’t cut this, or don’t cut that. Folks, I’m being as honest as I can: Things are going to be cut. We don’t want to do it. But we have to balance the budget by law.

“So we need you to join with us in your very best thinking, to help make sure the survivability of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, as we know it and love it, goes on for many, many years.”

Director of Finance Nancy Hoover laid out the sources of the financial difficulties. Per-pupil funding from the state has not increased since 2002. Per-pupil funding in 2012 was $9,020; in 2002 it was $9,034.

As per-pupil funding has not increased, other costs have increased, such as transportation and health care.

To address the budget deficit for the coming year, the administration has made the following recommendations for instructional services, totaling a reduction of $6,246,068: Continue reading →

AAPS Bands mark centennial anniversary during 2013-2014 school year

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Huron High School alum, and U.S. Marine Band clarinetist Jonathon Troy returned to the district for a Picnic Pop performance May 20, 2012. Troy also gave workshops with students at the high school.

Huron High School alum, and U.S. Marine Band clarinetist Jonathon Troy returned to the district for a Picnic Pop performance May 20, 2012. “I just wanted to let you know that the music programs in the Ann Arbor Public Schools are extraordinary,” he said to the audience.

By Tara Cavanaugh

When the Ann Arbor Public Schools marks its centennial anniversary this fall, it’s not just celebrating 100 years of music education. It’s celebrating 100 years of music innovation and excellence that has helped other music institutions –such as Interlochen and the University of Michigan Marching Band– become what they are today.

Daryl Hurst, a Pioneer band alum and former president of the Parent Band Association, is the unofficial historian of AAPS bands. He spent seven years researching the history of music education in the district, and he published an article titled “Birth of the Bands” in the Ann Arbor Observer in 2006. (Click here for PDF version of the article)

Daryl says the first official Ann Arbor high school band was formed in 1914 and announced in an Ann Arbor News article. The school had had just a few music clubs before then.

Another pivotal year for the band was 1934, when Joe Maddy came to town. “He brought with him an enthusiasm for teaching high school students in a more methodical manner, believing they could play at a higher level,” Hurst said.  Continue reading →

VIDEOS, PHOTOS: Carpenter celebrates 175th anniversary

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By Tara Cavanaugh

If you want to see a tight-knit community, just look at Carpenter Elementary.

At the school’s 175th anniversary celebration on April 26, students, staff and visitors sang together. They danced together. They marched together to the beat of the Huron High School drum line.

It was a community joyously in sync. Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Bryant International Night dazzles with culture

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Bryant Elementary’s International Night on April 18 had it all. A fashion show featured dozens of students in traditional clothing that represented their cultures. Classrooms became interactive museums, with information and cultural artifacts filling the rooms from floor to ceiling. Most students were in some kind of costume, and many parents were too. All enjoyed an evening filled with art, music, fun and food. Continue reading →

University of Michigan Women’s Basketball team shoots hoops at Logan

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By Tara Cavanaugh

Logan Elementary students got quite the treat on Monday when six members of the University of Michigan Women’s Basketball team visited for the afternoon.

Cyesha Goree, Nicole Elmblad, Madison Ristovski, Rebecca Lyttle, Val Driscoll and Kendra Seto first participated in a Q & A session with the kids. They answered students’ probing questions (such as “Who’s your biggest rival?” and “What’s your favorite food?”) and also talked about competition and teamwork. “We even compete with each other in practice,” said Nicole Elmblad. “But the second we walk off the court, it stops.” Continue reading →