K-12

by P.D. Lesko Please Note: I am acquainted with Hunter Van Valkenburgh, as well as his wife Aina Bernier.  Monica Harrold, the wife of Board of Education candidate Jeffrey Harrold, was the principal at Northside Elementary, which my kids…

Update: A comment from candidate Jeffrey Harrold has been added. by P.D. Lesko ANN ARBOR PARENTS contact Board of Education members on a regular basis about a variety of topics both mundane and not-so-mundane. So, the newspaper sent a…

LAST WEEK THE National Merit Scholar Corporation announced that about 16,000 U.S. high school students had been named semifinalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship competition. In Washtenaw County, 93 students were named…

THE NATIONAL GROUP Attendance Works released state-by-state school attendance data and data for the nation’s 21 large, urban districts. In the report issued last week, the authors say school absenteeism is a national challenge. Almost a…

by David Alexander During her comments, AAPS Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift continually referred to a “downward spiral into mediocrity” caused by reduced money, saying “Shame on our legislators if they don’t figure this out, and…

THE AUDIT RELEASED by Ann Arbor Public Schools officials was prepared in part by an auditing firm and in part by a human resource consulting firm from Birmingham. The June 22 document draws on data compiled by the Michigan Department of…

Economic Development Entities and Public Schools Thank you to The Ann Arbor Independent and Rep. Jeff Irwin for working to expose the damage being done to public schools across Michigan by so-called “economic development” organizations…

by Rob Smith “It is shameful,” said Dr. Jeanice K. Swift, Superintendent of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. “This proposal unfairly impacts communities across the state of Michigan, such as Ann Arbor. AS THE MICHIGAN Legislature debated…

by P.D. Lesko TRUSTEES GLENN NELSON and Irene Patalan have said they intend to step down from the Ann Arbor Board of Education. In 2003, they ran as a part of a slate of candidates and have, for a decade, served. In that time, they have…

by Donna Iadipaolo ALMOST EVERY SCHOOL year in Ann Arbor, Haisley Elementary School Teacher Cedric York instructs students in his fifth-grade class to write to prominent leaders from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Mr. York…