AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift Update for Feb. 25 including mask protocols
Update From Jeanice K. Swift, Superintendent of Schools
We are excited to move into March – and closer to spring – next week. Our students and staff are delighted to participate in quality learning, activities and growth together across our AAPS classrooms. You may enjoy this video, Two Minutes at Pathways to Success Academic Campus, as one in a series offering a quick glimpse into the Ann Arbor Public Schools, where our vision is Every Child. Every Day.
This AAPS Superintendent Update shares information in the following areas: school masking, Black History Month Celebrations in the AAPS, moving forward with student and family activities and welcoming volunteers in the AAPS, weekly COVID update, Rec & Ed news, and a student art highlight.
School Mask Update
The AAPS will maintain all existing health and safety protocols, including universal masking, for AAPS schools, programs, and offices until further notice. Masks will continue to be required on buses, per federal requirements.
At this time, in holding the health and safety of our students and staff as our top priority, we will continue with universal masking in the AAPS. We continue our work to prioritize in-school learning. As we move toward the upcoming spring season, we are all eager to restore more activities, events and growth opportunities for our students, staff, families and school communities. As a result, we will continue to take a thoughtful and measured approach to AAPS COVID mitigation steps, including the universal wearing of masks indoors, to support student and staff health and safety.
We will update our students, staff, families and community as we move through this process together. You may read a more detailed update on the next steps with universal masking here.
Honoring February as Black History Month in the AAPS
During this February in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, we have extended our learning in honor of Black History Month, 2022; we share gratitude with our teachers and support staff, students and community for wonderful connections, celebrations and rich learning together. We are delighted to feature highlights from many activities as students, teachers, leaders and the community continue to observe this special month. You can read more about Black History Month 2022 in the AAPS here, and you can watch some highlights from across the district here.
AAPS high school art teachers have worked together in their teacher learning network (TLN) to research and expose art students to Black artists they may not be familiar with during Black History Month. Click here to see the One Artist a Day QR Codes project: Impressive!
Student and Family Activities and Volunteers in our AAPS Schools
The positive and robust engagement, partnership and support of our AAPS parents continues as an enduring tradition of excellence in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. As cases continue to decline, we highly value and very much look forward to extending activities and opportunities for our students and families, including hosting volunteers and parents in our schools.
The priority in this process is to open enrichment opportunities, such as Science Olympiad and others, for our students both during the day and after school, and to protect the priority of in-school learning while continuing to support the ongoing health and safety of our students and staff. Our school leaders have been planning and preparing for the next steps of opening for some in-school participation of parents, prioritizing volunteer opportunities that support teaching, learning and community building across our AAPS schools. We are moving forward, step by step, and parents will receive more specific information from their school principals over the coming days.
Weekly COVID Update
The weekly AAPS COVID-19 Case Dashboard, updated today, shows 32 cases reported this week. By MDHHS requirement, these cases represent those individuals who were on a school campus during their infectious period.
Vaccination status continues to matter for all staff and students ages 5-18. Our AAPS COVID Response Team continues to closely monitor and work through case situations, particularly in some school locations where we have observed groups of cases emerge recently.
Community Education and Recreation News
Spring youth sports – Spring is just around the corner, so let’s get ready for youth recreational sports! Online registration for soccer, field hockey and flag football will be available March 1 – 21. Soccer and flag football are open to grades Y5 – 8, and field hockey is for grades 3 – 8. There are no try-outs. Everyone participates!
Rec & Ed is committed to providing safe and inclusive recreational sports opportunities to all youth, regardless of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Youth may register using a variety of gender terms, including “non-binary,” and are welcome to select whichever sports and leagues they prefer.
Spring break camp – Your 5-14 year old will enjoy a fun stay-cation at a Rec & Ed spring break camp. Half-day and full-day art, science and sports camps will be available from Monday, March 28 – Friday, April 1, at Slauson Middle School. Registration opens at 8:00 a.m. on March 1. Find out more by visiting Rec & Ed Spring Break Camps 2022
Need a scholarship? Call (734) 994-2300, ext. 0 during business hours.
We continue to make solid progress together in support of our students, their quality learning experiences and growth this school year. Thank you for all the steps you are taking every day to support our students and staff, families and the wonderful Ann Arbor Public Schools community.
