Ann Arbor school district holds annual kickoff event
It’s a time for new beginnings in Ann Arbor Public Schools, officials said as they welcomed back teachers and other district staff at their annual kickoff event this morning.
The event took place at Pioneer High School and was attended by many district teachers and staff who mingled with colleagues and listened to remarks from administrators.
It marked the final kickoff event for Ann Arbor Superintendent Todd Roberts. Roberts is leaving the district in the fall to move to North Carolina with his family and will be the chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Math. He thanked the many district employees in attendance for their collaborative relationship over the past four years.
Roberts received a long standing ovation after being introduced and called his time in the district “the best years of my life.”
“What we in this room did was put students first,” he said. “We invested in Ann Arbor schools … to keep the exceptional education system that we have.”
School board President Deb Mexicotte updated district employees on the search for a new superintendent and thanked them on behalf of the school board for their strong working relationship during the previous year.
“Your willingness to partner with us over the past year has been much appreciated,” Mexicotte said.
Comments
Bonnie L
Thu, Sep 2, 2010 : 5:55 a.m.
I agree that they situation at Dicken School has cost the district taxpayers considerable hardship because of the number of people that have left the school. Robert's replacment is going to walk into a nightmare. Just by looking at the number of people who have left tells all that something is completly out of control. 27 new teachers in the district and 3 are going to Dicken. That number is way out of proportion with what is happening with the rest of the district. More than 10% of the district's new teachers are going to Dicken. It is a problem that will not go away. It is not a stable learing environment. Change needs to happen. To many favors have been granted to some to support a gone wrong educational opportunity and now that community is begining to understand the dynamics of why it occured. The community has been divided and the school exists in a vacuum. Change begins with an open environment and communication. The leadership at the school is stale and needs to step aside and let the new take command. Change and let the voice of the community be heard. Change is hard to accept but change can only happen if those that ask for it move on. Be the model. Become accountable.
jns131
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 2:33 p.m.
Taxpayer? There wasn't much to report anywhere so they had to invest in this. They do this every year and every year spend money on this that they really do not need to be doing. I do totally agree that this is just a love in and nothing more. Sad to say it, but next week is going to be a total nightmare between parents, bus drivers and children wondering if they have a ride to school and who their new teacher is going to be. Going to be fun all around.