Feedback from proposed Ann Arbor lab schools available on district's website
Information gathered from two presentations to parents on the proposed lab schools program at Ann Arbor's Scarlett Middle School and Mitchell Elementary School has been posted on the district's website.
The presentations took place on Nov. 10 and Nov. 18. District officials said they’ve already begun incorporating advice from parents into the plan for the program. View the feedback here.
Officials said at the presentations the feedback would be available the day after the final meeting, but many parents reporting having trouble finding the page.
The program is a proposed partnership between Ann Arbor Public Schools and the University of Michigan School of Education.
The proposed program includes a balanced calendar, with school beginning in early August and ending in late June. There would be shorter breaks throughout the year, aligned with normal Ann Arbor school district breaks. The schools would offer optional “inter-sessions” near these breaks for students to participate in optional academic enrichment activities.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com.
Comments
AlfaElan
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 4:35 p.m.
The uproar wasn't about summer vacation it was about planning and logistics. How do you tell one child they have to go to school in the middle of August while the others don't? How do yuo actually get students to go to the 'intersessions' when you can't get those same children to the summer school they really need? Fortunately it appears the school board actually listens since we recieve an automated voice call saying they still are looking into the the 'balanced year', but it will not be happening the 2011/2012 school year.
AlfaElan
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 2:41 p.m.
The uproar wasn't about summer vacation it was about planning and logistics. How do you tell one child they have to go to school in the middle of August while the others don't? How do yuo actually get students to go to the 'intersessions' when you can't get those same children to the summer school they really need? Fortunately it appears the school board actually listens since we recieve an automated voice call saying they still are looking into the the 'balanced year', but it will not be happening the 2011/2012 school year.
Joe Hood
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 12:21 p.m.
Judging from the comments, all year schooling for just the lab schools is a non-starter. I'm curious if the UM education students would all be re-directed from other Ann Arbor schools to the lab schools; how else would they get the student-teacher ratio down without spending more money?
DagnyJ
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 7:58 p.m.
I think this is a great idea. The amount of resources going into this school is remarkable, and kids who go there will have opportunities to learn that are way beyond what other AAPS schools can offer. But if summer vacation is what drives your ideas about your child's learning, then I guess this isn't for you.
AlfaElan
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 5:44 p.m.
As parents of a Carpenter student we were interested in the changes at Scarlett including the extended schedule which we have been interested in for a while. After the two presentation we have too many issues with this initiative to be for it. In part this is due to the poorly run and presented first presentation, but the second more in depth meeting did little to answer the questions at issue. There has been too little parental input especially from the feeder schools like Carpenter, and the whole thing feels like a rush to disaster. As long term goals the ideals presented are fine, but it is too late to change the 2011-2012 school year without major issues. It is also a problem to just change Scarlett and Mitchell. Too many people will be like us and have children with different schedule due to their being in elementary, middle school and high school. A gradual phase in of the schedule change would be better but we still have more questions than answers.
Linda Peck
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 4:35 p.m.
I don't know what the program is, but the feedback is all over the continuum! I really do not like cutting the summer vacation time at all! Terrible idea. Children need more time to recreate and play in the sun, not indoors at a desk, or whatever they might have planned that could be an "under control" method of schooling children.