Hello AAPS Students and Staff, Parents and Community,

Let’s begin this update with a moment of inspiration. 

Engineering Team Builds Personal Protective Face Shields

We are pleased to share the impressive efforts of engineering teachers from across the AAPS to support area health care workers who are facing a shortage of critical personal protection gear. An AAPS Robotics team student modified the design, and our teachers are using 16 of the district’s 3-D printers to build personal protective devices using printers to fashion the headbands and overhead projector transparency film cut for the shields.  These face shields will be shared as part of Operation Face Shield Ann Arbor. A2 STEAM’s Bill Van Loo describes the process in this video. They will begin delivering finished products tomorrow morning to area hospitals. 

This email provides updates on:

• Health Information
• Food and Technology Distribution
• Communications Plans
• Board of Education Meeting

Health Information

We remind everyone in the AAPS family to please follow Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order to Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives. This order directs Michigan residents to remain at home or in their place of residence through April 13th.

The CDC has updated its information on Children and Coronavirus Disease 2019 with additional information about symptoms and tips for staying well while school is closed. AAPS school nurses are available to answer your questions. Check your child's school contact list. 

Food and Technology Distribution

Today’s AAPS Food Service distribution provided 10,315 meals to students. To date, approximately 30,000 meals have been distributed during the school closure. Our next food distribution will take place on Friday, and if you have food allergy needs or cannot make it to a pick-up location, please call our AAPS Food Service Hotline at 734-994-2265.

We amended the technology device pick-up schedule due to the stay at home Executive Order by Governor Whitmer and one final distribution was made this morning. Over the course of the last week, more than 1,800 tech devices were shared with students to help them stay connected and engaged with learning through A2Schools.org during the COVID-19 closure.

For technical support, our amazing IT team has established a technology helpdesk hotline for our families. Please call 734-997-1222 from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM each weekday. 

Communications Plan

We understand the information overload that is occurring for so many of us, and particularly for our parents and staff who receive multiple update emails each day, so we are working to streamline the AAPS COVID-19 Updates. We plan to share district information approximately twice each week, anticipated on Mondays and Thursdays (as a reminder about AAPS Food Service distribution on Tuesdays and Fridays), and as always, we will share critical information without delay.

Board of Education Meeting

Tomorrow night the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education will hold their March Board meeting electronically to comply with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order. The public will be able to watch the meeting here starting at 7 PM tomorrow. Individuals interested in participating through public commentary should email their statements to Amy Osinski at osinski@a2schools.org before the meeting begins.

This time together, while physically apart during this school closure event, is an interval populated by the rhythm of the numbers we monitor closely each day: sadly the numbers of COVID-19 cases, the number of days we have served in this social distance reality, understanding the importance of our individual responsibility in the greater good for our community. In balance, other numbers we see inspire - the almost 25,000 library books members of our team hurriedly placed in the hands of students last week, the number of tech devices checked out and meals distributed to support students and families. 

At the end of the day, however, we know the one number that matters most is whether we are able to make a meaningful connection for every student, every day; a connection that ensures each student feels valued and loved, welcomed and celebrated within our Ann Arbor Public Schools community. Thank you, teachers, students, parents, staff, and leaders for all your support in working together, especially during this challenging time, to achieve the one priority goal; every child, every day.

Sincerely,

Jeanice K. Swift
Superintendent of Schools