We value the input of our students, families, staff and community members, and we are currently engaging our Ann Arbor community in a conversation as we plan for the future of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. 

The premise of the Listen and Learn is straightforward: No one knows better the strengths and celebrations, the challenges and areas for improvement, dreams and hopes for the future than those individuals who live, work and bring their children to learn and grow in the Ann Arbor Public Schools each day. 

As we prepare to move forward in planning for our future together, to focus the work toward equity, inclusion and opportunity for all our students, we want to align our school district improvement and enhancement work with the direction, experience, needs and aspirations of our students, parents, staff and community. 

Over the past three years, our stakeholders have shared their opinions, hopes, dreams and concerns about AAPS in a variety of ways. Now, we are checking back in with you to confirm top priorities, strengths and areas of improvement. Your input will help shape the district’s Strategic Equity Plan. 

We invite you to participate in this Ann Arbor Public Schools Community Conversation over the coming weeks: we hope you will join in one of the public meetings, participate in a parent group or school-based conversation and/or use our online ThoughtExchange survey to share your thoughts and see what others are saying. Link to ThoughtExchange here:  bit.ly/TECommunitySpring2023. Please note that this link is for students, families and community members. There is a separate link for AAPS staff that will be shared via staff email. 

We invite you to participate in the upcoming community Listen & Learn events listed below; we will continue to announce additional May events over the coming days and share them here.

Tuesday, April 25th, 6:30pm - AADL Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Drive

Friday, April 28th, 9am Coffee - Venue, 1919 Industrial Hwy 

Tuesday, May 2nd, 6:30pm - AADL Westgate Branch, 2503 Jackson Ave.

Thursday, May 4th, 6:30pm - Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Rd

Friday, May 5th BYO Brown Bag Lunch, 12 noon - AADL Traverwood Branch, 3333 Traverwood Dr.

Monday, May 8th, 6:30pm - AADL Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway

Friday, May 19th, 11:30-12:30, Bring Your Own Brown Bag Lunch Veterans Memorial Park Meeting Room, 2150 Jackson Ave

Monday, May 22nd, 6:00-7:30 pm at the AAPS STEAM/CTE Expo at Skyline High School, 2552 N Maple Rd

Tuesday, May 23rd, 6:30-7:30 pm at AADL Pittsfield, 2359 Oak Valley Dr

In the summer, we will share the results of the community engagement to ensure we have accurately identified the areas of focus for the updated Strategic Equity Plan before spending the summer and fall months developing draft goals, objectives and measures in each area.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and we look forward to our next steps together. 

Sincerely,

Jeanice Kerr Swift
Superintendent of Schools
Ann Arbor Public Schools