- Ann Arbor Public Schools
- Superintendent's Messages
June 24, 2021 - Skyline Commencement Follow-Up
Hello AAPS Students, Staff and Community,
The purpose of this message is to follow up with our AAPS school students, staff and community regarding the recent situation when a student displayed a flag during the awarding of diplomas at the Skyline High School commencement.
While the student was not interrupted or impeded in any way during the commencement ceremony from exercising her First Amendment rights, I recognize that in the interest of maintaining the commencement as a neutral event, my decision to edit the official video, unfortunately, had the unintended consequence of causing confusion and harm to the individual student, her family and to all those in our community who value the display as a representation of heritage, culture, and identity.
I sincerely apologize for the harm that was caused by my decision.
I deeply appreciate the opportunity over recent days to meet with our Skyline student and with leaders from our Arab American and Jewish communities. The opportunity to come together for shared dialogue and support, thoughtful clarification and problem-solving among these esteemed leaders in our Ann Arbor community is deeply valued and appreciated. These conversations were productive and inspiring, and I respect and thank those leaders for the important discussions that took place.
At this time, the original Skyline commencement video will replace the edited version on the AAPS website and social media channels.
We understand that an important measure of a community is not that situations don’t arise; rather, our success in living together as a community lies in how we come together during times of misunderstanding to listen, hear each other and find our way forward.
Over the coming days, I will share next steps in the AAPS as we prepare for future commencements and other milestone community events.
Sincerely,
Jeanice K. Swift
Superintendent of Schools
Ann Arbor Public Schools