March 14, 2025 - Weekly Update
Calendar: March 24-28 - No School - Spring Break
AAPS District News
The AAPS District News shared an Exceptional Profile of a Pioneer science teacher. We shared AAPS students earned honors at the Michigan Art Education Association’s state art show and teachers from across Michigan came to Carpenter and Allen to collaborate on Math Recovery best practices. Read all of the AAPS District News stories here.
AAPS Board of Education
The next Board of Education Regular Meeting is Wednesday, March 19th, at 7:45 PM at 3700 Earhart Road. At this week’s meeting, the board received presentations on Career Technical Education (CTE) in Washtenaw County and the Recommendation for Elementary Reading Curriculum.
Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month provides us an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the contributions of countless women who have fought tirelessly and with great courage for equality, justice and opportunity in our nation.
The National Women’s History Alliance has selected the 2025 theme for Women's History Month - “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.”
We honor women, past and present, who have courageously taken the lead to establish change and advocate for firmer safeguards, practices and legislation reflecting these values. In communities across our nation, women are helping to develop innovative programs and projects within corporations, federal agencies, the military and educational institutions to address injustices. We are proud to stand with these women who continue to inspire generations in the important work of inclusion, equality and fairness.
PTO Council District-wide Fundraiser
The Ann Arbor PTO Council, a support organization for AAPS PTOs, is writing today to share about our 2025 District-wide Fundraiser. Together with the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, our fundraiser raised over $55,000 in 2024, all of which was distributed to Title I school PTOs with no strings attached. This year, we hope to raise even more and would love your help. We launched our online fundraiser on March 6th with the hopes of boosting PTO funding at Title I elementary schools, and we are already seeing excitement build in the community.
How can you help? You can share information from our Facebook page. Thanks for any help you can provide in getting the word out! We are grateful for this community and partnership. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. PTOC Co-Chairs, Nicole Collines/Brittany Sayles: ptocchairs@gmail.com
Miller Road Closure and Detour Information for AAPS Bus Routes
Beginning at 9 AM on Monday, March 24, all lanes of Miller Avenue will be closed to traffic from Newport Road through Seventh Street. This closure, which will remain in place through July 7th, will impact bus routes for several schools. Learn more about the changes to bus routes and schools here.
AAPS Capital Program Open Houses
The AAPS Capital Program team will be hosting project Open Houses at the following elementary schools:
• Lakewood Elementary: Tuesday, March 18th, 6:30 to 8 PM
• Lawton Elementary: Thursday, March 20th, 6:30 to 8 PM
• Wines Elementary: Tuesday, April 1st, 6:30 to 8 PM
• Burns Park Elementary: Thursday, April 3rd, 6:30 to 8 PM
• King Elementary: Wednesday, April 9th, 6:30 to 8 PM
Meet the architects and design experts involved in planning these new AAPS 21st-century, healthy, high-performance schools. This Open House format will allow guests to move at their own pace throughout multiple stations, review project updates and information and provide feedback. Please visit A2SchoolsBond.org to learn more.
National Nutrition Month: Food Connects Us
The AAPS Wellness page has been updated with parent education for National Nutrition Month. Resources include healthy snacking resources for kids, teens and adults, downloadable activities, and ideas for family mealtime conversations about culture and food.
Care Solace - AAPS Mental Health Partnership
Care Solace is AAPS’s free Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care Coordination Service. Care Solace is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to connect students, staff and their families to mental health, substance abuse and ABA service providers.
Over 200 languages are supported, and help is available to those with and without insurance.
Using Care Solace is easy!
- Call 888-515-0595 any time. A dedicated Care Companion will help you every step of the way to research options, secure appointments and follow up with you to make sure it's a good fit.
- Search anonymously by visiting caresolace.com/aaps
Information about Care Solace is available in Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.
AAPS Free On-Demand Learning Resource For Students
The Ann Arbor Public Schools, in partnership with Varsity Tutors, is making a free set of 24/7 learning resources available to our students via Clever. Our 5th - 12th graders now have immediate access to a learning platform with the following:
· Chat Homework Help
· Asynchronous Academic Support Courses
· College Preparation Tools and Courses
· SAT Prep
· Myriad Live and Asynchronous Extracurricular Courses like coding, chess, comic drawing and more.
The Varsity Tutors Platform gives students more opportunities to learn at their own pace. We invite you to view this short video overview of the platform and resources.
AAPS Securly Tip Line
AAPS is pleased to offer this anonymous tip line for students, staff and families to address bullying, mental health concerns or important “See Something, Say Something” concerns. The Securly Tip Line can be downloaded from the AppStore or Google Play, and a bookmark will be placed on all student Chromebooks. Students, staff and parents can initiate an anonymous tip outside the app via phone: 1-833-300-STOP, email: tipline@securly.com or their website: https://www.securly.com/tip.
AAPS Securly Parent Portal
In the Ann Arbor Public Schools, we utilize a cloud-based web filter called Securly to keep students safe on their district-issued devices. To help parents monitor their child’s online activity at home, AAPS offers the free Securly Home app. This application allows web-based filtering and parental controls on district-issued devices at home. Parents may set rules to allow or disallow certain websites, pause the Internet connection to the device as desired and receive weekly usage reports.
AAPS 2025-2026 Enrollment
Neighborhood pre-enrollment is available for new students for the 2025-26 academic year! Applications are also being accepted for In-District Transfers and Non-Resident Children of Employees between February 25 - March 31, 2025. Schools and grades with space availability are posted at the link above. Approvals are based on space availability and are not processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Neighborhood pre-enrollment and the IDT/NRCE applications are available here.
Rec & Ed
Spring Break Half-Day Camps Looking for spring break activities that won't take up the entire day? Our half-day camps offer the perfect balance of fun and flexibility. Check out our options for middle school students! View Spring Break Camps.
Summer Camps - Join us for a summer filled with fun, learning, and exploration! Explore all the camp options, including Art, Science, STEM, Music, Dance, Drama, Reading, Nature, Sports and the beloved Safety Town program for rising Kindergarteners. New this year - Swiftie Camp, Jurassic Park, Magic and more. The possibilities are endless for children ages 2-14 years old. Visit our Summer Camp website.
Rec & Ed Spring/Summer Classes Registration is NOW OPEN
Registration for youth and adult after-school, evening and weekend classes is now open. Register today aarecedonline.com.
Don’t Miss Out: Rec & Ed Youth and Adult Tennis Class Registration is now Open!
Ann Arbor Rec & Ed Tennis Class registration has opened! Spaces are limited.
Both Adult Tennis and Youth Tennis classes are available. See you out on the courts!
High School Boys Open Volleyball Registration opens on Monday, March 17th! High School Boys Open Volleyball league opens on Monday, March 17th, at 8 AM. For more information and to register, you can click here. Open for grades 8th - 12th.
Community Events and Information
2025 Free Tree Giveaway
The City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations is holding its 10,000 Trees Initiative 2025 Free Tree Giveaway for Washtenaw County residents on Saturday, April 19th, at Allen Elementary. Registration opens on Saturday, March 15th, and due to limited supplies, registration is expected to fill quickly.
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Winter Family Day
Learn about the Roman Empire and the Ides of March at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology’s Winter Family Day on Saturday, March 15th, from noon to 3 PM. This free event will include docent guides, scavenger hunts and storytime sessions.
Scientist Spotlight: Forsythe Young Scientist Expo
The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History’s next Scientist Spotlight is March 16th from 11 AM to 4 PM. U of M Scientists will have hands-on activities, Forsythe students will display science projects and demonstrations from the Forsythe robotics team. More information here. As a correction, last week’s update incorrectly stated this event was taking place at Forsythe, it is taking place at the Museum of Natural History.
LaFontaine Teacher of the Year Nominations
The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Chamber is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Teacher of the Year. Colleagues, administrators, board members, parents, students and community members are invited to submit nominations online here through March 20th. Please note that this is a very competitive nomination process, so including as much detail as possible, including letters of support, is critical.
Trails Suicide Prevention Training
We all play a role in suicide prevention. Community members and caregivers can get an overview of suicide and suicidal behavior in children and adolescents, including risk and protective factors, through a Zoom presentation on March 20th at 5:30 PM. Participants will receive an introduction to TRAILS and core beliefs about suicide prevention, recommended language to use when talking about suicide and more. Click here for more information and to register.
2025 Young Citizens of the Year Nominations
The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation is accepting nominations for the Young Citizens of the Year award through March 24th. The award recognizes leadership and community service (outside of school-based activities) by Washtenaw County High School Students. More information and the nomination form is available here.
Stream Table Day
Learn about watersheds, rivers, flooding, landforms and more with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History’s popular 10-foot stream simulation table. Interactive demonstrations run throughout the day on Friday, March 28th, from 11 AM to 3 PM.
Give Kids A Smile Day
The University of Michigan School of Dentistry will hold a free dental clinic for children ages 4 to 14 on Saturday, March 29th, from 8 AM to noon. Dental exams, cleanings and X-rays will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is required.
MindSET: Cardboard Guitar with Micro:bit
The engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi of the University of Michigan, will have the last MindSET of the 2025 winter semester on March 30th from 3 to 5 pm. This module is a cardboard guitar with micro:bit and is for students from 3rd through 5th grade. Micro:bit is a small pocket-sized computer that allows students to learn coding. Students will learn how to code with micro:bit and build a cardboard guitar that will make sound through micro:bit. Please sign up for the event by filling out this form.
Youth Art Fair
The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, The Original, is accepting applications through April 10th for students in grades 4-12 to exhibit and sell their artwork alongside over 200 professional artists. Young artists will not only showcase and sell their creations but also benefit from enhanced mentorship, peer-based learning and a vibrant atmosphere from July 17th to 19th. Learn more about the program here.
Treasure Your Trees
Every tree plays an important role in reducing air pollution and controlling destructive runoff. You can calculate how much stormwater your tree will intercept and how much carbon dioxide it will store each year at hrwc.org/planttrees.
How to Address a Concern in the AAPS
If you have a concern in the AAPS, we want to hear directly from you. Please reach out directly to an adult, teacher, counselor or the principal at your child’s school. If additional assistance is needed with school issues beyond the school level:
For early childhood and elementary level issues, contact Melita Alston, Executive Director, Early Childhood and Elementary Education: alston@a2schools.org
For High School, Middle School and K-8 school issues, contact Dr. Roberta Heyward, Executive Director, K-8, Middle and High School Education: heywardr@a2schools.org