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Ann Arbor Public Schools

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September 11, 2026 - Weekly Update

AAPS District News

The AAPS District News shared an Exceptional Profile of Slauson’s orchestra director. We also shared Slauson sixth graders share thoughts on their first week of middle school and a video from the first day of preschool. Read all of the AAPS District News stories here.

 

AAPS Board of Education

The next Board of Education Regular Meeting is Wednesday, September 16th, at 7:00 PM at 3700 Earhart Road. At this week’s meeting, the Board of Education received video highlights from the start of the school year, the Community Division Presentation and the Capital Program Fall 2026 Update.

 

Patriot Day - A National Day of Service and Remembrance

Today is Patriot Day - a national day of service and remembrance to honor the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We also take this time to honor the heroism of the firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who portrayed extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice. 

 

Suicide Prevention Month - Let’s Raise Awareness and Spread Hope!

Each September, Suicide Prevention Month offers an opportunity to learn about tools and resources to keep youth safe.  Although this is a tough topic, we know that working together to reduce stigma, recognize warning signs, and encourage help-seeking can make a big difference in preventing suicide.

Visit the AAPS Suicide Prevention page to learn about the following:

  • Risk Factors, Warning Signs, and Protective Factors to Suicide
  • 5 Myths about Youth Suicide 
  • How to Talk about Suicide with Someone You Know 

  • Crisis resources 

  • Non-crisis resources and AAPS Partnerships 

Need help right now?

  • Call or text the 988. Available in English y en Español.
  • Washtenaw County Community Mental Health 24/7 Crisis Services. (734) 544-3050.
  • Ozone House Crisis Line is available 24/7 for youth looking for support or who are at risk of homelessness. (734) 662-2222. 

 

 

National IT Professionals Day

September 15th is National IT Professionals Day, honoring the IT professionals who do the critical work to keep our networks and applications running and secure. Every day, our district ITD team members are called upon to resolve many technological challenges so we can all do our important work in supporting our AAPS students and staff. We thank our fantastic ITD staff for their expertise in managing and maintaining the essential systems and applications powering our digital experiences.

 

National Merit Semi-Finalists 

The Ann Arbor Public Schools congratulates 44 students who have been named SemiFinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program. This year, the Ann Arbor Public Schools accounts for over 8% of the approximately 535 students in Michigan selected for this honor. 

 

To become a Finalist, the Semi-Finalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application. They provide information about the academic record of the SemiFinalist, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. A Semi-Finalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. 

 

The names of the 2027 Semi-Finalists: 

 

Community High School: Maxwell E. Hollander, Yohanna S. Igarashi, Mark A. Ionides and Sofi-Rose Meisler

 

Huron High School: Zayn Azad, Sounak Debnath, Anna He, Tarun Iyer, Mia Lin, Qihang Liu, Oliver McIsaac, Elijah Morrow, Harper Pinto, Paavani Tewari, Allison Worth, Lucas Yuan and Michelle Zhang

 

Pioneer High School: Swarnim Agnihotri, Per Bergman, Elijah Berkley, Kyle Brady, Ryan Buscetta, Madison Buza, Tejas Gupta, Bintou Kaba, Emma Korvun, Suryn Lee, Raymond Li, Ryan Lorenz, Ami Masuda, Caroline McTigue, Shelley Ouyang, Haechan Park, WooJoo Park, John Pottow, Bridget Shaefer, Mikaela Wyche, Jasper York and Xander Zhang

 

Skyline High School: Suriya Ailawadi, Raphael Fournier, Thomas Wang, Kate Wolfe and Jacob Zheng

 

AAPS Strategic Planning Survey

This summer, AAPS launched a Community Voice Survey as part of our Strategic Planning process - a roadmap that will shape how we invest in programs, resources, and support for every student and staff member in our district moving forward. 

But, we know summer can be so busy. If you didn't get a chance to complete the survey, we still very much want to hear from you.

Your experience in AAPS matters. Whether things are going well or whether you see room for improvement, your perspective belongs in this plan, and it's not too late to share it.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

  • The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
  • It is open to all members of the AAPS community - students, parents, guardians, staff, and partners
  • Your responses are anonymous.
  • The survey closes on September 30, 2026

Take the Survey Now: Community Voice Survey.

 

 

Mental Health Support

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Let’s come together to recognize the warning signs and offer support to those in need. If you or someone you know needs help, Care Solace provides 24/7 confidential support to connect you with mental health professionals.

Visit caresolace.com/aaps or call 888-515-0595. You’re not alone.

Information about Care Solace is available in Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.  

Food Service

 

Under the Michigan School Meals program, students in the Ann Arbor Public Schools will receive FREE meals (breakfast and lunch). The free food program is only for complete breakfast and lunch meals. It does not include a la carte items such as milk.

 

Students will continue to maintain a benefit status of Free, Reduced, or Paid under the approved program. Benefit status' will be used for the purpose of grants and other state funding. 

 

All families are to fill out the Education Benefits Form (EBF). These forms are available in multiple languages. AAPS ESL teachers/translators are available to help families. Click here for more information on EBF.

 

You can find the menu for your child’s school here.


 

Transportation

 

Bus routes for all of our schools are available here.

 

My Stop is a free desktop and mobile app that provides parents access to bus route information such as a child’s assigned bus, bus stop location and updates on the estimated time of arrival at the bus stop. My Stop allows parents and students to plan for late or on-time arrival and prevent missed pick-ups. Click here for more information and how to login.

 

For more information on transportation go here.

Idle Free Zone Campaign

Through the leadership of the Freeman Environmental Youth Council, AAPS is instituting a Reduce Idling Zone at all AAPS schools starting this fall. This initiative is aimed at protecting our students’ health. Please help our students breathe cleaner air by following the guidelines below, especially at pick-up when we see vehicles waiting up to an hour before release time.

• Drop-off: When dropping off your student, if you arrive and there is a line of vehicles waiting for the first bell, please turn off your vehicle until cars proceed through the line.

• Pick-up: If you arrive before the bell to release students and join the pick-up line, please turn off your vehicle until the line begins to move. 

Learn more about the student-led effort to improve air quality here.

 

Freeman Environmental Youth Council Applications

AAPS 9th, 10th and 11th graders who are interested in environmental stewardship and advocacy are invited to apply by September 16th to join the Freeman Environmental Youth Council. Learn more about this districtwide environmental leadership club and access application information on the Youth Council webpage.

 

Bioblitz at the Freeman Environmental Education Center

AAPS families are invited to attend a Bioblitz on September 28th from 1 to 4 PM at the Freeman Environmental Education Center (3540 Dixboro Lane) for an afternoon of nature observation, appreciation and documentation. Please register here for this free, family-friendly community science event. This is a great chance to expose your children to a STEM learning opportunity in the field with professional scientists and environmental educators.

 

Securly Parent Portal - How to Opt In

In the AAPS, we utilize a cloud-based web filter called Securly to keep students safe on their district-issued device. 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. To OPT-IN to the Securly Parent Portal service, please encourage families to use the pathway as outlined below:

If families have any questions, they can always reach out to the Student & Family Help Desk at 734-997-1222.

 

Phishing Attack Targeting District Email Accounts

Our school district's email system was recently targeted by a phishing attack. As a result, a few staff email accounts were compromised. These compromised accounts were used to send phishing emails to everyone in the affected staff members' contact lists, which may include addresses both inside and outside our district.

What we've done:
Our technology team has worked quickly to identify, clean, and secure the affected accounts and strengthen protections across our email system.

What you should look for:
If you received an email appearing to be from one of our staff members with any of the following subject lines, it was likely part of this phishing attack and should not be trusted:

  • FWD: Household Items Available for Staff and Students
  • FAMILY SUPPORT ESTATE SALES
  • Family Support Sale — Vehicles, Equipment & Household Items Available
  • Remote Personal Assistant Position

What you should do:

  • Do not click any links or open any attachments in emails with these subject lines.
  • Do not reply or provide any personal information if asked.
  • Delete the email after reporting it.
  • If you already clicked a link or provided information, please change any passwords you may have entered and monitor your accounts for unusual activity.
  • If you're unsure whether an email is legitimate, please contact us directly at 734-997-1222 before taking any action.

We take the security of our community's information seriously and are continuing to monitor our systems closely. We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this may have caused and appreciate your vigilance in helping us keep our school community safe.

Michigan Safe Storage Law

MCL 28.429 requires individuals to keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises. Additional resources are available on the Michigan Department of Education website to assist families in maintaining firearm safety. 

 

Rec and Ed

Fall Registration is open and after school classes start soon

 For Kids & Families

  • Early Childhood Classes — Ages 0–5
  • Youth Classes & Activities — Ages 5–14 
    • IMPORTANT: Registration for afterschool classes closes 2 days before a class begins.
  • View All Classes - With so many NEW classes being offered, you are sure to find something you like. Registration is open for after school enrichment opportunities right at your child's school.
  • Before & After Care — Openings available at many AAPS buildings

Youth League Sports: Registration is open for Volleyball (grades 4-9) & Basketball (grades 2 & 3) Youth league sport league Information here.

For Adults: Stay active and try something new with our variety of adult enrichment and fitness classes.

Good to Know: Scholarships are available to help with registration costs. Rec & Ed gift cards make a great gift! 📬 Want updates? Subscribe to Fun Forward for class news and registration dates.


 

Community Events and Information

Run Your City, Run Ann Arbor is a group of University of Michigan students and student-athletes leading free, team centered running practices and races for kids of all abilities. They are hosting a six-week program September 12th through October 17th on Sundays at 3 PM at Leslie Park. Learn more and sign up for Run Ann Arbor here. 

 

Girls Who Code is a free club that provides a supportive environment for high schoolers to learn coding. The club holds weekly meetings on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8 PM starting September 22nd at U of M’s Central Campus. Students will explore data analysis, visualization and interpretation via hands-on coding workshops and a capstone project of their choosing in Python. Learn more about Girls Who Code and apply here, with priority given to those who apply by September 15th.

 

2027-28 Michigan Teacher of the Year nominations are being accepted through Wednesday, September 23rd. Celebrate a deserving teacher by simply completing the Michigan Department of Education’s online nomination form.

 

Proud To Be Me is a non-profit founded to give children with intellectual disabilities a space where they can connect with others and be active with free online adaptive dance classes. This fall they are offering three classes every week: Choreography on Tuesdays, Hip-Hop on Thursdays and Ballet/Yoga on Saturdays. Click here for more information and to sign up for the program.

 

Here Comes the Sun is the first Science Cafe of the school year and takes place on Wednesday, September 23rd at 6 PM at Conor O’Neill’s. Representatives from U of M Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Executive Director of Ann Arbor Sustainability Energy Utility will share the latest research on understanding thermal radiation in solar and the challenge of implementation. Science Cafes are an opportunity for audiences to discuss current research topics with experts in an informal setting presented by the U of M Museum of Natural History.

 

Kinesiology Futures Day is Monday, September 28th from 10 to 11:30 AM meeting at the Neutral Zone by 9:45 with a walk to the U of M School of Kinesiology, or just meet at 830 N. University at ten. A 90-minute student centered experience designed to introduce all high school aged students to the field of kinesiology through a movement break, student ambassador panel, shared lunch and goal setting activity. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

 

Sustainability Updates in Our Community

GREEN FAIR IS A WEEK AWAY! Join us for Ann Arbor's annual street fair celebrating sustainability, community, and climate action next Friday, September 18th from 5 to 8 PM on Main Street. Visit our five themed areas to explore how you can be part of a cleaner, greener, and more resilient future in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. Learn more at a2gov.org/GreenFair. AAPS will have information on our EV bus program and net zero ready schools at the Green Fair.

 

You can learn more about sustainability activities in AAPS and sustainability efforts in the Ann Arbor community here. You can follow the city’s Office of Sustainability and Innovation on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

 

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