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Ann Arbor Public Schools

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September 12, 2025 - Weekly Update

AAPS Celebrates National Merit Semi-Finalists

The Ann Arbor Public Schools congratulates 52 students who have been named Semi-Finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.

This year, AAPS accounts for 11% of the approximately 475 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 Semi-Finalist, 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.

Community High School: Noah Garfield and William Militzer

 

Huron High School: Haein Bae, Pierce Cai, Victoria Dang, William He, Jiaqi Huang, Kyle Johnsen, Desmond Kartha, Jayeun Lee, Dimitri Meder, Sean Miao, Violet Neau, Madeleine Pale, Siddhant Pandit, Tanay Panja, Satvika Ramanathan, Tejasvi Ramanathan, Bhaavna Senthil Kumar, Asia Shi and Jessica Wu

 

Pioneer High School: Sebastian Bagley, Dean Bezold, Jack Corbett, Walter Groening, Hayden Helms, Aurora Janevic, Minji Kang, Arthur Lopatin, Benjamin Osler, Clara Paulson, Peyton Peters, Hattie Pok, Patrick Regan, Theo Sacks Thomas, Christopher Vautour, Hyunsung Woo, Michael Wu, Edward Zhang and Leah Zhu

 

Skyline High School: Sungyun Bae, Sherry Dong, Nicholas Farrell, Benjamin Kaufman, Minjoon Kim, Emily Mei, Sean Meng, William Powers, Anneka Stephenson, Philip Suh, Jeffrey Wang and Daniel Zhou

 

AAPS District News

The AAPS District News shared an Exceptional Profile of a Carpenter second grade teacher, the launch of new Arts & Literature curriculum in AAPS elementary schools and an A2 STEAM student had artwork published in Spider magazine. Read all of the AAPS District News stories here.

 

AAPS Board of Education

The next Board of Education Regular Meeting is Wednesday, September 17th, at 7:00 PM at 3700 Earhart Road. At this week’s meeting the Board of Education received reports on Skyline’s Cell Phone Journey and an Overview of 2025-26 Professional Learning You can watch CTN’s video of the meeting here.

 

Food Service 

As of October 1, 2025, AAPS will no longer be able to provide universal free meals for all students if the state aid budget is not passed or is passed without universal breakfast and lunch funding.  Please know that this difficult decision was not made lightly. We remain hopeful that state legislators will soon pass a budget that includes the Michigan School Meals program—maintaining free breakfast and lunch for all students.

 

All AAPS families are strongly encouraged to complete the annual Education Benefit Form (EBF) to ensure that all free and reduced-price lunch eligible students are identified. The form can be completed electronically in the AAPS Family Portal, which you can log into here. Hard copies of the Education Benefit Form are available in your school office.

 

Please review the full message on this food service change here.

 

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month each September, we remind our AAPS community of the important role we all can play in preventing suicide. 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 keeping students safe. 

Each Friday District Update in September, we are featuring critical information and resources for youth suicide prevention. Visit the AAPS Suicide Prevention page to see all of the information and additional resources. 

Myths and Facts about Youth Suicide

The topic of suicide holds a lot of stigma and is deeply rooted in fear and misconceptions. Get the facts about the myths below here. 

  • Myth 1: Only youth who are depressed attempt suicide. 
  • Myth 2: Talking to youth about suicide will lead to and encourage suicide. 
  • Myth 3: Most youth who talk about suicide won't follow through - it's merely an attempt to get attention. 
  • Myth 4: Suicide only occurs in one small segment of the student population. 
  • Myth 5: Suicides always happen in an impulsive moment. 

Learn the facts about all of these myths here. 

Mental Health Support

Care Solace is AAPS’s free Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care Coordination Service. If you need support, Care Solace is here - free and confidential 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to connect students, staff and their families to mental health, substance abuse and ABA service providers, even during summer break.

Over 200 languages are supported, and help is available to those with and without insurance.

 

Using Care Solace is easy!

  • Call 888-515-0595 anytime. 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.  

 

Transportation 

Links to bus routes for 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.

 

Freeman Environmental Youth Council

Applications are now open for AAPS 9th, 10th and 11th graders for the Freeman Environmental Youth Council, a districtwide environmental advocacy extracurricular club. More information and application form available on the Youth Council webpage.

 

MyPowerHub

AAPS is excited to announce a new centralized hub for student information and communication called MyPowerHub. This new hub will serve as a one-stop portal designed to better serve our students and families. This streamlined system will bring together everything from grades and attendance to schedules, assignments, and communication tools, all in one easy-to-access location. By simplifying access and enhancing the user experience, we’re making it easier than ever for families to stay informed and engaged in their student’s education. This is a major step forward in our commitment to providing seamless, efficient, and supportive tools for student success.

Parents and guardians of High school students should have received an email today for how to access MyPowerHub. This is a work in progress, so some areas of the MyPowerHub may not be filled yet. We will continue to roll out access to middle school and elementary school families in the coming weeks.

MyPowerHub Intro Video

 

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.

 

WISD Countywide CTE Millage

On November 4, 2025, voters residing within the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s service area will be asked to consider a 1 mill tax that would support the expansion of Career Technical Education (CTE) learning experiences from preschool through high school graduation.

 

CTE helps students understand why they learn what they learn from PreK-12, and it opens doors to college, careers and beyond.

 

If a CTE millage is approved by voters in November, students in preschool, elementary, middle and high school would benefit from new programs and expansion of existing programs. Washtenaw County’s CTE framework would span from PreK-12, with age-appropriate experiences that build on each other as students grow and learn.

 

To learn more about the proposal, visit www.washtenawisd.org/ctemillage. The WISD is hosting community information sessions 

  • Tuesday, September 16th at 5:30 PM - Virtual via Zoom Webinar (register)
  • Wednesday, September 24th at 5:30 PM - In-person at Washtenaw ISD (register) 
  • Thursday, October 9th at 5:30 PM - In-person at Washtenaw ISD (register)

 

 

Rec and Ed 

“Try it Free” Fitness Week - final two days. Try Iyengar Yoga and GROOVE dance fitness free this weekend!  Click here to pre-register Available for Grades 9-Adult. 

 

Rec & Ed Before Care - Space Available

Need 2, 3, or 5 days of before-school care for your elementary student? Space is available at Abbot, Allen, Angell, Bach, Carpenter, Dicken, Eberwhite, Lakewood, and Logan.  Please call 734-994-2300 x 53253 or email aapschildcare@aaps.k12.mi.us to enroll and for general questions.

 

Game On! Youth Sports Fall League registration is open.  Sign up now for Basketball (2nd & 3rd Grade) or Volleyball (4th - 9th Grade). Deadline to register is September 22..  

 

Fall Youth & Adult Classes 

Check out Rec & Ed's fantastic fall line-up of early childhood (ages 0-5) and school-age youth (ages 5-14) classes and activities and adult classes for parents and caregivers here. Fall classes are filling up.  Scholarships and senior discounts are available!

 

FREE FAMILY EVENT!  The annual First Steps Fall Festival/Trike-A-Thon is Saturday, September 27th from 9:30am-12pm at Westerman Preschool & Family Center. Perfect for families with children under 7 years old.

 

Community Events and Information

A2Zero Monthly Closing Swap -  Join the Office of Sustainability and Innovations for monthly clothing swaps on the third Thursday of each month. These are a perfect way to give your gently used clothes a new home, and you might find an item of clothing you have been looking for, without having to buy it new. The next swap is Thursday, September 18th from 4 to 7 PM at City Hall. Learn more and RSVP here.

 

Ann Arbor’s 25th Annual Green Fair is Friday, September 19th along Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor from 5 to 8 PM. The free, sustainability-focused event will feature resources, education, interactive demonstrations, games, live music and more. Learn more about the Green Fair here.

 

Washtenaw County Health Department Back-to-School Day Clinics will take place on Saturday, September 20th 2025 and Saturday, October 25th. Both clinics will run between 9 AM and 2 PM. These clinics are designed to help families get caught up on required immunizations and other health services before the school year is fully underway. 

 

Bikeapalooza is a free annual family friendly education event celebrating downtown Ann Arbor’s protected bikeway network. There will be live music, giveaways, face painting, fun activities and more. Bikeapalooza will be located on the surface parking lot at the corner of William and Fifth from noon to 2 PM on Saturday, September 20th. More details here.

 

Girls in Aviation Day is targeted for boys and girls ranging grades K-12 who have a passion for or are interested in the different avenues and career opportunities in the aviation industry. The Ann Arbor Chapter of Women in Aviation is hosting the event from 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, September 20th at Pittsfield Township Park. More information including a schedule of events, organizations that will participate and required registration is available here.

 

F.E.M.M.E.S. Advance College Readiness Workshop is designed to support women+ in high school, but like all F.E.M.M.E.S activities, is open to students of all genders. The program is aimed at building participants’ confidence in the college application process as well as their understanding of educational and career opportunities in STEM. The Advance College Readiness Student Workshop will take place in-person on Saturday, September 20th from 10am to 2pm. Register by September 12th here.

 

Science Cafe - The next University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Science Cafe is focused on the power of pollinators and the threats they are currently facing. Learn about pollinator aware lawncare and new native planting strategies to support biodiversity on UM's campus on Wednesday, September 24th at 6 PM at Conor O’Neills. Learn more about the event here.

 

Learn How to Care for Your Storm Drain - Storm drains are underground pipes that carry unfiltered rainwater, melting snow and pollution directly into our rivers, lakes and drinking water. Learn how to care for your curbside storm drain and keep it free-flowing by participating in the Huron River Watershed Council’s Adopt-A-Storm-Drain program at hrwc.org/adoptastormdrain.

 

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