Live-Blogging the Ann Arbor School Board Meetings

Nope, not me.

Monet Tiedemann has started live blogging Ann Arbor school board meetings. Tonight is the first night! 

For a time, Monet Tiedemann wrote the Ann Arbor Chronicle Ann Arbor school board coverage.

Thanks Monet! Check it out--

https://annarbivore.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/aaps-board-meeting-15-june-2015/


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Upcoming Meetings About the AAPS Bond (May 5, 2015 Election)

There are two items on the May election that concern the schools. One is a local Ann Arbor school bond proposal (this is essentially a renewal). The other is Proposal 1, which is a statewide initiative that involves both schools and roads. I'm supporting both of them.

There are some upcoming meetings about the local school bond proposal. If you have questions, this is a good way to learn more.

Five Community Meetings On the May 5 Bond Proposal 

Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift will host five community meetings this month to share information about the bond proposal appearing on the May 5 ballot.  

Each community meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the following locations:

• Tuesday, April 14,  Slauson Middle School, Media Center

• Thursday, April 16, Tappan Middle School, Media Center

• Tuesday, April 21, Scarlett Middle School, Media Center

• Thursday, April 23,  Clague Middle School, Media Center

• Thursday, April 30, Forsythe Middle School, Media Center

Superintendent Swift encourages all citizens to attend and learn more about the proposal and have the opportunity to ask questions. 

The bond proposal would raise $33 million for capital improvements across the district’s 32 buildings, while keeping the millage rate at or below the current 2.45 mills for taxpayers.  Improvements in the plan include security upgrades at school entrances, new musical instruments, the replacement of more than 100 buses over five years, and new furniture and other upgrades in classrooms across the district.
More information on the bond proposal is available at: 

http://news.a2schools.org/community-bond-meetings-begin-next-week/And
http://news.a2schools.org/aaps-millage-request-may-5-2015/

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Listen & Learn Tour: Get Your Thoughts In!

Dr. Jeanice Swift's Listen & Learn Tour is continuing. She is only about 1/3 of the way through.

If you can make it to one of the meetings (even if it's not "your" school, and even if you are a taxpayer without kids in school), please go. All meetings are from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

If you can't make it to a meeting, there is a survey that you can take. Here it is.

[Even better--at the bottom of this page there are links so you can take the survey in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Spanish!]

And by the way, Dr. Swift has a blog. I really liked this excerpt from her blog*, about the listening tour:

Top-performing organizations are characterized by their willingness to seek input and their effectiveness in leveraging feedback to improve processes and outcomes. Successful teams prioritize what they hear from their ‘customers’ to improve their work; they specialize in continuous improvement of service to stakeholders.

Exactly what I've been saying for years. (I love it when people agree with me!)

And if you've been to one of the meetings, please share your experiences with us in the comments. What was it like? Did you feel like Dr. Swift, and others, were listening?

Monday, Oct. 28: Eberwhite

Tuesday, Oct. 29: Huron

Wednesday, Oct. 30: Wines

Monday, Nov. 4: Haisley

Wednesday, Nov. 6: Logan

Thursday, Nov. 7: Pioneer

Monday, Nov. 11: Community

Tuesday, Nov. 12: Burns Park

Thursday, Nov. 14: Thurston

Monday, Nov. 18: Tappan

Tuesday, Nov. 19: Lakewood

Thursday, Nov. 21: Northside

Monday, Nov. 25: Lawton

Monday, Dec. 2: King

Tuesday, Dec. 3: Roberto Clemente

Wednesday, Dec. 4: Dicken

Thursday, Dec. 5: Skyline

Monday, Dec. 9: Clague

Tuesday, Dec. 10: Pittsfield

Thursday, Dec. 12: A2 Tech

*Really, it's less like a blog and more like a column in AAPS News, but that's o.k.