Ann Arbor Parents for Schools

Some of the questions raised at our June 12 meeting took different paths to the same topic: is the system broken? Are too many kids falling through the cracks? And what can we do about it? We did not get to address these questions at the meeting, so I invite everyone to weigh in on these issues.

“How can you expect parents, teachers, and the community to continue to support and not give up on a school system, which seems to be giving up on our kids. For example, fewer electives at middle school, bigger class sizes across the board. These are items that decrease the effectiveness of our children’s education.”

We had a number of questions raised about teachers at our June 12 meeting, only some of which were addressed by our panelists that night. The questions revolve around different perspectives on teachers: from inside, with concerns about morale and support, and from outside, with concerns about effectiveness and misperception. Here is a sample:

“While teachers have been asked to make repeated concessions in recent years, persistent negative attitudes about the union have made it difficult to build public support for increased revenues for schools. What can all parties – teachers, parents, administrators – do to overcome this obstacle? What substantive steps can the Education Assn. [union] take to address the concerns raised?”