Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Weekly Blog 6/10

Dear Wines Families,

Well, believe it or not, we’ve reached the final week of school and my final “Wednesday Email” of the year (though there will be frequent communication this summer). This will certainly be a year we will all remember and I hope we all remember it fondly—at least as it relates to school. While the past 12 weeks or so will likely be what everyone remembers, I do hope we all take some time to reflect on the entirety of the school year and all that we have accomplished together. As I wrap up my 10th year at Wines, I can say that I am as excited for the next year as I have ever been. Regardless of what school looks like in the fall, I’m humbled to be able to lead this amazing staff and be part of this incredible school community. Thank you!

School Access
I’ve been asked by a few families about the possibility of gaining access to school to pick up items and/or drop off items. Please look for a detailed message from me tomorrow or Friday regarding this possibility. In short, we will offer VERY limited access to families next Friday, June 19th. At this time, families will have the opportunity to pick up essential items such as medication. All non-essential items will be made available later in August. Fifth grade families will have the opportunity to return instruments and library books at that time and families who are not returning to Wines will be able to drop off library books as well. However, returning families will be asked to hold on to any items until fall and leave all non-essential items at school. Again, look for more detailed information this week.

Auction Ends Friday at 8:00 PM
The live online auction of our classroom projects is still open until Friday at 8:00 PM. Below is a link if you are interested in bidding.

Enrollment for 2020-2021
This week—even as early as today—you will be receiving an email from backtoschool@a2schools.org with information about completing your enrollment for next fall. This is something we do every year. Your email will have a link to enroll that has your “snapcode” embedded. If you did this last year, nearly all of your information is pre-populated and it just takes a few minutes. It is crucial that everyone complete the enrollment. Please be on the lookout for the email.

AAPS COVID-19 Closure Survey
While our school buildings are closed due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic this spring, our educators have continued to serve students through virtual learning. You should have received a survey from K12 Insight via email that asks questions about your family's experience with district and school communication, technology access and resources, virtual learning, and community resources during this spring closure. Toward the end of the survey, questions about your preferences for the type of educational setting and supports you anticipate needing for next school year. Your responses are confidential. In case you missed the email from K12 Insight you can access the survey here. We invite you to explore the Ann Arbor Public Schools Reimagine Learning Framework 2020-2021 at https://www.a2schools.org/reimagine.

Well, that’s all for this week! Thank you again for a wonderful school year and please stay keep checking your inbox as this summer will likely have more communication than other summers!

David

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Weekly Blog 6/3

Dear Wines Families,

It is hard to believe we are into June and heading toward the last week of school. Oddly, I don’t have a lot of updates today. Due to the lifting of the Stay at Home Order, we are working on plans at the district level to close down our school buildings. I know many of you have questions about claiming students’ personal belongings, picking up medication, as well as returning items to school such as library books, instruments, etc. I hope to have more clear updates to share over the next couple of days. In addition, the lifting of the order may allow us to modify our plans to wish our 5th graders a fond farewell. Again, more information will be forthcoming as I receive guidance from district leadership.

Virtual Art Night
Thank you to all of our artists as well as Jane Lardo and Joel Wyse for organizing our virtual Art Night!  We have some amazing artists at our school! In today's email I sent a link to the slide show. I've not posted it on the blog to protect our students' privacy. 

That’s all for this week. Please be on the lookout for subsequent updates.

David

Monday, June 1, 2020

Some Thoughts on Current Events

Dear Wines Families,

After the events over the past number of days, I felt it necessary to quickly reach out to our community rather than wait until my weekly Wednesday message. Like many of you, I was struck by the horrific video of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent protests and violence around our country. I have much in my mind and heart, but I’m struggling to put my thoughts and feelings into words today.

What I can do at this moment is to speak my truth. My truth is that I am a person who can only be described as having White Privilege. I was born into a white, middle/upper class, suburban, highly educated family and I have been able to enjoy the multitude of opportunities that are seemingly bestowed upon people like me. I’ve never been without, never been racially profiled, and never been scared to simply exist. Exist is an important word here. I spoke just today with an African American colleague who shared his experiences of “DWB” (driving while black) and SWB (shopping while black). Today he spoke much more broadly of EWB—Existing While Black. White privilege means I never need to worry about it being dangerous to simply exist.

Like you, I am a parent and I want to share what I have done with my two sons this week as they have had questions about what is happening. I have been explicit with them about their own white privilege. I’ve explained to the best of my ability what that means in a way a 12-year-old can understand. I am using this moment in history to teach my children about their privilege. Not so they can somehow wipe it away—they can’t. Instead, I want them to understand their privilege deeply in order to open their eyes, identify their biases, and become active ant-racists in their lives.

What does that mean for Wines? The pandemic makes this challenging in the short term. Usually during uncertain times at school, we are able to be around the kids, listen to their social conversations, get a sense of their questions/concerns/ideas, and allow for natural discussion to take shape in our classrooms. Our teachers are masterful at managing these class conversations. Not having the opportunity to simply be with students makes supporting them very difficult. I will say that I promise not to let this moment be just another moment that comes and goes. I will be working with staff to ensure that our community of learners are actively engaged in discussions of race and that our community goes beyond our yearly focus on being “kind” and begin helping our students to directly confront practices and actions that at best, marginalize, and at worst, contribute to the harm and destruction of minority populations. And we will confront those practices at a staff level as well.

Thank you.

David