May 3, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
An arbitration hearing was held last week over a level IV grievance by teachers in the Brighton Area Schools district involving a claim that they have been working in a hazardous environment because proper social distancing could not be assured.
The grievance was filed by the Brighton Education Association, which represents the districtâs approximately 325 teachers. The teachers are in the second year of a 3-year contract that expires on Aug. 30, 2022. BEA President Barry Goode says the grievance was filed at the beginning of the school year because, according to the state, proper social distancing â even with a mask on â is a minimum of six feet. He maintains that the âReturn to Schoolâ plan, as it was called, is unsafe because proper social distancing cannot be maintained due to the physical dimensions of classrooms, school hallways, and school buses.
February 23, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
The Brighton Area Schools Board of Education reached a consensus at its meeting Monday night that the present 2-1-2 model for face-to-face learning will remain for the rest of the school year for the districtâs roughly 5,800 pre-K-through-12 students.
The 2-1-2 arrangement that has been in place since the start of the school year in September simply means all in-classroom students attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays, have a virtual, online day on Wednesdays, and are back in school on Thursdays and Fridays.
The consensus was followed by a unanimous 7-0 vote to remove the motion âreturn to 5-day in-person instructionâ from the agenda. It was stated that since continuing the 2-1-2 model in place was the recommendation of Superintendent Matt Outlaw in concert with his administrative staff, formal board action was not a requirement. It does not affect students who are in the Brighton Vi
February 13, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
The overall budget for the Brighton Area Schools is looking much brighter these days, with the revised figures presented to the Board of Education earlier this week.
Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance Mike Engelter told the board that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and all the problems it has caused, he is expecting the fund balance to increase to a healthy $7.9 million. Engelter told WHMI that, in his words, âOur beginning fund balance was $7.6 million, so as currently projected, we are hoping to increase fund balance by about $250,000.â Engelter attributed the improved financial outlook to a number of factors, but largely to the extra federal assistance.
February 3, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
Two employees of Brighton Area Schools have been recognized for their efforts during a COVID-19 incident that left an entire kindergarten class at Spencer Elementary School in quarantine, including their regular classroom teacher.
Kris Valade and Cody Alexander - who filled in on a momentâs notice â were chosen as âShining Starsâ by the Brighton Area Schoolsâ Board of Education at its meeting last week. According to Spencer Principal Bill Renner, the class â one of four kindergarten classes and a junior âKâ class at the school â was placed in quarantine last November when there were a couple of positive tests for the coronavirus. That left the class and its principal quarantined in their homes for two days. Kris Valade is a teacher in the Brighton Virtual Academy program and Alexander is a district literacy coach. Since Renner knew both teachers from previou
100 images that defined the Ann Arbor area in 2020
Updated Jan 01, 2021;
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ANN ARBOR – 2020 is history.
It will no doubt go down as one of the most unusual years in our city’s - and our country’s - history. Never content to simply be along for the ride, Ann Arbor has taken on every issue that the year presented in its own unique way.
From the eerily quiet streets that characterized the early peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April to the fever pitch of a tumultuous election year, from the isolation of self-quarantine to the vibrant culture that emerged again as we learned new ways to connect through the year, Ann Arbor’s story was written in moments big and small.