“When I first walked the halls of Pioneer, I had no direction,” Pioneer senior Buturo Bartolomei said during his speech towards the AAPS Board of Education. “I didn’t pay attention and didn’t look towards my future. It wasn’t until I met my Algebra 2 AC teacher Mr. Coleman when I started to realize the importance of my education.”
During the last open AAPS board meeting on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m., several different students in the Ann Arbor area, like Bartolomei, came to speak out during public commentary to the board about the impacts of the continuous contract negotiations with teachers. Currently, negotiations continue to persist between the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA), representing the Ann Arbor teachers’ union, and the AAPS board. Currently, teachers are working on expired contracts as negotiations for more competitive pay and wages continue to be in question.
For many students like Bartolomei, their high school experiences and educational background has and continues to be shaped by the many different staff members in the building. From math teachers to counseling offices, the resources that are unique to the AAPS district come through teachers for many students.
“The connection I built with Mr. Coleman strengthened my understanding of my academic potential and where I belong,” Bartolomei said. “When the contracts of teachers who can have the same life changing impact Mr. Coleman had on me are cut, we risk failing the core purpose of education.”
Besides just current AAPS students, graduated alumni also came out to the meeting to speak towards the board about their experiences post-high school.
“I would not be where I am today without the teachers and staff members that supported me throughout high school,” Huron High School alumni and University of Michigan freshman Selene Koremonos-Tsebelis said. “Ann Arbor Public School teachers are exceptional. They deserve compensation and support that reflects that.”
According to Koremonos-Tsebelis, the importance of taking time to show up and speak about her own personal experiences was
crucial to help the AAPS Board understand how essential teachers are to the education of students. It is not just about the contract themselves, but proper compensation for their work.
“Students are losing access to extracurriculars, which impacts their future opportunities and chances to gain new experiences,” Koremonos-Tsebelis said. “The status of these negotiations impacts teachers, students, families, the surrounding community, and the reputation of the district as a whole, and the board needs to own that.”
As negotiations continue, students continue advocating for teachers, with a group of students led by different AAPS students across the district planning to speak out during the next board meeting this week on March 11 at 7 p.m.
“Elections for four seats on this school board are coming up later this year,” Koremonos-Tsbelis said. “You were elected to adequately and transparently represent this school community, and that includes working with them, on new policies, on contracts, on everything. We are all paying close attention to the steps you take next.”
