Ann Arbor Public Schools have long been respected for their excellence in music and arts education. Our teachers win awards, we are the recipients of special grants, and many of our alumni go on to excel in careers as artists and musicians. All of our students, regardless of where adulthood takes them, benefit from being educated in an environment that supports the arts. For anyone who has had the privilege to attend Orchestra Night, Choral Calvalcade, or Bands in Review (the high school showcases each year that highlight the pinnacle of our musical excellence district wide) it’s important to understand that the foundation for that excellence starts in our Elementary schools. Each year our dedicated Elementary school teachers help young children to learn the importance and structure of performance. Students are able to rehearse, learn concert etiquette, and gain confidence when we prioritize the space and resources necessary to do so. Unfortunately the new building plans for Elementary schools across the district have failed to include these essential features. The new schools will have NO permanent stages or dedicated performance spaces.

Please read more about this directly from the wonderful music teachers across the AAPS district:

"The current plans for the new AAPS Elementary Schools DO NOT fulfill the commitments to support the performing arts as stated in the 2019 Bond Proposal literature, which is both disheartening and dishonest to the stakeholders who approved this bond. Instead of ensuring that these buildings give students access to the same performing arts facilities (or better) that their current building does, plans for these new schools suggest using temporary pop-up platforms to be placed in one of the schools gathering areas. While temporary pop-up platforms may appear to offer flexibility and cost savings, relying on them as the primary performance and presentation space in our new elementary schools is a decision that overlooks the real needs of educators, students, and the broader school community. This solution is neither adequate nor tenable and is a significant downgrade from what students have access to in their current buildings.

Over the past few years, music teachers have been advocating for the importance of an appropriate performance space in these new elementary buildings in many ways: through building planning meetings, office hours with members of Gilbane and facilities teams, meetings with designers and architects, conversations with their building principals and fine arts coordinator, as well as continuing to advocate personally with district leadership. Throughout this process, many have felt unheard and dismissed. As stewards of the AAPS music programs beginning in the K-5 years, where each student begins their musical journey, we know what it takes to provide exceptional musical opportunities for our students now and for generations of students to come. Though we each have our own teaching styles, strengths, and passions, we are resolute in our conviction that each new AAPS elementary school should include a permanent stage. We appreciate the work of the architects and designers, while at the same time question why our collective knowledge, experience and expertise on this aspect of the design is not being given the weight and consideration it deserves." - Excerpt from the Music Teacher Open Letter

Attractive new school buildings are nice to have, but they are not the heart and soul of what we voted for when we passed the billion dollar bond. We voted to support infrastructure investments that make the teaching and learning experience better. Getting rid of permanent stages in our elementary schools will happen at the expense of our greater purpose; to responsibly spend this billion dollar investment. What is this all for if we are left with less functional facilities to learn and teach than we have now? More broadly, why is a design and planning process that continually ignores the input of the community being allowed to continue?

We are urging AAPS leadership to amend the building plans to include the necessary infrastructure to continue with our excellent arts programming:

1. A permanent stage that is large enough to accommodate a grade level of performers in that school. These stages should also have proper acoustics, lighting, sightlines and structural features such as backstage access and wide steps, running the length of the front of the stage as well as ramps on the side and/or backstage.

2. A space connected with the stage that is large enough to hold an entire school community.

So what’s wrong with the current plan?

The current plan for the new elementary schools is to have “flex spaces”. Areas that often cannot hold the entire school for assemblies and community events. We are being pushed to accept pop up temporary stages, which come with a host of issues and failure points. According to AAPS teachers:

• Portable platforms are no substitute for a dedicated, permanent stage. They lack the professional features required for high-quality events—such as proper acoustics, lighting, sightlines and structural features such as backstage access and wide stairs in front—and they simply can’t support the wide range of activities that take place in a vibrant school environment. They are noisy and are not designed to be a 70-year replacement for a permanent stage.

• Temporary pop-up platforms must be assembled and taken apart multiple times each year, sometimes multiple times in a single week. This repeated handling leads to faster deterioration, instability, and a higher risk of accidents—especially when students are walking, dancing, or performing on them.

• Moveable platforms would need to be set-up for rehearsals days, weeks, and sometimes months ahead of the performance, reducing the space in the area that these are set-up in. Students and teachers need many hours of rehearsal and practice to create high quality and educational programming. If the platforms are set-up in either the cafeteria or the gym, it would severely impact either meal service capabilities or gym class.

• This proposed plan calls into question who is going to be setting up and maintaining these proposed moveable platforms? What funds will be used for repair and replacement of these platforms? The set-up time for these platforms will be extensive and typically require a 4-person team.

• Schools without a permanent stage would no longer qualify for Michigan Section 33 Arts Grants as a permanent stage is the educational standard for elementary students to experience and interact with the performing arts. This would create further inequity within the district, as schools without a permanent stage would miss out on a significant funding opportunity that could further enhance their performing arts programs.

The bond planning process has been full of missteps around community engagement, but it’s not too late to address the concerns of important stakeholders. Please listen to and respect the professional wisdom of our hard working music teachers. We want our dollars to pay for infrastructure that serves many generations of students to come.

Thank you,

Concerned parents and community members of AAPS

To read more from the Teachers’ Open Letter:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQtTUypSAADLvSzB8O2iO-OE-wlGnYh34I3V7tAoOAaLNY0yPtq7jactkKG_zFGwYHU6UWxbzflI1Vv/pub?urp=gmail_link