Dr.
Jeanice
Swift,
superintendent
of
Ann
Arbor
Public Schools (AAPS), announced
on May 13 that the School Age
Child Care program (SACC) will
not be offered during the 2021-
2022 school year. According to
AAPS, SACC is a state-licensed
child care program designed to
meet the needs of working parents
by offering planned and supervised
activities before and after school .
This decision stunned AAPS
parents
and
was
met
with
immediate
backlash.
AAPS
parents
Liz
Lin
and
Andrea
Huang co-authored a petition to
resume the program. The petition
currently has over 1100 signatures
from parents in the AAPS district.
While AAPS has been operating
under a hybrid teaching mode since
May 3, the childcare program has
not been available. Some parents
have been making their plans
to return to work around the
assumption that SACC would be
available for their young children.
“We planned on me staying home
until school resumed this fall,”
AAPS parent David Hanss said.
“Now, we’re in a position where
we may have to hire a babysitter or
nanny for before and after school.
Getting a job and not knowing
how we’ll handle childcare will be
difficult.”
During a May 13 community
information session, Swift said
there
was
currently
no
plan
for hybrid instruction in AAPS
programming for Fall 2021, as early
childhood education through 12th
grade will return to full, in-school
learning and activities five days per
week.
In a May 14 superintendent
update to the AAPS community,
Swift said the two main factors in
the decision to not offer childcare
were concerns of the COVID-
related complications of the large
group nature of SACC and a
staffing shortage.
“AAPS has used a large group
model for childcare, with students
in the cafeteria or gym, which is
not a COVID safe model that will
work well for children this fall,”
Swift said. “Staffing such a large
program has presented a challenge
for several years, now exacerbated
by COVID.”
A shortage of child care workers
has been a nationwide problem,
exacerbated by the pandemic.
AAPS did not post any openings
for these positions to help alleviate
this concern in preparation for the
fall.
The capacity limitations that
Swift said are a main concern
for SACC operation have been
revised by both the Center for
Disease Control (CDC) and the
State of Michigan. CDC data
for Washtenaw County shows a
consistent downward trend of new
COVID-19 cases, and provides
guidelines about how childcare
programs can operate safely.
Last
week,
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer said there will be no
limit on the number of people
for indoor gatherings as of July
1st. Additionally, the Michigan
Department
of
Licensing
and
Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has
provided
guidelines
for
safe
childcare
operations
during
COVID-19.
“Schools
are
strongly
encouraged to allow child care and
after school programming to occur
in person in school buildings,” the
State of Michigan guidelines for
safe school operation reads.
Some parents were concerned
that AAPS never consulted with
Washtenaw
County
Health
Department
(WCHD)
about
their decision to not offer SACC.
Additionally,
AAPS
will
not
provide the list of the experts Swift
said they are consulting weekly
about this issue, despite public
records requests for one. Swift did
not respond to multiple requests
for comment about this concern
in time for publication, and the
WCHD would not comment on the
record.
Walter Lasecki, a University
of Michigan computer science
professor, will resign on Aug.
30 following the publication of
a Michigan Daily investigation
that
exposed
multiple
allegations of sexual misconduct
against
him.
Lasecki’s
resignation
was
announced
in
a
Friday
night
email
from Computer Science and
Engineering (CSE) department
chairs. Effective immediately,
Lasecki will have no in-person
contact
with
University
of
Michigan students, according to
the email.
The U-M Office of Public
Affairs
confirmed
Saturday
morning
that
Lasecki
had
submitted his resignation.
In another email obtained by
The Michigan Daily, University
Title IX coordinator Elizabeth
Seney sought information on
22
previously
undisclosed
accounts of sexual harassment
by Lasecki, writing on Friday to
an individual with knowledge
of the allegations. An identical
email was sent to two other
individuals, The Daily learned
Friday.
“I
understand
that
you
may be aware of a total of 22
individuals who have disclosed
they’ve
experienced
sexual
misconduct
by
the
faculty
member,
many
of
whose
concerns have not previously,
to
my
understanding,
been
reported to the University,”
Seney wrote. “I also understand
that you may be aware of
concerns of inappropriate and
possibly retaliatory contact of
a University graduate student
related to their prior reporting
of concerns.”
Seney wrote that she hoped
the individual would be able
to provide the Title IX office
with the information necessary
to
ensure
the
appropriate
action is taken against sexual
misconduct.
Thursday, June 3, 2021
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 112
© 2020 The Michigan Daily
NEWS ....................................
OPINION................................
MiC.........................................
MULTIMEDIA........................
ARTS.......................................
STATEMENT..........................
SPORTS.................................
ARTS
Protest History
Reflecting on protest and
movements that have
occured on campus and
within college culture
>> SEE PAGE 11
NEWS
U-M’s fall semester
Vaccinations are crucial to
plans for campus life and
academics
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
TikTok Safety
TikTok may be fun, but
it’s a digital fantasy and
cautious reality
>> SEE PAGE 5
MULTIMEDIA
One Year Since
Geroge Floyd
Ann Arbor community
members protest against
police brutality
>> SEE PAGE 9
SPORTS
Matt Frey
Baseball player Matt Frey
contributes within the
team and makes the most
of his time at Michigan
> SEE PAGE 16
inside
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
AAPS decision to not ofer childcare in upcoming
school year causes backlash
Walter Lasecki
resigns efective
August 30 amid new
sexual harassment
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
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Daily Staff Reporter
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SUSSMAN AND NINA MOLINA
Summer News Editor and Daily Staff Reporters