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 
michigandaily.com

SCARLETT BICKERTON

Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

GEORGE WEYKAMP, SAMMY 
SUSSMAN AND NINA MOLINA
Summer News Editor and Daily Staff Reporters

