In
early
November,
the
University of Pioneer High School
parent Charmelle Kelsey filed a
Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
against the Ann Arbor Public
Schools on Nov. 30, in the latest of
several attempts to make AAPS
acknowledge racial disparities in
their school system. The suit claims
AAPS withheld public documents
Kelsey believed would provide
evidence of racial discrimination at
Pioneer High School, according to
a press release from the University
of Michigan Civil Rights Litigation
Initiative.
In August 2020, the CRLI
sent a letter to AAPS on behalf
of Charmelle and her daughter,
then-Pioneer High School student
Makayla Kelsey. The letter claims
that a pattern of institutional racism
exists at Pioneer High School, based
on interviews conducted with the
Kelseys and other students of color.
Earlier this year, Charmelle
Kelsey and Makayla Kelsey filed
a Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act complaint with the
U.S. Department of Education
and another complaint with the
Michigan Department of Civil
Rights against AAPS. The FERPA
investigation
concluded
earlier
this year when AAPS admitted
that Pioneer High School teacher
Michele Macke violated federal
law by displaying students’ grades
on a public SmartBoard. The
Department of Education closed
its
investigation
after
AAPS
acknowledged fault and it was
ensured Ms. Macke underwent
additional FERPA training. The
Michigan Department of Civil
Rights investigation is still ongoing.
There
are
currently
two
petitions circulating calling for
the removal of Ms. Macke from
Pioneer High School. The petitions
cite Ms. Macke’s history of racial
antagonism and claim she has
created a hostile environment for
students. Combined, the petitions
have amassed more than 1,000
signatures.
Charmelle
Kelsey
filed
the
most recent lawsuit after the Ann
Arbor School District did not
provide documents in response
to FOIA requests she submitted
on August 30, 2021, in a timely
manner. Kelsey submitted the
FOIA requests to determine if
photographs of the Black Student
Union’s senior members were
excluded from the 2020 yearbook,
why the Black Student Union was
excluded from the 2020 yearbook,
if there are discrepancies between
disciplinary actions taken against
white students and students of
color and to obtain the terms of
engagement between AAPS and the
Dykema Gossett law firm hired to
investigate racial hostilities in the
AAPS system.
Charmelle Kelsey also hoped
the documents requested under the
FOIA would provide information on
why Ms. Macke, the teacher found
guilty of violating the FERPA, was
the only faculty member to greet
and shake hands with seniors at
Pioneer High School’s graduation
ceremony.
“We’re tired of Pioneer High
School whitewashing over the race
discrimination that our children
must deal with,” Charmelle Kelsey
said in the press release. “The
school doesn’t want to give us
the information we’re asking for
because it would show everyone
how bad things have been for
Makayla and the other Black
students and how little the school
has done to stop it.”
Under
FOIA,
government
agencies, upon receiving a request,
must provide public documents
within a reasonable time and a
reasonable
estimate
by
which
the documents will be fulfilled.
According to the lawsuit, AAPS did
not provide the required estimate.
Charmelle Kelsey’s attorneys
inquired into when they could
expect AAPS to produce the
documents on October 26, 2021,
and AAPS did not respond to that
inquiry, the lawsuit alleges. Since
the FOIA request was submitted,
AAPS has provided only one
allegedly incomplete document in
response to Charmelle Kelsey’s 23
requests, according to the Kelseys’
attorneys.
Ben
Mordechai-Stongin,
a
student attorney with the Civil
Rights Initiative at the University
of Michigan Law School, which is
representing Charmelle Kelsey in
her suit, said in the press release
this is a part of AAPS’s history of
avoiding issues related to alleged
racial hostility within its schools.
“The District’s failure to comply
with state law and provide these
documents is consistent with a
pattern of hiding racial problems
at the school,” Mordechai-Strongin
said in the press release.
Daily
News
Editor
Hannah
Mackay and Staff Reporter Paige
Hodder can be reached at mackayh@
umich.edu and phodder@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Wednesday, December 8, 2021
NEWS BRIEFS
Ann Arbor Public Schools
will close Friday, Dec. 3 due
to threats of violence made
against the district on social
media, AAPS Superintendent
Jeanice
Swift
announced
in an email to families the
night of Dec. 2. A copy of this
email was obtained by The
Michigan Daily.
Swift
wrote
that
the
district
received
notice
of numerous social media
posts threatening potential
violence and chose to close all
schools “out of an abundance
of caution.”
“While these posts have
not been determined to be
credible at this time, the
volume is quite high,” Swift
wrote in her Dec. 2 email.
“Closing schools will allow
school administrators and law
enforcement an opportunity
to investigate all reported
concerns.”
Schools around southeast
Michigan have been on high-
alert on Dec. 2 following the
deadly shooting at Oxford
High School in Oxford, Mich.
on Nov. 30. Four Oxford High
School students were killed
after a 15-year old sophomore
student
opened
fire
the
morning of Nov. 30, injuring
six other students and one
teacher. The suspect, Ethan
Crumbley,
currently
faces
terrorism and first degree
murder charges.
Following
the
shooting,
over a dozen schools in the
metro Detroit area closed on
Dec. 2 in response to possible
threats on social media.
AAPS remained open on
Dec. 2 but expressed support
for students and families who
have decided to stay home
due to concerns over threats
to schools in the district
over social media, according
to emails from Swift and
Huron High School Principal
Ché Carter obtained by The
Daily. Approximately half of
students reportedly stayed
home
from
Pioneer
High
School,
according
to
the
student news site The Pioneer
Optimist.
Students at Dexter High
School and Huron High School
participated in walkouts on
Dec. 2 to advocate against
gun violence. Other schools,
including
Pioneer
High
School, organized a “blue and
gold day” to show support for
the Oxford community.
Swift
told
the
AAPS
community
in
a
Dec.
2
morning
email
that
the
district
would
increase
police presence in schools
Dec. 2. In the afternoon,
Swift sent another email to
families, saying the district
is working with the Ann
Arbor
Police
Department,
Washtenaw County Sheriff,
the University of Michigan
Division
of
Public
Safety
and Security, Michigan State
Police and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation to monitor
social
media
threats
and
ensure the safety of students
and staff.
“We understand the very
real pressure and fear that
many students are feeling and
know that our parents and
staff are equally concerned,”
Swift wrote in the Dec. 2
afternoon email. “We also
understand the priority of
attending school every day
when we can safely do so; we
want our students learning
in our AAPS classrooms. We
remain committed to our
relationship with local law
enforcement, who take every
report or rumor seriously and
investigate immediately, so
that we can safely convene
school.”
The
district
has
faced
backlash from Ann Arbor
community
members
in
recent
months
due
to
increased
school
closures
due to staffing shortages and
COVID-19 concerns.
Daily News Editor Kristina
Zheng
can
be
reached
at
krizheng@umich.edu.
Daily
Staff Reporters Kate Weiland
and Shannon Stocking can be
reached at kmwblue@umich.
edu and sstockin@umich.edu.
Ann Arbor Public Schools
closed Dec. 3 due to threats of
violence on social media
KRISTINA ZHENG,
SHANNON STOCKING &
KATE WEILAND
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporters
Multiple metro Detroit school districts announce closures
following deadly Oxford High School shooting
ANN ARBOR
HANNAH MACKAY &
PAIGE HODDER
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporter
Parent files FOIA lawsuit against
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Public records would show evidence of discrimination, suit claims
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