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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