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Ann Arbor’s youngest students return to school buildings for hybrid learning

Preschoolers arrive to school in Ann Arbor on March 25, 2021. (Kevin Karr | Ann Arbor Public Schools)

ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Public Schools welcomed preschool- through kindergarten-aged students back into school buildings on Thursday as part of its hybrid learning plan for the remainder of the school year.

The district is starting with the youngest students and the students with the greatest needs, and will bring back older students in phases.

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Here’s the timeline:

Stage 1: March 25

  • PK-12 students in self-contained classroom placements
  • Preschool students
  • Young fives students
  • Kindergarten students
  • Small groups - students grades 6-12

Stage 2: April 5

  • First and second grade students

Stage 3: April 12

  • Third, fourth and fifth grade students

Stage 4: Beginning April 12

  • Begin phased return of students grades 6-12

For those who opted for the hybrid model, in-person school will take place two days a week in cohorts, either on Mondays and Tuesdays or Thursdays and Fridays in order to avoid large numbers of people in school buildings. Wednesdays are designated as asynchronous learning days.

Ann Arbor is one of the last districts in the state of Michigan to return to in-person learning after more than a year of virtual schooling.

According to a recent survey, 67.3 percent of K-12 students in Ann Arbor opted to return to a hybrid model while 24.5 percent opted to remain virtual; 8.2 percent did not respond.

In her March 10 update, AAPS Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift shared what hybrid learning will look like and the district’s next steps.

Many schools and the superintendent shared pictures and videos of students and teachers back in the classroom on Thursday morning.

See some of those moments below: