People protested Sunday outside Pioneer High School, pushing for Ann Arbor Public Schools to allow more students back into the classroom.

AAPS plans to reopen for hybrid learning for grades 4-12 on May 3.

Ann Arbor Public Schools announces it is delaying the return to school for its older students due to "rapid," "significant" area COVID cases.

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. AdAccording 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. See some of those moments below:@A2_Carpenter We are excited to welcome all of our students to Hybrid Learning!

ANN ARBOR – Local parent Nick Bagley has penned an open letter to the Michigan legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calling for legislation that would ensure children return to school full time this fall. “I think a lot of parents are feeling kind of hopeless about this school year,” said Bagley. Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift has publicly said that school will be back full time in the fall. “They’ve shredded the trust they had in the community.”He criticized the state’s decision to leave school openings during the pandemic up to the districts.

Gretchen Whitmer has been vocal about her desire to see all school districts off some kind of in-person learning option by Monday. A group of parents spoke with Local 4 about what they think is best for their children. They acknowledged that Whitmer wanting to return to in-person learning by March 1 was a step in the right direction, but they still want her to do more. The parents are urging Whitmer to take more action while it still can be done. “We just need to get them back into what they’re used to and what’s been proven to be best for our children,” Miller said.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After being fully remote for almost a year, the Ann Arbor Public Schools will be transitioning to a hybrid option by the end of March. Ann Arbor is one of the only districts in the state which has not offered any type of hybrid learning option up to this point. READ: Parent advocacy group ‘celebrates’ Ann Arbor School Board’s decision to offer hybrid learningAdThe Ann Arbor City Council sent a letter to the board asking it to clarify when an in-person option would be available. Starting March 25, Preschool, young fives and kindergarten will have an in-person hybrid option. Gretchen Whitmer had pushed for an in-person option to be offered across the state by March 1.

Ann Arbor Reasonable Return co-founder Jesse Kauffman holds a sign at a rally organized by the group in downtown Ann Arbor on Jan. 30, 2021. ANN ARBOR – Parent group Ann Arbor Reasonable Return released a statement on Wednesday afternoon in response to the Board of Education’s vote to offer a hybrid learning option. “Today, we celebrate the vote by the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education to offer Hybrid/Hyflex learning,” reads the statement. The grassroots organization founded by local parents, including medical professionals, has been advocating for the safe return to face-to-face learning. Ann Arbor is the only district in Washtenaw County and one of few in the state that has remained virtual since the coronavirus pandemic began.

ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor Board of Education voted 6-1 on Wednesday to approve a recommendation brought forward by Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift to transition to an in-person hybrid learning model starting March 25. Swift reiterated AAPS’ original hybrid plan that students will attend school two days per week in order to achieve proper physical distancing in school buildings:The hybrid learning plan involves the assignment of students to an A or B cohort group. Students attend school two days per week, Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday; Wednesdays will remain a virtual, asynchronous day. According to its Feb. 17 motion, the School Board proposed that students with the greatest needs return to school buildings on March 22. The School Board will reconvene its regular meeting Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

FARMINGTON, Mich. – As Michigan students approach a full calendar year of learning primarily from home, there is growing impatience to get them back to full-time face-to-face learning. Farmington Public Schools currently has a hybrid model, meaning that about a quarter of students are in the building at the same time. The district’s school board affirmed that that’s the plan it would like to keep until next year. At Tuesday’s board meeting, members read comments submitted by parents urging them to both reconsider and stay the course. Just 15% of districts planned to be fully remote, down from 35% in January.

ANN ARBOR – In a rare move, Mayor Christopher Taylor and several members of City Council have sent a letter to the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education urging them to stick to their plan of returning to a hybrid learning model. “Ann Arbor students and families are stretched to the breaking point,” reads the letter. If the science shifts, or a virus variant changes everything, Ann Arbor will understand. If the science shifts, or a virus variant changes everything, Ann Arbor will understand. AdThe City of Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Public Schools have a long and successful history of working together to promote our children’s education, community, and health.

A high school student holds up a sign at a protest outside Skyline High School in Ann Arbor on Feb. 20, 2021. ANN ARBOR – Dozens of students and parents stood outside Skyline High School holding signs and giving speeches on Saturday, calling for the Ann Arbor Board of Education to continue with their original plans to return to school buildings beginning in March. AdAnn Arbor Public Schools students hold up signs at a rally to reopen schools at Skyline High School on Feb. 20, 2021. Skyline High School senior Eli Hendricks addresses a crowd of students and parents outside his school in Ann Arbor on Feb. 20, 2021. Signs posted outside Skyline High School's student entrance in Ann Arbor call for the return to hybrid learning.

ANN ARBOR – More than 350 local physicians and psychologists have signed an open letter and petition to the Ann Arbor Board of Education and Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift, urging them to reopen schools for students who choose to learn in-person by Gov. “The scientific, health and psychological consensus is clear: It is possible for children and teachers to safely return to school with proper mitigation measures. Ad“My own experience of seeing the devastation caused by school closure among Ann Arbor’s children has been eye-opening and heartbreaking. “It’s time for Ann Arbor to make the rational decision to allow students and families a choice of in-person schooling. AAPS students deserve better.”This is the third letter that Ann Arbor healthcare providers has sent to AAPS and coincides with efforts by parents to reopen the schools due to negative impacts their children are facing during the closures.

Members of parent group Ann Arbor Reasonable Return hold a banner at a rally demanding the return of hybrid learning in downtown Ann Arbor on Jan. 30, 2021. ANN ARBOR – Parent group Ann Arbor Reasonable Return rallied outside the downtown post office on Saturday afternoon to demand that Ann Arbor Public Schools reopen by March 1 -- Gov. Ann Arbor Public Schools have been closed since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. Parents and children hold signs at a rally calling to reopen Ann Arbor Public Schools in downtown Ann Arbor on Jan. 30, 2021. They wear them all day long.”AdAlan Simpson-Vlach with his wife, Rita, and daughter Marguerite at a rally to reopen Ann Arbor Public Schools on Jan. 30, 2021.

Screenshot from the live Q&A session by experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on Jan. 28, 2021. Mott Children’s Hospital hosted a live Q&A session for parents who have questions and concerns about returning to face-to-face learning during the coronavirus pandemic. “Schools do need to keep kids from congregating,” said Tribble, who said that talking in close groups does raise the risk of transmission. “Mask wearing remains number one for population spread,” said Terry Bravender, chief of adolescent medicine at Mott.

Pupils arrive at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford, England, as schools across England return after the Christmas break, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)ANN ARBOR – After months of remote learning, some students are returning to schools as districts begin to reopen. Returning to school may bring social, emotional and behavioral challenges for some children and teens as they readjust to classes during a pandemic. Mott Children’s Hospital will host a live Q&A session with its experts to answer families’ top questions about undergoing these changes at noon on Thursday. “Parents may have questions about everything from COVID-19 exposure risks to supporting their child or teen’s emotional, social and mental health.

A sign for Ann Arbor Reasonable Return is posted next to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Dec. 9, 2020. ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Reasonable Return, a grassroots organization founded by local parents, will be holding a rally on Saturday in downtown Ann Arbor in support of Gov. The group, which also goes by A2R2, is made up of parents and medical professionals. The rally will begin at noon at the Ann Arbor Post Office at 200 E. Liberty St.“The community is urging Ann Arbor Public Schools to follow state guidance and finally offer the safe in-person option they advertised to the community at the start of the year,” read a press release. More than 500 parents have already petitioned the district, and the advocacy group presented a letter from more than 130 area doctors and pediatric nurses recommending a safe return to in-person learning.

ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Public Schools announced in an email to teachers and parents on Wednesday morning that the district is aiming to begin hybrid in-school learning in early March. According to the initial timeline, Stage 4 is targeted to begin after spring break. Whitmer encourages Michigan public schools to reopen for in-person learning by March 1In-person learning will be offered for all levels and families who decide to stay home and continue virtual learning have the option to do so. As the district monitors COVID cases and vaccinations ahead or reopening, the Superintendent will recommend specific target dates to reopen in February, approved by the Board of Education and confirmed with staff and parents. Final start dates will be announced two weeks prior to the anticipated return of students.

NORTHVILLE, Mich. – Northville Public Schools has worked with a hybrid school year with students learning in person. On Monday, the district met to discuss the future of in-person learning. ”Whatever happens it’s not going to please everyone,” said district superintendent Mary Kay Gallagher, who laid out a recommendation for the district. During public comment, several parents, who are also doctors and healthcare workers, pushed hard for in-person learning. READ: Michigan’s ‘3-week pause’ COVID restrictions in effect: What to knowYou can watch the full report in the video posted above.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. The West Bloomfield School District announced Thursday its plans for reopening K-12 schools in the fall amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Elementary and middle school students, however, will engage in a blended-learning model in the fall while in Phase 4. Officials say cohorts will be comprised of about 15 students in elementary schools and about 18 students in middle schools. Community members can learn more about the districts fall plans during Zoom presentations at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on July 21. Regions experiencing phases 5-6 can also offer traditional in-person learning with fewer protocols in place.