I’m just so sad today. I feel like any hope for a return to school before September of 2021 is dead. We totally screwed this up in Ann Arbor as a community. #a2schoolboard #a2council #a2r2 1/11

We opened up @UMich to thousands of students, allowed them to have frat parties, visit South U haunts, and live in close quarters in and off campus, and now college student cases are getting out of control. All while keeping our public schools closed. 2/11

While that may have been the financially wise thing to do for the university and for our local businesses it feels ethically and spiritually bankrupt while I watch my 5yo child and his peers in tiny little boxes on an iPad every weekday. 3/11

Especially knowing what we now know about the incidents and spread about COVID-19 in elementary student versus college student populations. FFS, Rick’s is opening. Freaking Rick’s. What happened to #schoolsbeforebars? 4/11

Now we’re getting into the colder months and every indicator is looking worse. We wasted so much time this late summer and fall. We could have had elementary schools open, outside classes. Now I’m afraid it’s going to be Zoom indefinitely. 5/11

In addition to being really sad I’m also really angry. Anyone without a young child at AAPS right now has seemed to throw their hands up and say, “Gosh, I feel really bad, but what else could we have done?” 6/11

I don’t know how I can ever forgive this community, its leaders, for normalizing this set of circumstances for not just my family, but the thousands of others, some in a much more difficult spot. Online school for little kids is not school. 7/11

My son tried to make a connection over Zoom school Friday. The students were talking about books they’ve read “a gazillion times.” Another child mentioned “Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.” 8/11

As he’s been taught turn to not turn on his mic and speak over anyone, my son made the ASL sign for “book,” what they’ve been taught to do when they want to say, “Hey, I like that book too!” 9/11

To the amazing teacher’s credit, she DID notice and tried to point out that my son and the other child liked the same book, tried to help them forge a connection. But then another kid turned on their mic to yell about...something. And the moment was lost. 10/11

My son got over it quickly, as he always seemingly does, but I was heartbroken. Silly connections like that when you’re 5 in many cases are the beginning of lifelong friendships. And my son has been robbed of that opportunity this year and for who knows how long. 11/11