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Posted on Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 2:49 p.m.

New Ann Arbor superintendent visits schools on first day of class

By Amy Biolchini

Hovering outside the door of a kindergarten classroom at Logan Elementary School in Ann Arbor, a set of parents watched carefully as their daughter participated in a group activity.

Also in the classroom was the new superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools, Jeanice Kerr Swift, sitting in a child-sized chair at a table, watching the students interact with their teacher on the first day of school.

As she quietly excused herself from the classroom, Swift noticed the man and the woman watching their daughter. They were from China, the man said, and they were worried that their daughter would have difficulty understanding what was going on.

"Don't worry," Swift said to the couple reassuringly. "Your daughter is going to do just fine."

Tuesday marked the first day of school in Ann Arbor and the second full day on the job for Swift.

Swift spent all of Tuesday touring 11 Ann Arbor Public School buildings—greeting staff, parents and students with a warm smile and asking everyone to call her by her first name.

In the morning, she was on the northeast side of town at Huron High School, Clague Middle School and a host of elementary schools: Logan, Thurston, King and Northside.

At Logan Elementary, many parents lingered in the school after their students had entered their classrooms. Swift stopped in at a coffee session that Principal Terra Webster was having with about 45 parents.

Swift told the group how good it was to see that many parents in the school and how valuable it was to see so many parents engaged in their students’ education.

Together with AAPS Deputy Superintendent for Instructional Services Alesia Flye, Swift stepped in to several classrooms at Logan to greet them and meet the teachers.

She gave individual attention to several students—giving high-fives and offered friendly comments about all of the pink outfits she saw on the first day of school.

At Thurston Elementary School, Swift introduced herself at a parent meeting where school officials were giving a briefing on school security policies: All exterior doors are locked, with the exception of one main door, and classroom doors are locked during the school day.

She complimented the school as “beautiful” and welcomed the parents back to a new year.

"I noticed the students weren't in the hallway—they're all right where they should be in the classroom," Swift said.

In her interactions with parents, Swift asked each for his or her name and for the ages of their children — including the children that weren’t in class yet and had been brought in strollers.

In the halls as she walked out of Thurston, Swift took the initiative to greet every teacher and parent and wave to lines of students traveling from one class to the next.

By mid-morning Swift was on her fifth school visit when she arrived at King Elementary.

King Principal Kathy Morhous gave Swift a tour of the entire school and made sure to introduce her to every teacher and student teacher.

Many teachers at King praised Swift’s remarks that she gave a week ago at a welcome-back event for AAPS teachers and staff.

Of the 450 students at the school, about one-fifth of them speak English as a second language, Morhous said. Most of those students are from China, Japan and Korea, though students at the school speak a total of 38 languages, Morhous said.

Swift asked teachers at Thurston about their class sizes — most were in the range of 24 to 28 students. Throughout her visit, Swift took notes on her iPhone.

She also asked a fifth- grade class how many of them had traveled abroad over the summer. Almost all of them raised their hands.

Tuesday afternoon she visited Community High School, Lawson Elementary, Roberto Clemente Student Development Center, Bryant Elementary and Allen Elementary.

As a part of her introduction to the school district, Swift has said that she will visit every school and meet with the parents of students at each building.

Amy Biolchini is the K-12 education reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.

Comments

SuperiorMother

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 2:58 p.m.

Rats, I knew I should have stayed for coffee with the principal at Logan. ;) I would have if I had known that Dr. Swift was going to be there.

jmac

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 1:34 p.m.

How refreshing! It seems already that she is a hard worker with a 'hands on' approach that can only benefit Ann Arbor schools!

4Bells

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:24 p.m.

Attagirl!!!

DJBudSonic

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 4:12 a.m.

@jns131 could please explain just what your problem is with Dr. Swift? I bet I am speaking for most on here when I say your petty insults are tiresome.

A2NativeGirl

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:34 p.m.

Amen!

Chester Drawers

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:19 p.m.

I'll second that! Beyond petty insults, jns frequently wishes for horrible things to happen to school districts or the people involved with them. I am betting s/he is a disgruntled employee (or ex-employee).

Mark Lee

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 3:11 a.m.

Please continue the coverage of superintendent Swift as she visits the schools, it's nice to have a peek into people's reactions and see the photos.

educators2013

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 1:06 p.m.

I agree, continue to follow her. I really want to stay positive about Swift, but she has a long way to go to earn my trust. I am anxious to see what she can do for the district and how she can help those schools that are struggling; and unfortunately they are not the ones on the North side of town.

DonBee

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 2:27 a.m.

I am tired just reading about her day. Well done, glad she did it! I hope she has a quiet room tonight to recover from what must have been a 600 mile per hour day.

a2teacher

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 9:39 p.m.

I was one of the lucky buildings to receive a visit from Dr. Swift today. She was absolutely wonderful! She is so genuine and truly wants to be in our district. She radiates positive energy. Although her schedule today was packed, she spent a good five minutes talking with me. Dr. Swift will do great things in this district.

jns131

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:58 a.m.

Uh huh and so was some other evangelist who stole millions. Guess you too were duped. Gone in 2 I say.

educators2013

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 8:42 p.m.

I think it's great she is taking the time to visit schools, but when is she planning to visit the ones that need the most attention, like Mitchell and Scarlett? I think the parents, faculty and staff at those schoosl truly need to feel her presence and support. She's off to a good start, sure hope it lasts!

kris

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 11:58 a.m.

@educators2013: Tuesday was Swift's second day on the job. I am sure she will get to Scarlett and Mitchell in due time. Plus I'm sure everyone feels that their school deserves special attention for one reason or another.

jns131

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:59 a.m.

She ends up in my court? I will tell her exactly who she looks like singing send in the clowns. She is doing nothing but political smoozing. Get on with it.

kuriooo

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 10:35 p.m.

sorry, "mostly" on the north side of town. My point is that I think she visited a bunch of schools in a particular area for the sake of efficiency.

kuriooo

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 10:34 p.m.

The schools named in the article are all on the north side of town. I suspect she'll visit other schools in other areas soon...

Bill

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.

It's great to see a superintendent that is out visiting the schools on the first day of classes. Meeting and greeting not only staff but the students and parents is very important for a superintendent in establishing a relationship with the community. Welcome Dr. Swift.

Tom Teague

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 7:35 p.m.

She's providing a welcome breath of fresh air. Amy - with all the good feelings about the story, I almost hate to point this out, but I believe that Mr. Gold dropped "off" his second grader, not "on."

jns131

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 12:59 a.m.

More like a breath of some tonic on her breath. Pretending to be something she is not.

Resident A2

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.

I have a very good feeling about our new superintendent, Dr. Swift. It seems like she visited more schools today than Dr. Green's tenure. I, also, like her bubbly personality.

AMOC

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 1:23 a.m.

I too have a good feeling about Dr Swift, but Dr. Green had been to all the AAPS school buildings at least once before Thanksgiving of her first year here. The myth that she didn't visit the schools has gotten MUCH too much play here. It simply isn't true.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 3, 2013 : 7:15 p.m.

Superintendent Swift drove herself to each of the schools—it was a crash course for her to learn Ann Arbor's traffic patterns in her tight schedule today. She received a very warm welcome from both the parents and the teachers at the schools that I visited with her.

jns131

Wed, Sep 4, 2013 : 1 a.m.

O goodie another BOE wanna be going in circles. How nice.

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