Earlier this summer, I heard that the administrative staff and teachers at the Washtenaw International Middle Academy (WIMA), Ypsilanti’s International Baccalaureate middle school, had begun advocating for a plan that would see them leave Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS), and join the Washtenaw International High School (WIHI) beneath the umbrella of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s Washtenaw Educational Options Consortium. While I wasn’t personally privy to any of these conversations, I heard from friends who were involved that the arguments given were compelling. Given that the two entities existed beneath the same roof, these friends of mine were told, it would simplify things considerably if they had the same reporting structure, instead of one entity reporting up through YCS, while the other reported up through WISD. And, from what they were told, the proposed consolidation would make the International Baccalaureate certification process easier. Furthermore, it would put all of the teachers in the building on the same pay scale, which, as I understand it, would mean a pay increase for the hardworking and dedicated teachers of WIMA. All good things, to be sure. At the same time, however, I knew that there other considerations, like the fact that something like this would take several hundred children out of the Ypsilanti Community Schools system at a time when we’d just turned a corner, and, after years of hard work, finally reached a point where enrollment was growing again. I assumed that, as a member of the community, I would eventually have an opportunity to weigh in on the idea, and that there would be a public dialogue about what would be in the best interests of our children and our community. As it turned out, though, that never dialogue never took place.

Last Tuesday evening, members of the Ypsilanti Community Schools Board of Education, without any public debate, voted 5-2 in favor of a plan to hand over control of the middle school to the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. And, as you might imagine, some in the community were not terribly happy. This, from what I’ve seen online, is especially true of those with children in the recently opened Ypsilanti International Elementary School (YIES), who had been told that their children, upon leaving the fifth grade, would be able to attend WIMA.

I’m hesitant to get into the history, as I believe some of my facts may be a bit off, but, as I think a little context might be helpful at this point, here, as I understand it, is some high level background on how WIHI, WIMA and YIES came to be…

Thanks in large part to the destructive pro charter school policies put in place by Michigan Republicans like Betsy DeVos, Ypsilanti’s public education system was in pretty bad shape half a dozen years or so ago. Not only were we losing students in unprecedented numbers to private charter schools, but Ann Arbor schools, facing these exact same forces, were actively pursuing those Ypsilanti students with the resources to commute to and from Ann Arbor each day. As a result, Ypsilanti’s school system constricted, school buildings, once vital to neighborhood communities, were closed, and teachers were laid off. The Willow Run school district, on the brink of collapse, was forced to consolidate with Ypsilanti’s. And, together, they formed Ypsilanti Community Schools, which tried, with meager resources, to compete for students, while, at the same time, struggling to both pay off their accumulated debt and fight against the appearance of failure, as neighborhood school after neighborhood school was forced to shut its doors. YCS, in spite of this, kept trying innovative, new concepts, and appealing to families living in the district to return. Nothing, however, at least from my perspective, seemed to make a real, noticeable difference until WISD opened the International Baccalaureate high school in what had been Ypsilanti’s closed West Middle School about eight years ago. It not only filled, but it actually drew people from Ann Arbor and elsewhere. And, even though it wasn’t a YCS school, it got people thinking about public education in Ypsilanti differently. Well, at some point during the merger between the Ypsi and Willow Run districts, either the folks at YCS or WISD had the idea that YCS should launch an International Baccalaureate middle school in the half of the old East Middle School building not being used by WIHI. And, like WIHI, it filled quickly, but mostly with local Ypsi kids. Teachers were enthusiastic, the spirit of the school was great, and people actually started returning to the district, wanting to be a part of what they perceived as a positive turnaround. And, in relatively short order, a group of engaged parents self-assembled and started working with YCS to launch an International Baccalaureate elementary school, which opened just last year. That school, if I’m not mistaken, had 125 students last year, and has approximately 425 this year, having added additional classrooms at every grade. That’s how fast and powerful this turnaround has been. People, it would seem, were hungry for an opportunity to jump back into public education, and, when they saw that there was a new, stable K-12 option, they jumped at it. And, now, because of this consolidation, that seems to be in jeopardy.

As I’m not terribly well versed in all the ins and outs of the situation, I don’t want to go too deep into it at the moment, but I have a few quick thoughts to share. Please take them in the spirit in which they’re offered. I know that members of the School Board are trying to do their absolute best for the children of Ypsilanti, as are the teachers and staff of WIMA, many of whom I consider friends. And I know that this is an incredibly complex situation, with a lot of moving parts. [I’ve heard, for instance, that WISD may have threatened to take WIHI to Saline if YCS doesn’t accept consolidation.] With that said, though, I can’t help but believe there’s a better way to do this… OK, here are my random thoughts, followed by a letters from both School Board member Maria Sheler Edwards, who supports the consolidation, and the members of the YIES PTO, who do not.

1. I’ve heard from a few people now that International Baccalaureate accreditation would be “more difficult” for WIMA and WIHI if they continued to exist as separate entities with different reporting structures. I haven’t heard, however, that it would be impossible, or even terribly hard. With this in mind, I’d be curious to know just how real of an issue accreditation really is. And, if WIMA cannot get accreditation on its own, if not tied to WIHI, what does that mean for YIES… would it too eventually have to be taken over by WISD as well?

2. Let’s say that consolidation really is the only path forward. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it also be worth considering the possibility of YCS taking over WIHI? I’m not suggesting that YCS turn the tables and attempt a take-over of WIHI. I’m just wondering if doing so would satisfy the same concerns, and, if so, whether or not it was even considered as an option. And, if not, why not?

3. I didn’t go to tonight’s School Board meeting, but I hear that people were angry. And I’ve heard it said that there’s now a sense in the community that WISD purposefully led us down this path, having the tax payers of Ypsilanti, through YCS, pay for the launch of WIMA, which was considerably costly, with the intention of one day taking the school over. While I don’t think it’s useful to speculate, I think that all parties involved should see this as evidence of the fact that this proposed consolidation has been handled poorly, and with too little transparency.

4. I feel particularly bad for my friends that have invested the last few years of their lives in the successful launch of YIES. They did so with the understanding that the school would be a feeder for WIMA. Now, even though members of the School Board are saying that they intend to negotiate a large percentage of seats for Ypsi students at the middle school before closing the deal, at least for the next several years, there’s a concern that our students will no longer have a clear K-12 International Baccalaureate pathway. And people, understandably, want to know why they weren’t made aware of this eventuality before setting out to launch the school.

5. WIMA, as it currently exists, is incredibly diverse. WIHI is significantly less so. If WIMA becomes a WISD school, how likely is it that the student body makeup will change, as more affluent students from outside the local community begin enrolling?

6. Perhaps it’s already been attempted, but, if not, one would think it might be worth the investment to retain a mediator to work through some of these issues, starting with items that all parties involved agree to, and then building out from there. Again, I’m not privy to what might have happened behind the scenes already, but I have to think that we could benefit from a trusted third party who doesn’t have a vested interest in the outcome.

7. Why does this need to be decided right now? Why is it so urgent that consolidation happen now, before members of the community can be brought up to speed on the issue? I, for one, would like to read the original WIMA founding documents in order to get a better sense of how got to where we are today, and I suspect that I’m not alone.

I could go on, but I think that’s probably enough for right now. I would, however, like to reiterate that I don’t know what the answer is, and that I truly appreciate the fact that WIMA administration would benefit from a situation where they no longer have to serve two different masters, each with different objectives, etc. At the same time, though, my hope is that people at WISD can appreciate the fact that WIMA means a lot to people in this community, and they don’t much like the idea of handing over control, especially if it’s true that threats have been made about what will happen if the terms of consolidation aren’t approved. But, as a friend said to me earlier today, we also don’t want to get into another situation where we allow perfect to be the enemy of good, forcing out WISD when they have been such a positive catalyst in our community. [I may not have made it clear above, but WIMA is a truly incredible place, full of smart, inquisitive kids that truly reflect the Ypsilanti community. And, if you were to spend any time in the school at all, you’d understand why it is that people feel so passionately about protecting it. It, to a lot of people, reflects the promise and future of this community.]

So, with that, here is the explanation for the School Boards 5-2 decision from Maria Sheler Edwards.

I’ve received some questions about a resolution the board passed on Tuesday regarding WIMA and WIHI, so I’m sharing the full resolution, along with some context for this decision. WIMA is a thriving YCS school that we’re all very proud of – so why would we “give it away” to WEOC? The short answer is, we’re not giving WIMA away as much as we are keeping WIMA and WIHI together and – most importantly – in our community.

This spring, WEOC (the county consortium that governs WIHI) proposed a new governance structure where both WIMA and WIHI schools would be managed by them. Also, WEOC is negotiating a move to the West Middle School building.
We favor the governance move for a few reasons: right now, we have YCS staff at WIMA who are sort of straddling the reporting relationship and that needs to be resolved – for their sake and also for the MYP to be authorized by the IB (the Middle Years Programme is actually grades 6-10). Also, some partner districts want WIHI to leave Ypsi and move to their district – so that comes into play. If we can’t negotiate a deal (for governance and for the building) we risk losing WIHI.

So – say WIHI leaves Ypsi. Do we “keep” WIMA? Well, in practical terms, the answer is no. WEOC will open an MYP in the new district. And since they own the name WIMA, that’s what it will be called. They will post all the WIMA jobs, and our fantastic staff will very likely apply for (and get) them – the salary for WEOC teachers is higher for one thing. Many of the students who attend now – both YCS and school of choice kids – will follow. And any rent we could have collected is gone – as well as the opportunity for all our kids to have access to bussing.

What are we left with? It’s very expensive to start a new IB programme from scratch, esp one that straddles grades 6-10. Ypsi can’t afford the WIMA program as it stands, alone, and we’ve already seen that when Ypsi struggles financially, we give up great programs (multi-age at George, Montessori at Perry, New Tech at Ardis to name a few). Without the daily support of WIHI & WEOC, rebuilding the program wouldn’t happen, or if it did, it would be a very long time before we had anything like the thriving program we have now (if ever). Letting WIHI leave is cutting off our nose to spite our face.

The resolution we passed considers the big picture for Ypsi kids, while balancing the financial needs of YCS. It’s also a social justice issue – if WIHI leaves, frankly some of our kids just won’t be able to follow. We asked WEOC to guarantee 95% of the WIMA slots to YCS. The rent and foundation allowance will be negotiated at a fair rate. Also, because of the complexity of the issue and the difficulty of the decision, we appointed a board liaison to keep close tabs on the negotiations process to ensure financial stability of the district. I’m confident we will have a win-win solution soon.

[The text of the resolution can be found here.]

And here is the letter which, as I understand it, was delivered to the School Board this evening by members of the YIES PTO.

October 23, 2017

Ypsilanti Community Schools
Parent Teacher Organization
503 Oak Street
Ypsilanti, MI 48198

Ypsilanti Community Schools
Board of Education
1885 Packard Road
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Dear Board of Education:

It has come to light that on Tuesday, October 18, a resolution was added and passed regarding the absorption of Washtenaw International Middle Academy (WIMA) by Washtenaw Educational Options Consortium (WEOC), becoming a consortium school. There was no mention of this resolution on the original agenda nor were Ypsilanti International Elementary School staff or administration made aware of this. We understand this will go to vote at an upcoming WEOC meeting.

We, as parents/guardians and community members of Ypsilanti International Elementary School (YIES), have questions surrounding this resolution. An investigation into the manner in which this resolution was produced, introduced and passed will be conducted as we see fit.

We expect responses to the following questions be researched and penned by board trustees Sharon Irvine, Maria Sheler-Edwards, Celeste Hawkins, Ellen Champagne, and Meredith Schindler and submitted to YIES PTO mailbox no later than Sunday, November 6, 2017.

• What efforts were made by WEOC or the Board of Education to communicate the potential of the aforementioned district change to YIES and YCS families? Please list and include any supporting materials (designated 2016-17 or 2017-18) with date and method of distribution.

• What actions are being taken by the Board of Education to ensure current YIES families have priority when it is time to matriculate to WIMA in perpetuity?

• What is the cost comparison between the loss of WIMA students versus the loss of WIHI as a tenant for YCS at their current rental rate at 510 Emerick Street?

• What curricular, marketing, publicity, and financial efforts will the district make to retain the momentum of enrollment growth at YCS now that a promise has been broken to first year and returning YCS families?

• What efforts will be made to end contracts at WIMA for Durham and Chartwells in the best interest of cost-savings for YCS?

We demand:

• The resolution be rescinded and a public informational forum hosted by Board of Education for YIES families to discuss and ask questions regarding the rationale behind WIMA leaving the district.

• The Board of Education provide specific districts who were courting WIHI to move and contacts.

• If the board chooses to progress with the resolution once members of the community have been informed and had a chance to express views, a new vote may take place.

• Board members with students attending WIMA or WIHI may not vote.

• Board members who are parents of children at WIMA or WIHI may not sit as a liaison on district negotiations with WEOC for facility rental agreements.

• Full transparency about this very consequential issue.

We are the community that believed in the return of a great educational and social experience in Ypsilanti. We were too proud to send our children outside of district. We believed in the path which was presented to us, and we rallied as a community to spread the success of YIES’s first year by word of mouth.

Reneging on the promise that YIES students can continue on to WIMA will weaken trust and goodwill among members of the YIES community, hardwon qualities that have been vital to the school’s measurable early success. It introduces instability and uncertainty and risks turning essential enthusiasm into low morale. Such a move raises serious questions about the school board’s commitment to supporting all of the community’s students, with troubling implications regarding issues of diversity and equal opportunity, among others.

We are ready to have open discussion regarding this matter and anticipate YCS staff, administration, students, parents/guardians and all community members be equipped with the same information in a timely fashion as WIMA and WIHI staff, students and families were afforded.

If this is not an agreeable path, we will have no choice but to seek further actions to ensure future resolutions are communicated and voted upon by board members who will uphold the characteristics of an upstanding trustee as outlined by the Michigan Association of Schools Boards.

Sincerely,
Ypsilanti International Elementary School PTO
Ypsilanti Community Supporters

And, here, if you’re interested, is video from the beginning of tonight’s meeting.