Teacher Appreciation Week | A2Schools Podcast | Week of May 8, 2023

In this week's podcast, Dr. Swift and Andrew Cluley talk with Fred Klein, Ann Arbor Education Association President.

We celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week with a discussion about why teachers like Fred Klein chose the profession, the importance of teachers making a connection with students, and what has to happen to  ensure more young people choose to be students.

In AAPS good news we celebrate the Ann Arbor students competing in the Academic Games national tournament and AAPS being named a Project Lead the Way Distinguished District.

Transcript

:05

Andrew Cluley

Welcome to the A2 Schools Podcast. I'm your host, Andrew Cluley, the Director of Communications for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. I've got with me today as a guest. Dr. Swift, thank you very much for joining us.

:16

Jeanice Swift

It's great to be here Andrew.

:17

Andrew Cluley

Thank you. And then we also have with us today the president of the Ann Arbor Education Association, Fred Klein. Thanks for joining us, Fred.

:24

Fred Klein

Thanks for inviting me. I'm happy to be here.

:27

Andrew Cluley

So, we brought in Fred, because this week has been Teacher Appreciation Week and we just figured it'd be a perfect time to get Fred in and thank him and thank all of the wonderful teachers in the Ann Arbor Public Schools and all the wonderful teachers all across the globe.

:43

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

Yes, we're so delighted, Fred. It's always a pleasure to be with you. Anytime I get that opportunity. But this is like just a special week and I feel that I've always felt that way, but I feel that way even more now because of the incredible work that our teachers continue to do despite the challenges that we have faced.

1:07

Jeanice Swift

You know, we've been back now almost two full years and yet every day continues, as we all know, to be that challenge that teachers have always known, but raised by magnitude, an order of magnitude.

1:24

Fred Klein

Yeah. Know teachers are going to handle anything if they're asked to give 100%, they're going to give 100. If they're asked to give 120%, they're going to give 120%. They always go above and beyond. And I'm very proud to be a teacher and to also represent teachers as president of the AAEA.

1:42

Jeanice Swift

Absolutely.

1:43

Andrew Cluley

As you said, you're proud to be a teacher. How did you get into the field of teaching in the first place Fred?

1:47

Fred Klein

A couple of reasons. So, my mother was a teacher and she taught in South Lyon. So, their breaks didn't always align with Ann Arbor's breaks. So many times, when I was on break, I would go to work with her and, you know, get to be kind of a guest teacher when I was a teenager. And that was a lot of fun.

2:05

Fred Klein

And then over the years, I just stayed in touch with a lot of friends from elementary school. And we always reminisce about the great years we spent as students at Haisley Elementary School. And it was such an important part of my life, and I just knew that I wanted to be able to do that for my profession. And that was my calling to become a teacher.

2:25

Fred Klein

And because of my time in Ann Arbor Public Schools as a student for 13 years and then as a teacher for 33 years, I spent 46 years in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, so more than half my life.

2:37

Jeanice Swift

I think you've you're breaking the record, Fred, I just have to say. But I just want to share how much I appreciate that story. And I don't know of a teacher that when you ask that question, they can immediately go to their why, I don't know that every profession gets that as easily as teachers do. And my best days that I'll always love and appreciate are my 13 years in the classroom, grade six through 12.

3:06

Jeanice Swift

And it is truly an extraordinary calling. And I so appreciate our teachers who've answered that call. Especially, you know, I say Andrew all the time. It's always been an important profession, always. In fact, Dean Moji, the University of Michigan School of Ed, says teaching is the number one profession because it enables all other professions.

3:38

Jeanice Swift

Absolutely. I love that, don't you? I do. And yet I know that teachers come for a why. And yet there is this challenge that we face. And so, I think it is the most important profession. And also, there's never been a more important and critical time than the time we're in now.

4:02

Fred Klein

I couldn't agree more.

4:04

Andrew Cluley

So, as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and I think it doesn't matter who you are, there is at least one teacher that you'll look back on fondly. Have a memory of, what do you think is that thread that connects those teachers that, you know, go above and beyond that students end up remembering for decades and decades?

4:27

Fred Klein

I think it's a sense of the love that they have for the students, which we all do, the love for the profession, love of being a teacher, love of our colleagues. And that comes through. And when you can feel that as a student, that is an extremely powerful thing to feel that from a teacher who you look up to and who you want to be in that classroom with every day.

4:51

Jeanice Swift

You know, Fred, I so agree I've been out on the Listen and Learn tour this spring working to really refine our plans for the future. And I just have to share out of all the meetings I've been in at every engagement teachers come up, as is one of the primary strengths of our work, our school district, our organization, our community.

5:20

Jeanice Swift

And I want to add that it comes through the voices of students also. Thanks to the government assignment of Mr. Long over at Huron, I've had a good turnout of high school students on the tour. I so appreciate that assignment because it gets me to talking with them. You're right Andrew, every single student points to a teacher who made the difference, made the connection, and made the difference for them.

5:50

Andrew Cluley

And Fred, do you always know when that student is in the classroom that you're making that connection, that you're going to have that lifelong impact, or does it sometimes come as much of a surprise to you as anyone else when you hear someone say, Oh, man, Mr. Klein is the reason why da da da...

6:08

Fred Klein

You know, the goal is to know that when you're with students. But every once in a while, yeah, I am surprised a student will reach out when they're graduating from college and thanking me for being part of their journey. I had a student once nominate me for who's who in American education. That was a student that I didn't think, you know, was, saw me in that way.

6:30

Fred Klein

And I was very flattered by that. So yeah, but I mean, the goal is to always make that connection with every kid in your classroom. And sometimes it's very obvious and sometimes it's less obvious, But I think it's always there.

6:43

Jeanice Swift

Isn't that great?

6:45

Andrew Cluley

That is awesome. And as we mentioned earlier, you are a product of the Ann Arbor Public Schools and you're also back,  stayed around to become a teacher here. And I know that earlier this fall we had an entire podcast with a couple of teachers that that also fit that bill. Now they are teachers that had just joined us not quite as many years with the district as you have, Fred.

7:12

Andrew Cluley

What is it that we need to do to make it so that, and not just the Ann Arbor Public Schools, but in general, that we can keep going on finding out the next generation of great teachers and making it a profession that more students want to participate in.

7:31

Fred Klein

I think part of the issue is public schools have been so politicized and we need to partner together as teachers, as parents, as administrators, superintendents, boards of ed to take back control of our state legislatures so that we can elect people that prioritize our public schools and that know that, you know, adequate funding is important to attract young people back into this profession and to retain the people that are dedicating their lives to this calling.

8:02

Jeanice Swift

Exactly. You know, Fred, one of the photos that stuck with me from New Teacher Orientation Day last fall was this photo of how many was it Andrew?

8:13

Andrew Cluley

It was eight or nine.

8:14

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

Eight or nine, first year teachers, all alums of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. That is a very special thing that they returned to as you did to the place where they grew up in order to, as I say, change the world by positively, positively impacting the lives of students through teaching. And I think about that group of teachers and how we want to build the next generation.

8:47

Jeanice Swift

We don't have the ability to see 30 years down the road as to how their careers will go. But we do know some fundamental shifts that we're going to need across the state of Michigan and the country in order for education and the education of our children to be the priority that we all want to believe it is.

9:12

Fred Klein

I couldn't agree more. I don't have anything to add to that. You nailed that. Yeah. I just want to say that I was also really thrilled when I was hired by the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and I was actually hired at the elementary school, which I attended as a student. So that was like full circle for me, and what a joy that was.

9:33

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

It's so wonderful. And I think you've set the record of 46 years, so I want to share, though, that one of those alums shared with us the very teacher who talked to her about being a teacher. And I guess in our hearts, we want the profession to be rewarding for our people so that they are talking to young people about hearing that call to education. It's the future. It's a future for our children, for our community, and for our country.

10:12

Fred Klein

Yes. And I'm thrilled to say that I have a former student who is now a teacher in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. So, I'd like to think I maybe had a little something to do with that.

10:21

Jeanice Swift

Absolutely. We have a long way to go, and I don't want to lose the folks with 46 years. And yet we're always needing to plan for that next generation of teachers. So it's a priority to care for and support our experienced teachers and then also to build up and bring in and have positive experiences for those who have the courage to enter this profession at this historic time.

10:52

Fred Klein

Absolutely. Yeah. And we did some good things in this last election cycle, and that's where we're going to need to continue to get it done. We've got a window now of about a year and a half til the next election cycle, and then we're going to have to ramp up our efforts and continue to elect and increase the majority of people in our legislature that will support public education in the state of Michigan and as you said, beyond in the whole country.

11:16

Jeanice Swift

Right. So that idea of our students being out on the tour, you know, our parents are very clear and our staff is very clear. We see it every day of this escalated need and that we want to be sure we meet for our students, whether that's academic or social, emotional, mental health or safety and security. We think of all of the issues that drive us right now, but also ensuring that the profession is one that bright and talented young people want to choose.

11:53

Fred Klein

Yes. Yeah, let's partner together and let's get that done and elect people that are going to support us not just in policy, but also financially. That's how we're going to draw people in and that's how we're going to retain the vast talent pool that we have. And again, proud to rub shoulders with the professionals here in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. I think we have the best and the brightest in the state right here in our school district.

12:16

Jeanice Swift

We absolutely do. And I'll see you and raise you one. I think they're the best on the globe and on the planet. And I will never forget the days when they were teaching from their garage, from their kitchen table and tending to their own children at the same time. And yet here we are finishing wrapping up strong the second full year back in person.

12:42

Jeanice Swift

And this has been a historic time. I hope one of our takeaways is that value that we've always held in Ann Arbor for a quality education for our students, for our young people, and for the teachers who teach and learn every day across our classrooms.

13:01

Fred Klein

And I'm so proud to be part of this team, this Ann Arbor Public Schools team that involves teachers, our support staff. These people are doing amazing work as well. And our parents, our students and all our principals and administrators too. We're a team and it's a really good team and I'm very happy to continue to be part of this team and to continue to be able to make contributions.

13:23

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

I couldn't agree more.

13:25

Andrew Cluley

That quality team is certainly good news. And speaking of good news, that brings us to the Good News segment here on the A2 Schools Podcast and much like last week, there's just too much good news to limit it to just one item. So, we're going to do two again this week. And the first one I want to highlight is the Ann Arbor Academic Games.

13:48

Andrew Cluley

They had 38 students from a combination of from King Elementary, Clague Middle, Huron, Skyline Pioneer and Community High Schools all competed in the National Academic Games, League of America's National Tournament last month, and a whole bunch of them came home with prizes and trophies. And another amazing performance from kids from Ann Arbor.

14:14

Jeanice Swift

That's wonderful. Andrew. I am so excited for their achievements and it sounds like a large group of students participating and really bringing home the awards.

14:27

Andrew Cluley

That's right. And I'll just highlight the national championships were won in equations, which is a math game; linguistics, which is, as you might expect, grammar; onsets, which is a theory game and theme, which is a history game. And then there was a bunch of others that did very, very well as well. But I'm going to highlight those national champions.

14:48

Jeanice Swift

Wow. So impressive. Congratulations to all of our student Academic Games award winners.

14:55

Andrew Cluley

That's right. And then we also wanted to recognize the Ann Arbor Public Schools as a whole, as a district. The Project Lead the Way Distinguished District, which there's only 17 of them around at all. And Ann Arbor Public Schools is the only one for Michigan. The first time we've received this mark of distinction. And in addition to the overall distinction, we received 32 awards for Project Lead the Way Distinguished School Recognition.

15:29

Andrew Cluley

And now we get to that number because both A2 STEAM and Ann Arbor Open count in two categories, both as their younger level and their middle school levels. So, congratulations to all of the hard workers in the Project Lead the Way department making a difference with that hands on learning in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.

15:51

Jeanice Swift

You know, Andrew, I'm so proud of this team. This team of teachers, Project Lead the Way teachers are just extraordinary. Over the years that we have implemented Project Lead the Way, they just continue to raise the bar and raise the level of participation and distinction in our district. Shout out to the leader of that team, Mr. Tom Pachera, and just really am proud of this achievement Ann Arbor Public Schools is among, as you noted, the most distinguished districts in the country when it comes to Project lead the way.

16:30

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

Just, as importantly, or even more importantly, when I talk to students, they have such positive and strong memories about their hands on learning and stem learning. Steam learning, even in the Project Lead the way endeavors.

16:50

Andrew Cluley

And that goes from basically the start of their educational career to you can be doing it all the way through your senior year in high school. It's that full spectrum where you get that chance to have hands on learning. And for some kids, that is so crucial.

17:06

Dr. Jeanice K. Swift

Exactly. It's where they shine. Kindergarten through 12th, Project Lead the way. We're so proud.

17:13

Andrew Cluley

Thank you very much, Fred Klein, for joining us today on the A2 Schools Podcast.

17:18

Fred Klein

Thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk and brag about the Ann Arbor Public Schools and our wonderful teachers.

17:25

Andrew Cluley

And thank you very much for joining Dr. Swift.

17:27

Jeanice Swift

Thank you, Andrew. And thank you, Fred, for being with us today. I so appreciate your partnership all year round. And yet it's really special on this first week in May to come together to support our amazing Ann Arbor Public Schools teachers. Thank you for leading that group and thank you for always being such a good partner for our work to move our district and the quality of education for every child on every day to move that forward. Thank you for being.

18:00

Fred Klein

You're most welcome. Thanks for having me.

18:02

Andrew Cluley

And thank you for listening to the A2 Schools Podcast. As always, if you have any questions about the Ann Arbor Public Schools, go to our website, A2schools.org. If there's a topic that you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the podcast, don't hesitate to email communications@A2schools.org.  And I'm going to say once again, thank you to our teachers as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, and thank you for listening to this week's edition of the A2 Schools Podcast.