There is a wonderful public elementary school I want to share with everyone.  It is the Ann Arbor Open School @ Mack.  It is a magnet school that anyone can attend no matter where they live in the Ann Arbor Public School District and bus transportation is provided.  It is the elementary school my children attended and there are many differences from a traditional school and a wonderful way to grow up. 

The philosophy is different at the Open School and that's the way it was meant to be.  The following are characteristics of the classrooms:

• Children attend multigrade classrooms.
• Children learn at their own pace, not by someone else's guidelines.
• The school has many community field trips and use the outside experience for learning.
• Teacher's use democracy in the classrooms.
• Small group learning occurs throughout the building.
• The school tagline is, "we are all gifted, so we don't need grades".  This was written tongue in cheek but happens to be the way they view life @ the Open School.  The report cards are long and detailed but NO GRADES like A, B, C, and D.
• Parents are welcome in the school, classroom and are expected to assist in volunteer activities.
• The school goes up to 8^th grade therefore kids can stay in a smaller tighter community for the middle schools years.  There is a lot of history to getting to this point and it is interesting but I will stop short by saying, it is interesting and I would love to discuss it over coffee if you would like more detail.

This is a wonderful school and from personal experience I have to say we teased a lot about no one winning the science fair because everyone is a winner at the Open School, but after attending the Open School my kids:

• have positive self worth and respect for different cultures, points of views, family styles and religion.
• excelled in research projects because at the Open School you have time to get into topics from a very early age.
• enjoyed school from the beginning and took incredible field trips (Montreal in 4^th grade, overnight camping trips and day trip all over the Ann Arbor city.)  The teachers are totally dedicated to the children and the philosophy.  There is nothing traditional about the Open School, but I would recommend it highly.
• The school also is the only K - 8^th grade public school in Ann Arbor.  The middle school program was being developed when my oldest attended and now is a huge success of its own with people looking for a better option than traditional large middle schools.

The school currently has enrollment by lottery.  My daughter who is a freshman in college started at the Open School when you had to stand in line to attend and we started in line in January two days prior to the enrollment date.  The principal allowed the parents to camp out in the halls and gym at nights to stay in the line.  They eventually changed the enrollment method because it was just too crazy. 

Currently parents must attend an orientation session and visit a classroom prior to getting your name on the lottery list for entrance.  Here are the dates:

2/20/08              7:00 p.m.

3/9/08                1:00 p.m.

3/15/08            10:00 a.m.

Is Ann Arbor Open utopia? No, but it is a wonderful elementary school where kids thrive and parents form lasting relationships.  It is also open to ALL OF THE ANN ARBOR SCHOOL DISTRICT AREA. 

Ann Arbor Open @ Mack

Phone number:  (734) 994-1910

If you would like to know more details please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email and I would love to go into more detail about this alternative program.

Karen Moorhead

Keller Williams Realty

(734) 660-4785