Michael Savage: The Moderate

In a school with overwhelmingly left-wing views it is difficult to retain a different perspective. CHS junior, Michael Savage, has more conservative political views than the average Community student. While attending Community has affected Savage’s leanings, his search for a balanced perspective and conservative roots make him unique. Savage tries to stay as up to date on current events as he can and reads a variety of sources to form his own opinions. Savage is not truly conservative in the grand scheme of things, but his views certainly set him apart from his peers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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In its first five years, the school began as a blank slate; an almost lawless experiment to see what happens when students are given complete freedom to determine their own education.

Linda Diane Feldt, graduate of Community’s class of 1975, explained the atmosphere of CHS in its beginnings. “It was kind of a free-for-all, as far as drugs, and sex, and figuring out what the new boundaries were, and how to behave.  There was a lot of student activism; students had the keys to all the rooms and we were attending the faculty meetings, started our own student newspaper.  It was like we were running the school.”

According to Feldt, the Community Resource program was a main focus of the school, with students typically taking four out of six of their classes as CRs.  “It was a much more real and direct experience, and we processed it, and we talked about it, where that wasn’t happening at the other high schools.  And we were learning about student activism, and being empowered, and making the world a different place.”

According to Mike Mouradian, teacher at Community from 1975 to 1978, and again from 1980 to 2007, the student body was responsible for upholding its own social guidelines.  “In the past, if one or two students were chronically missing class and always then having to catch up and asking the teacher to slow down and that kind of stuff, the other students would get on that kid.  Everybody wouldn’t wait on the teacher.  So everybody in the room felt like a teacher.”

The school had no need for making rules, according to Mouradian, because the students and teachers learned to deal with problems by confronting them, not outlawing them.  “I don’t really believe in a lot of rules. I think you need to have guidelines.  You need to have everyone on the same page … that’s what student behavior is to me. It’s not, ‘you should behave a certain way, and I’m gonna enforce it,’ it should be – everyone should be behaving the same way.  Students shouldn’t behave any differently than teachers.  Students should behave like teachers and teachers should behave like students –– it’s a two-way street.”

This open mentality on student behavior may have lost some momentum over the years. When questioned about recent detentions occurring at Community, Dean Jen Hein’s response was vague.  “Detention is one of the strategies that is available, or can be implemented through the Ann Arbor Public Schools Rights and Responsibilities handbook … It is possible that as a response to a student making a poor choice that they may possibly serve a lunch detention or a series of lunch detentions in the main office.  There are students that have received Saturday suspension, which is in lieu of being suspended from school, for a more significant infraction, because we want students as much as possible to remain in class, and for Saturday suspension that means spend time with me on a Saturday morning from eight o’clock until noon, doing homework.”

“Whatever the reason for detention is,” said Mike Mouradian, “it’s easier to make a rule to say there’s going to be detention than there is to change the

culture and make all the students be responsible for what was going on.”

Along with the student-teacher relations, the educational culture at Community has changed as well.  Classes offered such as Earthworks, named for a second alternative school which later merged with CHS, provided a means for students to learn valuable skills, while working in a free and open-ended atmosphere.

“[Earthworks] was something where you could basically just go do something, build something, build a project, put something together, invent something, and then bring it back and share it with the group,” said Dave McKinnon, a graduate of CHS and Pioneer of 1996. “And it was extremely empowering, and it was fun, and you retained the knowledge, as opposed to a lot of other classes that you have in high school.  It was much more authentic.”

Mouradian argued that external pressures, such as university admissions requirements, have changed the educational atmosphere at Community.

“Colleges weren’t as narrow about that stuff, either.  I mean, you know everything’s changed,” said Mouradian. “The colleges were much looser about what they wanted in a student.  So you could come from here and take classes like [Earthworks], and Harvard and Yale would go ‘yeah, cool dude,’ you know?  And now everything’s gotten so kind of crazy — checkbox-ish, that it’s harder to do those kinds of things.”

Linda Diane Feldt claimed the educational atmosphere of Community was much more focused on the student-teacher relationship than it is today.     “The teachers were really there, exploring, and having fun, and learning and trying to figure things out at the same time.  Now they have a much more defined, clear role, and I think that has a really good side, in that there’s better boundaries, and it has a downside, in that the teachers are more in control, and are not really willing to give that up to the students.”

Tools such as PowerSchool and School Messenger, commonly known as the “Phone Call Home System” automatically put the teacher directly in contact with the parent. This urges parents to take action regarding students’ behavior, as opposed to the students managing their own academic careers, which, according to McKinnon, was the case in the 90s.

“The student was completely empowered,” said Dave McKinnon.  “If the student didn’t want to do his or her work then they weeded themselves out of that school … so if you finished your work in class and what was expected of you was done, for that day or that hour, than you could just hand it in and walk out, and say goodbye.  There was just a deep, mutual respect between students and teachers that doesn’t exist anymore, rarely seen in a school system.”

“I do think that students are empowered to go [to class] but we’re all partners in students’ educational career,” said Dean Jen.  “And its very important for parents to have ongoing up-to-date information.  We still don’t have bells, we don’t have hall passes, you still have to get to class on time, we’re not going to chase you to get to class, but we all know certainly that classroom attendance and being in the classroom to learn does impact academic achievement.”

“It shouldn’t be about the technology,” argued Feldt, “That’s a tool, and it can be used well or it can be abused.   And so if it’s done with some more thoughtfulness, and concern, and the students are involved in setting up the policies and procedures, then great.  But I was a big youth advocate, I think the students should be making those decisions with the teachers about what’s best for their education, and for their thriving in school.”

Although policies at Community have changed throughout the years, the character of the student body has not.

“The quality and the quirkiness the ‘let’s give this a try’ kind of attitude of the students is still really similar,” mused Feldt. “It hasn’t changed that much, and this decade – this century – is real different than back then, but there’s still a really amazing quality to the students who show up there, that’s just really cool to see.  And it may not be time for student uprisings and activism in the same kind of a way, but I don’t think people are being empowered in the same way.”

“You don’t have to do things differently just to do them differently,” says Mouradian. “You have to want to do them differently because you feel like there’s a better way.  And if you think that there’s a better way — it takes a certain amount of guts (and I’ll say it as simply as that) to say you know what, we can do this a different way, and to do it … I think stuff could be very different here, but we’re just afraid to take that chance.”

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A group of freshmen gather to hear a story from CHS junior Sonya Kotov, a natural story teller.

If there is one thing that stands out about Sonya Kotov, it is her laugh. The Community High School junior has a distinct laugh that evokes varied reactions from those around her. Some smile, laughing along. Others are not sure what to make of it.

Kotov’s laugh is without a doubt one of a kind, as is her style of storytelling. The two go hand in hand for Kotov, since she cannot get through a story with pausing to let out a fit of laughter. Often these breaks in the story will come at random moments. Kotov laughs at what she knows she is about to tell, leaving those around her waiting for the punch line. This habit may not seem ideal for a storyteller to have, but Kotov’s endearing charm aides in pulling it off.

“I think I was destined to be a storyteller,” Kotov said, half joking. Telling stories is certainly a favorite hobby of hers. “I enjoy making people laugh, and I enjoy laughing… I also just really like sharing pieces of my life with my friends.”

Kotov has had a love for stories throughout her life. Like most children, she adored hearing tales from the adults around her, although she could never get enough. “I’d always tell my mom, like ‘Mom, tell me a story!’ and she’d be like ‘No. I’m not going to tell you a story. I can’t think of anything.’”

Now grown up, Kotov has developed into a raconteur herself. Kotov remembers getting more into sharing her stories with people in her life during her sophomore year. “I feel like funny things started happening to me, and I just wanted everyone to know. I wanted everyone to laugh,” said Kotov.

Hearing a story from Kotov is an experience unlike any other. “I try to make my stories unique,” claimed Kotov. In that goal, Kotov is undoubtedly successful.

Sonya

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Madeline Drake

Madeline Drake’s long reign of teaching will come to an end this year, as she opts to retire after teaching for 33 years.  Drake attended Macomb Community College for two years and then received her bachelor’s at Michigan State.  Drake student taught  at Lance Cruz High School  and then received her Master of Science degree at Eastern Michigan University.  Her teaching career began in the Bloomfield Hills school system – she taught there for 10 years until moving to Community, where she has now been a teacher for 23 years.  Drake was led to retire by two main reasons.

“The first thing was,” Drake said, “I am the right age, and right from the beginning of my teaching career, my husband and I saved a lot of money so that if the opportunity arose where we were financially solvent, we could retire, and we can.  I was going to teach next year and then the stuff from the state got so depressing.  Frankly, the emotional stuff with all of our young teachers, I just can’t take it because I want them to stay.  Me retiring is not necessarily going to save any particular person but it’s not going to hurt their chances either.”

One of the particular people to whom Drake was referring was second-year science teacher Courtney Kiley.  Kiley was pink-slipped   earlier this year, and could possibly lose her job due to the state budget cuts. Ann Arbor Public School’s has pink-slipped   190 teachers this year.  Drake believes Kiley will keep her job – she believes that the schools will end up hiring science teachers and that teachers who teach subjects such as English, social studies and art are more likely to lose their jobs.

Drake’s husband, a geophysical science teacher at Huron, has planned to retire this year all along.  Drake says that her husband will continue to coach the Huron High School golf team even after he stops teaching.

Drake has numerous plans to fill up her free time after she retires.  One thing that she plans to do is volunteer, including at Community High School, possibly working as a substitute teacher.  Drake also wants to be a field instructor for the student teaching program at the University of Michigan.

“I want to build a boat,” said Drake.  “I want to build a cabinet.  I want to go fly-fishing.  I want to see the Grand Canyon.  I want to go to Italy.  I want to do all that stuff.  I want to do it while I’m healthy.”

Drake believes that if she were to substitute teach, it would only be for Community and it would only be for one or two years.

“After two years, [none of the students know] who you are,” said Drake.  “It’s like you were never here.  It’s kind of weird.  It makes it a little bit more difficult to actually accomplish something.”

Drake’s greatest memories of Community include teaching awards that she has received and trips she has made down to Traver Creek with her Foundations of Science I class.  Drake is also fond of her memories of her students learning.

“I’ve always said that the luckiest day of my life,” said Drake, “was when I walked through [the] doors [of Community] because if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have done the curriculum changes we did, I wouldn’t have gone to the creek, I wouldn’t have won the teaching awards, I wouldn’t have written a book – all of those things wouldn’t have happened.”

Why We Love Madeline

• “She always knew how to wake kids up during slideshows by yelling random words really loudly.” -Gil Eisbruch

• “Madeline’s really old and wise.  In a good way.” -Teagan Donnell

• “She’s a little ball of energy.  She just makes everything so exciting.” -Mary Salisbury

• “She was really enthusiastic about everything.” -Kyle Morrison

Marion Evashevski

Marion Evashevski has been teaching social studies and history at Community for 23 years. This is her last one.  She will be retiring alongside Madeline Drake at the end of the year.

Evashevski came to Community in 1988, after a 6-year hiatus from teaching. During that time, she worked at the University of Michigan, but “wanted to get back into teaching.”

Previously, she had taught in Seattle for 11 years and at the Laboratory Schools of the University of Iowa for two.

In her 23 years at the school, Evashevski has seen Community go from its old status as an intense, extreme alternative to Pioneer and Huron to its current, much milder one. She clearly has mixed feelings about the transformation.

On one hand, she mentioned that current Community students are “much more motivated to ‘do school’” than their predecessors, and seemed thankful that the school’s existence is stable. She said, “We used to have to go out and beat the bushes to get kids to come to Community, to stay open.”

Greater enrollment, however, is a curse as well as a blessing. Her first negative statement about Community’s current state was, emphatically and unequivocally, “the waiting list.” She seemed to look back nostalgically on Community’s old, relatively unregulated form – before its mummification by “layers and layers of state and federal requirements.”

One thing she remembered with special fondness was a moment at Town Meeting early in her career at Community.

Town Meeting, the predecessor to Forum Council, has been obliterated from the memories of all but the staff and the classes of 2010 and 2011, but was once an integral, thriving part of the Community experience. Evashevski recalled a time when a student with a cleft palate and speech impediment stood up at the end of Town Meeting to tell the entire student body that he had been through surgery, that he was fine, that the surgery had gone well, but that he was still a little soft. He asked if they would watch out for him in the hallway.

The assembled Community students burst into applause and gave him a standing ovation.

Evashevski said, “I just thought, wow, what a welcoming place.”

It will miss her.

Why We Love Marion

• “I’m going to miss her next year … I hope she comes back and visits a lot or does CR classes.  It’ll be weird having a new forum leader.” -Zoe Psarouthakis

• “Marion’s very open and she’s fun.  She’s got a lot of good stories to tell.”

-Nicole Patel

• “Marion taught me how to love my country without loving what my country has done.” -Jacob Garber

• “She’s relaxed and informative at the same time and easy to communicate with.” -Miles Grofsorean

Michael Smith

Almost every Community High student has walked into the library during first block and run into Michael Smith’s Media-in-Motion class.  Trying to print last night’s homework, students can’t help but watch as Smith works magic on the projector.  Usually Smith is talking to a student, grinning and chatting.  It’s hard not to want to join in.

After 29 years working in Ann Arbor schools, Smith is retiring.  He leaves to the dismay of the many students who have come to appreciate his class in computer design basics.  Shoshana Shultz-Purves, a 2009 graduate, took Smith’s class twice.  She credits Smith’s class as the reason why she’s interested in going into design.

“Through these experiences, I have realized that this kind of work is part of what I want to do for the rest of my life.  It’s strange to think back to Michael’s class as being the catalyst for this understanding, but I really think his class is partly the source of my professional goal,” Shultz-Purves explained.

Shultz-Purves liked the creative atmosphere of Smith’s classes.  He encourages his students to experiment in their projects and express their individual personalities.

“I love believing in kids, finding cools things to build, new skills to learn, creating an environment where we can explore and create together and watching what they come up with,” Smith said.

Smith’s teaching career includes stints at EMU and U of M.  He is currently teaching at WCC, in addition to the one class he teaches at Community.  Smith has taught a myriad of subjects that are considered deviations from the normal standard of teaching,  including woodworking, metalworking,

drafting, electronics, and robotics.  Smith started robotics programs in many Ann Arbor Public Schools and began a Technology Education program at Roberto Clemente High School.

“I was extremely fortunate to go to work at Ann Arbor Open,” said Smith.  “Marcia [Schaffer] helped engineer the opportunity [for me] to teach at Community and I have enjoyed working at my two favorite schools in the country.”

Through all of his years teaching, Smith feels his most rewarding experience is when he found out he is usually wrong.

“It was incredibly liberating,” said Smith.  “I return to this idea all the time.  It’s very important to me to be passionate without being doctrinaire.”

Smith plans to continue teaching photography and digital imaging at WCC.

“I’m also going to continue to develop online instruction and continue to learn as much as I can about the things I care about,” stated Smith.  “   Smith departs with a word of his advice to his colleagues, especially the younger ones.

“Believe in yourself,” Smith said.  “Believe in the kids, believe in your colleagues, believe in learning.  Look for the best in them and you will be able to do great things.  Whatever the vehicle, it needs a committed, passionate driver.  There are few things you can do with your life that are as honorable or as important to our country as being the best teacher you can be.”

Why We Love Michael

• “He explains things so that they’re easy to use.” -Nick Tobin

• “He’s really enthusiastic about what he does. If you find a certain thing you really love doing…he’ll let you focus on that.” -Ben Shapiro

• “Overall just a good guy. Will be missed when he’s gone.” -Carter Johnson

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Bandito's serves up mexican food on Liberty and Fourth

On Liberty and Fourth, there is a small Mexican restaurant, largely unknown to the citizens of Community High School. Many students have not noticed this now twenty-year old restaurant as a lunch option. However, with Bandito’s new five-dollar menu for Community students, this may change

Three dedicated restaurant patrons of Communicator took a lunch break at Bandito’s to sample the cuisine available to Community High students. Full of vibrant colours and and Corona decorations, the restaurant has a small-town and family feel, serving California-style Mexican food. The Corona decor stretches from the Corona-bottle salt and pepper shakers to the yellow pinatas hanging from the ceiling. With thoughtful chili pepper fans and ukuleles, a refreshing Mexican feel is brought to the dining experience.

All food at Bandito’s is home made at the restaurant, including the chips, the salsa, and the tortillas. With spice ranges from neutral to hot, all dishes are rich and hearty, easily filling the hungry stomach. One burrito can easily fill two students, as our restaurant reviewers discovered. Especially delightful is the orange sauce for burritos, which is made of a special mix of cinnamon, sugar, and peppers. There is an excellent vegetarian option, and all beans and rice are completely lard-free.

Seating can be either at tables of colourful booths, as well as outside if it’s a nice day. Beautiful green umbrellas dot the storefront, and Mexican music plays from the speakers.

Bandito’s is family-owned, and has been in business for twenty years. Kanwar Singh, an Ann Arbor native and Huron High School graduate, started the restaurant in 1990. As a downtown, family-friendly restaurant, it is consistent with its regular customers, and is now offering a five-dollar menu exclusively for Community students. With its close location and filling food, Bandito’s is the ideal lunch choice.

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Eight graders like Fiona Waltje prepared for this day in their English class. ”Preparation for Portfolio Day begins early so that we can make sure resumes and cover letters are perfect. Typically this happens toward the middle of March.” In this time they have researched jobs that they are interested in, like a doctor. They have written resumes specifically for that position, and compiled work they have done in all of their classes, as well as outside their classes. I focus on the competitive aspects of interviewing and the need to emphasize those things students are good at and could translate into workplace skills.” said Mrs. Daniel, The ELA Curriculum Leader and Teacher at Scarlett Middle School.

It is also a very memorable day for older students. Ninth grader Emma Mayhew still recalls what portfolio day was like for her. “I interview to be a politician,” she said. “I had to really think about what I thought was good for my portfolio, I put in things like  Academic Society, and what I know of Computer technology.” Though she wished there had been more jobs to interview for, Emma really enjoyed Portfolio day. “It taught me how to make a resume.”

Portfolio day uniquely prepares these students for the future life. Mrs. Daniel said, “I think Portfolio Day gives students an early opportunity to connect work they do at school with real world options for work in their future…I think they develop a deeper understanding of what things they need to do to approach a job search with some idea of what to expect, some confidence with regard to actually participating in interviews and a glimpse at what it feels like in a real setting.”

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A photo from the CHS Dance Body show, which both Solomon and Ringquist are members of.

Marissa Solomon, a PHS Junior who duals to be a part of Dance Body, is one such dancer. “Dance was my first hobby. I started when I was three and it’s one of the few things that I have stuck with forever.”

Solomon is nothing if not dedicated. She has been dancing for 13 years total, and performs 5 styles of dance. Her weekly schedule consist of Dance Body for an hour and a half everyday (plus rehearsals), an hour and a half each on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 3 hours on Saturdays.

Despite all the effort she puts into it, professional dancing is not currently in Solomon’s future. “I used to want to be a professional dancer, but I don’t anymore,” said Solomon. “I love dancing, but I don’t know if I would like it to be my job… it’s so hard to make it as a dancer. But I do still want to dance,” she added. “Hopefully I can be in a company when I’m in college and take classes as an adult.”

Emmeline Ringquist, a CHS junior, is another high school dancer who started quite young. Ringquist has been dancing for seven years. Similar to Solomon, dance started as a hobby that grew quite quickly. Ringquist is also a member of Dance Body.

Ringquist does not have plans to be a professional either. “I want to dance recreationally in the future, take a few classes here and there when I have time… but I don’t want to get too serious about it. I don’t want to be professional or anything,” she said.

So what fuels these dancers, if not a future career? “I dance because I love it,” said Solomon. “Sometimes it can be hard and frustrating and time consuming, but I’m a dancer.”

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CHS Senior Aidan Mase-Kemnitz performing.

Aidan Mase-Kemnitz, a senior at Community, is passionate about dancing. However, he’s not your typical dancer. Mase-Kemnitz describes his experience in multiple styles of dance as a male high school performer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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The CHS jazz band played as people made their way into the auditorium and NHS students served as ushers and helped people find their seats. The auditorium roared with applause at 7:00 p.m. as CHS staff walked in, followed by the graduating seniors shortly afterwards. After Dean Jen Hein and Superintendent Todd Roberts made their opening speeches, seniors were given awards.

Graduation is run a bit differently at Community than at Pioneer and Huron (how surprising). Seniors sit by forum instead of alphabetical order and go up on stage together by forum to receive their diplomas. But this is not the best part. Because of Community’s small size, seniors are given the opportunity to give a short 30-second speech on stage. This year there were 122 seniors who graduated. Whether it was a simple “Thanks” from Jascha Wilcox or Alex Patten and Zakk Aube singing “The Nadeem Song”, everyone had a chance to speak.

The night was also filled with great performances, including a guitar solo by Max Bowen, “Let It Be” by The Beatles performed by the Simmer forum, and a short fillm made by Colin Leet. The crowd sighed “aw” in unison at the slideshow of baby pictures, and some got emotional towards the end of the evening. “It’s just really sad,” said CHS senior Hilary Burch when asked how she felt about graduating. “I still have to go to school when I go back [to France],” said French exchange student Pauline Guimard “but I am so happy I got to graduate. It was really fun.”

The class of 2010 sure went out with a bang, but it was the kind of bang that resembles fireworks on the Fourth of July. With graduation as closure to the seniors’ journey through high school, Community High hopes to have given them courage to embark on new journeys as they step out into the world, and the skills to prepare them for forthcoming adventures.

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“It’s changed business, there’s definitely more family people during the day,” said Jesse Barr, a dishwasher at Fleetwood. For Ann Arbor locals, it’s hard to imagine the Fleetwood as anything but the smoke filled, all night hotbox that it once was. “There’s definitely less business, because the bars get less people, so there’s less drunk people who come here wanting food,” said Barr.

The Fleetwood’s staff is used to midnight shifts being the busiest, now it’s become more like your average breakfast diner. “Midnights are totally slow because I think people would rather just buy alcohol and smoke at home,” said a waitress at Fleetwood, who adds that she’s “making less [money] right now, probably like 25% less.”

Many of Fleetwood’s regulars have voiced their disapproval of Fleetwood’s newly smoke free environment, but they are also getting a whole new clientele. People who would never have dreamed of setting foot in the Fleetwood before the smoking ban, are now stopping by to taste Fleetwood’s famous ‘Hippy Hash.’ “[The smoking ban] does interfere with my ability to enjoy my time here,” said Barr who has been a smoker for years.

For Fleetwood’s previous smoking customers, one of the best parts was that they could spend all night at the Fleetwood just lounging around, eating and talking, and lighting up a cigarette whenever they wanted. It made for an atmosphere like no other restaurant in Ann Arbor.

“I just got used to this place being weird, now it’s normal,” said Barr. Though it’s difficult for many of Fleetwood’s previous customers to see the motivation behind Michigan’s smoking ban, it is in fact there. The goal is to increase the publics’ over all health status, by preventing second hand smoke inhalation. “A lot of the employees who did smoke either quit or cut back significantly. So I can’t say it’s been a bad thing, except for the money,” said Barr.

As for the future of the Fleetwood, it’s difficult to say. “It’s definitely going to change the demographic, so you know, kids can’t cut class and come smoke,” said Barr with a laugh. For now smokers will have to be content smoking across the sidewalk from the Fleetwood, watching as toddlers enjoy their pancakes and apple juice.

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