As a result of the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) budget crisis, Clague science teacher Lea Kotlinski was involuntarily moved to a job in special education at a different middle school.
This move, mandated by the AAPS Central Administration, has caused disappointment among students, parents as well as educators who have valued Kotlinski’s role in the community.
“Ms. Kotlinski was a very impressive science teacher,” Clague 8th grader Benjamin Wang said. She was a very engaging and relatable science teacher. I felt that her lessons were very well thought out and good at helping students learn and retain knowledge.”
On Aug. 15, 2024, an email was sent out by the Parent Teacher Student Organization, or PTSO, regarding this issue, containing a link to a petition for keeping Kotlinski at Clague, as well as a letter written by Kotlinski herself addressing Clague families.
In the letter, Kotlinski stated that she has not recently worked in special education. Although she has a Masters degree in the field, Kotlinski explained that she earned the degree to better support students with special needs in her own science classroom. She emphasized that she hasn’t taught special education at AAPS and that the field has changed a lot in the past decade.
“This is not simply moving from one content area to another,” she said in her letter, “this is being forced into a job that requires a completely different set of skills and expertise.”
She did, however, make it clear that her building administrators are not the ones who made this decision — it was the AAPS Central Administration who did.
“I am asking you to contact AAPS central administration, as well as the school board, to let them know that keeping me in my science role at Clague is the best way I can serve students in this community,” Kotlinski said.
“No matter the outcome, know that I have absolutely loved and been fulfilled in teaching science to your children,” she added. “This school and community will always hold a special place in my heart and I cannot thank you enough for having me be a part of it.”
Clague principal Dr. Harvell later confirmed that “Mrs. Kotlinski no longer works in Ann Arbor Public Schools and found a new job in Plymouth Canton School District.”
