NEWS

WCC instructor elected to Ann Arbor board of education

Ernesto Querijero ready to provide teacher’s perspective to AAPS

Among Querijero’s progressive plans include: expanding special education, a more conservative approach to COVID safety, and moving away from standardized testing. Photo: Ernesto Querijero

By Ian D. Loomis
Staff Writer

WCC English instructor Ernesto Querijero has succeeded in his campaign for the board of education in Ann Arbor.

Querijero began his campaign after regularly attending public meetings and realizing that actual teachers are “missing from the conversation” on the board.

Among the new board members swearing in after this election, he is the only one with experience as a teacher.

“None of them are active teachers,” says Querijero, “and that is something that I believe needs to be on that board in order to represent, basically, teaching for teachers and students for student learning.”

He also believes that as the school board listens to the superintendent, the superintendent should listen to the board as well, “because the superintendent is a hired employee and the board is elected officials who represent the community.”

Among the issues that Querijero has taken issue with is the board’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in schools. He believes that the board’s lack of proactivity and their attempts to put a foot in the door to ease back into in-person learning is a poor judgment of safety, especially for vulnerable students and teachers.

“We will go back when it’s safe, as opposed to ‘let’s see if we could find our way back in there’,” Querijero says.

During his time on the board, Querijero plans to move toward sustainability and expand AP and IB programming. He wants to depart from standardized testing in wake of a more holistic approach, allowing kids to focus on their strengths while pinpointing how they can improve. He also wants to further develop special education in the district.

“We need to be able to put these issues out in front of our community and let them know that we’re thinking about their concerns and that we’re going to address them.”

Querijero will begin his term on the board in January.

Get stories like this delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter, The Loop.