This week and last week our fifth- and eighth-graders have been promoted to middle school and high school, respectively, and our 12th-graders have graduated from the Alameda Unified School District. This season of promotions and celebrations is always a joyous (and poignant) time for the AUSD as we marvel at our students’ growth, celebrate their achievements, share their excitement and wax wistful about their moving on to the next stage of their lives. This year in particular, though, is a time for sober reflection and heartfelt acknowledgment.
The last 15 months have been the hardest that many of us have experienced. We know that our district’s students, families and staff have struggled — sometimes deeply. As such, being able to gather in person to acknowledge these students’ presence, resilience and persistence is truly an honor, and a humbling one at that.
Our ceremonies have been quite “normal” in the new sense — we had to shorten guest lists, ask participants to continue to wear masks and plan for social distancing. The fact that we’ve been able to gather in person, though, and see the looks of joy and pride on the faces of students, families and staff is a sign of recovery and hope. We’re grateful and relieved to be able to gather this way this year in particular.
That’s not to say the pandemic is over. Our summer school sessions this year (which we have more than tripled in size to provide support to more students) will continue to follow COVID-19 protocols such as masking and social distancing. We’ll continue providing COVID-19 testing to students and staff. We’re planning more mental health support for our students. Our attention is increasingly turning to the instructional challenges and opportunities presented by next year and how we can best support our students when they return. Things won’t be exactly the same in the 2021-22 school year; we’re planning to make them better.
A few quick announcements: The AUSD will continue its free meal program this summer. Meals will be provided on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to noon at Wood and Lincoln middle schools, Encinal Junior and Senior High School and at the Academy of Alameda. All youth are welcome to pick up meals at these locations, no identification will be needed. Family members can also pick up meals without students present.
Our first day of the next school year will be Aug. 16, and our 2021-22 calendar is available online at www.alamedaunified.org/parentresources. In the meantime, we’d like to wish all of our families and employees a restful summer and thank them for partnering with us this year to support our students. It’s been a long, hard year, and we think we’re a stronger community because of it.
Susan Davis is the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs. Reach her at 510-337-7175 or sdavis@alameda.k12.ca.us.
