September 15 News: Franklin Has a New Principal, ASTI is "No Place for Hate," and More!

September 15, 2017

Franklin Elementary Gets New Principal; Board Passes Resolution Protecting All Students; Earhart Students Teach Design Team about Ocean Guardianship

Franklin Elementary Teacher Hired as New Principal

At its public meeting Tuesday night, the Board of Education approved the hire of Lynnette Chirrick as the new principal of Franklin Elementary School. Over the last 20 years, Ms. Chirrick has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district administrator. For the last three years, she has been teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade at Franklin.

To learn more, please see our press release.

ASTI Begins "No Place for Hate" Program

Starting this fall, ASTI students and staff will be participating in the Anti-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate," program, which provides a framework and tools for preventing bias, bullying, and hatred. Later this fall, teachers and staff from across the district will also receive preliminary "No Place for Hate" training. You can learn more about these programs here.

Earhart Students Teach Adults about our Shoreline

Earlier this week, 5th graders from Earhart Elementary School taught a delegation of architects, engineers, and designers about what it means to be an "Ocean Guardian School." The delegation was part of the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge, which aims to find innovative solutions to local problems caused by climate change. Our full article is here.

Please Don't Forget!

AUSD is accepting applications for both the Measure A and Measure I Oversight Committees. You can find more information about these revenue measures, their oversight committees, and the application process here.

The #PrepareOurIsland campaign is still going strong, and it's not too late to join. Just go to www.tinyurl.com/AUSD-Prepares to get weekly tips on how to build your emergency preparedness kits. You can join anytime!

Edison Otters Raising Money for Texas School Hit by Hurricane Harvey

The Edison Otters have started a fundraising drive for students and families at E.A. Lawhon Elementary in Pearland, Texas, whose homes were badly damaged in Hurricane Harvey. You can donate online here and see a video that a Lawhon student created for Edison students about the damage in the school's neighborhood here.

Board Briefs

At its public meeting on September 12, the Board of Education approved the Resolution Affirming Pledge to Protect All Students . This is a statement that re-affirms the district's vision of serving a diverse community of students in an inclusive, safe, and secure environment and asks families and staff to join the following actions to achieve that vision:

Pledge to confront, name, and speak against all forms of bigotry, bullying, hate, and intolerance.
Counter any speech or any action that prevents any child or adult from feeling included and safe.
Help all students, families, and staff understand our need to stand up for the rights of all people.
Stand up against speech that is racist, ethnocentric, or intolerant of differences in color of skin.
Stand up against speech that is anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, or intolerant of any faith tradition.
Stand up against speech that is homophobic, anti-LGBTQ, or intolerant of any gender identity.
Stand up to protect the rights of immigrants to this country and to provide them safe haven here.
Uplift all students in our district, regardless of any differences that they might have in ability.

The full resolution is here.

The Board also approved the unaudited 2016-17 financial report. You can find the full agenda, all background materials, and video of the meeting here .

The next board meeting is September 26.

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