From teaching students how to make Kente cloth to leading professional development on equity and inclusion, and from putting on spoken word performances to exploring Supreme Court cases, schools across AUSD are finding new ways to celebrate Black History this month. Plus the district is teaming up with the Black Achievers Alliance and the City of Alameda to celebrate local black history on February 26. You can learn more in today's community bulletin.

Since 2015, the Bioma Project - which was created by middle school students in 2015 - has worked with 30 schools and some 1200 students across the country.

... Earhart Elementary School for receiving a Distinguished School Award from the State Board of Education. Distinguished Schools are  public schools  that best represent exemplary and quality educational 

 programs. Only five to 10 percent of all California public schools receive this honor every year.  

...Fifth graders at  Edison Elementary School who earlier this month bagged 19,343 pounds of produce at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. The fifth graders also learned about how the Food Bank works, and they were able to tour the facilities, including walking through the enormous freezer.  The community service project included classroom work both before and after the trip, which gave them a chance to learn more about food insecurity  and reflect more deeply on the importance of volunteering, community service, and hunger.

...the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF), the Bonta California Progress Foundation, AUSD our college and career counselors, and district office staff who helped organize an 

Historic Black College and University Caravan to Encinal High School last week.  NCRF brought 23 historically black colleges to the school, which gave students an opportunity to meet college representatives in person, learn about their programs and services, and in some cases apply for and receive both admission and scholarships on the spot. This was an exciting and heartwarming event, and we are grateful to all who helped make it happen.

More than 65 instructional leaders from across the district - including principals, teachers, and intervention leads - took part in a "Leading for Equity Institute" with the National Equity Project this week. 

AUSD staff are partnering with the Alameda County Department of Public Health and the Alameda County Office of Education to monitor and communicate about coronavirus in Califonia. Currently the risk of developing coronavirus in Alameda County is considered low, but we are actively following reports on the disease and will update our community as needed. For more information and for tips on how to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, please go to our coronavirus web page .

The California School Parent Survey is designed to provide teachers, administrators, and other school staff with information directly from parent/guardians that can be used to foster positive learning and teaching environments, parent involvement, and student achievement, health, and well-being. The act of asking parents to provide their perceptions of the school is in itself an empowering parent-involvement activity.

  Please take the time to take  this year's survey . The deadline is March 6.