Piedmont Ahead
News from Piedmont Unified School District
Welcome to Piedmont Ahead
Update: Letter from Superintendent Regarding Negotiations
Dear PUSD Elementary Families,
In August, PUSD negotiated one of the first contractual agreements for in-person learning for the 20-21 school year in the Bay Area. That agreement established terms for hybrid learning schedules and instructional models, and allowed Piedmont students to return to in-person instruction before any other public school district in Alameda county.
Subsequently, the District made multiple requests that APT return to the table to renegotiate the terms of the MOU. Despite the fact that APT was under no obligation to renegotiate, in an effort to partner with the District and meet student needs, they willingly agreed to do so.
The District proposed several options for increasing in-person minutes for our elementary students. APT did not agree to any of the proposals and instead chose to adhere to our original agreement and the terms we established for the 20-21 school year. We know this will be disappointing to some in our community. We want to assure you that our educators are focused on ending the year with their students on a positive note with some consistency and look forward to preparing for a full reopening in the fall of 2021.
The current MOU and bell schedule will remain in place for the 20-21 school year and will expire on June 30, 2021. At that time, the elementary schedule will revert back to the pre-pandemic 19-20 schedule for the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.
We are looking forward to focusing our energy and resources on a positive end to the year and a strong start to 21-22.
Sincerely,
Randall Booker
Board President Comments on District's Anti-Racism Efforts
At the April 28 board meeting, President Cory Smegal shared the following remarks on behalf of the School Board:
Over the past week, our district has received a lot of public attention. Poor phrasing in an email resulted in an invitation coming across as an insult. Our students were the first to call attention to it and they were right to do so. The leadership response was swift and direct. An apology. An explanation. But we understand that all of these caused harm that needs repair. Tonight we confirm our commitment to racial justice and continuing the work of anti-racism.
Now this week, some are telling us that these efforts are not enough and that there needs to be consequences and more accountability.
Tonight, the Piedmont Board of Education again affirms what we testified to last summer, when we passed a board resolution condemning institutional and systemic racism. In the resolution, we committed to doing anti-racist work as individuals and as a Board. We committed to keeping anti-racist values at the forefront of our work and to embed these values into our decisions, our actions, our policies, and our procedures.
Our students have made it clear that anti-racism calls for truth and integrity. Our principals understand that the work of anti-racism requires the courage to show up and step outside of comfort zones, and that despite the best intentions, sometimes things go wrong. And over the past week, we have all experienced the painful reality that mistakes on the road to becoming anti-racist can invite hasty judgment.
We acknowledge that damage has been done. Yet we ask this community—our students and their families, our educators and administrators—to commit to the anti-racism journey with us in solidarity. This commitment means that we walk in tandem and in support of each other despite the difficulties. It means that a misstep is an opportunity to learn and provide support. It means calling each other in rather than calling each other out.
If we silence those who take risks and make mistakes along the way, we discourage others from stepping forward to enter into this important work, at a time when all of our words are so highly charged and under such scrutiny.
We are just beginning our journey to becoming an anti-racist district. It will be a long one and if we are determined to realize success then we must commit to staying the course. Later this evening, we will introduce our new director of diversity, equity and inclusion. She will lead our district’s efforts to implement our racial and educational equity policies. However, we do not expect her to shoulder this work alone. All of us have a responsibility and a role to play in anti-racist work. We will learn together how to do the work and we will work together to get it done. Let’s commit to learning from each other and moving forward.
PUSD Hires Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Ms. Rasiah will champion, promote, and guide Piedmont Unified School District’s goal of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across our entire District, translating the efforts already in progress and those in the two equity board policies into actionable goals, measurable outcomes, and sustainable results.
Among other things her responsibilities include:
- Ensure that the District's DEI vision is infused into the fabric of the organization through its systems, tools, policies, structures, and practices
- Work closely with Human Resources and Administrators toward the goal of achieving greater diversity in Piedmont’s faculty and staff
- Support the experience of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) staff so that the district can improve retention, job satisfaction, and their psychological safety and well-being
- Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive culture that seeks to coach and empower all staff to deepen their knowledge of and commitment to equity
- Promote, advise upon, and support curriculum development and instructional practices that are culturally responsive
- Develop consistent communication and feedback mechanisms to ensure we are able to identify, discuss, and address equity issues
Resources on Anti-Racism
Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People
It’s Not Complicated — White People Must Do Their Part to Dismantle White Supremacy
White Anti-Racism Affinity Groups: I Used the Be a Skeptic, But Now I'm an Evangelist
Board Hears Report on Survey Results
At the April 28 board meeting, communications consultant Naomi Hunter presented the results of the Pandemic Response Survey. More than 1,100 parents, teachers, staff and community members participated in the survey, and more than 2,700 comments were submitted.
The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the effectiveness of communication during the pandemic, and use findings to create a plan to improve the quantity, content and channels used for future communication.
Key findings include:
Communication needs to be better coordinated, more consolidated and more concise.
The pandemic has taken a toll on trust in the district; many respondents expressed disappointment, anger and frustration.
Levels of trust are evenly distributed along a spectrum, rather than divided.
Stakeholders trust the district to take care of other's interests more than their own.
Parents and staff seek more opportunities for engagement, sharing their opinions and participating in decision making.
Parents, teachers and staff long to heal and rebuild trust; it is widely recognized that the pandemic took a severe toll on the culture of the district.
"One of my first recommendations to the superintendent and the board was to conduct a survey, something I often recommend to help districts understand their key stakeholders in order to communicate better," said Ms. Hunter during the presentation. "In the best case scenario, this information will be used create a communications infrastructure that responds to the needs of your community. We will periodically re-survey and re-evaluate to measure the impact and adjust communications, as needed."
Before sharing the results, Ms. Hunter commented, "All stakeholders – your parents, your staff, your community and especially your students – have been through so much this year, and you will hear a lot of pain and anger reflected in some of the comments. I want to remind you that it is human nature to focus on the negative, but it is clear from the results and the comments that opinions in your community are varied. [...] It’s important to listen to all of it, negative, positive and in between. [...] We cannot change anything that happened over the last 14 months, but [we can] develop a plan for improving the quantity, content and channels for future communication. The survey provides a trove of information that will deepen our understanding and help Piedmont move ahead."
Here are a few significant highlights from the slides shared at the board meeting:
I feel well-informed about PUSD's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the district's re-opening plans
More than 50% agreed or strongly agreed that they felt well informed. However, the comments presented a more nuanced view, with many suggesting the need for more concise and consolidated communication.
Please rank your general level of trust in district leaders (Board of Education and Superintendent).
On a scale of 1-10, the average trust level is 5.5. Trust is not uniformly low or high; rather, it is distributed fairly evenly along a spectrum. About one third of respondents chose the bottom three levels, about one third chose the middle four levels and about one third chose the top three levels
I trust the Superintendent and Board of Education to make decisions that are in the best interest of . . .
This chart shows that teachers, parents and staff have quite different levels of trust in whether the district is making decisions in their best interest. For example, of teachers who had an opinion, 77% trust the district to make decisions in the best interest of students, but only 54% of parents do.
The survey was recommended, drafted and conducted by Naomi Hunter, who was hired on a temporary contract in January to support the superintendent and the board in communicating with parents, teachers, staff and the community.
The anonymous survey was created and implemented on the consultant's professional Survey Monkey account, and the data includes no personal identifying information. Neither the consultant nor the district know the identity of individuals who submitted responses.
Have a photo of a class activity or school event to share? Please send to communication@piedmont.k12.ca.us.
Do you have an idea for a story you would like to see featured? Please email communication@piedmont.k12.ca.us.
About Us
Piedmont, CA 94611
(510) 594-2600
Superintendent Randall Booker