Piedmont Ahead
News from Piedmont Unified School District
Welcome to Piedmont Ahead
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.
One Year Later Hope Prevails
- January 6, 2020: 1st Covid case announced in the U.S.
- March 1, 2020: 1st Covid case announced in Alameda County
- March 11, 2020: World Health Organization declares Covid is a pandemic; PUSD announces voluntary closure of schools.
- March 16, 2020: Regional stay-at-home order begins
- March 17, 2020: Governor Newsom makes off-the-cuff comment that schools are likely to remain closed for the rest of the school year.
- March 23, 2020: Alameda County Confirms 1st Covid death
- April 2, 2020: PUSD reaches tentative agreement with the APT on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that reflects new conditions for teachers in distance learning
- May 5, 2020: PUSD releases a Distance Learning Plan
- May 19, 2020: Board meets to consider a planning process for reopening schools in the Fall.
- June 30, 2020: Board approves fall reopening plan
- July 13, 2020: In light of surging Covid cases and scarcity of Covid tests, the Board directs Superintendent to bring forward a plan to begin the year with a 100% Distance Learning Model
- July 17, 2020: Governor Newsom unveils the State's Reopening Framework mandating that all California schools in counties on the state's Covid-19 monitoring list begin the school year solely with distance learning and must meet strict criteria in order to open campuses.
September 2, 2020: Alameda County Office of Education begins elementary school reopening waiver process. PUSD begins preparing a waiver.
- November 16, 2020: Alameda County moves from Orange Tier to Purple Tier, skipping Red Tier due to rapid surge in Covid cases. Waiver process allowing schools to open ends unexpectedly just as PUSD was making some corrections to a previously-submitted waiver.
- December 30, 2020: Governor Newsom announces Safe Schools for All Plan
- January 7, 2021: Alameda County reported 1,275 cases of Covid, the peak to date.
- February 8, 2021: PUSD Board approves Secondary Schools Reopening Plan
- February 9, 2021: Kindergarten-6th graders begin returning for in-person instruction
- March 8, 2021: Alameda County reports a total of 81,747 total cases of Covid and 1,324 deaths since the start of the pandemic
- March 9, 2021: Alameda County enters Red Tier
- March 16, 2021: 7th-12th graders will return to in-person learning
On Thursday night President Biden offered us hope and vision for the possibility of celebrating a "normal" 4th of July with family gathering and backyard BBQs. His words of hope and encouragement bode well for a full re-opening of school in the fall. We are optimistic, and we hope you are, too!
Piedmont Voices
This week we are launching a new feature where we will pose a question to one parent, one staff member and/or one student on a topic we think everyone is thinking about. This week our topic is related to the first anniversary of going into shelter-in-place:
What is "the best" and "the worst" about the year we've just been through?
Sharon FIller, PUSD parent
There are so many “bests”: quality time as a family, amazing dinners with my husband and kids, lots of laughing and joking around, slowing down... hiking, reading, rediscovering old movies, quieter freeways, my amazing colleagues in the ICU, our wonderful teachers and counselors (thanks Amanda) who kept our kids engaged, my wonderful community who supported us by making masks, scrub hats, dinners, muffins( thanks so much NCL) and even disinfectant spray, getting the Pfizer vaccine in December, and my wonderful friends who kept me sane! The worst: the first few months of the outbreak when we were overwhelmed in our ICU with lots of question around safety and adequate PPE and I was extremely nervous for my family as so many doctors and nurses in New York and Europe brought the virus home to their loved ones, the difficulty of seeing so much death, missing my family in Ireland and wishing I could visit my 83 year old Mum.
But my gratitude for all blessings far outweigh the difficulties of this year!
I think the best part of this year has been the ability to learn more about myself. I have learned to become comfortable doing things by myself and being more independent, which I used to struggle with. The worst part of this year has definitely been the lack of classic ASB events that we've been able to do (Homecoming dance, night rally, etc.). It's hard to fully restructure every single event that we're used to doing, but I also think it's been a fun challenge that I've learned a lot from.
We Support Asian American and Pacific Islander students, teachers, staff and community members
As Havens Principal Anne Dolids put it in a recent communique to families, "This work takes all of us. As educators we are continuing to develop our toolbox so that we can talk openly about identity throughout the year, celebrating one another beyond holidays and food. We are engaged in professional learning opportunities, and we are coming together monthly to hold a circle to explore our practices and learn from each other. We are also setting aside staff meeting time each month to push our practice forward. While we are all still in different places as we grow and stretch ourselves, the work is happening."
Havens recently conducted a community circle with staff specifically focused on the harm done to the AAPI community. Staff looked at a post made by NBA player, Jeremy Lin, listened to a clip from one of our parent/mentor interviews, and listened to a colleague's experience as an Asian American in Piedmont. Staff then had a conversation following prompts that gave all a chance to reflect on questions such as: "What does it mean to enter into conversations about Asian fear?", "What is one thing you’d like to bring back to your classroom/work space?" and "Who is one person who you would like to connect with to take next steps?"
We join PADC in calling for an inclusive community. You can read PADC's full statement condemning anti-Asian violence and find further resources on anti-racism on their website.
Alameda County Moved to Red Tier, 7-12th Graders Will Return to Campus Beginning Next Week
Alameda County was moved back to the Red Tier, which means that 7th-12th graders can return to campus beginning next week according to our Secondary Schools Learning Plan, approved by the Board on February 8. Ninth graders and students new to Piedmont High School had a site tour on March 9 in anticipation of the change in tier status. The timeline for next week is:
March 15: PUSD School Holiday. Schools closed
March 16: 7th graders in Cohort A return; 9th & 10th graders return
March 17: 8th graders in Cohort A return
March 18: 7th graders in Cohort B return
March 19: 8th graders in Cohort B return
March 23: 11th and 12th graders return
Our County and our region have recovered rapidly since the end of January when the adjusted daily case rate was more than 37 per 100,000. Today it is 4.8 per 100,000 residents with a testing positivity rate of 1.8 percent. We are optimistic that Covid case rates will continue to fall in Alameda County as more residents are vaccinated, but in the meantime we do encourage you to do your part by continuing to wear masks, practice social distancing and wash your hands frequently, and follow all guidelines issued by public health officials. You can read the Alameda County Public Health Department’s Press Release here.
Vaccination Update
Last Chance to Take Pandemic Response Survey
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