While most of our students and many of our staff are on well-deserved summer breaks this month, we have a number of announcements to share with our broader community.
Vaccine clinics: As we prepare for students and staff to return to schools in-person, full-time in mid-August, we urge parents and guardians of students ages 12 and older to get their students vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine is safe and effective, and getting students vaccinated will help protect all of our students, families and staff — as well as the wider community — from this virus. It will also help us keep our classes and schools open this fall.
The Alameda Unified School District is partnering with Alameda County Health Care Services this summer to provide another round of vaccination clinics for community members ages 12 and older. The first clinic will take place at 2 p.m. July 29 at Wood Middle School, where medical staff will administer the Pfizer vaccination, which requires two shots. The clinic for the second shot will take place at 10 a.m. Aug. 21, also at Wood Middle. You can register for appointments online at www.alamedaunified.org/studentvax.
Meanwhile, the AUSD is tracking the rising case rates and continuing to monitor and follow directives and guidelines issued by the state and county. We will communicate with state and county officials about our safety protocols in early August to be able to provide the most up-to-date information to families and staff. We do know, however, that the current state mandate for K-12 schools is for all students and staff to wear masks while inside our facilities.
Encinal ribbon-cutting: The public is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony for Encinal Junior & Senior High School at 3 p.m. Aug. 6. The ceremony will mark the completion of the two-year modernization project at the school. Although the school opened part-time this past April, public health guidelines made an official gathering difficult. As such, AUSD staff decided to wait until pandemic-related restrictions eased to celebrate this significant project.
The ceremony will include public speakers and tours of the new building and modernized older buildings. The project was funded via the 2014 facilities bond Measure I. The ceremony will take place in the front gathering area on Central Avenue.
The 152,000-square-foot updated space features a new classroom building overlooking the bay; new building exteriors that include expanded windows to let in more natural light; updated science classrooms; new landscaping and student gathering areas in front of the campus; outdoor learning spaces; outdoor basketball courts; and fully upgraded fire alarms, PA systems, phones, clocks and campus power systems.
“During this last long and difficult year, the continued progress on the Encinal campus has been a continual bright spot,” says AUSD Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “I’d like to thank the design and construction team for their remarkable work in transforming this campus, our staff and families for their patience during the construction, and I’d like to thank the community again for their support of the Measure I bond measure.”
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.
