Letter To Community From Albany Unified School District Superintendent Wells

Press release from Albany Unified School District:

December 11, 2020

Read more about our current stay at home status and upcoming events in the district.

Dear AUSD Community,

I’m writing to provide important updates about our current stay at home status and upcoming events in our district.

Emergency Stay At Home Order:

COVID-19 is surging in our community at an unprecedented speed. The virus threatens hospital capacity throughout the region, and the extremely high levels of transmission in our community right now makes even previously low-risk activities unsafe. While we are in the current “Purple” Tier of COVID-19, schools are not allowed to open, and we must take immediate, decisive, collective action to stay home as much as possible.

Alameda County Health officials have issued an emergency stay at home order until January 4, 2021. The order includes the following:

• Leave only briefly for essential services.
• Do not gather in person with anyone outside of your immediate household or living unit.
• Do not travel outside the region.
• Avoid crowds while running essential errands.
• Wear a face covering, keep 6 feet apart from others, and wash/sanitize hands regularly.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, December 15, 2020, is our next School Board Meeting, with many important items on the agenda. Two new Board members – Melissa Boyd and Veronica Davidson – will be sworn into public office. Outgoing Board members, Jacob Clark and Kim Trutane, will also be recognized, and the Board will conduct its annual reorganization with the election of new officers.

Also at the School Board meeting, the Superintendent will be proposing new target dates for reopening schools. As previously mentioned, we are currently in the “Purple” tier status and schools are not allowed to open; therefore, the current target dates will need to be adjusted. Here are the current target dates:

• January 4, 2021: TK-1st grades
• January 11, 2021: 2nd-3rd grades
• January 18, 2021: 4th-5th grades
• February 1, 2021: 6th- 12th grades

Once the School Board approves the new target dates, the updated information will be communicated via email and posted on our website.

December 17, 2020, 6-8 pm is our Superintendent’s Community Forum on Reopening Schools. Please join us to hear the updated information and be part of the Q&A. Details are listed on our website and will be sent via email next week.

Have a Safe, Healthy and Encouraged weekend.

Frank Wells, Ed.D.

Superintendent - AUSD

This press release was produced by the Albany Unified School District. The views expressed are the author's own.