During its meetings on October 8 and October 22, the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Education discussed the renewal of the Academy of Alameda charter, LGBTQ student needs, and strategies to keep classrooms cool.
Academy of Alameda charter renewal
In August 2024, the Academy of Alameda (AoA) submitted a petition to AUSD to renew its charter, kicking off a process that the school needs to complete every five to seven years. AUSD oversees three charter schools in Alameda—AoA, Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC), and NEA Community Learning Center (NEA)—and must complete a comprehensive review of finances, compliance, and student academic performance in order to approve a charter renewal for each school.
Ahead of the mandated public hearing on the item on October 8, AoA Executive Director Christine Chilcott and Middle School Principal Amy McGeorge led a presentation detailing a “track record of success” at AoA since it first opened in 2010.
McGeorge presented data that showed AoA students, including Black and brown, English learner, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, performed better than their statewide counterparts in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math during the last two school years. Chilcott also highlighted recent initiatives to increase school attendance and target math and reading interventions to select students.
“I am speaking today to ask that you renew the charter for the Academy of Alameda,” said Xavier, a second-grade student at AoA, during the public hearing. “I love my school. The teachers and staff are amazing and make learning fun.”
“I have been asked so many times recently, if I support our local charter schools. And every time I have proudly said yes,” noted Board Member Heather Little. “We have a very unique relationship here in Alameda that does not exist in our neighboring districts, which has afforded me the ability to say that.”
On October 22, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Kirsten Zazo presented the District’s findings from its review and September site visit. AoA received a score for each performance element under the four broad criteria of student instruction, leadership and governance, improvement/data use, and fiscal accountability. On a 1-to-5 scale from “unsatisfactory” to “excellent,” AoA scored a “3” or above on all elements, thus meeting the threshold required for renewal recommendation.
Accordingly, Zazo concluded with the District’s recommendation for a seven-year renewal of AoA’s charter. The Board will take action on the petition by a resolution during its next meeting on November 12.
LBGT student needs
Later in the October 8 meeting, District Counselor and LGBTQ Liaison Melissa Saunders presented data on LGBTQ student populations, mental health outcomes, and corresponding needs. Of the seventh, ninth, and 11th grade AUSD students who answered the California Healthy Kids Survey in 2023, approximately one in four students identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or were uncertain of their sexual orientation.
The data also highlights troubling statistics that LGBTQ students experienced social emotional distress, considered suicide in the past twelve months, and have been harassed at school at rates two to six times higher than their heterosexual peers.
In response, Saunders outlined a list of student and staff needs in order to alleviate the discrepancies, including more staff and counselor training on issues and curricula related to LGBTQ students, additional support for student mental health, and enhanced access to restrooms and changing facilities. The measures are intended to augment existing resources in schools, such as lessons and curricula on bias-based language and inclusivity, voluntary training on inclusive classroom practices for all elementary staff, and “Rainbow Clubs” at eight of nine elementary schools.
During public comment, Miles and Peke, two Alameda High School (AHS) students, called out a specific AHS teacher who they felt was “openly homophobic and transphobic” as one example of why greater staff training or disciplinary action is required.
“A teacher I had last year was blatantly ignoring my pronouns, even though I wrote them on my assignments and my emails on the top, right under my name, in really big font,” said Miles.
“She kept calling me ‘she,’ oftentimes dead-naming me and people having to correct her,” added Peke, a transgender student. Peke recounted a conversation with a therapist present where the same teacher shouted, “It’s not my fault she doesn’t look like a boy!” when her use of pronouns was corrected.
“I don’t care how your opinions are. Just please respect me as a person,” Peke concluded.
Board members thanked the students for coming forward and deemed the teacher’s behavior “unacceptable,” adding that the onus was now on the adults in the room to curb similar incidents. To that end, the Board agreed to an “express admonition” to school staff reminding them of the use of appropriate pronouns with students and for a further report back on efforts to address LGBTQ student needs before the end of the year.
Classroom cooling strategies
The final item on October 22 focused on addressing heat and potential cooling strategies for classrooms. The discussion comes after a grueling week of temperatures above 90 degrees in early October, making teaching and learning very difficult. In response, Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi and Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Shariq Khan explored ways to keep classrooms cool amid a changing climate.
Scuderi noted that only half of AUSD’s classrooms have air conditioning, since Alameda traditionally has had mild weather. But shifting seasonal patterns, rising temperatures, and an increase in the intensity of heat waves means that, like AUSD, many school districts nationwide must begin to upgrade their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Khan identified short-term measures to achieve cooler classrooms, such as opening windows, utilizing portable fans, and identifying cooler spaces on campuses that students may be able to rotate through on hot days. Longer-term solutions could include various active cooling technologies and air circulation systems that would be installed in classrooms, in addition to passive cooling strategies such as green landscaping, cool roofs, and additional trees and shade.
Over the next few months, District staff will create and finalize a rubric to prioritize classrooms to receive appropriate cooling strategies based on preliminary criteria including sunlight exposure, classroom usage, and budget constraints.
Other notable items
The Board received updates on a needs assessment of the District’s Special Education program (October 8), initiatives to support African American achievement at Maya Lin School (October 22), and pre-Kindergarten to third grade early literacy at Love Elementary School (October 22).
In an effort to alleviate a staffing shortage of qualified educators, AUSD welcomed 15 new international employees from the Philippines who will work as paraeducators and special education educators.
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der.
