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AUSD December Updates

With the holiday season in full swing and 2024 drawing to a close, AUSD is accepting nominations for our 2025 Teacher of the Year. The final deadline is January 6, 2025, at 5 p.m. Anyone can nominate an educator for this award, whether you’re a student, family member, employee, or community member.

Alameda Post - Emily Piere in a classroom. She wears a colorful dinosaur dress
Alameda Unified School District is accepting nominations for its 2025 Teacher of the Year until January 6, 2025. Emily Pieri of Franklin Elementary School won the award last year. Photo AUSD.

After being nominated, AUSD teachers who meet the county and state criteria will be invited to participate in the next phase of the process, which requires them to submit an application packet to the district office.

The AUSD Teacher of the Year Selection Committee will then meet to screen applications and determine which applicants will move onto the next phase—classroom observations. Members of the selection committee include former AUSD Teachers of the Year, a Board of Education member, a principal, and representatives of both the Alameda Education Association (which represents teachers) and the PTA Council.



Learn more on the AUSD website’s Teacher of the Year page, where you will also find a link to the nomination form.

Board members sworn in

At the December 10 Board of Education meeting, Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi swore in returning Board President Jennifer Williams and Board Member Heather Little, who were re-elected on November 5, along with new Board Member Meleah Hall.

Hall is replacing Margie Sherratt, who was appointed to Megan Sweet’s seat after she resigned in October, 2023. Hall’s 20-year career in education includes teaching general education and special education and working as a math and data coach in the Oakland, West Contra Costa, Castro Valley, and Mt. Diablo school districts.

Board Members currently rotate through the roles of Vice President and President. At the December 16 meeting, President Jennifer Williams will step down from her role as Board President, and Vice President Gary Lym will assume that position.

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters certified the November 5 election results on December 5.

Facility update

After several months of site preparation, the main classroom building on the Wood Middle School campus is finally ready to be demolished. Heavy equipment will be used to first shear the steel beams and then “munch” (grind up) the concrete. Following that, workers will identify where the foundation “piers” are located. Piers are long columns that reach deep down below the sand and into solid soil to stabilize the building during earthquakes.

Student athletes’ scholastic achievements

The district is super proud of the three teams that have won NCS Scholastic Championship Team Awards this past season. This prestigious award recognizes the top three teams in each sport based on the team’s unweighted GPA. The winning AUSD teams were the Alameda High School Women’s Tennis Team, with a combined, unweighted 3.8 GPA;  the Encinal High School Boys Cross Country Team (3.78 GPA); and the AHS Boys Cross Country Team (3.74 GPA). Maintaining high grades while also participating in daily practices and games is no small feat—we congratulate our students!

Happy Holidays!

We’d like to wish everyone a healthy and happy winter holiday. AUSD schools are closed from December 23 to January 3.

Susan Davis is the Senior Manager of Community Affairs for the Alameda Unified School District. Reach her at [email protected].


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