The 2022-23 school year got off to a wonderful start last week as campuses welcomed students and families back to school.
The severity of COVID-19 has decreased, and state and county mandates have loosened. That means Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) campuses are beginning to feel a little more “normal” again, with parents and guardians able to come onto our campuses; field trips and assemblies once again being allowed; and fewer disruptions due to on-site testing.
This return to normality also means “an increasing share of our time and energy can be returned to creating or refining learning experiences and opportunity structures for students,” AUSD Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi wrote in his “welcome back” message to families and staff, “experiences and opportunities that engage, enrich, empower and hopefully stimulate curiosity, imagination and a genuine appreciation for learning.”
The AUSD will roll out a new student-centered Strategic Plan over the next month or so, and we’ll have lots more information about that over the coming weeks. As part of this refocus on student experience, however, the AUSD this year is updating its homework policies and practices.
The updates, which have been under development since 2017 but were delayed by the pandemic, are a result of stakeholder concern about the quantity of total homework and consistency across classrooms and school sites. They set out the district’s and school board’s foundational values about homework (including that parents, guardians and teachers need to be mindful of the need for students to live balanced lives; that homework should have a positive impact on learning, achievement, self-esteem and development of the whole student; and that homework assignments should not be punitive).
The updated guidelines also define the purpose and types of homework; the maximum amount of homework time allowed; weekend and holiday assignment policies; and the need for ongoing teacher training on designing and grading relevant homework assignments.
“A homework policy can take a long time to develop, as it requires deep research into the kinds of homework that are most beneficial for students, consistent stakeholder engagement and nuanced implementation strategies” says Dr. Vernon Walton, the AUSD’s director of secondary education. “We’re looking forward to seeing more pedagogically sound and compassionate homework practices rolled out this year.”
We also want to let the community know that National Labs has opened its second PCR testing site in the parking lot of Lum Elementary School. This drive-through testing site is open to all community members Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Preregistration is required and can be done online at bayareane.ws/COVIDtestingAUSD.
Want to learn more about AUSD? You can visit our website (www.alamedaunified.org), follow us on Twitter (@AUSDNews), Facebook (facebook.com/AlamedaUnified) and Instagram (alamedaunified) or subscribe to our newsletter (email sdavis@alamedaunified.org). We have lots to share!
Susan Davis is the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs. Reach her at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.
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