With a new presidential administration promising increased deportations of immigrants and a rollback of LGBTQ protections, the Alameda Unified School District is aware that many in our community may feel anxious about what could happen to them, their family members, their friends and those they know in their school communities.
In response to that, the AUSD is providing resources designed to help people understand the rights and protections provided to all students within our school district. Last week, for instance, disctrict Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi sent a message to all families, staff and secondary students noting that the “AUSD’s values and policies will remain consistent with our past practices.”
As such, he wrote, the AUSD will continue to accept, welcome and support its LGBTQ students, staff and families; provide curricula that includes developmentally appropriate healthy sexuality and relationship information for students of all sexualities and gender identifications; teach students about the importance of showing inclusion, kindness and respect to all; and offer professional development on supporting LGBTQ students to teachers and administrators.
With students from more than 75 countries and more than 70 languages spoken, the AUSD is one of California’s most diverse school districts. As a “safe haven” district, we are also steadfastly committed to supporting, respecting and protecting our immigrant students.
We will send communications to our families, students and staff this week that detail the federal and state laws, as well as the AUSD policies, that protect immigrants. Taken together, these laws and policies prohibit the district from collecting information about the immigration or citizenship status of a student or family; prevent the AUSD from sharing confidential student information (within the limits of the law); and protect the right of all children — regardless of citizenship or the immigration status of themselves or their parents — to attend school and be free from discrimination, harassment, violence and intimidation.
More information about these rights and protections as well as links to legal and mental health resources and a list of books that help adults and children alike learn about the immigrant experience are all available on our webpage at alamedaunified.org/communitysupports/immigrant-refugee-resources.
Since 2015, the AUSD’s unofficial motto has been “Everyone Belongs Here.” The district remains committed to that ethos.
“AUSD’s polices, programs and values will remain the same, and we will continue to focus on providing safe and equitable learning spaces for all,” Scuderi wrote last week. “ ’All of our kids’ means all of our kids all of the time.”
Reach Susan Davis, the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs, at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.