We at the Alameda Unified School District have lots of exciting updates this week, including opportunities for getting engaged with the AUSD and news of recent awards.
First, the AUSD Board of Education is accepting applications until the start of next week for the seat left vacant when Board Member Meleah Hall resigned. Ms. Hall, who was elected in November 2024, submitted her resignation on Sept. 23. The term for this board appointment will run from the date of appointment through November 2026, when the next regularly scheduled Board of Education election will take place.
More information, including the application for the position, is available on the AUSD’s Board Vacancy Process web page (alamedaunified.org/board/board-of-education/board-vacancy-process). The deadline for submitting the application materials is next week at 5 p.m. Monday.
Also, as a reminder, we are looking for community members to serve on AUSD’s Parcel Tax Oversight Committee, which will meet four to six times over the next year to review the school district’s compliance with the terms of Measures B1 and A passed by Alameda voters in 2024 and 2025.
For an application, please visit the Parcel Tax Program Oversight Committee at tinyurl.com/AUSD-PTOC. Applicants can also get an application by calling the district office at 510-337-7000.
In the awards category, we are thrilled to announce that Michael Wong, a Paden Elementary fourth- and fifth-grade teacher, has been named an Alameda County Teacher of the Year. Wong, who was named AUSD’s 2025 Teacher of the Year this past April, has taught at Paden Elementary since 2011.
His colleagues nominated him because he is widely known as a thoughtful, creative teacher who nurtures not only individual student growth but also school culture and leadership.
“It’s such an honor to be named an Alameda County Teacher of the Year,” Wong said in his remarks at the Alameda County Office of Education’s Teacher of the Year ceremony. “My path was shaped by struggle, by educators who saw possibility, and by a community that believed I could contribute.
“In my classroom now, I work to return that gift: creating spaces where every student feels agency, belonging and competence — whether through student-led governments, playful learning or projects that connect school to the real world. At the heart of it all is a simple belief: Every child deserves to feel that school is for them.”
We are also pleased to announce that the California State PBIS Coalition has recognized 13 AUSD schools for their implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) during the 2024-25 school year. The recognition levels range from platinum (the highest) to bronze.
PBIS is a proactive and school-wide approach to defining, teaching and supporting optimal student behavior. It emphasizes acknowledging and directly teaching appropriate behavior rather than relying solely on punishments for inappropriate behavior. It also provides a continuum of supports for students who struggle to meet the school expectations.
“PBIS is a crucial component of creating a positive school climate,” says Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi, “and educational research has shown again and again that a positive school climate contributes to students’ educational outcomes, emotional well-being and social relationships at school.
“I’m grateful to the principals, counselors, teachers, and students for their very intentional efforts to cultivate positive behaviors and create safe schoolwide cultures.”
More details are available online at tinyurl.com/AUSD-PBIS2025.
Reach Susan Davis, the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs, at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.