Dear Staff and Families,

The National Weather Service has extended its heat advisory for our area to Thursday, September 7. Temperatures are currently expected to reach the mid-80s to mid-90s.

AUSD staff will monitor the heat throughout the week and stay in touch with site administrators, as well as the Alameda County Office of Education, Alameda County Public Health Department, and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).  

In the meantime, sites will be providing water breaks when students are outside, allowing students who complain of the heat to rest, and keeping blinds shut. 

Athletic practices will be canceled if temperatures are over 90 degrees; PE classes will be brought inside at those temperatures as well. 

With wildfire risk high this week, we will also monitor for air quality issues from smoke.

Please note that due to the high temperatures, the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s electricity grid, has issued several “Flex Alerts,” asking residents to reduce their electricity use during the late afternoon and early evening in order to avoid rolling blackouts. As of this afternoon, Alameda Municipal Power has also announced that Alameda may have rotating outages later today. We will follow this throughout the week and discuss contingencies for any possible impact on school day operations for the remainder of the heat wave.

If at all possible, please send your student to school with water, dressed in loose-fitting, lightweight, light colored clothing, and advise them to take it easy when outdoors. 

We also encourage staff to stay well hydrated, and we are making efforts to supplement classrooms that are particularly sensitive to the heat with additional fans. Our teams will also pay particular attention to those members of our workforce whose jobs largely require outdoor work. 

More information is available on our “Natural Hazards” web page. To receive real-time alerts from Alameda County, subscribe on the AC Alert page.

We appreciate everyone's help in keeping our schools focused on teaching and learning despite the potential challenges this week's weather may present.

Thank you,

Pasquale Scuderi
Superintendent
Alameda Unified School District