Before the Island Bowl begins this evening, we will be presenting plaques to the Alameda Fire Department and the Alameda Police Department to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and honor the many public service and public safety heroes who died that day. The service and sacrifice observed that day warrants our eternal respect and gratitude.

It is sobering to remember and reflect on that day: the confusion, the fear, and the mind-defying scope of the destruction.

I am mindful, too, that while those of us who witnessed this event will never forget it, our current generation of students have no memory of it. For these students, this is a historical narrative in a textbook, or a story recalled by adults in their lives.

As such, during this time of increasing political tension in our own country and escalating wars across the globe, I want to emphasize how seriously AUSD takes the need to teach students how to think critically, engage constructively, and be active participants in our democratic process. It is these skills, in the hands of our students, that hopefully will improve our local and global odds of peace, prosperity, and inclusion outshining their counterparts of war, poverty, and bigotry.

What happens on the world stage is often out of our control, but here, in our schools and our community, I hope we can all take time to consider how we can model this kind of engagement for the students in our community and teach them how to navigate the forces of division in our world.

And I encourage all of us to take time to remember the perennial importance of service, treating each other with curiosity, respect, and compassion, and a desire to make our communities and our world a better place.