Dear AUSD Community: 

Like many of you, tonight our team is following the developments in Minneapolis, where yet another school shooting in our country has violently taken the lives of two young children and injured more than a dozen others.  

We are deeply saddened by this most recent example of a lethal incident in a school setting in our country, where school shootings occur far more often than in any other country. Such loss of life, injury, and trauma is our worst nightmare as parents and educators, and one that requires that school safety remain at the very top of our daily efforts. 

On Tuesday, prior to this news, our school administrators engaged in a facilitated review of school-based emergency procedures with district management staff.  

Later this week, our newsletter will be dedicated almost exclusively to the school safety investments and upgrades we have made in recent years, as well as the protocols we have developed in line with best practices in school security. 

We’ll also provide you with the information that you need to have in the event of an urgent situation on campus – including how the school will respond, how you will get information, and ways that you can be better prepared. 

There really are no words that adequately measure up to the gravity of children losing their lives violently in schools – and the effect those losses have on their families, their school communities, and their communities at large. 

And in the absence of anything resembling serious or sustained political commitments or efforts to mitigate these now common occurrences, we pledge to continue working locally with our staff, our stakeholders, our Board of Education, and our community partners to consistently provide the highest degree of safety and security for students, staff, and families in Alameda schools. 

Pasquale Scuderi
Superintendent