Ways to Get Involved

Schools are the most immediate way to  support your child’s experience in public school.

From special events (such as heritage nights, performances, and parenting workshops)  to more formal opportunities (such as attending PTA meeting and volunteering in the classroom), your student and your school will benefit from your time and talents.

And you, in turn, will benefit from gaining insight into your school's mission, values, and operations.

All of our schools welcome volunteers. Depending on the grade level, volunteer opportunities can include:

• Classroom support (e.g., helping with art lessons, reading to students, facilitating science labs)
• Chaperoning field trips
• Lunch supervision
• Gardening
• Start of the year supports (handing out packets, helping with ID cards, passing out textbooks etc.)
• Helping at special events

Participating in AUSD-wide events, committees, and initiatives allows you to learn about and provide input into the district's decisions, direction, and strategy. 

Standing committees - such as oversight and advisory committees - also provide opportunities for getting to know staff and other community members. 

The Curriculum and Instruction Review Session is composed of community members and district and school staff and provides an opportunity for our parents and community members to give input and feedback about current and future curricula adoptions. This is a key avenue through which stakeholders can contribute perspective and ideas on our teaching and learning programs.

Secondary Director Dr. Vernon Walton and Elementary Director Ms. Yvonne Wright will be facilitating current adoptions and new adoptions. In 2021-22 our priorities were: 

• Middle School Math pilot 
• Research on new Elementary History-Social Science curriculum  
• High School Biology
• High School Chemistry
• High School Psychology 

Other grade-span pilots and adoptions will be part of a long-term multi-year plan aligned with California Adoption cycles.

Curriculum pilots and adoptions are multi-year processes so that sufficient vetting, feedback, data collection, and analysis from staff and community can be scheduled to make the best decisions possible. The  Curriculum and Instruction Review Sessions will most likely meet four times per year. 

Any AUSD parent/guardian or staff member is welcome to join the committee. If you are interested in participating in curriculum review,  please contact  tharris@alamedaunified.org or vwalton@alamedaunified.org. 

All meetings are open to the public.  In addition, all new curriculum is made available for community review before being adopted. AUSD provides official notice when the materials are available. 

Each California public school district with 51 or more English Learners must form a District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC). This district-level committee is composed of parents, staff, and community members and is charged with advising district officials on English learner programs and services. 

AUSD currently has 894 English Learners enrolled in its schools.

The AUSD DELAC meets five times a year, from 5:30 - 7 pm. More information (including agendas and ppts) can be found on the AUSD website.

Each school ELAC has the opportunity to elect at least one member to the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC). If you are interested in joining DELAC, please contact both your school principal and Nancy Lai at nlai@alamedaunified.org.

The Special Education Steering Committee is in process to start its primary objective to oversee the implementation of the Special Education Strategic Plan.  

Prior committee members will be asked to rejoin, and a membership application is being prepared to encourage membership to ensure a diverse community of stakeholders represents this committee.  If you have not yet received an invitation to apply, please contact Randhir Bains at rbains@alamedaunified.org.

The Bond Oversight Committee monitors the implementation of the District’s bond-funded construction projects.  These projects are planned and designed with input from school communities.  Information about the current Measure I Bond Oversight Committee is available here.

State law governs the types of community members that can join a Bond Oversight Committee (e.g., a parent, a senior citizen, and a business representative). Please see our Bond Oversight Committee web page for more information.

The Oversight Committee meets about four times per year and is open to the public.

AUSD’s Parcel Tax Program Oversight Committee monitors the district’s use of funds generated by Measures B1 and A.  More information about this committee is available here.

Membership applications for the Parcel Tax Oversight Committee are made available every October and are currently open for the 2021-22 school year. The district seeks broad representation from school sites and grade levels; community members are also welcome. If individual stakeholders or stakeholder group representatives are interested in joining these oversight committees or attending the meetings, please contact sdavis@alamedaunified.org. 

The committee meets four to five times per year; all meetings are open to the public.

Stakeholders interested in how the district allocates its larger general fund should know that District staff makes eight (8) presentations to the Board of Education annually to discuss the development and monitoring of the District’s budget. This begins with pre-planning for the subsequent school year in January, program and school budget in the spring, and quarterly updates on budget and expenditures during the fiscal year.  

The schedule and agendas of meetings are published on the Board Agendas page. The meetings are open to the public and also recorded. 

A School Site Council is a committee of teachers, parents, students, and school staff that works with the school principal to plan for the needs of the school. A major duty of the SSC is to develop and then annually update the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), a formal plan for the school that satisfies both state and federal program requirements.

SSCs meet a minimum of five times a year.

Any parent/guardian, student, or staff in the school community is eligible to join SSC.

Generally a school’s principal will send out invitations to join the site council at the beginning of the year. As openings and vacancies do come up throughout the year, parents and caregivers who are interested should contact their principal.

School Site Council meetings are open to the public. Any member of the public is able to address the council or committee during the meeting on any item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the council or committee.

Each California public school with 21 or more English learners must form an English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC). Committee members advise their school principal and staff about the site plan for English Learners, which includes resource allocation.

Parents or guardians of English learners make up the same percentage (or more) of the ELAC membership as their children represent the student body. Parents and guardians of English learners elect the parent members of ELAC.

ELACs meet a minimum of four to five times a year.  If you’re interested in joining this committee, please email your school principal.

Anyone in the school community can attend the meetings, but only parents/guardians elected to the ELAC can vote.

Every school in Alameda Unified has its own Parent Teacher Association (PTA) , which is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.  

PTAs work with parents, teachers, students, and school staff to support students, empower families, and enrich the school. PTAs host community events, organize volunteers, raise money, lead enrichment activities like art and garden classes, fund additional school staff, provide information and access to families, and advocate on behalf of students to individual schools and the district.  While the PTA works closely with each school site, each PTA is an independent organization with its own officers and members. 

PTAs meet either monthly or bi-monthly. Subcommittees of the school PTA may meet more often.

Any parent/guardian in the school community, as well as school staff and interested community members. Members have the right to participate in PTA leadership and vote on PTA issues. 

The PTA and school principal will send out invitations to join the PTA, attend meetings, and participate in events throughout the course of the year.  There is a modest membership fee at most sites, which goes to fund school supplies and activities as well as advocacy for education at the state level.  Can’t find the invitation? Please email the PTA president at your school site to get started.  

PTAs encourage everyone - members and non-members - to attend meetings, participate in events, volunteer, and get involved in the organization.