School 94501/94502

After the most dramatic and inspiring few weeks in memory for Alameda public schools, we’re now officially on “spring break” for a week. Of course, with all that is at stake, I realize that many of us are not really taking a “break.” For example, the Keep Alameda Schools Excellent (KASE) “vote yes on Measure H” campaign is ramping up with precinct walking today and phone banking starting this Monday evening. Also, the Alameda Education Foundation (AEF) will continue to remind us (as well as the rest of California) that “public education is too valuable to throw away” with, among other things, an appearance at the Democratic Party convention late next week.

Looking ahead to April and May, I expect most of us to be working hard to win the June 3 Measure H vote, as it is our only realistic chance to offset the precipitous and unprecedented cut in state funding of education and to reverse (1) the devastating budget cuts the AUSD board had to approve at its March 4 meeting as well as (2) the even larger cuts that will have to be made for 09-10 if the parcel tax does not pass.

As part of that campaign, this spring I’m planning to present here a series of short video testimonials from young AUSD alumni about their experiences in AUSD schools. The working title of this series is “I Am a Product of Alameda Schools.” I am thrilled that several former students (and others) will be working on their videos during their college spring breaks over the next couple of weeks. The first of these videos should be “up” by early April.

Although most of us are necessarily in “crisis/survival mode” between now and June 3, I hope we will all be able to stay energized and mobilized after the Measure H vote, as there is much more to do in the coming months and years. One of the best things AEF has done in 2008 is to bring together Alameda’s educational community to develop a strategic plan to help our schools over both the short term AND the long term. The six-point strategic plan draws on a wide range of legal, legislative, and financial tools. If you haven’t yet seen it, you can find an overview of the strategic plan here.