Piedmont Pulse

August 12, 2024

Dear PUSD Families & Staff:

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! I will be sending out the Piedmont Pulse on a biweekly basis and posting them to our website HERE. I look forward to providing useful communication throughout the school year. If there are events you would like to see highlighted, please reach out to me at jhawn@piedmont.k12.ca.us.

In this week’s edition of the Piedmont Pulse, I will be sharing information about the following topics:

1. Welcome Back!
   

2. Celebrations - Tech Team

3. Cell Phone Survey and Workshops

4. Witter Field Update

5. Shout-Out for the Piedmont Portal

6. Parcel Tax Information

In partnership,

Jennifer Hawn, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Day 1 and what a joyful start to the school year! Last week our staff returned, and we held a wonderful return to school, starting with our all staff breakfast and overview for the school year, which includes a focus on “Creating an Environment to Thrive” for our students, staff, and families.

We build community through active engagement opportunities. To this end, I shared in my letter to families and staff on July 29th that we will be hosting a number of community meeting opportunities for parents, students, and staff related to important topics throughout this school year. These meetings will be open to all and will be facilitated by the following administrators, with the initial meetings scheduled as follows:

• Ruth Alahydoian - Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) - 9/12 @4pm

• Jean Fagin - Special Education Advisory Committee - 9/10 @4pm

• Ariel Dolowich - LCAP/Title IX/Curriculum Advisory Committees - 9/5 @4pm

• Pete Palmer - Facilities Steering Committee (FSC) - 9/18 @8:30am

• Jean Takazawa - Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging Council (DEIB) - 9/24 @3:45pm

• Stephanie Griffin - District Technology Advisory Committee (DTAC) - 9/23 @4pm

• Jennifer Hawn - Superintendent’s Advisory Committee (SAC) - 9/18 @4:30pm

More to come on these community meetings, which we invite all groups to attend: students, staff, and parents. For each meeting, an individual communication will go out via email with the specific topic and the logistics regarding location and hybrid online attendance options. We look forward to active engagement with our school community this year.

The start of school is joyful with the return of our students, but we could not do it without the help of our amazing staff. I want to take a moment to highlight the remarkable work of our technology team, led by Stephanie Griffin.

This year we are fortunate to have Spring Fling fundraising support the addition of technology in our elementary schools. New Chromebooks and related equipment were delivered and set up this summer, which meant a busy summer for our technology team, in addition to the setup they do every year. We are also fortunate to have technology coordinators supporting all of our teachers, TK-12 in the use of our many technology systems, including the emerging use of AI. Thank you to our technology team: Ross, Jefferson, Jason, Yao, Miles, Jana, Sun, Lyra, Adam, Patty, and Stephanie. We could NOT do this work without you!

Given the emerging research and many news articles, including yesterday's NY Times article about cell phones in schools, we are planning a Board workshop on October 2nd (Time/Location TBD) to explore the many issues related to this topic. At my first Superintendent’s Advisory Committee meeting (9/19 @4:30PM), I will share information about where we are as a district on cell phone use and how we might explore this important topic. We will also be sending out a survey later this month for students, parents, and staff to provide feedback on our current policy, the impact of cell phones and related social media on the learning environment, and on students’ social interactions.

Because this topic is important and controversial, we are also looking for an outside expert in teen mental health related to social media use to help us with this conversation. We have an amazing staff working on these issues everyday…and, it might also be helpful to have some help on this topic. If you know of anyone who might be able to assist on 10/2, please contact me at jhawn@piedmont.k12.ca.us. Thank you!

Below is an update from Pete Palmer, Director of Facilities, about the completion of Witter Field:

The Witter Field track resurfacing was completed Friday, 8/9/24. The Witter sports complex was opened, and PHS football and cross-country teams are now using the synthetic turf field and the new track.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place next Wednesday, 8/14 beginning at 5:15pm. Everyone is invited to attend. I would like to thank the Piedmont Community and the surrounding residents for their immense patience and understanding throughout the entire project.

Regards,

Pete Palmer

PUSD, Director of Facilities/Construction Manager

Witter Sports Complex message to all user groups:

Please adhere to the Witter parking and access guidelines set forth in the following link: witterfield.com. Do not park in the following areas. PPD will continue to enforce and will be issuing citations.

• Resident only parking spaces
• Blocking any driveway or part of a driveway or the yellow arm PE Hill access gate
• Emergency access roads, bottom of El Cerrito & road leading to hardball field (no stopping, waiting or drop off is allowed)
• Emergency responder access - the Witter parking lot must remain clear at all times so an ambulance can pick up an injured player or a person having a medical emergency. No illegal parking in the Witter parking lot is allowed
• Red curb or ADA designated parking

• Tents & chairs are not allowed on the turf or track unless they are equipped with weight distributing legs/bases
• -Other than water, no food, drinks or gum are allowed on the track or field
• No personal trainers are allowed to use the complex at anytime unless PUSD has granted a use permit
• The complex (including the track) can’t be used by the public during school hours or whenever PHS sports is practicing or when there are PHS games.
• The complex can’t be used by the public when there is a 3 rd party, approved use permit is in place.
• The complex can’t be used by any organized teams/group without an approved use permit.

Please email me with any questions or clarifications: ppalmer@piedmont.k12.ca.us

If you are a new family (or have been with us for many years!), please check out PEF's Piedmont Portal, which provides a wealth of information about school and community events. This is another great resource to connect with our community, including events for new families. Thank you to PEF for helping us in our effort to build community!

Our Board has approved replacing Measure H with a new parcel tax that will improve our ability to attract and retain high quality educators along with continued funding for advanced academic programs. In the coming weeks, you will receive more information about this measure, which will provide critical funding for our schools. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to the Campaign Co-Chairs: Claire Arno clairejohnstonarno@gmail.com and Dave Karol davekarol@gmail.com

Piedmont Portal - For all of the latest school and community events, please visit the Piedmont Portal linked HERE

Millennium High School is open for enrollment. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Principal Irma Muñoz Daniels directly at (510) 594-2703 or imunoz@piedmont.k12.ca.us, or see more information linked HERE

Piedmont Alumni Network: Last spring, we launched the Piedmont Alumni Network! Linked HERE is a page on our PUSD website to invite alumni of PHS and MHS to sign up. Whether you graduated many years ago, or recently, we would love to have you sign up HERE.

Community Pool Construction Update - Safety measures around the Community Pool Project construction site on Magnolia Avenue across from PHS/MHS are currently in effect. Magnolia Avenue is open to traffic during school hours; however, Magnolia Avenue will be closed on August 24th from 7:30AM - 4:30PM. Visit the City of Piedmont's website for details.

Work for PUSD - PUSD is seeking candidates for a variety of positions, with an urgent need for a high school counselor at PHS. Visit the District's Edjoin page for a complete list of jobs available and to apply online.

Substitutes Needed - PUSD seeking substitute teachers for the 2024-25 school year. Visit the District's EdJoin page for more information and to apply.

Follow PUSD - Please read our school newsletters sent out weekly for update to date information. The District Facebook (@piedmontunified) and Instagram (@piedmontusd)

Email: communication@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Website: www.piedmont.k12.ca.us
Location: 760 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA, USA
Phone: 510-594-2600