Piedmont Pulse

August 11, 2025

Dear PUSD Families & Staff:

Congratulations on a wonderful first day of school! We are so excited to have students back, and it has been a day of joyful reunions between friends, teachers, and staff. Welcome back!

We have a great year planned ahead, with many opportunities for our community to come together to discuss topics of focus for our district. We gathered feedback toward the end of last year, and there were many comments related to a desire for more rigor and focus on academics in our schools, across grade levels. This year, we will examine our Strategic Priority "Investing in Outstanding Academics" in staff and community meetings, reviewing our data, our current programs, and exploring ways in which we may improve or refine our programs. We look forward to a community process in which the voices of our staff, students, and parents come together to ensure the finest educational options for our students. Further down in this newsletter, you will see the list of meetings where you can voice your ideas.

I also want to highlight our work in establishing a policy to adhere to the State's new law, AB 3216, the Phone-Free Schools Act. At our elementary schools and middle school, mobile devices (phones, earbuds, watches, and other internet connected devices) are not permitted for use on campus during the school day. At our high schools, phones are permitted at lunch only. We recognize there are varying opinions on use of mobile devices, and we will hold meetings with students, staff, and parents throughout this year to continue to gather input on the impact of this policy on student well-being and academic success.

Speaking of input, one emerging topic on which we could use input is related to the AC Transit change of bus routes, including the elimination of the upper Piedmont route, which impacts our students' access to and from our campuses. Below you will find a "Pulse Check" quick survey to gather input.

Enjoy these first days of school, and I look forward to connecting with you and our students throughout this school year.

In Partnership,

Jennifer Hawn, Ed.D.

Superintendent

As I shared above, AC Transit has changed their bus routes, including the elimination of the Upper Piedmont/Piedmont Estates route. We will be meeting with officials of AC Transit to discuss this change and advocate for reinstatement of this important transportation option for our families. We recognize the importance of public transportation to and from our schools, and we will share this information with AC Transit.

In order to provide information on the impact of this change, we could use more information on how many families are impacted by the elimination of this bus route. We encourage you to offer your input in this short "Pulse Check" survey linked below.

Link: AC Transit Bus Route Survey

At next week's Board meeting, I will share a photo collage of welcome back photos. It was wonderful to see happy kids back in school today!

We will continue our focus this year on community engagement opportunities, including meetings planned throughout the school year on topics related to our District goals. We invite you to consider joining any of the meetings below, which will be held online and in person. Be on the lookout for invitations to follow from each Committee leader.

Business Advisory Committee (BAC), facilitated by Ruth Alahydoian, CBO:

Curriculum and LCAP Meetings, facilitated by Ariel Dolowich, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services:

• September 4 - Curriculum Committee - World Language Design Teams: 4:00-5:30pm
• October 7 - Parent Education Night - ELA Adoption Implementation: 6:00-7:30pm
• October 23 - Curriculum Committee - Elementary Performing Arts: 4:00-5:30pm
• November 6 - LCAP Update & Community Input: 4:00-5:30pm
• December 4 - Curriculum Committee -- Behavior Matrix & Revisions: 4:00-5:30pm
• January 8 - Curriculum Committee -- Field Trips: 4:00-5:30pm
• February 5 - LCAP Mid-Year Update: 4:00-5:30pm
• March 5 - Curriculum Committee - Math Pathways: 4:00-5:30pm
• April 1 - Curriculum Committee - Topic TBD: 4:00-5:30pm

Special Education Committee Meetings, facilitated by Jean Fagin, Director of Special Education:

• September 16 - SPED Community Meeting - Programming Overview & Goals: 4:00-5:30pm
• November 18 - SPED Community Meeting (Topic TBD): 4:00-5:30pm
• February 10 - SPED Community Meeting - Transition Planning: 4:00-5:30pm
• April 14 - SPED Community Meeting - Data Review: 4:00-5:30pm

District Technology Advisory Committee (DTAC) Meetings, facilitated by Stephanie Griffin, Director of Instructional Technology:

• September 8 - DTAC - Ai and Technology Plan Development: 4:00-5:30pm
• October 6 - DTAC - Tech Plan: 4:00-5:30pm
• November 3 - DTAC - Tech Plan: 4:00-5:30pm
• December 8 - DTAC - Tech Plan and AI: 4:00-5:30pm
• February 2 - DTAC - Tech Plan, Online Forms Usability: 4:00-5:30pm
• March 30 - DTAC - National AI Literacy Day (3/27): 4:00-5:30pm

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Community Meetings, facilitated by Jean Chen Takazawa, Director of DEIB, topics TBA:

• September 29 - DEIB: 4:00-5:30pm
• November 10 - DEIB: 4:00-5:30pm
• March 2 - DEIB: 4:00-5:30pm
• May 4 - DEIB: 4:00-5:30pm

Superintendent's Advisory Committee (SAC) Meetings, facilitated by Jennifer Hawn, Superintendent. Topics are still to be determined; however, tentative topics are included below:

Coffee, Cars & Cops is back - September 20th. Please join the Piedmont Police Department for this exciting annual event on Saturday, September 20th, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in front of the Piedmont Police Department. Bring your family, friends, or anyone with an exotic or classic vehicle. To participate or show a vehicle, sign up with Ofc. Tyler Petit at coffeecarscops@piedmont.ca.gov and provide your vehicle make/model/year/color. More information linked HERE.

Independent Study at PHS/MHS: Is your child a professional athlete? In the entertainment industry? Or, in need of an online independent study program? More information is linked HERE. For additional questions, please contact Principal Irma Muñoz Daniels at imunozdaniels@piedmont.k12.ca.us. Please note that MHS is also open for in-person enrollment.

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

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