Piedmont Pulse
Piedmont USD - Week 3 Update >>>
September 8, 2025
Dear PUSD Families & Staff:
As you know, last week an intruder entered the Beach campus by climbing over a fence with the intent to play basketball. While we were fortunate that the individual did not pose a threat beyond making a poor decision, the incident prompted our team and community to reflect on how we can strengthen security and safety measures on our campuses.
Our schools have safety plans that outline how we respond to a variety of potential threats. Staff are trained in these protocols, which include close coordination with the Piedmont Police Department (PPD). We also encourage students and community members to follow the “See something, say something” principle to help keep our campuses safe.
The recent Beach incident illustrates these protocols in action: when an intruder entered campus, the Principal was immediately notified, the school was placed on lockdown, and PPD arrived within minutes to remove the individual. Thanks to these swift actions, students and staff remained safe throughout the incident.
Following this incident, we reviewed our protocols, including feedback from parents, and we will use both the text and email systems to communicate with families when there is a campus emergency. We are also thoughtful about the impact of these events, even when the result is all are safe. Thanks to our School Psychologist, Diana Cooksey for a helpful resource linked HERE for staff and parents. A special thanks to the Beach staff, including the leadership of Principal Anne Valva, for keeping our students safe, along with PPD for their quick response to this safety incident. Finally, thank you to our students and parents for your partnership in safety.
In Partnership,
Jennifer Hawn, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Thank you to the students and parents who took our survey two weeks ago and who wrote to AC Transit officials to restore Bus 33 service to upper Piedmont. To those surveyed families, I recently sent out an opportunity to write to AC Transit to restore service. If you would like to join in this letter-writing effort, we could use your help to advocate for this critical transportation need.
Linked HERE is information below to assist you in sending a letter via email to the AC Transit staff and Board. We believe advocacy from our PUSD community can make a difference in calling attention to this important matter and potentially leading to the restoration of bus service to upper Piedmont.
For high school Juniors and Seniors, this opportunity to advocate locally can earn students the PUSD State Seal of Civic Engagement on a student's transcript and diploma for college admissions purposes. The AC Transit Board meeting is next Wednesday, Sept. 10th at 5pm. Assistant Superintendent Ariel Dolowich will provide students dinner and is planning to meet in Room 30A at PHS to join the AC Transit Board meeting. For more information, please see the link here.
You can also attend the AC Transit Board meeting in person or online:
Board of Directors - Regular Meeting
AC Transit General Offices
2nd Floor Board Room
1600 Franklin Street, Oakland, California
Regular Meeting 5:00 PM
HYBRID MEETING
Phone (669) 900 6833 Webinar ID: 984 8717 5063
Zoom link https://actransit.zoom.us/j/98487175063
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
During the first several weeks of school, we heard from some parents regarding scheduling issues, including courses that are at capacity and unavailable to students. This moment reminded me of a post I wrote in August 2023 (linked HERE) about similar challenges. Two years ago, we experienced uneven enrollment in courses, which prompted me to take a look at the PHS master schedule, in terms of courses offered and how the master schedule of courses was built. Fast-forward to this year, and we experienced similar issues, especially related to courses that are at capacity with no room for additional students. Moreover, two years ago we had approximately 30 additional students over what we have today, with essentially the same courses available to students. One would conclude that we should be able to accommodate most or all of our students' requests. However, the concerns remain, and we will need to consider more effective ways to build a master schedule of courses for our high school students. Several reasons for the challenges are as follows:
TA & Free Periods: Building a student-centered schedule means offering courses they are likely to take. This year, one challenge we faced was the timing of when courses were offered. While our scheduling software is designed to maximize student course preferences, other factors also shape the master schedule, such as the limited number of course sections, teacher availability, and specific course requirements. As a result, some course options during certain periods were less appealing, leading more students at some grade levels to take a TA or free period instead. Although students do not need to take seven classes each year to be admitted to even the most selective colleges, multiple TA (teacher's assistant) or free "Unscheduled" periods generally do not strengthen a student’s college application, particularly in grades 9–11, unless they supplement their schedule with outside coursework (e.g., a college course).
Low Enrollment Courses: Our high school offers a robust catalog of courses. However, some electives attract fewer than 20 students, and in some cases, fewer than 10, which raises questions about sustainability. We also hear from students and families that they sometimes prefer to take courses off campus rather than enroll in certain electives.
So, how do we resolve these issues? Two years ago, I shared that while it may seem intuitive to simply add more sections of popular courses so that students can access their top choices, a small high school cannot realistically offer every course during every period. I continue to believe this is true. Therefore, we must be more intentional about the courses we offer, ensuring they align with students’ needs and interests, including a regular review of course requirements that are exclusive to PUSD but not required by the State or as part of the UC A-G requirements.
To explore solutions, we will be holding a Board Workshop on September 12 at 1:00 p.m. at the District Office Board Room to discuss options for improving high school course offerings.
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 this year on a range of topics, which will be held online and in person. Be on the lookout for invitations to follow from each Committee leader. The community meeting schedule for 2025-26 is linked HERE.
September Meetings:
September 11 – SAC - Cell Phone Policy Feedback (Student Lunch)
September 12 – Board Workshop on High School Courses: 1-5PM
September 16 – SPED Community Meeting - Programming Overview & Goals: 4:00-5:30
September 17 - FSC #1 - Summer Project Update: 8:30-10:30AM
September 18 – BAC - Financial Results/Budget Calendar: 4:00-5:30pm
During the PHS Back To School Night, I dropped by Jana Branisa's class and observed the amazing new Mac computers...in lavender, of course! Just a note of thanks to the Makers for their enduring support in all things STEAM, which has been such a gift to our students and staff.
Piedmont Unified School District
Email: communication@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Website: www.piedmont.k12.ca.us
Location: 760 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA, USA
Phone: 510-594-2600