A day in the life of the Auburn Union School District superintendent

With coffee in hand, I turn on the computer to begin my day. So many thoughts are flowing through my mind. Twenty-three years ago, I started my teaching career. About six months on the job, I walked up to my superintendent, a role model for me, and said, "Dr. Roberts, one day I am going to have your job." She laughed and told me I could have it, as she was retiring in six months; I had aspirations to become a superintendent and began the lengthy and challenging journey ahead to accomplish my dream. Twenty-two years later, I became the superintendent of the Auburn Union School District (AUSD) and today, I realize I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My goal for the first year of becoming superintendent was to understand the district's needs, address these concerns and experience the joy of our community in partnership with AUSD. But my time was immediately needed in areas of direct concern, including the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs, strategic planning, rebranding campaign, COVID-19, distance learning education, teacher and classified union negotiations, emergency board meetings, Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan, and LCAP. I understand many of the concerns, fears and frustrations of parents within AUSD as I, too, am a working parent. In March, I found myself at home trying to support my teenage daughter with distance learning while operating and managing a school district in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. This summer, I had to make a recommendation about how to reopen our AUSD schools in the fall; a looming decision that needed the input of many decision-makers, committee members and Board of Trustees before being finalized. The choice to start school in the fall is not 100% my decision but many recommendations, decisions and input compiled into one report. I presented that report to the AUSD board with information compiled from the teacher's union, specialized AUSD Start of Schools committee, our administration, teachers, staff, the Placer County Health and Human Services, California Department of Education and Statewide Health Officials. My due diligence in this process is key to ensure I include representation from every voice in our district. To ensure greater input and representation, we created the Start of Schools Committee in April to address ways we could reopen schools in the fall. Our committee is comprised of administrators, principals, teachers, staff, parents, technology managers and more. The committee's first job was to identify possibilities of the COVID-19 situation in August. To create answers to all possibilities, we focused on three situations: 1. Continuing to be in a shutdown, 2. A downward trend of COVID-19 cases and, 3. An increasing trend of COVID-19 cases, similar to the situation we are in now. Based on these situations, we created two solutions for AUSD to safely reopen in the fall; 1. In-person instruction with added health and cleaning precautions and, 2. Distance learning until it was safe to transition back to in-person instruction. For parents needing a risk-free choice, we created a Virtual Academy, which is a tuition-free option for AUSD parents looking for a home-study online choice with a master teacher. Throughout this summer, our AUSD staff has been diligently preparing for starting school in person along with the Virtual Academy option. We prepared for just about everything, including extra health and safety precautions, ordering extra cleaning supplies, PPE and even plexiglass partitions. We even moved extra furniture out of classrooms to allow for social distancing. We were all eager, prepared and excited to see our students' smiling faces and hear their laughter on the playground. When I watched the governor's news conference and learned that schools in counties on the watch list would have to start school with distance learning, my heart broke and I fought back tears. Today, I stare at the computer screen knowing I cannot make everyone happy. Being a parent myself, I learned my daughter's district will also start fall using a full distance learning option. I know it will be challenging and I am worried about her socio-emotional wellbeing. I respect her superintendent's strength, courage and due diligence in making decisions that protect my daughter's school, teachers, staff and fellow students. That is, after all, the heart of our decision at AUSD, too. The guiding principle of our district is, "To place each child at the heart of every decision," and my staff and teachers are looking to my leadership to protect them as well; a task I take very seriously. I sip my coffee and nod in acceptance. I trust the committees we formed at AUSD and the health official's recommendations surrounding our current situation. I also welcome additional questions from parents and community members about our reopening progress through a questions-and-answers page on our district website, which includes a form to submit questions. Everyone's question is important and we are adding new questions and answers every day to help give parents direction and eliminate misinformation. Everything is changing so quickly that information becomes outdated faster than normal. This Q&A page will give answers to parents and if those answers change, they know where to go to find updated information. Additionally, I will host a virtual Townhall Meeting on Aug. 3 from 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Please look for more information on our AUSD district website at www.auburn.k12.ca.us. My hope is that the teachers, staff, students, parents and community know the amount of time and effort AUSD put into our plan for starting the new school year. Our due diligence will continue throughout the 2020-21 school year as we address the health recommendations and changing situations with COVID-19. Please know and be patient, as it is likely that circumstances regarding school will change throughout the year as evolving situations arise. I place my empty coffee mug down and feel proud to represent the Auburn Union School District for the 2020-21 school year. I may not have known what I was getting into when I pledged to become a superintendent 23 years ago, but what I do know is last July, I started the first year of my dream job and look forward to many more years of serving AUSD. Thank you for reading. I welcome your comments and feedback. If you want to contact me, call me at 714-318-2207 or e-mail me at aleealva@auburn.k12.ca.us.