AUSD Notes: Congratulations to Alameda schools’ various award winners
Alameda Unified School District officials have a number of kudos for our campuses and staff to share with the community this month. First up, two AUSD high schools made it to the U.S. News & World Report magazine’s list of its 2024 Best U.S. High Schools.
Alameda High School has been ranked No. 1404 (of 17,655 high schools) in the United States, No. 192 (of 2606 high schools) in the state and No. 32 (of 240) in the Bay Area. Encinal Junior and Senior High School ranked No. 2884 in the national rankings, No. 403 in the state rankings and No. 56 in the Bay Area. By ranking so highly, both schools achieved status as being among the magazine’s “Best U.S. High Schools” this year.
The rankings (usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings) are based on six indicators of school quality, including college readiness (based on the number of students taking Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams), college curriculum breadth (based on the number of students taking multiple AP or IB courses), state assessments, underserved student performance and graduation rate. Alameda Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) and Island High School are not ranked as they do not offer AP classes, which would skew the rankings.
Teacher fellowship: We would also like to congratulate Jennifer Hartigan, a science teacher at Lincoln Middle School, who has been selected for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, a professional development program supported by the National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions.
Over the next two years, Hartigan and 34 other U.S. and Canadian educators will participate in expeditions around the world to areas of geographical and environmental note. In December, in fact, Ms. Hartigan will travel to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Endurance! As a fellow, Hartigan will also lead webinars, co-design resources, collaborate with our Explorer-led programs and serve as a mentor to other educators.
“I can’t wait to share my Antarctic experience with my students and provide them with a direct connection to polar climate science,” Hartigan told us. “When students see my passion, they become inspired to take leadership in areas that matter to them. I hope this will amplify their climate action projects and inspire them to take care of our beautiful planet.”
NYC performance: Congratulations also go to the Alameda High School student musicians who swept a series of awards at the recent World Strides Performing Arts Heritage Festival in New York City. Alameda High placed first in all three competition categories (Jazz, Symphonic and String Orchestra).
In addition, Alameda High took home three special category trophies. The Jazz Band won the “Adjudicator Award” trophy (for the highest-scoring instrumental band that scored above 92), and the Symphonic Band won the “Outstanding Band” trophy (for the highest scoring traditional band).
A special shout-out goes to the Jazz Band’s Sid Almohajer and Vito Marcacci, who won solo achievement “Maestro” awards at the competition. Congratulations to the students, staff and families who made this trip and competition such a success!
Reach Susan Davis, the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs, at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.