AIMSupt. Monthly
April 2020 | Issue 5
Greetings,
To our AIMS community and supporters, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that even in difficult times there are still joys to be found. We are much stronger together than we are apart. In these new times of social distancing, I am so grateful to still have the opportunity to connect with you and hopefully bring some positivity to your day. I also want to acknowledge how proud I am of the work our AIMS staff and students have been able to continue to do in this new normal.
AIMS Featured in the SF Gate
AIMS’ very own High School student, Ubadi Egeonu, was profiled in the SF Gate article “What it's like being a Bay Area high schooler right now.” Ubadi is a Nationally ranked Max Preps Basketball player and freshmen at AIMS College Prep High. Ubadi talks about his experience having to balance school work and helping out his younger siblings. He unfortunately has to miss out on attending AAU basketball camps this summer and miss the opportunity to play for different teams across the country. His mother is also on the Covid-19 frontlines as an employee at Kaiser, in which he had this to say, “When she gets home, [he] can’t even give his mom a hug because he has to stay six feet away. While he's concerned for his mom, he is appreciative of how she is helping save lives.” We also shared some of what we’re doing to keep the spirits of our students up during this time such as planning virtual playdates, a virtual sports banquet, and online competitions. We are so proud to see Ubadi featured in the news but more importantly, showcasing the reality our students are facing through these difficult times.
April 6th 2020 - First day of virtual classes for all AIMS K-12 students.
AIMS Students are attending virtual classes with an over 90% attendance rate!
To hear about students across the city and state having difficulty transitioning to online learning saddens me. As soon as AIMS learned that we would possibly be moving to online learning, our staff ramped up efforts to deliver Chromebooks to students and to help families get set up with internet connectivity. Our staff is still hard at work to provide high quality learning every day. Our students still follow a Monday-Friday full day modified bell schedule. Students receive daily instruction from their teachers, spend time with peers in virtual group work sessions, and have time away from the screen to do independent practice. We are doing everything we can to bring a sense of normalcy to our families during this difficult time. We take our responsibility as educators to ensure our students do not fall behind academically very seriously. AIMS also values our responsibility to take care of the emotional and mental needs of our students, families, and staff by creating spaces for celebrations and community strengthening. Activities like our sport’s banquet, awards watch party, online parenting webinars, and parent-teacher conference day are creative and fun ways to take care of our community.
AIMS College Prep is the 2020 Hart Vision Awards School of the Year
We are so humbled to be presented with the 2020 Hart Vision Award for School of the Year in Northern California as a charter district. Each of our schools was awesome, and we appreciate the affirmation. Please take a few minutes to watch our video presentation. While we wish we could have received this award in person at the 27th Annual California Charter Schools conference, we commend the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) on handling the transition well and are still so honored to receive this recognition. With 1,306 charter schools operating across California, this is no small feat.
Myrna Castrejon, President & CEO of CCSA had this to say about us, “Our school of the year in Northern California is a diverse and consistently high performing school. Their high standards have allowed them to maintain an impressively high graduation rate. AIMS is a terrific example of a school that rose from the roots of the community to serve the people.”
As with any successful family, we love, provide structure, and hold a standard and commitment to success. My heart overflows with joy and gratitude every day that I am blessed to do this work. School choice allows us to do what we do, and the diverse population we serve is better for it. We are overfilled with joy to bring this recognition to our AIMS community.
(From Left) Mayor Libby Schaaf - City of Oakland | Kim Kean - Families in Action for Quality Education and Maurice Williams - AIMS High School | Educator Panel Discussion.
AIMS College Prep High School Honored in First Ever A-G Quality School Awards
Continuing a big week for AIMS, the A-G Quality School Awards were presented virtually by the Oakland based community organizations Families in Action for Quality Education and Energy Convertors. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf also shared some words during the ceremony. You can watch a replay of the awards here. AIMS was recognized for meeting a 100% completion rate of A-G requirements for African-American Students and 100% A-G Completion rate for the Latinx population. For context, in the 2018-2019 academic year only 39.5% of African-American students in OUSD graduated meeting A-G requirements. Every year thousands of students from underserved populations graduate ineligible to attend a 4-year university due to not meeting A-G.
AIMS High School, Head of School Maurice Williams represented AIMS during a virtual panel, in which he stated, “We graduate students as A-G plus. We create a culture of high expectations where all Freshmen take AP classes and college applications are paid for. 100% of our graduates are accepted into 4-year universities.”
We appreciate the recognition and the affirmation of our success, and yet mourn the fact that more children in our city are not prepared for college. Students' success represents potential transformation in our city and our nation. At AIMS, we often remind each other that in doing this work, we are breaking cycles of poverty. AIMS is honored to stand alongside other Oakland schools making a difference in the lives of Oakland students.
Free Resources for Families and the Community for these Uncertain Times
We know that this is a difficult time for so many in our community who are facing insecurity across the board. We are so grateful to the volunteers and organizations who have stepped up to provide direct aid during this time. The following are links to free resources that you might find helpful for yourself or to share with others. OUSD is providing meals every week to families in need along with links to distance learning resources on their website. For our undocumented communities, please check out this Covid-19 resource guide from the CA Immigrant Policy Center, also available in Spanish and Tagalog. For questions about rent or housing here is an FAQ with contact information from a group of Oakland organizations. For free mental health support, Sanvello is an app offering their services for free during this period. Please share these with anyone who might need them. Looking out for one another as a community is what is needed in these difficult times.
As our mantra goes, “We are stronger together, and together we are #AIMStrong”. I could not think of a more fitting motto to represent the tenacity of our AIMS students, staff, families, and community. These are not easy times for anyone, and many are facing unthinkable adversities. We do not know how long these trials will last, yet we must nonetheless persevere. At AIMS we count our blessings daily and want to remind everyone that it's not about what we don't have, it's about what we do with what we have in service to humanity.
Respectfully,
Maya Woods-Cadiz
Superintendent
AIMS K-12 College Prep Charter District
