3rd Annual OUSD Celebration of Arab American Student Excellence Held Wednesday, May 26 2021
Oakland – The OUSD Office of Equity, Arab American Achievement Initiative Committee is excited to host the 3rd Annual OUSD Celebration of Arab American Student Excellence for young people across the District.
The Arab American Achievement Initiative Committee is in its third year of existence and it continues to grow and evolve the ways to best uplift our Arab American students. The committee sends its profound gratitude to OUSD educators, students, and families who have been dedicated to our students’ academic success despite the challenges of distance learning and the varying levels of access to technology last spring and fall, all while staying healthy and safe during the pandemic. To applaud our students’ achievements this academic year, we have expanded eligibility requirements from the traditional Arab American Student Honor Roll of only celebrating cumulative GPAs, to a celebration that includes all students in grades 6-12 who have maintained one or more of the following during distance learning:
- Perfect attendance
- 4.0 GPA
- Resilience, as nominated by school staff, but includes students navigating remote learning with a disability, housing insecurity, or juvenile justice experience
For many of our Arab American students and families, this is a significant event that they cherish and anticipate with great excitement every year. While it is not yet safe to have this event in person, uplifting and recognizing our students’ efforts to persevere continues to be a priority for us, especially as our students, families, and educators have weathered a global pandemic. This year, our celebration will be pre-recorded.
“I am excited to celebrate our students and their successes, especially during such a challenging year,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “All the wonderful work that our students do each year is worthy of celebration and we are proud to hold this annual event. Of course, their accomplishments carry even more weight this year because of all the additional obstacles to success our students have had to overcome. I applaud each and every one of these remarkable students, and I thank our educators and families for giving them the love and support they need.”
The celebration features messages from Superintendent Johnson-Trammell and Mayor Libby Schaaf. It will also include inspirational student, parent, teacher, and community messages, plus reminders about the importance of staying focused and engaged with life during these times. OUSD’s Office of Equity and the Arab American Student Excellence Committee want to wish everyone Eid Mubarak (Blessed Holiday).
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
Post based on press release from Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to Zennie62Media