"Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful."
- Margaret J. Wheatley
Dear Albany Community,
At this point in every school year, I spend a great deal of time reflecting. Through my reflection, I am reminded of something I know to be true: Albany is truly a special place, filled with REMARKABLE students, talented and dedicated staff, and caring, collaborative families. As I knew before I even arrived, this community believes deeply in public education and in one another. Every day, I am inspired by the commitment and partnership that define Albany Unified. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve as your superintendent and work alongside such an amazing community.
That is why I am extremely proud of the progress we made together this year. I know we will not always get everything right. Yet what gives me hope is how this community continues to respond when challenges arise. Throughout the year, even when the work felt complicated or uncomfortable, I have seen people continue to show up for students and for one another while remaining focused on what matters most. That commitment, resilience, and shared dedication to our students matter deeply. It is part of what makes Albany such a special place and gives me great hope for what lies ahead.
One of the most meaningful parts of this year for me has been hearing directly from our community through the Portrait of a Graduate work. People spoke clearly about wanting Albany students to leave our schools not only academically prepared, but also empathetic, resilient, thoughtful, creative, and ready to make a positive difference in the world.
I know we still have important work ahead, and I know I need to continue moving at the speed of trust. Yet I remain deeply hopeful because of this community and firmly committed to continuing this work together so that each and every student feels supported, challenged, connected, and empowered to thrive.
With gratitude and grace,
Dr. Sara Stone
Superintendent, Albany Unified School District
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This month, Albany Unified celebrates Pride Month and honors the LGBTQ+ members of our community who help make our schools stronger, more inclusive, and more joyful. We remain committed to creating learning environments where each and every student feels safe, valued, seen, heard, and supported for who they are. Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate identity, belonging, and courage, and to ensure that every student and family experiences dignity and respect in our schools and community. Throughout the month of June, Pride flags are raised at each school site as a visible symbol of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community. |
State Seals for our Seniors
As we celebrate the Class of 2026, we also want to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of Albany High’s graduating seniors and thank the teachers and staff who supported them throughout their journey.
Out of 303 seniors:
• 225 students earned the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma
• 131 students earned the California State Seal of Biliteracy
• 33 students earned the California State Seal of Civic Engagement
• 2 students demonstrated proficiency in three additional languages
• 27 students earned all three California State Seals
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Albany Unified continues to prioritize the programs and services that matter deeply to students and families, even as many districts across California have reduced or eliminated similar offerings.This includes arts, music, libraries, counseling and mental health supports, intervention services, athletics, technology, special education services, and enrichment opportunities for students.
Over the last two years, we have also shifted more budgeting decision-making to the school-site level through staff and community engagement processes so that resources more closely reflect the unique needs and priorities of each school community. These investments reflect our shared commitment to ensuring students experience academic excellence, belonging, creativity, wellness, and opportunity.
Strong Financial Stewardship
Supporting these priorities requires thoughtful planning and long-term fiscal responsibility. I am also pleased to share additional strong financial news for Albany Unified and our community.
Strong Bond Ratings
Albany Unified recently received strong Aa2/Aa3 bond ratings from an independent national credit rating agency as part of the District’s upcoming 2026 bond sale. These ratings reflect confidence in the District’s:
- Financial stability
- Careful budgeting and planning
- Stable local funding base
- Leadership, governance, and Board stewardship
Strong bond ratings help the District borrow money at lower interest rates, saving taxpayer dollars and allowing more resources to go directly toward:
- Students and staff
- Facilities and safety improvements
- Long-term capital needs
Measure L Bond Sale and Taxpayer Savings
- Albany Unified recently completed the first bond sale connected to Measure L, the voter-approved 2024 school facilities bond.
- Due to strong investor demand, the District secured borrowing rates lower than originally projected.
- The District also refinanced older bonds at lower interest rates, generating approximately $3.8 million in taxpayer savings over the next 17 years.
State Budget Update
The Governor’s May Revision projects stronger state revenues and a more positive outlook for TK–12 education funding, including:
- A proposed 4.31% LCFF augmentation
- Increased special education funding
- Additional one-time discretionary funding for districts.
While statewide fiscal challenges remain, including uncertainty around Proposition 98 funding, these updates provide a more stable outlook than earlier projections.
At a time when many California districts are facing financial uncertainty, Albany Unified remains in a strong and stable position because of careful planning, disciplined oversight, strong community support, and a continued commitment to students and the future of our schools.
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Creation of the Facilities Master Plan and the Technology Master Plan
This year was an important foundational year for Albany Unified as we developed a much-needed updated Facilities Master Plan and began building the framework for a districtwide Technology Master Plan.
- This work supports fiscal responsibility by helping the District strategically prioritize investments, plan for long-term maintenance and modernization needs, and align resources to the highest-impact projects for students and staff.
- The plans are grounded in best practices for creating “just right” learning spaces that support safety, belonging, accessibility, collaboration, creativity, and high-quality teaching and learning.
- This work also reflects our commitment to ensuring that technology and AI use in Albany Unified is responsible, secure, developmentally appropriate, and educationally aligned to support student learning and well-being.
Next year, we will continue this work by developing a Facilities Master Plan implementation roadmap and building a more robust Educational Technology Plan and related Board policies to guide thoughtful, future-focused technology use across our schools.
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This spring, we asked students, staff, families, and community members to share feedback through our Portrait of a Graduate and our General Impressions surveys. Your input helped us better understand both what our community values most about Albany Unified as well as areas where we can continue to grow and improve. We take this feedback very seriously and use it to create future plans.
More than 200 people participated in the Portrait of a Graduate process. Emerging themes from the process reflected a desire for students to leave AUSD not only academically prepared but also grounded in purpose, confident in their voice, resilient in the face of challenge, empathetic toward others, creatively curious, and ready to shape and contribute to a rapidly changing world.
The General Impressions Survey included 132 participants and highlighted many strengths across our schools, including:
- Teaching and learning
- Belonging and inclusion
- Arts and enrichment opportunities
- Dedicated staff and strong school communities
The feedback also identified areas where people want continued growth and improvement, including:
- Communication and transparency
- Academic rigor and consistency
- Equity and student support
- Trust and meaningful engagement in decision-making
“Students need to be asked for their opinions, and their responses need to be taken seriously.” — AUSD Community Respondent
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📌 Additional district and school events are shared regularly on our website, Events Calendar, and ParentSquare.
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Thank you to our students, staff, families, and community partners for helping create schools that are vibrant, inclusive, and focused on learning. Your partnership makes a difference every day. |
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