Pasadena Unified Staff — All of It — Set to Gather for Back to School Resource Fair and Breakfast

The Pasadena Unified School District is welcoming all of its staff back for the new school year with an Employee Resource Fair and Breakfast on Wednesday, August 7, sponsored by the Pasadena Educational Foundation and PUSD’s partners.

PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald, who had earlier announced that he wasn’t going to be in attendance when the new school year begins, wrote an open letter to welcome back the PUSD team after the summer break. McDonald will be recovering from surgery by the time school opens.

“I am excited to continue our great work together, and I am so proud of our PUSD team,” he wrote. “With so many different perspectives in the world today, we are united by a shared vision: delivering engaging and challenging educational experiences for every student, every day.”

Interim PUSD Superintendent David Verdugo and members of the Board of Education will lead the welcome. District leaders are also expected to attend.

The staff welcome day, to be held at Pasadena High School at 2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., begins with a continental breakfast at 7 a.m., followed by the employee resource fair, which continues throughout the day, and features employee benefits, housing opportunities, and other information.

District-wide professional development session will begin at 10 a.m., McDonald said. Locations of the professional development sessions will be sent to PUSD staff by email.

A PUSD announcement said nine-month employees, who are not scheduled to begin work until August 12, will be paid for attendance at the welcome-back program and the professional development sessions.

Parking will be very limited, the announcement said, with two parking lots located off Sierra Madre Blvd. and Washington Blvd. Shuttle buses will be available to pick up staff from Blair School at S. Marengo Avenue, the PUSD Education Center at Hudson Avenue, the District Service Center at Woodbury Road, John Muir High School at Lincoln Avenue, Washington Middle School at N. Marengo Avenue, and Wilson Middle School at Sierra Madre Street. Pickup times are 6:40 a.m.

After the event, the shuttles will depart PHS at 10:20 a.m., with one bus leaving PHS at 3:10 p.m., according to the PUSD schedule.

Classes begin on Monday, August 12 for all PUSD students.