11/6/18 UPDATE! Upcoming School Board Meetings

In addition to comments given at the Public Forums, the School Board, Dr Baker and his Cabinet have read all input, emails, and the google doc which is 400 pages worth of comments. These comments will be posted online later this week. All are encouraged to focus on the positive if you choose to read any/all of the 400 pages.

Friday, 11/9  5:30 p.m.  Draft of recommendations posted on District Website – The November 14 School Board Meeting agenda will be posted on the District website on Friday, November 9 between 5:00-5:30 PM.  This agenda will include Dr. Baker’s proposed draft of the recommendations to ‘right size’ the District.

Here is Dr. Baker’s proposed draft in English

Here is Dr. Baker’s proposed draft in Spanish

Wednesday  11/14  7 p.m.  Fox Theater – Board Meeting   This will be the first time the Board will have the opportunity to discuss the recommendation proposal as a complete team. This proposal will include a timeline as well as the cost analysis of all items on the list of recommendations. Questions/comments/feedback will be presented at that time. The Board will give Dr Baker feedback on his proposal at this meeting. There will be time for public comment at the meeting.

Wednesday 11/28   7 p.m.  Carrington Hall (Sequoia High School) – Board Meeting    Dr. Baker will present his final draft proposal – the School Board will vote on the proposal.

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10/31/18 UPDATE! Dr. Baker has now eliminated the following ideas:

• Close Clifford School and rezone existing students. (idea #14). Rezone existing students, close K-8 program, and rent campus. Clifford would no longer be a neighborhood boundary school. (Vacating campus saves $1.26m/year) (idea #15) Clifford campus could be rented to a neighboring district or used to house 3 charters (part of idea #15)
• Use extra space [from changing Roosevelt to a K-5) to accommodate rezoned John Gill/Clifford/Selby students. (part of Idea #11). Superintendent’s Response: Since I am not recommending changing to a K-5, 6-8 configuration for the 2019-20 school year or rezoning Clifford, this idea will not be implemented at this time.

 

 

 

Read the update for complete details.

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After attending Monday’s RCSD forum (10/22/2018), our PTO believes that the most effective way of getting our voices heard is by writing emails to the school board members and filling out the District’s Google Docs form  which allows input in the form of “pros” and “cons” for the ideas being presented by the District as well as the entry of any new ideas.

Entre hoy y el 27 de noviembre, por favor envié correos electrónicos al Superintendente y Consejo Escolar.

Por favor
* Publique en redes sociales
* Hable con las asociaciones de vecinos para enviar correos electrónicos al School Board
* Asista a las reuniones incluidas aquí abajo

President: Trustee Maria Diaz Slocum, mdiazslocum@rcsdk8.net
Vice President: Trustee Dennis McBride, dmcbride@rcsdk8.net
Trustee Janet Lawson, jlawson@rcsdk8.net
Trustee Alisa Greene MacAvoy (current Clifford rep), alisamacavoy@yahoo.com
Trustee Hilary Paulson, hpaulson@rcsdk8.net
Superintendent John R. Baker, jbaker@rcsdk8.net

Superintendent Baker said that out of ~238 emails he received in response to the proposed ideas, most of them were from Clifford and Roy Cloud. Let’s keep the passion and momentum alive!

Due to high demand from those in attendance, the RSCD staff said they will add the cost savings data to each of the ideas so people can provide more informed feedback. They also said they would put the Spanish translation for the ideas up on the RCSD website.

Parents who do not have internet access are welcome to use Clifford’s computer lab before or after school to access the District website and provide their feedback.

Stay tuned–and keep those emails going!

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UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES

Thu, Nov 1, 2018 – 8:30 a.m., Hoover Community School, 701 Charter St, Redwood City

Thu, Nov 1, 2018 – 6:00 p.m., Kennedy Middle School, 2521 Goodwin Ave, Redwood City

Fri, Nov 9, RCSD will post 3-4 proposals for school closures and reorganization in advance of Nov 14 School Board meeting (online)

Wed, Nov 14, 7pm-School Board meeting at TBD, be prepared to speak 3 minutes in support of one plan or another

Fri, Nov 23, RCSD will post final plan in advance of Nov 28 meeting (online)

Wed, Nov 28, 7pm-School Board meeting, voting on final plan

Sat, Dec 15, plan must be submitted to County

PRÓXIMAS FECHAS IMPORTANTES

1 de nov de 2018 – 8:30AM Hoover – Escuela Comunitaria, 701 Charter St, Redwood City

1 de nov de 2018 – 6:00PM Kennedy – Middle School, 2521 Goodwin Ave, Redwood City

El viernes, 9 de Noviembre, RCSD 3-4 propuestas de cierre escolar y reorganización (en la página web)

El Miércoles, 14 de Noviembre, Junta de Escuela a las 7:00PM en TBD, estar preparado para hablar 3 minutos en apoyo a un plan u otro

El viernes, 23 de Noviembre, RCSD propuestas del plan final (en la página web)

Miércoles, 28 de Noviembre, 7:00PM- Junta de Escuela , votación sobre plan de final

El sábado, 15 de Diciembre, el plan final deberá ser propuesta al Condado

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On Tuesday, October 16, 2018, the Board of Trustees of the Redwood City School District held a public meeting to announce various proposals intended to cut $10 million in expenses over the next two years.  Slides from the meeting with the proposals can be viewed here; here is a summarized English version and a summarized Spanish version  from Sarah.

Several proposals would significantly impact Clifford, including one proposal to close and rent the facility.  What can we do?

Sarah LaTorra, Clifford’s PTO president, has compiled a list of Action Items:

1. Email School Board Members (keep emails short, 3-5 points max—people have short attention spans), can send additional emails with other points. Keep it focused. Personal stories are good but keep them short and sweet.
2. Call School District at: 650-423-2230
3. Attend Sessions at MIT and TAFT next week (can speak for 3 minute): do not talk negatively about other schools, keep positive and offer solutions (see TalkingPoints, below):
   • Monday, October 22, 2018, 6-8pm, McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) auditorium, 400 Duane St., Redwood City
   • Thursday, October 25, 2018, 6-8pm, Taft MUB, 903 Tenth Ave, Redwood City
   • Thursday, November 1, 2018, 8:30-10:00 am, Hoover Community School, Cafeteria
   • Thursday, November 1, 2018, 6-8 pm, Kennedy Middle School, Gym

1. Attend School Board Meetings (can speak for 3 minutes) : do not talk negatively about other schools, keep positive but offer solutions (see below)
   • Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 7pm, District Office, 750 Bradford Street
   • Generally 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, TBD on schedule
2. Post to Social Media, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, etc. Use Hash Tag #OneSchoolDistrict=AllStudents
3. Recruit more parents to participate
4. Translate materials into Spanish for all community members to advocate.

Here are Sarah’s notes, talking points, etc from the PTO Meeting on Thursday, October 18, 2018: TalkingPoints.pdf

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Additional information

Here is a link to the Proposed 2018-19 Budget (June 27, 2018 draft) for RCSD.  It has useful data like spending per student in RCSD and other local districts, cost per site for the individual schools in RCSD, etc.

Here is a link to the Redwood City School District page which talks about creating a re-sized school district and includes dates for upcoming meetings.

Here is a link to coverage in the Redwood City Climate’s coverage of the meeting on Tuesday, October 16, 2018.

This paper prepared by Hanover Research in May 2014, suggests that the K-8 model is a better one than split K-5 and 6-8 schools.

This paper discusses about financing for Community Schools and talks about RCSD and Redwood City 2020; RCSD has six Community Schools (Fair Oaks Community School, Garfield Community School, Hoover Community School, John F. Kennedy Community School, Selby Lane Community School,  and Taft Community School, according to the rcsd website).

Here is a link to a New York Times special section about middle school, with various opinions on pros/cons for separate middle school vs. K-8.

Dr. Baker has now eliminated the following ideas:

• Close Clifford School and rezone existing students. (idea #14). Rezone existing students, close K-8 program, and rent campus. Clifford would no longer be a neighborhood boundary school. (Vacating campus saves $1.26m/year) (idea #15) Clifford campus could be rented to a neighboring district or used to house 3 charters (part of idea #15)
• Use extra space [from changing Roosevelt to a K-5) to accommodate rezoned John Gill/Clifford/Selby students. (part of Idea #11). Superintendent’s Response: Since I am not recommending changing to a K-5, 6-8 configuration for the 2019-20 school year or rezoning Clifford, this idea will not be implemented at this time.

Read the update for complete details.

Through Nov 2, AmazonSmile is donating 5% (ten times the usual amount) to Clifford School when you shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/94-2975493. Make sure you choose “Clifford School Parents Club” as your charitable organization of choice! #AmazonSmile #StartWithaSmile  (for more details, visit this post)

Special Sessions of the Board of Education –

Nov 1, 2018 – 8:30 a.m., Hoover Community School, 701 Charter Street, RC
Nov 1, 2018 – 6:00 p.m., Kennedy Middle School, 2521 Goodwin Ave, RC

The agendas for the November 1st Board Meetings of the RCSD Board of Education are posted and live: http://redwoodcity.agendaonline.net/public/

Click on the meeting to open the agenda for that meeting.   During the “Oral Communication” section, people will get 3 minutes to speak; the time sometimes gets reduced based on the number of people in attendance. Additionally, all comments will be translated which also takes time.

We would love to have strong Clifford Community attendance at both meetings!

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Sesión especial –

1 de noviembre de 2018 – 8:30AM, Hoover Escuela Comunitaria, 701 Charter St, RC

1 de noviembre de 2018 – 6:00PM, Kennedy Middle School, 2521 Goodwin Ave, RC

 Las agendas para estas reuniones del 1 de noviembre de la Junta de Educación de RCSD están ya publicadas en la pagina web: http://redwoodcity.agendaonline.net/public

(haga clic en la reunión adequada y será dirigido/á a la agenda).

Cada persona tendrá 3 minutos para hablar (esto a veces se reduce según la cantidad de personas que asistan. Además, todos los comentarios se traducirán, lo que también lleva tiempo). Nos encantaría tener la asistencia de la comunidad de Clifford a ambas reuniones.

We have a CLOSED Facebook group for members of our Clifford community, where we can connect and communicate with one another. Join us there!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/953924204655960/

Please note – tonight’s community form has been moved to Hoover Community School’s cafeteria at 701 Charter St.  There will be a presentation in English at 6 p.m. followed by a presentation in Spanish at 7 p.m.

The computer lab will be open for any Clifford community member who would like to come in and use the lab to send emails, fill out the district google feedback form or write and print personal letters to send to board and Dr. Baker regarding the possible closure of a Clifford School. Clifford PTO pro and con lists will be available for reference and street and email addresses will posted for your convenience and support. Computer lab family support times: 10/24 Wednesday: evening 5-6:30 10/25 Thursday: before school starting at 7:15 am, and after school for at least an hour, more depending on need, and from 5-7pm on Thursday night. If any parent is available to help translate for Mrs. Overbey, volunteers are appreciated. Thank you! Laboratorio de computación abierto para enviar correos electrónicas a la Junta Escolar El laboratorio de computación estará abierto para cualquier miembro de la comunidad de Clifford que desee ingresar y usar el laboratorio para enviar correos electrónicos, completar el formulario de comentarios de Google del distrito o escribir e imprimir cartas personales para enviar a la junta y al Dr. Baker con respecto al posible cierre de una escuela de clifford. Clifford PTO pro y con listas estarán disponibles para referencia y las direcciones de las calles y correos electrónicos se publicarán para su comodidad y soporte. Tiempos del Laboratorio de computación para apoyo familiar: 10/24 miércoles: de tarde de 5-6: 30PM 10/25 jueves: antes de la escuela a partir de las 7:15AM y después de la escuela por lo menos una hora dependiendo si se necesita ayuda de 5-7PM el jueves por la noche. Si algún padre está disponible para ayudar a traducir para la Sra. Overbey, se agradece a los voluntarios. Gracias!

Dear RCSD community,

This is a reminder that you are invited to a series of “Planning for Our Future” community forums that Redwood City School District will be hosting in the coming weeks seeking your feedback as the school district plans for its future–maintaining a healthy and responsible financial status with a focus on a high-quality education for all RCSD students.

The scheduled community forums are as follows:

• Monday, October 22, 6-8pm, McKinley Institute of Technology, Auditorium
• Thursday, October 25, 6-8pm, Taft Community School, Multi-use Building

At each forum RCSD Superintendent Dr. John Baker will make a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for attendees to add their feedback to the ideas generated by the Superintendent’s Advisory Council. This input will be added in a written format using the “pros” and “cons” structure, which will be helpful to the Superintendent as he reviews the ideas. We encourage you to come ready to write down your feedback as it is important to RCSD to have your feedback as part of this process.

Please note that these are preliminary ideas based on an extensive review of data presented to the Superintendent’s Advisory Council including a parent and community survey, enrollment information such as where RCSD students from each school live, enrollment history, district enrollment projections, kindergarten registration and enrollment over time, Schools of Choice applications/enrollment over time, school transfer data, classrooms and capacity at each school site, financial information, an academic overview such as professional learning, instructional strategies, and the current state of the district such as academic gains, popular programs, and technology integration.

The school district wants and needs to gather formal input from all community members to better understand if a particular idea should be pursued and further analyzed. Once the superintendent has a better understanding of the needs of the RCSD community, he will then develop a comprehensive implementation plan with his formal recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

After these first two community forums, the RCSD leadership will have an opportunity to add to the “pros” and “cons” from the community and share any additional ideas. The superintendent will then review input from all stakeholders and prepare a draft of recommendations. The school district has scheduled two other locations to seek community feedback should there be any revisions after the first round of the community forums in October. This will be the final opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to provide input on the ideas under consideration:

• Thursday, November 1, 8:30-10:00 am, Hoover Community School, Cafeteria
• Thursday, November 1, 6-8 pm, Kennedy Middle School, Gym

Final recommendations will be voted on during the November 28 Board meeting.