On Tuesday, May 22 at 6:00p.m. in the District Office TERC building at 181 Encinal Avenue in Atherton, representatives from the MPCSD Board of Education will conduct a Candidate Information Night for individuals who may be interested in running for the Menlo Park City School District Board of Education. The election is scheduled for November 6, 2018 and there will be three Board seats open.

Board Members David Ackerman and Joan Lambert will present the roles and responsibilities of School Board Members, discuss District initiatives and challenges, provide details on filing as candidates with San Mateo County, and respond to questions from citizens who are considering their candidacy.

The filing period to become a candidate for the Board of Education is July through August 2018 (exact dates not yet available), and may be achieved by submitting candidate filing documents to County of San Mateo, Registration and Elections Division, 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, CA 94402. For candidate information please visit www.smcacre.org/elections .

The San Mateo County Registration & Elections Office will be holding two Candidate Seminars in July, and the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County will hold a Candidate Forum in August. Dates are not yet available. For more information, please contact the Menlo Park City School District Office at (650) 321-7140 or email [email protected] .

Our new Early Learning Center preschool will be ready to launch in late August on the campus of Lower Laurel at 95 Edge Road in Atherton. We are in the exciting process of hiring gifted staff who will welcome and inspire your children. We have openings in our afternoon and full-day classes for children born between September 1, 2013 and December 1, 2015. The mission of the ELC is to nurture young children’s curiosity, sense of wonder, belonging, and deep engagement with the world around them, preparing them to develop the critical skills needed to enter kindergarten and reach their full potential. For more information, please email ELC Director Jessica Mihaly or call (650) 321-7140 ext. 8900 or you can register online now!

Read more about ELC Director Jessica Mihaly here.

Read the Almanac's coverage of the ELC here.

Undoubtedly, the most important factor in making MPCSD the excellent district that it is, is our phenomenal staff. Our talented and highly respected teachers, principals, psychologists and counselors, and specialists not only use their expertise to make our classrooms, campuses, and social emotional services the best in the business, but they extend their knowledge to their peers by frequently sharing at conferences and by seeking special certifications in their fields. We are proud of the work our staff does here at home, and grateful for their opportunities to improve education far beyond our district by being resources and leaders for other educators. We proudly share some recent examples of exemplary leadership here. Click on the photos below to read more about each contribution.

Are you Ready to Rock?

Schoolhouse Rocks

5k RUN & Festival

Sunday, May 20 @ 9am

Hillview Middle School

 

Join 1,500 parents, kids, teachers, students, neighbors, runners, and non-runners for the Schoolhouse Rocks 5k Run or 1 mile Fun Run. To see details of the race course, please click the map below.

Register Today!

www.schoolhouserocks5k.com

 

After the race, rock out at the Festival featuring bouncy houses, games, music and more! Enjoy delicious food from:

The Waffle Roost

Zoom Caffe

Bowl'd Acai

Island Ice

 

We need YOU to help make this event rock! Run and Festival volunteers receive free entry to the post-run festival!  Become a Rockin' volunteer or course monitor!

Email  [email protected]  to learn more .

MPCSD is affected by many factors. You may have heard or read about some issues in the recent news and various local government council and committee meetings. Here's our take on current topics.

It's no secret that we live in one of the most expensive communities in the country, and that making a living as a teacher is tough. As everyone says, "teachers don't go into the profession for the money." Yet teachers are highly educated professionals charged with arguably the most important and impactful job that exists - preparing the next generation of leaders for our companies, organizations, and government. Students today need to emerge into the world as flexible thinkers and collaborative partners, with the knowledge and skills to ask the right questions and find the relevant information for solving problems and performing jobs that don't even exist yet. In the information and technology rich world of the 21st century, we are asking teachers to do so much more than drill facts; they must impart soft skills that require nuance and creative thinking. Teachers today must stay current on the rapidly changing landscape of not only the professions their students will someday fulfill, but the best ways to teach the skills that really matter. Yet the conversation around teacher pay has not evolved in decades.

A school district such as ours, in the hub of the most dynamic and leading edge thinking in the world, must be willing and able to change its approach when solving tough problems, like attracting and retaining the best teachers to keep us delivering the world class education our community expects. To this end, the Board has instructed Superintendent Burmeister to begin drafting a Compensation Philosophy document that will guide the district's hiring and paying its professional employees in the future. This document, presented to the Board and the public on April 3, is the beginning of a months long conversation with the intent of having a robust, actionable compensation philosophy in place by the fall.

MPCSD's kindergarten through fifth grade students had fabulous science opportunities all around the district on April 26-27. Each elementary campus hosted a wonderful science event, from hands-on experiments to a judged fair of student projects. Coincidentally, two of our Hillview students were also recognized with success at the California State Science and Engineering Fair. The time and support young students have to practice scientific thinking and building lead to success in many ways.

When our schools and students have a chance to give back to the community or be recognized for their accomplishments, we are glad to share it with you. Here are some recent examples from across the district. We hope you share in our pride of our amazing neighborhood schools!

Encinal Elementary School is among the honorees of this year's California Distinguished Schools Award from the California Department of Education. Encinal is recognized for its site specific, comprehensive, multi-tiered model program that meets ALL students’ diverse academic and social emotional needs. Encinal's program, informed by data, ensures all students are supported in a strategic manner through the innovative design of its master schedule, multi-tiered systems of academic support, deployment of social emotional researched based Tier 1 and 2 programs, and meaningful parent engagement opportunities. The Encinal team will be honored at the California School Recognition Program Awards Ceremony on May 3. Additionally, Encinal is one of only 12 schools in the state to receive an Exemplary Program Award for Visual and Performing Arts.

MPCSD offers a robust music program to all students, with music offered in grades K-3 as a weekly specialist class, the opportunity to learn a band or orchestra instrument in grades 4-5, and many choices for deeper music exploration at Hillview, including chorus, orchestra, band, and jazz. Laurel Elementary School's Chorus, made up of 4th and 5th grade students and led by Music Teacher Rachel Bergeron, will sing the National Anthem before the San Jose Earthquakes match on Saturday, May 19, 7:15p.m. at Avaya Stadium. We are thrilled to have our young singers selected for this honor. Come out and enjoy a soccer game and support music in our district. Purchase tickets here:  https://tinyurl.com/LaurelSchool18 .

Oak Knoll Elementary School has been awarded a 2018 Kent Award for its Embracing Our Differences Month. The J. Russell Kent Awards, sponsored by the San Mateo County School Boards Association, are " designed to spotlight outstanding programs in San Mateo County public schools ." Oak Knoll's goal with Embracing Our Differences Month is to build awareness around students who are differently abled and to expand the spirit of inclusiveness at the school, emphasizing a message of "difference not deficit." This year's program included a puppet show about Tourette Syndrome (pictured), a performance by the Urban Jazz Dance Company (a dance company that happens to be deaf), classroom discussions and more. It explored ways in which we are all more alike than different and challenged students to look at how our society can be more accessible to those with special needs. The Oak Knoll team will be recognized at the 2018 Kent Awards Ceremony on May 18.

Every year Hillview Middle School Art Teacher Anna Kogan works with  The Memory Project  to participate in a portrait drawing program with her advanced art students. The project pairs Hillview students with children, who are often orphans, from around the world. This year, Ms. Kogan's students received photographs of children in Syria and then spent about two weeks drawing the children. The organization flies the portraits over to Syria to hand deliver them to the children. The children are thrilled to receive such a personalized gift that they will most likely cherish for a very long time.

Student Nathalie Auslander said, "I love how I got to make someone from across the world happy and connect with them." Simone McCreary added, "This project was amazing because our art made an impact. Everyone tried their hardest to make their drawing look nice because they wanted the child to like their portrait. Even though the project was challenging, all our work paid off when we saw the joy of the children receiving their portraits." Hillview students are practicing empathy and making a difference thousands of miles away!

We like to keep the community informed about how our school district prepares children in many learning areas that make up the rich and broad curriculum that we are fortunate to provide with your support. We introduced you to art in our last issue. Today we bring you what's going on with PE. We hope these articles make you wish you were a kid in school again!

For many parents, memories of school PE include rope climbing nightmares, waiting interminably for a turn at kickball, and fears of being picked last for steal the bacon. Fortunately for the children of MPCSD, today’s physical education classes and teachers are specially trained, based on brain and movement science, and designed to teach all students - at their own pace and mastery - skills that lead to a lifetime of healthy exercise. Every MPCSD school has full time physical education-credentialed teachers who create programs that offer choice, age-appropriate skills-based lessons, and a fun, supportive, and inclusive environment. The focus of PE is building physical literacy, confidence, self esteem, love of movement, and a life-long habit of exercise. Every student has access to the PE equipment and works at their own pace. Skills that build hand-eye coordination, balance, and crossing the midline also build brain development. PE has become more skills based over the years and now focuses on teaching motor skills that can be used in a variety of settings, providing children a solid foundation in various types of movement and skills and the confidence to participate in sports. In addition to these district-wide goals for the physical education curriculum, each school adds its own unique flair that makes PE exciting for our students.

Click here for details and photos of PE at each campus.

MPCSD has three foundational - and very simple - beliefs at its core: every child achieves academic excellence; every child becomes emotionally and physically stronger; every child discovers and grows their talents. The district believes that until all students are achieving and meaningfully engaged in their learning, we have not accomplished this purpose. MPCSD, with its gifted staff, supportive community, and creative culture, is well situated to redesign the learning experience to include new models that enable more students to become meaningfully engaged and achieving at their potential.

MPCSD is fortunate to have a climate of thought leadership and possibility that enables it to become a model of how a public school district can re-think school. In this vein, MPCSD is creating the i3 (imagine+inspire+innovate) program to support teachers who opt in to reimagine their classrooms around five fundamental elements: learning personalization; competency-based learning and evidence-based grading; meaningful work; student wellness and agency; and collaboration for learning.

Beginning in Fall 2018, some classrooms at each school will be part of i3. These classrooms will incorporate innovative use of teaching and learning time, 1:1 student: teacher mentoring, project-based learning, redesigned homework, powerful professional development, and collaboration with support staff and specialists. An interactive learning management system will be used to plan instruction, collect evidence of students' learning, monitor progress, and share progress with parents, all guided by student ownership of their learning. Throughout the year, feedback will be sought from teachers, students, and parents to ensure that i3 is delivering on its goal of pioneering new ways for students to achieve and engage with school. I3 is just one example of the many ways MPCSD seeks to live out its vision of success and growth for  every child . Stay tuned for more information and updates about what we are learning and experiencing.

Have more questions about MPCSD and its financial stewardship? Check out our Media Literacy & FAQ or us the Interactive Financial Portal OpenGov. Get the real facts about the district's finances.

We invite you to connect with MPCSD in person at School Board input sessions, our Speaker Series, Farmers Market, student art show at the Menlo Park Burgess Library, and via our Facebook and Twitter pages: @goMPCSD.

MPCSD is also part of the larger community of the San Mateo County Office of Education, as is our high school district that includes Menlo Atherton High School. For a regional perspective, read news from SMCOE here.

Erik Burmeister, Superintendent

Jammie Behrendt, Assistant Superintendent

Board of Trustees

Terry Thygesen , President

David Ackerman , Vice President

Stacey Jones

Joan Lambert

Caroline Lucas