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Community Matters Quarterly
October 2017
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World Class. Community Funded.
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The Community Newsletter
of
your
Menlo Park City School District
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Welcome from Mr. Burmeister
Welcome to our first community newsletter. I am honored to serve as superintendent of Menlo Park City School District. I have had the pleasure of working with the community, our school board, parents, and especially all our dedicated teachers over the years as Hillview’s principal and most recently as assistant superintendent. One of our biggest challenges and greatest achievements as a community was the recent passage of Measure X, a parcel tax which enables us to continue our tradition of reasonable class sizes, excellent teachers, and a robust curriculum. On behalf of the district, I sincerely thank you for supporting high-quality education and believing in our schools’ importance to the vibrancy of our community.
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Please Join Us
Ongoing - Student Art Show @ Burgess Library
November 8, 6:30 p.m. -
Speaker Series featuring Jacob Towery @ Hillview PAC
November 19, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. - MPCSD @ Farmers Market MP
December 17, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. - MPCSD @ Farmers Market MP
January 14, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. - MPCSD @ Farmers Market MP
January 17, 10 a.m. -
Speaker Series featuring Sheryl Sandberg @ Hillview PAC
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Now is the Time to Make YOUR Voice Heard
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Don't wait until after decisions have been made and then vent online. Be part of the process NOW! Superintendent Burmeister invites all members of the MPCSD community to share their thoughts on the district’s long-term financial planning.
Please plan to attend the first i
nput session
Tuesday, October 24 at 6 p.m.
in the Boardroom at the TERC, 181 Encinal Ave. For background on this initiative, please view the
presentation by Mr. Burmeister
to the school board from September 12.
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Stories That Make Us Proud
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Engagement. Innovation. Leadership. Partnership. Perseverance. These are the core values of our district. Our students, staff, and alumni reflect them, and the news media takes note.
If you know of other MPCSD alumni in the news,
email us. We have a rich community of former students making a difference, and we'd love to share more stories.
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Testing Results Are In - How Did We Do?
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On Sept. 27, the Department of Education publicly released the results of the spring 2017 Smarter Balanced Assessment and the California Alternate Assessment. For the 3rd consecutive year, MPCSD students performed remarkably well! In English/Language Arts, 82 percent of our students met or exceeded state standards, and in Math, 81% of students met or exceeded the standards.
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MPCSD is community funded because nearly 90% of district revenue comes from local sources, including our crucial partner, the
Menlo Park –Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF). Please visit their
website to find out more, and consider donating to keep educational excellence in our community. And when you shop online, use the
MPAEF portal to earn money for our schools. It's easy and has all your favorite online retailers!
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Talk of the Town: MPCSD's Take
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MPCSD makes it a practice to remain neutral on issues around development, government, and other topics that come up in the local news. However, as many of these issues ultimately affect our schools, we do engage in conversation with local partners such as city government and neighboring school districts to ensure that our district's needs remain represented. Here are two recent examples.
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Stanford Housing Development
On behalf of the students, parents, and taxpayers in MPCSD, Superintendent Erik Burmeister continues to advocate for the needs of the district in public meetings and written communication to the Menlo Park City Council in regard to the financial impacts of development on our schools.
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Education in Belle Haven
On Sept. 18, Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith hosted a conversation in the Belle Haven neighborhood about the quality of schools in that neighborhood and the overall issue of education equity in our area. The meeting was well attended and reflects the interest in this important discussion.
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How's Traffic? What MPCSD Has Done to Help
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Our local schools are a source of community pride and add tremendous value to our vibrant area. However, as neighbors will confirm, they are not without their morning and afternoon traffic jams. The district has worked hard over the last few years to reduce the traffic load at each school as much as possible and will continue to do so. Some of the initiatives we have taken to improve traffic and the safety of the student commute throughout our district include Busing, Neighborhood Schools, Biking and Walking, Green Alternatives, Santa Cruz Avenue Sidewalks, and Safe Routes to School.
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Community Outreach - Ways to Engage with Us
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We have launched a new section of the MPCSD website dedicated to
Media Literacy & FAQ. It is the place for real facts about the district's finances plus more information on what we are doing to educate our students about navigating the vast array of media sources they are exposed to.
We are a community-funded district, which makes our relationship with our citizens a true partnership. We invite you to connect with MPCSD in person at School Board input sessions, our
Speaker Series, Farmers Market, student art shows at the Menlo Park Burgess Library, and online via our new
Facebook and
Twitter pages: @goMPCSD.
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Hillview Hawks, Laurel Squirrels, Encinal Eagels, Oak Knoll Otters. These mascots represent MPCSD's four award-winning schools that are the hearts of their neighborhoods and the pride of our community. Whether you are an alumnus, neighbor, parent or grandparent of a current student, prospective home-buyer, or future MPCSD parent, we invite you to find out as much as you can about our amazing campuses. As partners in educating the future of our society, we welcome your interest, questions, and feedback at any time. Use the links below to access each school's website, or email
info@mpcsd.org
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Erik Burmeister,
Superintendent
Jammie Behrendt,
Assistant Superintendent
Board of Trustees
Stacey Jones,
President
Terry Thygesen,
Vice President
David Ackerman
Joan Lambert
Caroline Lucas
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