March 9, 2019

Board President's Update

 
The Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, in the District Board room.  The public is invited to attend the meeting and can view the full agenda here.

Among other agenda items, the Board will appoint a chair and introduce its new Facilities Advisory Committee members, including Justin Wang, a junior at San Marino High School, who will provide a student voice and perspective.    Click here to view the list of FAC members.

The Board will also hear a presentation on the District's safety and security protocols used during emergency situations.  In light of the recent lock down at San Marino High School, the District will review its current safety and security protocols and discuss possible ways to improve these protocols.

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Julie Boucher will discuss the District's financial condition during a presentation regarding the 2018-2019 Second Interim Financial Report and Long-Range Financial Projections.
suptSuperintendent Search Update
 
Based on input obtained through stakeholder and community meetings during the last week of February, as well as online survey results, the Board's search firm consultants developed a superintendent profile of ideal experience, skills, and characteristics.  This profile was used to develop an application, which was posted on Monday, March 3rd, on nine different prominent job listing websites nationwide and in California, including the California Association of School Administrators (CASA), EdCal, American Association of School Administrators (AASA), and LinkedIn.  Applications will be accepted until April 4th.  Please  click here to view the application on the JG Consulting website.

In the coming weeks, JG Consulting/Escalante & Associates will continue to actively recruit for top candidates as well as work with the Board to prepare incisive questions to be asked of the applicants during video and in-person interviews.

It is not too late to submit feedback to the consultants via the anonymous online survey at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KC5HBV8. The input received will be used to develop interview questions, and it will be given to the successful superintendent to help inform him/her of community expectations and concerns.
 
On Wednesday, March 6, the San Marino Schools Foundation sponsored a Town Hall on Curriculum & Instruction, featuring District administrators and teachers.  SMUSD Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Jason Kurtenbach, moderated the event and used a "Reddit-like" approach to prioritize pre-submitted questions from attendees regarding curriculum and instruction.  A panel of principals and teachers from each school site answered questions on subject matters ranging from homework policies and practices, STEM labs, and AP/Honors courses to foreign language curriculum and student mental health. 

Click here to view the video and learn more about the curriculum information provided by Mr. Jason Kurtenbach, Dr. Issaic Gates (SMHS), Mrs. Jamie Linton (SMHS), Mrs. Alana Faure (HMS), Ms. Leticia Aranda (HMS), Dr. Michael Lin (Carver), Mrs. Martha McInnes (Carver), Mrs. Colleen Shields (Valentine) and Mrs. Jessica Bulgin (Valentine).
San Marino Unified School District Board of Education

Lisa Link
President
Chris Norgaard
Vice President
C. Joseph Chang
Clerk
Shelley Ryan
Member
Corey Barberie
Member