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Community Matters Quarterly
Spring 2020
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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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From Superintendent Burmeister
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How incredible that the world has completely changed since you received our last edition of this community newsletter in late January. Along with the rest of our state, MPCSD has been sheltering in place since March 16. Our schools closed to students and learning is taking place remotely. Our teachers and staff are working hard to ensure that lessons continue, engagement remains high, and our most vulnerable students and families are cared for. We have a more detailed report to you below about the ways in which MPCSD is living its mission to serve the needs of its students even during this unprecedented crisis.
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On a personal level, sheltering in place and being isolated from friends and family has taken its toll on me and my family just as it surely has on yours. I devoted a recent
Sup'sOn blog
to this "Cruel Irony," that just when the uncertainty of life makes us crave connection most, we are unable to physically have it. I hope you are staying strong and know that together we will get through this tough time. It is heartening to already see some signs of "normalcy" as some of our favorite local restaurants serve again and shops make plans for pick-up service.
Through all the recent changes, I remain grateful to and inspired by
you
- our community. Not only have our teachers, staff, and students excelled at reinventing learning overnight, but our larger community has reached out with love and support for our most vulnerable. Thanks to all who have donated to MPCSD Helps during this time; we are able to help provide food security to nearly 200 families through your generosity. To learn more or donate,
please click here
.
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Thank you for supporting YOUR community school district. You are always welcome to reach out with questions at
[email protected].
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Dates to Note
School Board meetings are held remotely via Zoom until further notice. Please see our
website
under "Announcements" for the details of joining each meeting.
June 4
- School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m. over Zoom
June 9
- School Board Candidate Information Night, 6:00 p.m. over Zoom
June 11
- School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m. over Zoom
June 12
- Last day of school for MPCSD students
June 19
- MPCSD Community Survey window closes
August 20
- First Day of school for MPCSD students
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Take our Survey
Every spring we ask the community to share its thoughts with us. We appreciate your opinion and use your feedback to plan for the future. As a community-funded district, we receive nearly 90% of our annual funding from local sources, primarily: property tax, parcel taxes, and philanthropic donations to our partner organization, the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation. Only 11% of our funding comes from state and federal sources and we are
not
funded based on our enrollment.
You can help us understand your priorities and expectations by taking our community survey by June 19, 2020. Thank you!
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What About the Fall?
MPCSD Plans Re-opening Scenarios
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MPCSD convened a COVID-19 Response Team that has been meeting weekly since January. Now that team has shifted its focus to school re-opening plans and is developing scenarios for opening for in-person instruction on August 20, 2020. In order to ensure social distancing and rigorous cleaning/disinfecting schedules, the fall will most likely be an alternating schedule that allows for half of our students to be on campus at any time, while the other half engages with distance learning, small group check-ins, and specialist programming during the "at-home" days. We have committed to our parent community to have possible plans available to them by mid-June. You may read about
San Mateo County's developing school re-opening guidance here
. MPCSD will incorporate the four pillars of Face Coverings, Health & Hygiene, Physical Distancing, and Limited Gatherings into the scenarios it develops.
The School Board will discuss fall reopening scenarios at the June 4 meeting, held at 6:00 p.m. over Zoom. If you wish to hear the discussion or leave public comment, please see the
meeting details here
.
As a reminder, our District Office remains open Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. to serve essential needs. If you plan to visit the office, remember that it is
required to wear a face covering
while on any MPCSD campus, as per this
health order.
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School Board Candidate Information Night
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Two seats on the five-member MPCSD School Board will be open for the November 3, 2020 election. MPCSD always welcomes passionate community members who care about our local public schools to run for a Board seat. If you have ever thought of becoming a board member, please consider finding out more at the Candidate Information Night on June 9 at 6:00 p.m. over Zoom. For more details and the Zoom information, please
click here
.
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MPCSD Enrollment Continues to Defy Trends
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It has been a state-wide trend over the past few years for school districts to experience meaningful enrollment declines. The soaring housing costs in our local area have sent many families to other areas, and most districts surrounding MPCSD have seen modest to precipitous declines. MPCSD, however, has been immune to this trend. While we are slightly down over the past couple of years, our kindergarten classes keep coming in strong. The 2020-21 enrollment is expected to be as many as 50 students larger than the 2019-20 year. Next fall's enrollment is also above what has been predicted in our demographic studies. There are many theories as to why this is true, most notably that Menlo Park offers a wide array of housing stock including more affordable options than other high performing school districts. Whatever the reason, MPCSD has not seen the enrollment decline that our counterparts have.
What this means from a funding perspective is that we continue to serve the same number of students - about 3000 in grades kindergarten-8th - without increasing funding to support them. As a community-funded district, we do not receive our funding on a per-pupil basis. We have the same budget no matter how many students enroll in our schools. We have been fortunate to experience recent growth in our property taxes, however MPCSD only receives about 18 cents for every property tax dollar paid. With the current economic downturn due to the coronavirus, our property tax growth projections have dramatically decreased for the next few years.
You may read the recent 2020-21 budget presentation here.
Parcel taxes are our community's way of supporting its schools with additional needed funding. We are grateful for the community's vote of its four parcel taxes. The most recent parcel tax, Measure X, was passed with nearly 80% support in March 2017. It was designed to provide a 4-year runway of financial stability as the district also made $2 million in spending cuts and planned for long-term financial stability. The 4-year runway will be up in March 2021 and the School Board is deciding when to put a renewal for Measure X on the ballot. Please stay informed about your School Board and look out for opportunities to provide input on the Measure X renewal which is more needed than ever as part of MPCSD's continued financial health.
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One highlight of the shelter in place is insight into each other's home lives as we Zoom in for meetings. More time at home also allows some people to explore their passions. One Laurel School kindergarten teacher combined her hobby of floral arranging with her kindness and caring for others while under quarantine. This heartwarming story features three Laurel teachers as it tells the story of how flowers brought people together.
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Kindness abounds during this crisis, and an MPCSD Boy Scout troop used theirs to serve fellow students. Cub Scout Pack 565 supported local business Mardini's by purchasing 134 meals and delivering them to families from the Laurel School community. They also provided meals to Menlo Park Police officers, and together with Boy Scout Troop 222 delivered meals to healthcare workers at Stanford Hospital.
Read the full article here.
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Please take our annual community survey to help us plan for the future.
Take survey here.
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At the June 11 School Board meeting, the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation will ceremonially deliver its annual grant to the Menlo Park City School District. This is a momentous year as the majority of MPAEF's fundraising came in the fall with the new One Community Campaign (OCC). After years of dreaming and planning, the MPAEF and our schools' Parent Teacher Organizations joined together for their annual campaigns. With clearer messaging and working toward a common purpose, the organizations exceeded expectations and completed an impressive fundraising drive. MPCSD sincerely thanks all the parents and families who donated to make the OCC such a success. Our schools would not be the same without this campaign that supports libraries, science, music, art, mental health and wellness support, lower class sizes and so much more.
With the coronavirus crisis unfolding rapidly during the spring, MPAEF had to move its annual auction to happen remotely, and cancel its annual Schoolhouse Rocks 5k Run and fundraiser. Despite these changes, MPAEF will grant at least $3.7 million to our schools. We could not be more grateful for their support as this grant makes up over 7% of our annual budget and directly supports our excellent teachers, lower class sizes, technology, and counselors at every school. Thank you!
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Distance Learning - Behind the Scenes
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When schools closed across the country in March, a new term quickly became ubiquitous: distance learning. Whether or not you currently have children in school, likely you have heard or read about the quick pivot to and new reality of delivering education remotely. Some of the challenges districts face are: making sure every student has access to technology and the internet; making sure teachers are prepared and trained to use the technology and techniques that make remote learning successful; and ensuring that both teachers and students have the space and time to devote to distance learning.
MPCSD has met the distance learning challenge with relative success, and continues to invest in teacher training to improve upon it. Whatever the fall looks like, it will likely include some form of distance learning. Here are some highlights of MPCSD's distance learning experience:
- Excellent teachers. MPCSD, with the community's support, has invested for many years in hiring high quality teachers and supporting them with professional development to ensure the best learning experience possible for students. Our teachers were able to quickly and creatively develop and deliver distance learning plans. For an in-depth look at what remote teaching is like in MPCSD, please read this recent article featuring Oak Knoll teacher Trish Stella.
- Appropriate technology. Also with community support, MPCSD has invested in the infrastructure and professional development for educational technology for all grades. Because our teachers and students already use technology tools like DreamBox, Lexia, Altitude, Google Classroom, and many more, they were able to capitalize on this knowledge to make a relatively seamless transition to content being delivered remotely.
- Equity. MPCSD employs a full time family engagement coordinator who is in constant contact with our families who need extra supports for their students to succeed in school. All students who needed a loaner device (iPad or Chromebook) or internet access were provided with the tools. MPCSD is also participating in a regional plan to ensure internet hotspots throughout all areas of our district. MPCSD cares about equitable internet access on a national level, too. As a member of Digital Promise, our Superintendent Erik Burmeister joined fellow superintendents from around the country to sign a letter stating "It is simply unacceptable for low-income students to not have devices and internet access." Read the full statement here.
- Flexibility & Fairness. MPCSD's distance learning expectations include flexibility for families and teachers. Teachers are expected to post lessons at regular times but there is much flexibility for students to complete assignments as their schedules allow. The School Board adopted a temporary grading policy that ensures that no students fall behind because of lack of ability to complete lessons without the supports normally available at school.
- Continued Engagement. Above all, teachers and students are encouraged to prioritize live interactions with teachers and peers. Our surveys show that connections with teachers are what students and families value most, and all teachers are regularly providing these opportunities either one-on-one, in small groups, or with their whole classes.
- Strong Support. All schools have surveyed their parents at least twice to understand how distance learning is going. A strong majority of parents feel that distance learning is going well and approximately 75% of respondents believe that the "just right" amount of school work is being provided. In elementary school, most students spend 2-4+ hours per day on distance learning; in middle school most students spend 3-6 hours per day.
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Helping Vulnerable Families Through the Crisis
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Meeting our students' academic needs is just part of MPCSD's mission. Their physical needs matter, too. When the pandemic caused widespread job loss, MPCSD stepped in to help ensure food security to about 200 students and their families. This is happening in two ways:
- We provide 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches to students every week. Deliveries are made by MPCSD staff using safe and contact-free practices. These weekly check-ins also serve to support families should they need assistance with technology or other needs, or even delivering hand-written messages between students. Our amazing staff, led by Family Engagement Coordinator Flor Espinal and Hot Lunch Specialist Debi Rice (pictured here in the pop-up MPCSD food pantry), have been working hard to keep families fed.
- In response to the community wanting to help its own families, we established MPCSD Helps in partnership with the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation. MPCSD Helps collects donated grocery items and funds to purchase grocery gift cards. The MPCSD Helps website also connects families with many other local services like rent assistance, pet care, legal help, and more. With the MPCSD Helps funds, we are able to provide $5000 per week in grocery gift cards.
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Facebook Local Communities
MPCSD was a fortunate recipient of
Facebook Local Communities'
Support Local Initiative on May 27 when 500 burritos were supplied by Facebook for MPCSD students and their families, along with the hard-working MPCSD staff who deliver meals to our students every week. Since Small Business Week typically falls in May, Facebook wanted to help local restaurants and essential workers. By purchasing meals from Soleska Market on Willow Road and partnering with MPCSD's lunch program, it was a win-win. MPCSD is grateful for Facebook's generosity in helping us feed our most vulnerable families.
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Maker Nexus
Although they have been faced with limited resources and high demand, our friends at Maker Nexus answered our request and provided our nurses with free face shields that were designed with their 3-D printers. Maker Nexus is a registered California non-profit corporation that is currently celebrating its first year as a makerspace. They have been helping during this COVID-19 pandemic by creating face shields and donating them to hospitals and medical professionals throughout the Bay Area. Maker Nexus considers itself more than just a makerspace, but a resource for makers everywhere. If you are interested in finding out more about this incredible group of makers or wish to donate, please visit the
Maker Nexus website.
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The Palo Alto Community Fund
Our MPCSD Helps initiative received an unexpected and extremely generous $25,000 from
The Palo Alto Community Fund
in support of food security for our families. One of the goals of The Palo Alto Community Fund's COVID-19 Relief fund was to support families in the Palo Alto Unified School District, Ravenswood City School District, and Menlo Park City School District to ensure that they were serving families within their entire service area, according to PACF's Executive Director Cammie Vail. We are so grateful for their support in this extraordinary time.
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Community Connection - Engage with Us
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Hillview Hawks, Laurel Squirrels, Encinal Eagles, 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. As partners in educating our future, we welcome your interest, questions, and feedback at any time. Use the links below to access each school's website, or email
[email protected]
.
School websites:
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Erik Burmeister,
Superintendent
Jammie Behrendt,
Assistant Superintendent
Board of Education
Stacey Jones,
President
Sherwin Chen,
Vice President
David Ackerman
Mark Box
Scott Saywell
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