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Community Matters Quarterly
Spring 2023
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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 Kristen Gracia |
Time flies when you are having fun! It feels as if January was yesterday and I just began as superintendent and now school is almost out! What a wonderful and whirlwind five months it has been. I have had the pleasure of meeting many, many families throughout this winter and spring. The more I connect with our community - staff members, students, parents, and neighbors - the more I know we have a shared vision for our youth: that they will engage, achieve, and thrive at our schools and emerge world-ready to tackle the challenges and joys of the future.
As I shared in my recent "Straightforward with the Superintendent" conversations, it was never my intent to become a superintendent. Now I can't imagine being a superintendent anywhere else but here! Simply put, I love MPCSD. I have "grown up" here in my career, raised my children here, and continue to feel passionate and dedicated to serving this community. If I have not personally connected yet with you, I hope to have the opportunity soon.
Next year is about getting back to business. We are refreshed by the shift we have made in our dialogue, from discussing pandemic protocols to now reviewing best practices in teaching and learning. I look forward to leading the district through a strategic visioning process next school year as we further define what success looks like for students in MPCSD.
I invite you to attend School Board meetings and take advantage of the opportunities we will have to connect in 2023-24. Thank you for supporting your community school district.
Kristen Gracia
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Dates to Note
Please see our website under "Announcements" 72 hours in advance of each Board meeting for the agenda and attendance details.
June 8 - School Board Meeting (final regular meeting of the school year), Open Session 6:00 p.m.
June 9 - Last Day of School in MPCSD; minimum day dismissal. 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony at 5:00 p.m. at Hillview School
June 12 - FREE Obsolete Textbooks: old but useful textbooks available to the public. 9:00 a.m.-12 p.m. at Oak Knoll School Small Gym
July 10-August 4 - MPCSD Summer School Programs at Laurel Lower Campus, Encinal, and Hillview
August 23 - First Day of School in MPCSD
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MPCSD's Annual Community Survey is NOW OPEN! We like to hear from our community members and your input helps us plan for the future. To let us know how you interact with and value your local public schools, please take this online survey by June 30, 2023. Tell your friends and neighbors who live in MPCSD to take the survey, too! The more community members we hear from, the better we can serve you.
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Annual Report to the Community:
A Team Approach
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Teacher - TOSA - Solutionary |
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Oak Knoll fourth grade teacher Lela Ward has been with the district for nineteen years and at two campuses, Encinal and now Oak Knoll. During her career she spent four years as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), helping guide other teachers with their practice. Upon returning to the classroom, she participated in the San Mateo Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship (ESTF). ESTF brings together teachers, professional learning and academic standards experts, and community-based partners to integrate environmental and climate justice and knowledge-to-action solutionary teaching and learning into their curriculum.
Always passionate about the environment, Ms. Ward used her fellowship to bring solutionary ideas and real-world problem solving to her students. Enlisting the help of parents, too, her classroom delved into many complex issues, like plastics in the ocean, deforestation, and how we can reuse rather than buy new. She discovered a whole community of like-minded educators and even went on to write new curriculum for other teachers interested in teaching students how to think about tackling the environmental crisis while proving community service at the same time. Ms Ward earned the San Mateo County Office of Education's Changemaker Award and is now a senior fellow in the ESTF program. Read Lela's full story here.
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Encinal Girls Scouts help homeless families
Girl Scout Troop 62837, made up of Encinal students, led a community drive to purchase needed items for local homeless families, in partnership with Life Moves. The troop and other volunteers created 36 bags that included hats, gloves, blankets, socks, and intimate personal items. Thank you, scouts and volunteers!
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MPCSD Alumnus Writes Local Column
Dylan Lanier, a junior at Menlo Atherton High School and former MPCSD student (pictured above as a Encinal student and currently), writes the weekly InMenlo column "From a Teen's Perspective." We are impressed with and initiative in adding his voice to our community conversation. Dylan shared exclusively with MPCSD in his own words, "My column was born out of a love for my community and a passion for writing. English has always been my favorite subject, and exceptional teachers along the way—at Encinal, Hillview, and M-A—have inspired me to hone my craft and use my unique voice to connect with others. My column allows me to write about topics that don’t make the 'regular' news but are important to students and parents alike. Typically, ideas for my weekly posts originate in personal reflection or a passing comment from a friend that sticks with me. I hope my readers not only enjoy my content but feel inspired to find their own avenues to follow their passions and get involved in their community." Well done, Dylan.
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Hillview Service Team Plants Downtown Trees
Have you noticed new trees downtown? Downtown Menlo Park and its businesses are an important part of our thriving community. Many Hillview students spend their afternoons or weekends frequenting the stores and socializing at the outside tables there. We are so fortunate to have a welcoming and safe location for our students to express their independence, and we encourage all to behave with respect in their patronage.
In gratitude and support of downtown Menlo Park, our Hillview Service Team partnered with the city on a beautification service project. On May 11 after school, members of the Hillview Service Team planted new trees on Santa Cruz Avenue and delivered thank you notes to each business owner, on behalf of ALL the staff and families at Hillview.
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Second Graders at Laurel Support Earthquake Survivors
Following the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Laurel's second graders wanted a way to help out. The teacher team designed a Project Based Learning unit in which students from each class created a business and marketed it to the community. They sold pet rocks, tic-tac-toe games, upcycled crayons, comic books, and offered sports events. Hanna Malak, American Red Cross Regional CEO, had visited the school earlier this spring to teach the second graders about non-profits and more specifically about the Red Cross (how they raise money, what they do with the money, etc). After the classes created their businesses and sold their items, Mr. Malak returned to Laurel to accept the donation and explain how this money would help the people of Turkey and Syria who have been impacted by the earthquakes. The students were able to donate over $1,460!
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Celebrating 30 Years of Hands-On Science |
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One of MPCSD’s core values is innovation, so it is no surprise that science is an area in which the district has pushed education forward for decades. This school year we looked back on the evolution of science teaching and learning within MPCSD, as 2022 marked 40 years of support from our partners at the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and 30 years since a transformational science education program from the Smithsonian, supported by a grant from Hewlett Packard, sparked curiosity in the minds of our educators.
Prior to the early 1980s, science was a largely passive subject. Creativity and questioning were not routinely encouraged from students, especially in the younger grades and many districts did not have robust science curriculum for elementary grades at all. Thankfully, at this time a small group of MPCSD teachers was investigating alternate ways to engage young learners in scientific pursuits. The timing coincided with Goals 2000, a national education initiative launched in the 1990’s to transform learning. Joining this effort was the Smithsonian’s Science Education Center (formerly the National Science Resources Center), offering research-based training to the nation’s school districts. Companies such as Hewlett Packard joined the effort by launching a national grant program to send school district leadership teams to the Smithsonian. MPCSD, in partnership with Redwood City School District, worked with HP employee and MPCSD parent, Jim Vanides, to submit a grant proposal that was awarded in 1992. As a result, Jo Mitchell (retired MPCSD Assistant Superintendent) and Nancy Rankin (retired MPCSD science teacher) were among the first HP grantees who were sent to Washington DC in the summer of 1992.
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Superintendent Gracia, Jim Vanides, Former School Board Member Karen Canty, Oak Knoll Principal Alicia Payton-Miyazaki, and Oak Knoll Karen Clancy at the March 30 STEAM on the Knoll event |
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MPCSD's youngest students in the Early Learning Center explore science by investigating the natural world and asking questions |
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Former Board Members Laura Rich (left) and Stacey Jones (right) with Laurel Upper Campus Principal Alicia Heneghan (center) at the May 19 STEAM Fair |
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As Silicon Valley companies continued to recognize the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math “literacy”, the nascent science education transformation in MPCSD was further supported through National Science Foundation efforts to advance science education through teacher professional learning workshops. Community members with various scientific expertise shared their excitement and STEM expertise with our teachers. Mr. Vanides was one such community member who taught workshops such as “Simple Machines” and the “Physics of Sound” - inspiring teacher Susan Preston to try new things with her 4th grade students. As Susan recalls, “The Sound workshop changed the way I thought about science and led me to introduce the concept of science notebooking in my class.”
Over the past three decades, MPCSD has strived to bring curiosity, questioning, hands-on experimentation, and solving real world problems to the forefront of science education. Parents were invited to learn and participate in this exciting new way of teaching science, which continues to this day with our science fairs and family science nights. Throughout this time, a close relationship with the district’s fundraising partner, Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, and our schools’ Parent Teacher Organizations has helped provide the funds necessary for expanding and improving science education. This year, many of those instrumental in MPCSD's early hands-on science efforts were invited to campus to see what our current science fairs look like. We were pleased to have Mr. Vanides himself, as well and three former Board members, join us this spring.
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MPAEF Grant Shows Strong Family Support |
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The Menlo Park City School District thanks the entire community for its generous support through donations and volunteering this school year, which enabled MPAEF to grant the district $3,854,600 to fund critical staff and programs for the 2023-24 school year. MPAEF Co-Presidents Krista Rosa and Suzanne Yonkers presented the check to the MPCSD School Board during the June 1 meeting (pictured).
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Support of the One Community Campaign (joint annual fundraising by MPAEF and our school Parent Teacher Organizations) in particular enables MPCSD to continue to provide our children with a truly exceptional educational experience. Nearly 70% of district families contributed to this fundraising effort.
Community members can be Friends of the MPAEF, too! To donate as a Friend - grandparents, alumni families, neighbors, and community members at-large - please see the MPAEF website here.
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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 hello@mpcsd.org.
School websites:
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Kristen Gracia, Superintendent
Board of Education
David Ackerman, President
Francesca Segrè, Vice President
Sherwin Chen
Scott Saywell
Jed Scolnick
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