Dear Parents and Guardians,

We did it! We made it out of 2020 and into 2021. The feelings of relief and excitement around leaving a very challenging year, and the hope for a better one, are not lost on me; AND...we still have many challenges ahead. There is something cathartic about turning that calendar page, even if it is largely symbolic.

As we have throughout this whole pandemic journey, we’re going to “run the mile we are in.” This week’s mile is getting settled back into a routine in either Hybrid or Virtual mode.

School begins tomorrow, January 5. If you need a reminder of the A Week/B Week schedule the calendar can be found here. Our teachers and staff are working hard today preparing for the return of students and are eager to reconnect. I have a few reminders to share as you prepare to jump back into the rhythm of school.

Travel/Quarantine/ISP Reminder
As I have been saying since before Thanksgiving, we request that all families do their part to keep school safe and open. If your family traveled or participated in any risky activities over Winter Break, please quarantine for 14 days before sending students back to school. San Mateo County Health offers guidelines for travel and quarantine here. Your students continue learning through an Independent Study Plan (ISP). The schools’ Sunday newsletters did a great job of reminding you of our expectations and how to request an ISP. Please refer to your Sunday, January 3 school newsletter for details.

I expect that all families will do the right thing and choose an ISP over putting our teachers, staff, and other families at risk. Thank you in advance for staying home if you have engaged in risky behavior as defined by the CDC and CDPH

While we understand that some families may be anxious about returning to school in-person in light of increased spread, we are unable at this time to offer a fully virtual program for those who have changed their mind. We are committed to following our county health professional's guidance, which at this time continues to be that schools are safe when strict health and safety procedures are followed, as they have been in MPCSD since the start of the school year. The Board will discuss the current conditions this Thursday, and parents are invited to attend. Please coordinate with your school site if you have specific questions or concerns about your individual child’s return to school. 

COVID Testing
Thank you for being so diligent in having your students tested regularly. MPCSD recommends that all students attending in-person school be tested every two weeks, preferably on your at-home week so you will know the test results prior to reporting for your in-person week. Testing is available through Curative at the new, convenient location across the street from MA High School. Sign up for an appointment here, or you may walk up and register on site. If you choose to walk up, pre-registering makes the process even more streamlined. There are additional testing resources listed at our COVID FAQ page. Please report any positive COVID test results for anyone in your household to your site principal or nurse or to District Nurse Lianne Jemelian.

Board Decisions/Meeting
MPCSD’s School Board continues to discuss when and if schools should close due to COVID data within San Mateo County. The Board decided that for now the only automatic trigger that would close our schools is the one outlined in the county’s Pandemic Recovery Framework: if 5% of a school’s in-person student/staff population is COVID positive that school would close. So far, our district’s reported COVID positivity rate is far lower than 5%. You can always view the District’s COVID-positivity tracker, which is updated regularly. 

The Board made a commitment to meet every two weeks in public session while SMC is in shelter-in-place in order to remain responsive to changing conditions. The next public meeting is THIS week: Thursday, January 7, at 5:00 p.m. To join the meeting, please find Zoom and Agenda details on the district homepage under “Announcements.”

Speaker Series
As I always tell our staff, we must not let the urgent displace the important. Even more troublesome to me than the coronavirus is the virus of racism. MPCSD, with the bold leadership of its Board, is hosting a three-part series on how historical and structural racism created the foundation for the inequities we still experience in Menlo Park and the rest of the south peninsula. I hope you will prioritize joining us for this important communal learning journey where we will face the challenges in our own backyard. 

In our three-part series, we are fortunate to be joined by many local leaders and groups who are also committed to working towards a more equitable future, and we thank them for their participation in these events:

January 6, 2021 @ 6:30 p.m.: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America…and Menlo Park.  Join us in conversation with local groups Menlo Together and Community Equity Collaborative to discuss how the policies and practices that segregated America affected Menlo Park.  We’ll dive into information presented in Richard Rothstein’s book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America and take a deeper look at our region from a historical and governmental perspective. We will learn, reflect, and discuss how to move toward an equitable future in Menlo Park and beyond. Click here to register in advance for this webinar.

January 13, 2021 @ 6:30 p.m.: An Equity Walk Through MPCSD with Dr. Mary Montle Bacon of Images of Culture. How a district responds to and supports students of all backgrounds is foundational to how we succeed as a whole. Dr. Bacon has decades of experience working with youth, parents, and educators across the country. She will lead us through what the MPCSD experience may look like from the perspective of different families, and how we can work to make sure that all talents, cultures, languages, and achievements are valued and elevated at our schools. Click here to register in advance for this webinar.

January 19, 2021 @ 6:30 p.m.: The Future of Educational Equity in the South Peninsula: How'd We Get Here and Where Are We Going? This special event, co-sponsored by multiple community organizations, features a frank and inspiring conversation among panelists Superintendents Gina Sudaria and Erik Burmeister of Ravenswood and Menlo Park City School Districts, Menlo Atherton High School Principal Simone Rick-Kennel, Immediate Past Mayor of East Palo Alto Regina Wallace-Jones, Immediate Past Mayor of Menlo Park Cecilia Taylor, and Ravenswood City School District Board Member Ana Maria Pulido. The esteemed panel will discuss the historical influences that continue to impact our local school districts and how our community might organize to address the challenges and opportunities of our future. Click here to register in advance for this webinar.

I look forward to joining YOU on Zoom for these essential conversations. And if you’d like to dive even more deeply into this discussion, we are offering book clubs for seven books and a podcast, each touching aspects of race and racism in America. The book discussions will be led by MPCSD staff member-volunteer parent teams. Each club will meet two or three times over the next several weeks. To see the list of books and sign up to join a club, please click here. We welcome all voices in this conversation. 

Happy New Year to you and your family, and we look forward to seeing you again soon on campus, in the Virtual Academy, or at one of our many upcoming events. Thank you, as always, for your support.

Sincerely,
Erik Burmeister
Erik Burmeister, Superintendent | mpcsd.org
Governing Board
Sherwin Chen, President
Scott Saywell, Vice President
David Ackerman
Stacey Jones
Francesca Segrè