Trusty Lee here. Trusty King here.
Trusty Marcus here. Vice President
Weekly present. President Welsh here.
All right. I'll start with the report
out on close session from today, May
14th, 2025. The board discussed the
performance evaluation of the
superintendent and no action was taken.
Uh good evening. Welcome to May 14th,
2025. It's our regular meeting of the
Redwood City School Board.
persona solicit transmiss alo de lasal.
Um this is our uh first regular meeting
in May which is a month of appreciation.
So before we get going, I wanted to
start by sharing appreciation for our
principles for principles appreci
appreciation day, our teachers who had
teacher appreciation week last week. Um
our classified staff uh their
appreciation week is next week. Uh
executive assistant day which I think
was a celebration that was here and
really appreciation for all of our
staff. um uh it's you know a month of
appreciation and I don't think we can
take enough time to be able to say how
much we we you know are thankful and
appreciate the work that's done. Um and
then thank you everyone that's here
tonight um online or in person. Uh
you're really joining us as our partners
in education. Uh and the board does
encourage all members of the public to
participate and provide comments on
issues of concern regardless of whether
they're on the agenda. uh to speak,
please complete one of the speakers
cards that's uh located in the back of
the room, or you can fill one out online
uh if you're um online. And uh if you do
fill it out in person, just um grab the
card in the back and then fill it out
and bring it up to Evelyn. Uh if you're
addressing a subject listed on the
agenda, you'll be called at the time of
that item um that when we're about to
consider it. Uh and if it's not on the
agenda, uh we'll call you shortly during
oracle communication, which comes right
after the board approves the agenda. So,
with that, um, do we have any changes to
the
agenda? All right. Can I get a motion to
approve it? I move to approve the
agenda.
Second. Okay. All in favor? I. Perfect.
All right. Now, we're on to oral
communication. And we do have a few
speakers cards. So, we will start with
is this uh ama ama
gum
k. Hey, sorry. There's a yeah microphone
to turn on. And then I want to mention
that uh just to be fair to all our
speakers, we do limit public comment
time to three minutes per speaker. Um
and there's a clock that'll be on the
front. You can probably see it once you
start talking there. Yeah, it'll show up
on the big screen when you start
talking. Got it. Okay, perfect. Thank
you. Good evening. I'm Mika Guom. I was
once the principal at Sequoa Union High
School District, but this year I am COO
for Peninsula Bridge. I just wanted to
spend a moment in the spirit of
celebration to update you all on what
we've been able to do. For 35 years, we
were only a middle school program. For
the last few years, we expanded our
program to be 13 years and Redwood City
knocked it out of the park. You all had
87 students nominated. I wish we had
more money and more space. We're only
allowed 20 from Redwood City, but I did
want you to know what those 20 have to
look forward to. And in the very back, I
put some names of our college scholars.
I've had two principles cry from pride
because they recognize some of their
former students and they couldn't
believe how far they've gone. Typically,
we're 100% four-year universities
because of the FAFSA debacle last year,
if I may call it that. Some did have to
go to community college last year, but
you can see here all the colleges they
get into. Our goal is they
graduate with less than 30,000 in debt.
And so we have all these partners all
across the country who are providing
firstgen low-income students with access
to four-year university degrees and
almost zero debt in many instances. So
we do start in fourth grade inspiring
them that they can go out of state if
they feel comfortable and we will be
there to help them. We actually have one
colleague in Connecticut so she can jump
on the train and make sure families feel
safe about where their students are. I
also wanted to share that as we know
this is actually what brought me to
Peninsula Bridge as a staff member. I've
been on their board for 11 years. Uh as
a principal, I was so proud of all of
our college persistence. We got it up to
87% in my old high school. Uh but they
were coming back without jobs. And as
many of you know, firstgen low-income
students, 70% peeritable trust has said
that they are not using their degrees.
First low-income students are
undermployed. 92% of our kids graduated
and are now employed full-time because
of partners such as those that you see
here. We start in fourth grade talking
about the trajectory. They need to know
in fourth grade that if you want to go
to a STEM field or you want to be a math
teacher or a science teacher, you need
to have geometry by 9th grade. So, we
start that in fourth grade. And then
what we do is we start the career piece
because they all say they want to be an
engineer. Do you know the difference
between an electrical engineer and a
mechanical engineer? That's what they do
in fourth grade. And so we do all of
that work and then starting in 11th
grade or actually in ninth grade they do
career awareness but internships start
in 11th grade. Our goal is that they
graduate with three internships under
their belt because to close the gap for
social capital. So I just wanted to
thank you all. We've been partners for
decades and I just really appreciate we
had great success this year and I
thought some good news is in order and
there's much to be proud of. So, thank
you all for your support and we continue
to to have beautiful, you know, Redwood
City students in our group. Thank you.
Thank you, Amaha. Thank you for sharing
the successes that Peninsula Bridge is
having and of course the students that
are going through the program. Um, okay.
Our next speakers are uh SA and YA. I'm
assuming they're all coming together. Is
that right? Okay.
And I know you're experienced speakers,
but I'll remind you that uh there's a
time limit of three minutes and you
you'll have the clock that you can see
on the TV.
Um hello, my name is Maya Rose. I am
here today to show my gratitude for the
board for allowing advanced English
classes in Kennedy.
Hello, my name is Sa Raerty and I'm here
to deeply appreciate and I'm here to say
that I deeply appreciate all that the
board has done for this done for the
Redwood City School District students
and that I deep we as a class of 2025
um at the Mansion immersion or
um we deeply appreciate all that you've
done for us and we are very happy that
you have implemented mented
um advanced classes at Kennedy and so
that we can fulfill our dreams as
whatever we become as adults. And in my
experience, I think that advanced ELA
will help us get on that track.
Uh, thank you so much for doing the
advanced ELA because um I'm really
excited to learn more about English and
learn more more advanced vocabulary that
can help me achieve my
dreams. Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Sa Maya and Nia.
It was great to Nia. It was great to
hear about what you're excited about.
Glad you could share that with us. Okay.
Our next speaker is Finnbar.
Thank you. Thank you
for having advanced ELA and Thank you.
Great job. Thank you,
Fenbar. Direct and to the point. I
appreciate it. Um, and our next speaker
is Megan.
I wanted um to second the kids' comments
um and also just express my appreciation
for all of you. It definitely takes a
huge team in this district and I know
there was a lot of emails, a lot of
research articles. You guys were sent
home tones of research and I know that
you guys really consider this issue
deeply and carefully and I I think it's
the right decision for all of us and I I
just brought some little gifts for
everybody who had to read all of my
emails um and petitions in the past
month. Um just some little uh salad
dressing uh oil and vinegar from Sigonas
that we all know and love. But I just
wanted to say thank you guys so much. I
I you guys did a lot for the district. I
know it was hard to consider this night.
Thanks for all the extra time you wanted
that went into it. Thank you. All right.
Thank you, Megan. Uh all right, let's
move on. Uh we have our approval of the
bond consent items. There are a couple
items here that we'll pass with one
motion. Can I get a motion to approve?
I move to approve the uh bond items.
Seconded. All in favor? I I. Great. Now
we're on to bond program action items.
Um the first one is 10.1. It's the
adoption of resolution 24 which are
going to be lease leaseback agreement
with block construction for the HVAC
projects.
Yeah. Good evening. Yeah. Uh thank you
Mike President Wells. Uh joining us
tonight are Martin Cervantes, our uh
interim bond director and director of
facilities, as well as Nick Olsen from
VPCS, our bond program manager. And
joining us via Zoom is Eric Vampelt,
vice president at VPCS, who uh works on
our account as well. So that I will turn
it over to them to discuss uh item
10.1. Uh Rick, thanks for the
introduction. Uh good evening members of
the board, Dr. Baker and staff. I'm
happy to be here with Martin to present
10.1 the adoption of resolution 24 and
leisely spec agreement uh with block
construction for the HBAC projects at
Adalante Selby Hoover Roosevelt and Taff
schools for the
summer. Um so I just wanted to start
with a little bit of process for this
selection. Uh we did a request for
qualifications and proposals at the
beginning of March to start start off
proposals. Uh we receive proposals on
March 26th. Um part of the lease lease
back process is once we get those
proposals and it says in the resolution,
we score those based on several things.
their technical expertise,
uh price point of course, uh management
and staffing approach, their history of
meeting project schedules, their history
of claims and litigation, and then uh an
interview is the last scoring criteria.
So, uh we decided to interview all three
firms that proposed um on April 7th. Um
and after those interviews, the
interview committee and scoring
committee, which was composed of the
construction management team, the
district, and our design team, scored
all three uh firms, and Block was the
one that came out ahead for the best
overall proposal. Um and part of that
was based on their robust um
pre-construction services that they were
offering. So, one of the advantage of
lease lease back is that we can do
pre-construction services with a
contractor and for a fasttrack project
like this for the summer. Um, we know
that we have to order equipment in
advance. Uh, the board thankfully
already approved the order of the HVAC
mechanical equipment, but there's also
electrical equipment that's long lead
time. Um, controls equipment that's long
lead time. and then some labor and
equipment to actually accept the large
mechanical equipment that we're we've
already ordered and securely store it
until we could can install it. Um so
that is all included in their uh lease
lease back agreement that's on the board
agenda tonight. Uh and then the process
is this will kick off the subcontractor
bidding period and we'll come back to
the board in early June to approve a
guaranteed maximum price. So that
bidding process
uh per contract, it's a what we call
open book bidding process. we'll get to
see all the bids that they get from
subcontractors and negotiate and um
negotiate allowances in that contract as
well. So we'll you know it's a bid but
also a negotiation as part of that. So
um as part of tonight the bond team is
recommending that we approve the
resolution and the lease leback
agreement for this project.
All right. Thank you. Do uh does anyone
have questions, comments? Yeah, Jen. Um,
it was just more for my own clarity. I
saw that there was like a school time
stipulation document. Is construction
happening in the summer or is it running
into the school year?
This during the summer. Okay. So, it's
just in case there was maintenance or
things that needed to happen during
this. Yes, the um the construction
schedule is to happen during the summer.
That's a standard in our contract just
in case we have SK schedule overrun and
we need to work around school.
Thank you. Yep.
Anything? No. Okay. I I know I support
this lease lease back agreement. I want
to thank the bond program team for you
know our partners at Venpel for um you
know bringing forward this thoughtful
presentation. Um, you know, I p
particularly uh appreciate the, you
know, the competitive best value
selection process that was used here. I
think it's really good to have, um, you
know, our commit community sees that
we're committed to strong stewardship of
bond dollars and I think that's really
really helps with it. Um, the open book,
thanks for explaining the open book
contract. Um because you know as we move
towards guaranteed maximum price, we
kind of want to make sure that it's
really transparent also and that you
know we can do whatever we can to make
sure we stay disciplined about the
spending. Um and finally, we've talked
about this extensively as a board, but
it probably is worth repeating. You
know, better temperature control and
cleaner air in our classrooms is
directly going to contribute support
contribute to student well-being um and
readiness to learn. And so it's a really
practical investment. It's it's beyond
practical, it's really essential. Um,
and so I think if nobody else has
comments, we can take it to a vote then.
Someone would make a motion.
I'll make a motion to approve resolution
24. I'll second. All right. All in
favor? I. Great. Thank you. Uh, but
don't go far because we're going to move
on to um 10.2, which is the approval of
the agreement for purchase of the mobile
air conditioning units for the charter
school sites.
Yes. So again, um happy to be here to
present 10.2 uh which is an agreement to
purchase mobile air conditionings from
Spot Cooler uh for the charter schools.
Um these are the same mobile units that
the board approved uh previous to spring
break um and were delivered during
spring break. Uh so these match those
units and this order will be for the
charter school classrooms.
[Music]
questions or comments
and the charter schools have been read
in on these plans so they they know what
to expect when.
Yes. Or we there is not a delivery
schedule yet. Um I believe they know
that we are ordering temporary mobile
air conditioning units. Yes. Okay.
Because I toured Kip this last week and
they were pretty fuzzy on the details.
So let's make sure that we close the
loop with uh all of our charters. Yep.
We'll do.
And I recall that they were here at a
meeting when when I think Dr. Baker had
told them that yes, this is happening
and put that in this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Yeah. This is another one I
support it. Um uh we you know in the
past we did that evaluation already
between leasing and and purchasing. So I
think we already know the the decision-
making and the criteria that goes into
that. Um, you know, and this does make a
reasonable follow through on the
promises of measure S, which you know,
the charter communities were very
helpful in making sure that got got
passed. Um, and so, you know, I think if
nobody has questions or comments, u, is
there a motion to approve?
I move we approve this 10.2. Second. All
in favor? I. I. Great. Thank you. Yeah.
Thank you.
All right. We'll move on to the consent
items. There are 10 of them and we're
going to approve them all in one vote. I
move we approve the consent item. Is
there a second?
All those in favor? I. I. Excellent. On
to the action items. Um so this is now
uh 12.1 which is the approval of the
pilot of benchmark 2022 English Spanish
language arts curriculum at Taft and
Garfield elementary schools for next
school year. Anna, is this to you? This
is me. Yes. So um we are we are having
this opportunity. I know there's a lot
of questions um in terms of the
benchmark. So we currently have it we
know um both our curriculums both our
elementary and um middle school are
expiring their license expired this year
at end of 25. So we have to renew them.
And so when we wanted started looking
into renewal for benchmark, they brought
in the new curriculum, some of the
adaptations they've done which actually
align more to the science of reading of
what we're doing now versus 2017. Um our
focus next year um for KA is going to be
reading comprehension. So we decided
before we purchase because what would
happen is if we adopt this, we have to
adopt the entire curriculum. So, we
wanted to try to pilot it first to see
where we're at, especially they the many
of the changes were in the K2, which
were very powerful. The teachers that
got to see it from Taft um and Garfield
were very excited like, oh, these are
some great changes that have been made
and they really wanted to try it. So we
gave them an we thought what a great
opportunity to have our bilingual
schools pilot both English and Spanish
so that they can help us make a decision
moving forward if we adopt the new
curriculum for the next four years
because then we'll be up to 28 up again
for a new adoption. So these would be um
we wanted to make sure that we're giving
them um opportunities and it's in align
with what we're doing extra with reading
comprehension. So, they've actually
updated um a number of the reading
comprehension for upper grade as well
with more poetry, which was something
they were lacking. And so, one of the
things the teachers are asking for, we'd
like to have more analysis work on
poetry. Um so, they've definitely made
some adaptations on that. So, we're
lucky they've made changes to how they
actually roll out. So, they'll be
coaching some of our teachers. they'll
be and handson to help support our
teachers go through um some of the
things that weren't available before in
in the when we adopted. So they
definitely made some changes. So we're
excited that we have two schools that
actually 100% of the teachers said let's
do it. Usually we only say a group,
right? And they were all let's just do
it as a school site. So we're instead of
doing it for two months, we decided
we're just going to do it for the year.
They'll have the materials. They get to
use it. they get to really explore and
have some more input as to how we move
forward in the district. So, we're
looking forward to um hopefully get our
schools back on track with using um and
a lot of them do are starting to use
more of it now, but we want to make sure
they have their resources for this pilot
at our two target sites. So, our motion
is if you guys can approve that tonight,
that would be great. So, any questions?
Anyone a question? David, um I just want
to clear knowing that this is a pilot um
understand that we're probably tracking
similar sort of metrics on the efficacy.
Are there any sort of concrete goals
that we're looking at to determine
whether or not this specific version of
the curriculum is something that we want
to pursue or are we more going with
qualitative feedback based on probably a
lot of qualitative feedback and looking
at one of the things we're also looking
at is how do we approach the assessments
in here that we haven't used in the
past. So having the the benchmark
current measure has a lot of
assessments. Um we have certain sites
that use those assessments regularly and
we have other sites we don't. So with
one of the with one of our goals is how
can we embed those assessments better to
be used specifically around reading
comprehension that we haven't been using
in the past. So we want to try to
streamline those um across the district
next year for reading because that's the
area um that we have found on um our I
Ready that reading comprehension is
lacking and so because of that we
already have this we're bringing this
on. So for our all of the school sites,
we're having a reading comprehension
training. K2 will focus on benchmark AC
on the other sites and then we have a
reading comprehension um 38 with CRP on
a specific protocols that we're going to
be implementing 38. So our whole focus
is that. But part of our goal is
embedding the benchmark as our reading
comprehension and moving that forward
through their assessments and then
trying to track how we can see their
efficacy of the programs.
Any other any other questions?
I don't have questions. I just want to
say, you know, I appreciate the fact
that everyone at the school sites wanted
to do it instead of, like you said, a
group. So, I appreciate the teachers to
be, you know, I don't want to say brave,
but just put all their efforts to try
something new. So, I appreciate that.
Thank thanks to your team. Thank you.
Yeah. On top of that, this is their
third thing that fourth thing that they
have done in three years. So, yes, I
appreciate that they're taking this on.
Yeah, it seems a lot more than just a
materials refresh. Um, and looking at
the comparison, it looked Yeah, it
looked like a much more
like deeper shift in there. Um, you
know, the diverse authors, poetry in
every unit, culturally responsive
material, text tied to SEAL. It just
seemed like a lot of really good changes
in there. Um, is that kind of what
everybody's is that what got people
excited about it? I I think what they
were looking at, so the teachers got to
see um at Garfield specifically, they
even got to have, you know, they were
looking at a lot of the materials. I had
all the materials available to them. We
didn't have the upper grade, but third
grade was like, is this is third grade?
What's going to be in fourth grade? So,
they were just really excited to go
through the manual and see what was laid
out for them. Um, like I said, a lot of
changes in K2. they actually have we're
looking forward to see how their writing
program really expands because that's
something we don't have quite um pulled
out and this has something so we're
looking at does this writing really
provide what we need for our students in
a in a robust way um and so both these
sites um have a lot
of Garfield will be we're creating those
systems at Garfield Taft has a lot of
things that are put in place but Taft
does use already current benchmark much
more And so we were hoping to see the
differences for them. What are they
finding in the differences and how they
are looking at the resources. So yeah,
there's a lot that have changed. Yeah.
Yeah. And then I I know that it'll be
like first year of implementation. Um
and that you said there's new
assessments and everything in there, but
I hope that we can be very intentional
about how we do measure success. We have
I Ready, of course, we'll get that, but
um and I don't think everything is going
to be just an academic measure. Um I
think it's how engaged are they? like
does it you know I think there there's
other things that are not just academics
that I hope that we're able to and maybe
that's what the the qualitative part
that you were talking about but are they
engaged enjoying the text you know
what's it like having poetry in every
unit like I have no idea yeah it'll be
interesting to see how how how we
measure the success of it
yeah and how they react to it yeah so
the academics are important I don't want
to diminish those but I think there's so
much more that's changing here that um
it would be you know be need if there
were a way to say like, yeah, we're
we're seeing the progress from those
things, too. Yeah. So, I think it it
goes hand inhand with our focuses next
year, reading comprehension. Yeah. This
feels pretty low regrets. It's all
moving in the direction we'd hope.
Curriculum we're familiar with, not
blowing things up. Like, this sounds
great. So, yeah. Do you want to make a
motion to approve? I move we approve.
All right. Is there a second? I'll
second. All in favor? I. Perfect.
That's still me. Um, so next is 12.2.
Uh, these are the Sips for Adilante,
Selby, Roosevelt, and Clifford.
So again, um, these are our next three,
um, of our SIPAS. You guys had the
chance opportunity to read through, um,
any questions on any of the SIPs, um, on
these full
cit. And the last five come next the
next board meeting.
Go ahead. Did you have questions? Yeah.
No question. I'll just say that I I do
appreciate because I know that there's
been a lot of questions the past round.
So, I I really appreciate that um you
guys are all the district staff are are
focused on incorporating that and
adjusting and it's a long process, but
um super important for for me and I
think probably for the rest of the
board. So, I just want to say that I
appreciate the going with the flow of
it. Thank
you.
Anyone else?
Yeah, I I appreciate the work that goes
into them as well. I I I didn't have any
questions coming out of it either. So,
um if uh everyone's on board, let's make
a motion to approve. Can someone make a
motion to approve? Sure. I will make a
motion to approve 12.2. All right. Is
there a second? A second. Okay. All in
favor? I. Perfect. Um was that all all
in favor? Yeah. Okay. Just making sure.
All right. Next is on to 12.3. Um, and
that is the approval of the Orion growth
plan growth plan. Uh, Dr. Baker. Yeah.
Okay. Anna, if you could put the slides
up and then we'll
Oh, and do you want to We have We do
have
one. I don't see the speaker here. Okay.
Well, if they come back, I'll uh Yes.
Okay. We'll do it after the
presentation.
So tonight the the Orion growth plan and
what we are going to do is for if you'll
go to the um evening presentation the
next
slide
want he didn't give you the oh he didn't
give you the page okay now right after
that there we go so uh this evening
we're going to go over the Orion story
the Orion growth plan progress and then
the recommendation that I'm going to
bring forth to you. Um, the memo was
quite lengthy, very lengthy, and I
apologize for that. But,
um, and I had discussions about length
and going back and forth, back and
forth, but it I I think um, if you read
it, there was a lot of information that
was presented to the committee. The
committee had a lot of time to give
input. We also did a survey which I'll
give you a little bit of information on
this but um I believe it was a really
good process and we um had between 20
and 25 committee members there not maybe
all at one time sometimes it was all 25
sometimes it was 23 sometimes it was 18
but um it was a good process and
everybody really had a feeling that they
were able to contribute and be heard.
Uh, okay. Next slide. And I'm just going
to follow you and continue on to the
next
one. All right. So, let me give you a
little background. So, and we did this
with the team, with the whole committee.
Here you see
1932, Jefferson Grammar School and later
John Gil Elementary School opens there
at 55 Avenue
Delora. And then in
1947, Monroe School opens at 8:15
Allertton. And that's important to
remember. And then in 1969, Monroe
School
closes. 1984,
Orion, a alternative elementary school,
a parent co-op, opens at a former Monroe
school site uh at
8:1584. But prior to them going to that
8:15 Ellton site, they were up on
Granger Way where the old Adilante used
to be and there were two schools on one
site while Orion the 815 Allertton site
was getting refurbished because 8:15
Ellerton used to be the district office.
That's where I started at the district
office in a little closet. And it was a
closet, right, Martin? It was a little
closet. Um, but but it had great windows
and I had a door that I go out to a
patio and Liz Wolf was right next door
to me in the other
closet and a a very thin wall was
between us. So that's a history about
where Orion has been and just wanted to
make sure that you were all aware of
that. Uh, next slide please Anna.
So,
uh, it going there you go. Oral
alternative story. So, let's back up a
little bit about this in regard to the
Mandarin immersion piece. Yes, it opened
201516 when I became the superintendent.
The Mand Mandarin immersion program
opens, but there was some heavy lifting
that took place two years prior to this.
uh there were a group of parents and
they were not necessarily our parents
that brought this to the superintendent
at that time. At that time I had changed
from HR and gone into curriculum and
instruction. Um and during that meeting
they these parents had gone to another
district a neighboring district where a
very good friend of mine is right now uh
as the assistant superintendent to ask
them if they would have a Mandarin
immersion program. The superintendent
that was there at the time abs said
absolutely not. Our superintendent was
interested
um but concerned in regard to having the
number of participants bringing in
another program into the district which
was entirely different which none of us
had experience with except for the dual
immersion Spanish program that we had in
place already.
So
20134, Linda Montes was in at the
district office with me and she was not
here full-time either. It was part-time
that she was here and she was also at
Adilante full-time as the principal. So
I had her the superintendent at the time
in the board said yes, she could do this
if she wanted to be at um Adilante
halfime and be working at the district
office halftime. not only working with
the in at that time called English
language development department but also
um helping out in special projects and
this turned out to be a special project.
So Linda and I did a lot of research on
Mandarin immersion and what other
districts had put into place a Mandarin
immersion program. At that time there's
one in Sonteo and the one in Sonteo is
um Anna is called
College Park. It was College Park
and then College Park and now it's
College Park, right? And so we visited
College Park, but we also went to
Certino because Certino started many
many years ago with uh a Mandarin
immersion program.
We also um brought into play a
consultant who started that program in
Certino and she
[Music]
um showed us different other school
districts throughout the Bay Area that
had a Mandarin immersion program. Some
were really great and some really poor
and we could see what we would like to
have and what we didn't want to have. We
also went to Case which is in San
Francisco Chinese American school um
which is a very good program very very
expensive um know that because of family
members um and we're
really excited about what they could
deliver. We definitely would not be able
to deliver in the manner that they were
delivering because of the extra
resources that they had in play, but
really gave us some really good ideas of
how to create a program to start it
small, similar like we did with um
Adilante Selby at the time was Adilante
when Liz started it very small. It
started as a kindergarten classroom then
it went to a kindergarten moved to first
and another and so forth. So we felt
that we had that experience and we could
start it in that manner. The other piece
that um was brought into play was with
the consult consultant that we had. She
had a lot of information from Taiwan at
that time and had a direct connection
with Taiwan and so was able to give us
different types of materials that we
would be able to explore and she would
help us with that exploration. she
would, if we went in the direction of
creating this program, would also be at
the school sites several days a week to
help our kindergarten students and and
of course and teachers that we would be
hiring with that program. So,
after several discussions with the board
of education at that time, and neither
of you were on the board at that time,
uh it was a lot of deliberation back and
forth. Um the board was concerned that
we didn't have enough knowledge, we
didn't have enough experience or the
expertise. We had the expertise in
Spanish, myself, Linda, of course, and
of course Liz at the time when that
program was put together. So that was
not an issue for us. But to find that
expertise in Mandarin, they were very
concerned about it. The consultant we
had at the time was very good at saying,
"Don't worry, I can get that for you."
So, she was on contract to um find our
teachers
to and I I give Katherine a lot of
credit because Katherine sat in those
interviews. Linda sat in those
interviews. I went in and I didn't know
what was going on, you know, neither did
Linda and u but our consultant was there
and could select the teacher that we
thought would be the best to help us out
and provide she also provided a lot of
the training for us. And then we started
out um small and we are where we are
today. It was an experience that the
board the board understood school of
choice. The board understood
being a district that was innovative and
would try something new. But then um I
was reminded when I became the
superintendent because I became the
superintendent the 1516 that they said
you need to make these dipsticks these
checks and making sure that we are
progressing. If it's not then we're not
going to continue the resources in this
program. So we did uh Lind and I came up
with how we would do this with our
consultant and it showed progress over
the first couple years and people were
interested. Now remember at this point
in time as we moved into this program we
became community
funded and that meant no more interd
district transfers. The board said no
more due to the fact we had we need to
utilize our finances for our students
who were here in the Redwood City School
District.
So, um that could have brought a bit of
um angst to the program, but as we
continued on and as you see in the next
slide on go to slide
six, here is our enrollment numbers as
of uh May 9th, 2025.
This is what the board was concerned
about all along and um knowing that the
program was doing very well, how were
you going to make sure that you're going
to maintain this program for the school
district and it's not going to be
resources that were going to be utilized
in a manner that could be utilized at
some other school site. So, um, Jorge
and his enrollment team have done a very
good job of making sure that the word is
getting out there, that we do have this
program. What we also want to do is do
something similar to what Northstar
does. And Winnie has agreed to do this
to go to different school sites and do
um I'm going to say take her show on the
road. We used to do this many years ago
and we had the magnet schools and it
would be I'll never forget the first
time it was the parking lot still exists
where Samr is. We had tents these big
circuit circus tents and each school was
there to display their school and to
solicit more parents and kids to come to
them. Um, we're not going to go down
that road, but uh, what we're doing now
for Northstar is Northstar goes out and
it starts meeting with other schools and
meeting with other parents in those
schools who may have an interest. So, I
know that Winnie wants to do the same
thing coming up next fall because she
understands the numbers and how the
numbers are playing out. We also heard
that you know um this evening you heard
from the students that will have a
different language arts experience.
We're not calling it advance. We're just
going to come up with another term for
it but it is going to be there is going
to be criterion that uh Wendy has been
working on very closely with uh a
teacher that we have a special teacher
for that for those students and I
believe hopefully it'll be two classes.
I'm hoping uh that this criteria is
going to be that something that they
have to adhere to before they even get
in and we're having a parent night to
understand that and if your child cannot
keep
up then we have to have another meeting
with the parent. It's not
working. So with that being said that
road to Kennedy with that experience and
you've got advanced math at Kennedy
already and we have it at our other 68
schools too. We should have parents who
will become more interested in making
sure they maintain the Mandarin
immersion program and continue it at
Kennedy. And then after they're done
with Kennedy, that's up to the Sequoia
High School district to determine what
they're going to do. But now, I think it
makes them more at ease. Uh even though
I believe Kennedy is a great program and
once they get there and they start
seeing the electives, that's what's
going to um we're
we're I give credit to uh Chandra who's
doing this master schedule at this point
in time to get that in there and to make
sure that you know you're going to be
taking this and then you may not have as
many options for electives so because
you're taking this course. But I'm
hoping that when you see these numbers
and you see the numbers um uh for the
Mandarin immersion program and you see
those how small that they are at the
upper grades that those they'll stay
knowing that this program you've got the
Mandarin immersion program plus you have
this enrichment or what however the
title is going to be for that program
for these students who are basically
high achieving students in the
area.
So, here are the numbers now, and I'm
hoping that they
grow. Let's go ahead and go on to the
You can go on to um reasons for the
Orion growth
plans. So, enrollment shifts over time
between Orion's two programs, parent
co-op and Mandarin immersion. That's
been going on for several years now. It
was going on when it was just Orion.
when it was just Orion by itself. Um
numbers would go up, numbers would go
down regarding enrollment. It it um has
always gone in that manner. The number
of classrooms at Orion campus
to keep both programs and that is if
when you read the memo that is really
what people wanted. They wanted both
programs and if they were going to go to
a different school, they wanted to both
go to the same school. But you needed to
have 29 classrooms in total to come up
with the number of classrooms we wanted
for each each um
program. Uh I already have addressed the
growing concerns about the mid upper
grade attrition and the community
cohesion. Hopefully that'll dissipate
with what we're providing at Kennedy
because at Kennedy when we looked at the
numbers of students who at this point in
time have the criteria that we were
looking at we had what 65 students
55 55 at that criteria that are students
fit not only not only talking to Ryan
students but we're talking students that
feed into Kennedy. So there's a total of
55 that fit the criteria at this point
in
time. So I'm hoping with that model that
we can continue the um number of
students so that we can continue the
programs. It'll and as I said
previously, I'm hoping also that parents
will see here is something for them at
Kennedy. we should stay here at Orion in
the Mandarin immersion and in co-op
because there's something to meet the
needs of those
students. Uh the next
slide, I'll let you read this. This was
the committee objective.
Um and the next
slide the priorities and the
parameters Orion alternative alternative
will remain one school and it's very
important to understand um when Orion
came to John Gil, it was very
important that Orion kept its um CDE
school code that identifies each school.
We had many many meetings about this
code and so that it would be one school
and it's not two schools on one campus
which each having their own code. Uh so
we h it will continue with that CDE
code.
um additional costs to the Redwood City
need to be minimal. And here's where we
had a lot of discussion with the Orion
committee. Two separate schools with
anywhere from 300 to 350 students is not
cost-effective for the
district. And um as we move forward and
other information that'll be coming to
you in a few weeks regarding the
enrollment of where we are for next
year, you'll probably start looking at
what I just said on this slide and
probably be asking questions of me
what's happening in the
future. Uh a Redwood City school should
have at least 500 students to make it
cost-effective.
and a River City School requires a
minimum number of
staffing. So regardless of program
families, we really want to express to
them to commit to the TK5 grades span
knowing that there is a pathway at the
middle school not to be concerned about
that. And then of course we know that
interdist transfers are not
allowed. Next slide Anna.
So for the Orion growth plan process, we
have we had five meetings between May
2024 and April
2025. This is what we re reviewed with
the committee the school's current and
projected enrollment and we did
enrollment o what the demographer
uh has pointed out to us where we will
be in the next 10 years as far as
enrollment is concerned. enrollment,
school choice process, and weight list
at all Redwood City Schools. We they
wanted to see that what the enrollment
was at that point in time, what weight
lists were for each school site, and
also wanted to know off that weight list
how many students are leaving and going
to their school of
choice or have left the district. They
also wanted to see the school capacity
and classroom use at all Redwood City
School District schools. and Martin and
his team were really great about getting
those out to each of them. And so we had
a discussion about
that. The committee also wanted to
understand and
to ask that if they were both going to
remain on the school site and it were to
grow that there would be additional
staff coverage and and budget
implications. And I'll go into what that
that means in another slide. One of them
was recess. Uh, another one was recess
and lunch logistics because having x
amount of kids, it's going to create
additional yard duty, it's going to
create additional custodial staff. And
as we continue on with any type of
afterchool program at the school site
where classrooms are being utilized uh
after students leave it would have to
have additional custodial uh
service programmatic needs and
priorities. They really wanted to keep
those in the forefront and they wanted
feedbacks from family and staff. There
was a survey that went out, but we only
got 79 participants that participated in
it. We kept pushing and pushing. We got
79. So, we used that.
It was each parent at the school site
received it and each staff member. So,
um I can get that number for you. I
don't have it work. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
So the recommendation is as as you know
at this point in time is
um I the recommendation for the 2526
school year if you go to the next slide
Anna is both PRA programs on the co-op
both programs co-op and mandarin
immersion remain at the Avenue Dar site
we're going to start out with three
MITKS and the reason why for three. I've
got numbers for
three. Um I have numbers for two.
Actually, it's 1 probably 75 of for the
for the co-op. They're not having three
and they understood that. There was
questions that came out about that and I
said the numbers don't warrant
it. Um so 3MTK will be in the former
technology lab that's behind the
library. And Martin has already
confirmed with not only myself and site
administrator but also with the
committee that the library can
accommodate those 20 students but it's
bathroom uh accommodations that are
going to occur. Right. So that's
happening and it'll be happen it'll
it'll take place before the kids even
get here. The other thing is additional
office hours for the office assistant.
uh the parents on the committee and the
staff are on the committee
um along with Winnie said there has to
be additional office assistance hours
and so we're raising it I believe to
another hour for for next year we're
going to see if if it continues to grow
then we'll have to look at it again and
custodial staff custodial staff is going
to be extra too
um the SLC class has moved already I
should not say that has not moved yet,
but is moving and is moving to Henry
Ford and Mavis had all those meetings
with those parents at this point in
time. So, um this is where we'll be for
2526 and as we
um continue to move forward. What I want
to really make sure is that um we look
at enrollment every year and that's what
we agreed to. We're going to look at it
every year to see where we are just as
we did um in January because January by
that cuto off date January people start
enrolling and I know Winnie said is
there a way that we could start doing it
earlier and I know the enrollment staff
is trying to think if they can do it a
bit earlier than what they're doing now
and and start her tours earlier. So,
we're going to see how we can
accommodate that. And then um the Oh,
you've got
the next slide.
So um this is just you know knowing that
there's the possibility of adding a
third MI Kender we're already doing
after the 25 26 no possibility and all
the all of the programs there are other
programs that are on that school site
that in order to accommodate them all
staying there and use of all 29 rooms I
need to move the
CDC I'll need to move Odyssey and
Cadillac we haven't started those
discussions yet we will start them um
early early early in the fall because
there are other school sites where they
can go where there are empty
classrooms and the parents and the staff
really want to make sure that Odyssey
and Catalyst have somewhere to go that
is not so far
away. So that's where we are with this
recommendation moving forward. I think
it's a win-win for all that were on the
committee. Um there were a lot of
thoughts expressed. Uh at times was a
little bit of heated argument because um
one program felt the other program was
getting more. But I said I can't look at
it that way as a superintendent. I said
what I look at is numbers. Numbers tell
me what I really need to do. um if I
turn away from that and not pay
attention to that, I'm not doing my due
diligence to the district. So, we got
past that and and still, you may have
gotten some emails. I got a couple that
were not very happy with this. Um but I
believe this is the best that we can do
at this point in time for both programs
staying together at the Orion campus.
And the Orion campus, as you know, looks
looks great. I mean, and people really
don't want to leave it and go somewhere
else. And as I said earlier to um uh
another board member, you know, parents,
teachers, they all love their stu their
school sites. They all love their school
sites and don't want to leave. So, this
I believe is something that will really
accommodate both groups. I just got to
keep my eye on the
enrollment questions.
You have any questions? You want to turn
your microphone on? Yeah. Um I forgot to
ask this, but I'm assuming um the school
site council when they're doing their
facility master plan already kind of
knew this was the plan for Orion. They
Yeah, they kind of got So that's planned
into the because there were committee
members that were on this. Yeah. Okay.
So that's slanned into their suggestion
and their recommendation for the
facility master plan.
So I feel like this is a reasonable
synthesis of a complex problem and what
to do for next year and the year
following and the natural dot dot dot is
like but what then right and then you
the year following next year and the
year after we'll probably be fine if
that third year but I think at that
second year you need to start looking at
numbers early and yes deciding okay what
happens next right so so I I think it's
super important you know I love Rick's
calendars, right? Um they're very
inspirational. I feel like we we sort of
need a check-in calendar here for uh
what are the cut points where if the
enrollment numbers are X, that implies
action Y on year three, you know, and
and to start spelling that out and
gaming that out. So, we kind of we and
the community uh kind of know what's
coming in terms of our plan to have a
plan. Right. Right. Right. I totally
agree with that. um because it's you
should not surprise anyone and that's
why you need to do this several years
ahead of time and by us and you're going
to see this as I told a couple board
members that I met with this a I met
with several board members this
afternoon not a couple um I didn't
forget leave I want to leave you out um
that in a couple weeks you'll be getting
where enrollment is for next as at that
day and you'll be seeing how many
classrooms at each school not and how
many grade levels at each school, too.
Um, and we need to keep our eye on that.
We really do. So, that'll tell us, you
know, what changes will need to be made,
you know, sooner than later and have a
plan in place. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's
just really important that we work back
anticipating that there might be some
things come to a head three school years
from now. Like that might require some
potentially very big moves and changes
that might take a couple years to play
out. Like how much time do we actually
have before it's incumbent on us to make
those decisions to enable that third
year out to right work? Yep, definitely.
We can do that. We can put some calendar
together and I'll I'll work with Winnie
also. that's when he's involved and then
she could probably get the school site
council involved too. So everybody so it
doesn't show like we're hiding anything
either. Any other
questions? Um I had one just about
classroom utilization. Um I think you
know there's a few things that we should
be really really cognizant about. First
of all, thanks for putting together the
plan. Um and you know the growth
committee that worked on it at district
staff. This was a lot of time, multiple
meetings, lots of data in there. All the
slides are available on the website. If
you Google search for it, um for Orion
growth plan, uh Redwood City, you'll
you'll be able to find it. Um and Mike,
there are more slides than what I showed
here. I wasn't going to because it's
you're in the memo. No. And um pro tip
is go to meeting number five because
each meeting has the previous meeting
slides in it as well. Yeah. So, if you
go to the fifth one, you don't have to
do what I did, which was click through
each one until you realize at the end.
Um, but there's a lot of good data in
there to to look at it. Um, and I I like
that the process honored community
voices. It respected fiscal constraints.
You know, it presented, you know, a
reasonably short-term, long-term road
map that put stuff in. Um, and then it
reflected our commitment to, you know,
quality, innovation, sustainability, all
of that points. Um, I do think though
that classroom utilization is something
that we should, you know, just check in
on. I I just I don't I don't have a good
sense of how efficiently classrooms are
going to be utilized under you know
under this growth pl because the thing
with two programs operating on one site
I don't I don't have to say this but I'm
going to anyways it's like the
classrooms aren't fungeible right you
can't combine from one program and the
other there um and so you end up with
you know just because you might have you
know 28 kids across a grade that does
that that might be two classrooms
because it's two different programs so
are we operating small underfilled
sections and upper grades, you know, are
we using staff and space in a way that's
aligning with our goals for
sustainability and, you know, and equity
across
RCSD? And that's the reason why um when
you see the enrollment numbers that are
going to come to you in a couple weeks,
I've given I want them out to you on on
the 30th. Um that's my dipstick. you
will see how underutilized some of our
classrooms are and what needs to
um as as we look at moving forward if
and I'm not just speaking here with this
school site but at other school sites
when you look at those
numbers we've got to come up with a plan
of how to handle this right and because
we are in declining enrollment um I
think Right now we we've got a bump
because of TK, but that TK bump has got
a plateau. And so um when Jorge and I
were uh working on this uh this past
week, Jorge says, "Do you realize we're
100 kindergarteners short from last year
at this time?" I go, "What? There are
less Yeah. 100 kids less than last year
at this time?" I go, "No, I didn't know
that." Um, so he says it is different.
And then he went back several years and
he says we haven't been this low last
three years. Yeah. So it's coming. It is
coming. So we need to keep our eye on
that. Yeah. Because classrooms are not I
guess I I don't want to just sound like
a broken record when you see those
numbers. They're not utilized to right
the manner they should be. Right. Right.
And so I assume mitigations are being
considered around like combo classes. Oh
yeah. within program obviously. Within
program within program's already been
doing combo class. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I
think Adilante had combo classes every
years that my kids went through too.
Yeah. Um cool. Uh you know I appreciate
that you talked about the retention of
an upper grade. We just kind of touched
on it a little bit.
Um I don't have all the details of what
you're doing for Kennedy. We're not
going to discuss it tonight because
that's not important here. But uh but
I'm very curious because there's a lot
of ways to interpret everything that you
said there. side. It'd be interesting to
hear what's how that's being planned and
just making sure that that has that
there's an equitable access for people
to get get into it. Um whatever whatever
is going to be offered there. Um but the
there are good things going being added
like the wind block. Um I guess you know
this plan for Kennedy. I mean, are we
going to be like how are we going to
measure it if attentions working? Is
that so the I mean, obviously the
numbers will have it, but it might be
nice to know like for the families that
stayed, why did they stay? For families
that left, what made them made them
leave and see if we're actually moving
it. What keep Yeah. I mean, we know that
what we know where the attrition is
happening. It's happening second to
third grade, but then some families
stay, some don't. And you know, are we
collecting are we collecting data around
that to say like what's what's the
choice? Is the wind block helping? is
the advanced pump. We could we could
start doing that. We have not done any
surveys or any exit interviews with any
of the families. We've done that. It's
been done in probably. So, yeah. Um
probably at the site. Yeah. And I mean
this isn't a district problem. This is
you know they can ask it at the site to
figure that one out. Okay. Um cool. And
I'll just um because I mentioned it and
it's part of of what's happening for
Orion
Alan Alter Orion Co-op. I go back to Al
before that it was something else but
Orion Co-op and Mandarin Immersion. Um
when we're talking in regard to this uh
English class that's going to open up
for sixth graders, we are really trying
this as a pilot because it will if it's
really successful, it needs to open up
at the other 68s the following year
because we do have students that are
scoring at that criteria that we it's
not only we have students that are
scoring at that criteria that not only
students that are meeting not feeding in
not only feeding into Kennedy but our
kids that are at Clifford, our kids that
are at MIT, Roy Cloud, and Hoover. So,
if this works like we think it will,
we're going to have to when you're
talking about equity, it goes all over.
Just like the advanced math, advanced
math is all over. If you're a sixth,
seventh, or eighth grader and you
qualify, you're in advanced math no
matter what school.
Yeah, it's the hard tracking part. I
just want to make sure that there's not
like hard tracking that's rigid and made
a decision based upon one day in fifth
grade that then suddenly nobody can
correct for. So I don't want to get into
it tonight, but those are those are the
kind of things that I bring back and
then and then we're having a a parent
meeting and all that. Yeah. And yeah,
perfectly perfect perfect. Um actually,
yeah, one other thing you did touch on
this um just the the um access to the
program a little bit. um Orion, you
know, it's a it's a really vibrant
community, but it does have a lower
proportion of unduplicated students
compared to a bunch of our other
schools. It's not inherently bad, right?
Um but it does sort of raise that
question of like, you know, is this
accessible to all families? Um you know,
especially maybe those with like
language barrier or or digital access or
anything like that. Is that part of the
outreach that part of the outreach that
Winnie wants to do? And so Winnie's
going to do something similar what uh
Northstar has been doing for the last
couple years. Yeah. And so she wants to
do that. So that's why she is asking if
we cannot if the enrollment department
can't start a lot earlier than it has in
the past. And so is working with his
team to see how he can get that working
that direction. Yeah. Because if you're
going to expand for growth, right, we
want to ensure that the growth's
inclusive um and you know, not just
reflective of people who know how to
kind of navigate the system, right?
Yeah. Okay.
Um
cool. Is there any any other comments,
questions? Um, is there a motion to
approve?
I'll move to approve the Ryan growth
plan and a second. Second. All in favor?
I. Great. Great. Thank you.
Look at this board and superintendent
reports. Um, who would like to start?
I went on a tour of KIP. uh was invited
there warmly and connected with staff
there. Um the Fair Oak Street in front
is just absolute mad house um in the in
the morning just in that narrow window
of drop off. Um the county they're
they're in uh un unincorporated Sanonteo
County and um they have not formally
done a safe routes to school analysis.
Seems like that it could really be
needed honestly. It was pretty crazy. We
should contact the county office. Yeah.
So, I' I've nudged them to to to go and
do that. Um, let's see. Um, EL Achieve
is working pretty well for them for
English language development. Uh,
they've got a cool teacher training
program where you can get a temporary
credential in a year and the only
requirement is that you've you have to
have a BA. Um, a lot of families scared
right now about what's going on uh visav
immigration and the like and that's um
causing some uh school attendance
reticence uh which is an issue. Um
there's some perimeter issues. They uh
it's pretty clear that the uh school
site gets unauthorized use regularly on
weekends and so the staff come in in the
mornings and there's like beer bottles
around and the like and so um they
needed a little bit of extra help uh
securing the perimeter there.
Um yeah uh we had some conversations
about handoffs to and from the district.
I'll write up some notes and share those
uh over um bum bum. And that's I'll I'll
write up the rest of this later, but
those are sort of some of the high level
bits. But it was uh really nice to get
to connect with some of the charters in
addition to the the regular schools here
in the district just to see what's going
on and um ways in which uh we're working
well together and I think we have really
positive relationship with our charters
versus adversarial which is great. uh
and there's a lot of eagerness to uh
even further deepen that relationship
with the district and kind of share best
practices because we're serving very
similar audiences of uh students. So
like what of their approaches can we
learn from and then similarly what
approaches are we using that they can
learn from as well to better serve their
their students. So it was a it was a
very positive visit.
like I always forget. So, um
I and David Lee went to the LCAP meeting
um that was held at the Fur Community
Center.
Um I forget what day because I just
wrote them down. And then I also went um
that evening to the DAC meeting that
Katherine held over at Hoover. Um, and
she actually it was the first time that
I've been to the DLA meetings where we
actually had a lot more parents than in
prior meetings. So um um kudos to the
team for involving a lot of our parents
and for the parents to actually make it
um to those meetings.
Um I was also um the superintendent
advisory committee this Monday with um
Dr. Baker, Rick, and I don't even know
what day I live in that I forgot who
else was
there. Martin. Yes. Sorry, Martin. Um,
and then, um, I attended the celebration
of the induction program at Henry Ford.
So, that's also great. So, and that's it
for me.
Um, got a few things.
Uh, Santo County is doing the school
funding task force that I attended with
um with Mike and there'll be a few
sessions, but it was interesting just to
um hear from other board members around
the around the county, from other
districts just on um issues that they're
facing and school funding obviously is a
persistent one across the board. And so
trying to to to figure out um how we can
collectively attack that, but that's an
ongoing thing. So, it was it was just
good to to hear it from others. Uh, I
had the good fortune of also attending
the a field trip for one of Hoover's uh
half of I think they're eighth graders
um where they got to do some hands-on
learning which was fantastic. I speaking
for myself, I thought it was fantastic.
there's a lot of uh great learning both
on the academic side as well as the
actual practical and I could tell that
there's a lot of engagement from the
eighth graders and you could tell that
there's both the uh I mean there was
discussions of uh like electromagnetic
fields and all that and I was learning
like oh this is like way better than
when I learned it. Um um but then like
the the students like they were learning
and they're putting into practice I
could tell like when they actually got
their hands on there was like a a light
bulb going on of like oh this is cool
like let's do this. So, uh, I thought
that was great, um, just to see that
happening. I know that there's a lot of
coordination that was involved there. I
think with Mr. Millennia, Miss Castro,
um, from Hoover and obviously Lupe, uh,
but then I think also from the county
office in terms of providing
transportation. So, very grateful. I
understand there's maybe some, um,
there's an effort to get the other half,
the eighth grader just continue the
program, which I I personally think
would be great just to get the exposure
um, to see that there's a range of
career possibilities out there just to
to know that. Um and then of course um
very grateful to to local 467 for
putting that on and hosting them just I
I know it's a lot of effort but it was I
thought it was a great experience. Um
did a couple of school sites uh visits
as well saw McKinley. It was uh great
always great to see be we obviously had
the presentation the other day but a lot
of reering the same things which it
seems like I think my sense is that
she's you know getting her bearings and
there's a lot of stuff happening this
year and but it was it was really
helpful for me to hear her thoughts on
like with the vision already going
forward of what she wants to accomplish.
Um, so it's just a lot of forward
thinking and something that I really
appreciate just um that we're always we
have we have a lot of great staff who
are working and thinking about what the
next step is and not just stay stagnant.
Um, and you know we always have plenty
to to grow. Um, also went to Taft. Um,
very similar things. Uh, great great
stuff. I think uh, one one thing that I
hear was that steam was super important.
Um so those super highly valued a lot of
things that we've heard across the board
as well just in terms of um quite a bit
of resource allocation needs for um for
sped which I know the district Dr. Dr. I
think you've already mentioned this. Uh
there's ongoing work to help ease that
for the school. So I'm sure that's very
appreciated by the schools. Um but you
know something that's just a recurring
theme. Um also went to the as was
Cecilia mentioned the LCAP thing. Um and
I thought it was great to hear a lot of
the engagement of the the folks who were
there. Um I would I would personally
love to increase the engagement even
further. I mean just we need to serve
our community obviously. Um, but for the
folks who were there and Lupe who was
there, it was great to hear all the
engagement there and the thoughtfulness
and obviously all the work that put in
uh and Katherine to to put all the
presentation together. It was uh really
helpful. Um, and then there's like a
long list. Uh, we I went to the Kent
Awards with um several of the others uh
including Mike U and Dr. Baker. Um, uh,
it was great to have our Orion staff
honored and then, uh, yeah, I think I
think that's
it. Ah, good. Thanks. You reminded me of
so many. Yeah, congratulations to the
parent participation program for their
Kent Award this year. That was It's
always fun to be there and see
everything get recognized just like at
the induction colloquium. Although my
favorite part is not the recognition as
much as important that that is. It's
sitting at the table with the part and I
tell this to Nicole every year where the
men the mentees and the mentors tell you
what they learned and they both learn,
right? Um because it's incredible like
you're not just born knowing how to put
classrooms into small groups and working
with one while the others are working
independently. You know, you need to be
able to taught how to do that. And it's
just great to hear those kind of
stories. Um, we also had uh I was just
before this I was at the healthy cities
tutoring uh volunteer recognition.
There's like 80 volunteers here. I know
they're pretty active at Henry Ford.
Sounds like they're going to follow uh
principal Kop to Garfield. They're
active also at Taff at Taft. Yeah. Okay.
They're doing um uh English language.
Right. Right. That's right. Yeah.
Yeah. It's nice to to recognize them
there. And then we had a citizens bond
oversight uh meeting which if you want
they get posted online. You can watch
the video on YouTube or I'll give you
the brief summary. There was a um they
elected the chair and the vice chair
which is Carl and Jennifer again. Um
they're work still working on the annual
report for fiscal year 2324 which will
come to the board when they have it
finished but it hasn't been finished
yet. And that's both for measure T and
measure S. Um they did review bond
expenditures and progress and an update
on the facility's master plan. Uh and
the next meeting is in August. So that
means you know I we wouldn't see the
annual report till if it came to them by
then it wouldn't come until after that
for us. I think I got everything in
there. Keep me honest. Okay. Dr. Baker.
Great. All right. Let's move on to
information. Um I think we can just go
through these unless people have
questions. U maybe we'll just do take
the first one and two uh individually
and then we can do the interm reports up
to date. I don't know. Does anybody have
questions or comments about the credit
card summary or the investment fund
update? Rick's here to answer them
all. Far away. Okay. Information's
received. Um and then let's do the next
three together. Rick, unless there's
something that you think you
particularly need to call out. Um these
are the reviews of the interimm
financial reports for the three
charters. Um 14.3 is for connect, 15.4
for KIP, and 14.5 for Rocket Ship.
I would just say uh thanks to the staff
that go through these diligently uh to
produce this uh and we're still closely
monitoring all of our charter schools
and look forward to their adopted
budgets to bring back to the board later
this summer. Yeah, it's an additional
ask of the business office. Not every
school is an authorizing agency for
charters and we are of three and uh you
know the LCFF doesn't actually throw
money in per administ you know office
staff that has to be able to do that
work. So really appreciate the work that
they do there. Um it's some I guess it's
a glimpse of what it looks like at a
county office because they do it for our
intern report um and you have to do it
here. So yeah I appreciate that work. Uh
okay great. Um, let's move on to
correspondence. You want to know
correspondence? Yeah, go ahead. Well, I
think I don't know if everybody get some
some of the uh correspondence we get is,
you know, we're BCC or
um not not sure if everybody gets the
the notification, but I know I just
wanted to say I know Megan um at least I
got an email from her. Again, I didn't
check whether she emailed everybody else
um and she was here earlier um with her
um proposal about the whole advance
class. So, I do want to say um I do read
my emails. I not not always respond, but
I do want to just publicly say that. Um
and then there was another parent that
emailed about the Orion growth. Um there
was a concern and so those are the Yes,
those are the only ones.
All right. Uh, moving on. Other business
or suggested items for future
agenda? I don't have any. Doesn't look
like anyone else has some. So then the
board meetings calendar. Has there been
any changes to the calendar? No. No. The
only one I'm trying to trying to put
site on play in place. Okay. Like we
talked talked to everybody about this.
I'm working on calendars. I'm trying to
get our calendars now because we have
training with the principles that we're
doing right after school. I'm trying to
get that I I think by Friday. Okay.
Definitely I'll get something else by
Friday. Okay.
All right. That'll be good. Yeah. I
think we we could use use the time
for deeper work. Um All right. We're at
adjournment. Uh we need a motion to
adjurnn. I move we adjurnn. Is there a
second? Second. All in favor? I I
perfect.